Review: Nomadland

[iamwhatiseem]

Right now exclusively on HULU.
[Gets on soap box] - You might want to skip this part.... I loathe the recent rise in exclusive marketing by stream providers. It is a recent trend in trying to turn the streaming market into a clone of the old cable market. To get people to subscribe to numerous channels instead of just paying for a few like Netflix and Prime.
[Gets off of soap box]

Back to the movie.
This is a good one. Perhaps people under 50 won't connect well with it, it is a story of a gal who lost her husband and her job when a large mill closed. (which actually happened in Empire, Nevada) She becomes a recluse of sorts, living out of a van and finds a community of people who all live in their vans.
It is a simple story, heartfelt and Francis McDormand, no surprise, does a great job of playing the character.

 

[rightwinger]

Already a thread on this

 

[iamwhatiseem]

oops....
Well hell - it is in the wrong category, no wonder I didn't see it.
I won't ask to merge them because of it

 

[WinterBorn]

Watched the movie Nomadland last night. Best thing I have seen in a while. Francis Dormond (Fargo and Almost Famous) is excellent.

It explores the culture of the nomads in America. The people who, by choice or by circumstance, live in vans or RVs. As an RVer, I identify with some of the reasons it could appeal to people.

 

[WinterBorn]

The other thread was mine. I put it in Health & Lifestyle because it is a lifestyle for many. Now my thread is here.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Watched the movie Nomadland last night. Best thing I have seen in a while. Francis Dormond (Fargo and Almost Famous) is excellent.

It explores the culture of the nomads in America. The people who, by choice or by circumstance, live in vans or RVs. As an RVer, I identify with some of the reasons it could appeal to people.

The wife and I have talked about the possibility of taking a year off when we retire to do just that. Not sure if we will or not.
We will not retire where we live. We both have good paying jobs where we are, and that is the only reason we are here.
So... when we retire we are going to relocate. But we may sell the house, and instead of go right into another one... take a year and travel America.
Who knows

 

[freyasman]

Right now exclusively on HULU.
[Gets on soap box] - You might want to skip this part.... I loathe the recent rise in exclusive marketing by stream providers. It is a recent trend in trying to turn the streaming market into a clone of the old cable market. To get people to subscribe to numerous channels instead of just paying for a few like Netflix and Prime.
[Gets off of soap box]

Back to the movie.
This is a good one. Perhaps people under 50 won't connect well with it, it is a story of a gal who lost her husband and her job when a large mill closed. (which actually happened in Empire, Nevada) She becomes a recluse of sorts, living out of a van and finds a community of people who all live in their vans.
It is a simple story, heartfelt and Francis McDormand, no surprise, does a great job of playing the character.

A lot of those folks are real vandwellers; I've seen the old guy's YouTube channel.

I haven't finished the movie yet though.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Right now exclusively on HULU.
[Gets on soap box] - You might want to skip this part.... I loathe the recent rise in exclusive marketing by stream providers. It is a recent trend in trying to turn the streaming market into a clone of the old cable market. To get people to subscribe to numerous channels instead of just paying for a few like Netflix and Prime.
[Gets off of soap box]

Back to the movie.
This is a good one. Perhaps people under 50 won't connect well with it, it is a story of a gal who lost her husband and her job when a large mill closed. (which actually happened in Empire, Nevada) She becomes a recluse of sorts, living out of a van and finds a community of people who all live in their vans.
It is a simple story, heartfelt and Francis McDormand, no surprise, does a great job of playing the character.

A lot of those folks are real vandwellers; I've seen the old guy's YouTube channel.

I haven't finished the movie yet though.

Yep... I have seen those too

 

[WinterBorn]

Watched the movie Nomadland last night. Best thing I have seen in a while. Francis Dormond (Fargo and Almost Famous) is excellent.

It explores the culture of the nomads in America. The people who, by choice or by circumstance, live in vans or RVs. As an RVer, I identify with some of the reasons it could appeal to people.

The wife and I have talked about the possibility of taking a year off when we retire to do just that. Not sure if we will or not.
We will not retire where we live. We both have good paying jobs where we are, and that is the only reason we are here.
So... when we retire we are going to relocate. But we may sell the house, and instead of go right into another one... take a year and travel America.
Who knows

My girlfriend and I bought a small camper back in 2015. And we have enjoyed it. Both of us loved camping, and this just adds some creature comforts to the mix. When we retire we will upgrade to a bigger camper and spend a lot of time on the road. But we will always have a "home base".

That said, the movie is an eye opening look at an ever increasing number of people who are nomads to survive. Many people a little older than I am, lost a lot in the crash of 2008. And they don't have the time to remake the money their 401ks lost. Or plants closed, as in the movie, and left them with few options.

I think it is a fascinating and little explored look at this new phenomenon.

 

[WinterBorn]

Right now exclusively on HULU.
[Gets on soap box] - You might want to skip this part.... I loathe the recent rise in exclusive marketing by stream providers. It is a recent trend in trying to turn the streaming market into a clone of the old cable market. To get people to subscribe to numerous channels instead of just paying for a few like Netflix and Prime.
[Gets off of soap box]

Back to the movie.
This is a good one. Perhaps people under 50 won't connect well with it, it is a story of a gal who lost her husband and her job when a large mill closed. (which actually happened in Empire, Nevada) She becomes a recluse of sorts, living out of a van and finds a community of people who all live in their vans.
It is a simple story, heartfelt and Francis McDormand, no surprise, does a great job of playing the character.

A lot of those folks are real vandwellers; I've seen the old guy's YouTube channel.

I haven't finished the movie yet though.

Bob Wells is the real deal. And there are hundreds of them.

I saw an interview with the author of the book from which the movie was made. She went to RTR (Rubber Tramp Rendezvous) the first time in 2014, and there were about 60 rigs. When she went in 2017 she said there were probably 500 rigs. It is part clan gathering and part learning experience, with classes being taught all day during the event.

 

[gipper]

We’ve been full timing for nearly three years now. We love it. Of course we’re not living in a van, but rather a luxury 44’ motor coach. All the comforts of home, including a 55” smart tv with blue ray surround sound.

Looking forward to watching this movie.

In our travels around the nation, we’ve seen many people living in old dilapidated RVs. They park on public streets and likely dump their waste down storm drains, polluting surface water. California has a ton of these people, in the richest nation the world has ever known.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Watched the movie Nomadland last night. Best thing I have seen in a while. Francis Dormond (Fargo and Almost Famous) is excellent.

It explores the culture of the nomads in America. The people who, by choice or by circumstance, live in vans or RVs. As an RVer, I identify with some of the reasons it could appeal to people.

The wife and I have talked about the possibility of taking a year off when we retire to do just that. Not sure if we will or not.
We will not retire where we live. We both have good paying jobs where we are, and that is the only reason we are here.
So... when we retire we are going to relocate. But we may sell the house, and instead of go right into another one... take a year and travel America.
Who knows

My girlfriend and I bought a small camper back in 2015. And we have enjoyed it. Both of us loved camping, and this just adds some creature comforts to the mix. When we retire we will upgrade to a bigger camper and spend a lot of time on the road. But we will always have a "home base".

That said, the movie is an eye opening look at an ever increasing number of people who are nomads to survive. Many people a little older than I am, lost a lot in the crash of 2008. And they don't have the time to remake the money their 401ks lost. Or plants closed, as in the movie, and left them with few options.

I think it is a fascinating and little explored look at this new phenomenon.

Absolutely.
Ageism is real. Racism is on it's death bed despite the faux outrage, but ageism is alive and kicking.
Bonzi is struggling with her employer now. The company was purchased by another corporation in December, and it is not going well. She has a stellar resume. Worked for some impressive companies in solid positions. But soon to turn 57, there have been at least 10 jobs she is perfect for. You would have thought they wrote the description describing her experience, education and history. But.... nothing. Not even a call.
You lose your job 50 plus and you are screwed. (she is still working)

 

[WinterBorn]

We’ve been full timing for nearly three years now. We love it. Of course we’re not living in a van, but rather a luxury 44’ motor coach. All the comforts of home, including a 55” smart tv with blue ray surround sound.

Looking forward to watching this movie.

In our travels around the nation, we’ve seen many people living in old dilapidated RVs. They park on public streets and likely dump their waste down storm drains, polluting surface water. California has a ton of these people, in the richest nation the world has ever known.

I worked in the Fiber Optic/Cable industry for 25 years. There are a lot of guys who live in an RV (from travel trailers up to luxury class As). They move from project to project. They make good money. The money was better in the 1990s, but I guess that is the way of things.

 

[WinterBorn]

Watched the movie Nomadland last night. Best thing I have seen in a while. Francis Dormond (Fargo and Almost Famous) is excellent.

It explores the culture of the nomads in America. The people who, by choice or by circumstance, live in vans or RVs. As an RVer, I identify with some of the reasons it could appeal to people.

The wife and I have talked about the possibility of taking a year off when we retire to do just that. Not sure if we will or not.
We will not retire where we live. We both have good paying jobs where we are, and that is the only reason we are here.
So... when we retire we are going to relocate. But we may sell the house, and instead of go right into another one... take a year and travel America.
Who knows

My girlfriend and I bought a small camper back in 2015. And we have enjoyed it. Both of us loved camping, and this just adds some creature comforts to the mix. When we retire we will upgrade to a bigger camper and spend a lot of time on the road. But we will always have a "home base".

That said, the movie is an eye opening look at an ever increasing number of people who are nomads to survive. Many people a little older than I am, lost a lot in the crash of 2008. And they don't have the time to remake the money their 401ks lost. Or plants closed, as in the movie, and left them with few options.

I think it is a fascinating and little explored look at this new phenomenon.

Absolutely.
Ageism is real. Racism is on it's death bed despite the faux outrage, but ageism is alive and kicking.
Bonzi is struggling with her employer now. The company was purchased by another corporation in December, and it is not going well. She has a stellar resume. Worked for some impressive companies in solid positions. But soon to turn 57, there have been at least 10 jobs she is perfect for. You would have thought they wrote the description describing her experience, education and history. But.... nothing. Not even a call.
You lose your job 50 plus and you are screwed. (she is still working)

Ageism is very real. And there are plenty of people who did it right, planned ahead, and are now behind the eightball.

And one of the worst parts of it, in addition to being under utilized like Bonzi, is the lack of health insurance as your healthcare needs grow.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

We’ve been full timing for nearly three years now. We love it. Of course we’re not living in a van, but rather a luxury 44’ motor coach. All the comforts of home, including a 55” smart tv with blue ray surround sound.

Looking forward to watching this movie.

In our travels around the nation, we’ve seen many people living in old dilapidated RVs. They park on public streets and likely dump their waste down storm drains, polluting surface water. California has a ton of these people, in the richest nation the world has ever known.

I worked in the Fiber Optic/Cable industry for 25 years. There are a lot of guys who live in an RV (from travel trailers up to luxury class As). They move from project to project. They make good money. The money was better in the 1990s, but I guess that is the way of things.

Yep so do I. A neighbor I lived 2 houses down from was a traveling lineman (I assume still is, don't live there anymore) His wife lived at the "home base" but he was gone for weeks at a time all over the map. He had a smallish RV he lived in while working.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Watched the movie Nomadland last night. Best thing I have seen in a while. Francis Dormond (Fargo and Almost Famous) is excellent.

It explores the culture of the nomads in America. The people who, by choice or by circumstance, live in vans or RVs. As an RVer, I identify with some of the reasons it could appeal to people.

The wife and I have talked about the possibility of taking a year off when we retire to do just that. Not sure if we will or not.
We will not retire where we live. We both have good paying jobs where we are, and that is the only reason we are here.
So... when we retire we are going to relocate. But we may sell the house, and instead of go right into another one... take a year and travel America.
Who knows

My girlfriend and I bought a small camper back in 2015. And we have enjoyed it. Both of us loved camping, and this just adds some creature comforts to the mix. When we retire we will upgrade to a bigger camper and spend a lot of time on the road. But we will always have a "home base".

That said, the movie is an eye opening look at an ever increasing number of people who are nomads to survive. Many people a little older than I am, lost a lot in the crash of 2008. And they don't have the time to remake the money their 401ks lost. Or plants closed, as in the movie, and left them with few options.

I think it is a fascinating and little explored look at this new phenomenon.

Absolutely.
Ageism is real. Racism is on it's death bed despite the faux outrage, but ageism is alive and kicking.
Bonzi is struggling with her employer now. The company was purchased by another corporation in December, and it is not going well. She has a stellar resume. Worked for some impressive companies in solid positions. But soon to turn 57, there have been at least 10 jobs she is perfect for. You would have thought they wrote the description describing her experience, education and history. But.... nothing. Not even a call.
You lose your job 50 plus and you are screwed. (she is still working)

Ageism is very real. And there are plenty of people who did it right, planned ahead, and are now behind the eightball.

And one of the worst parts of it, in addition to being under utilized like Bonzi, is the lack of health insurance as your healthcare needs grow.

Oh hell yes. That is our biggest problem. We don't necessarily need her income, we could make small adjustments and do fine with just mine. But I work for a small business that has no health insurance. Her main reason for working is just for that. GOOD health insurance for our age is a fucking crime. $1500 - $1600/mo. A crime.

 

[gipper]

We’ve been full timing for nearly three years now. We love it. Of course we’re not living in a van, but rather a luxury 44’ motor coach. All the comforts of home, including a 55” smart tv with blue ray surround sound.

Looking forward to watching this movie.

In our travels around the nation, we’ve seen many people living in old dilapidated RVs. They park on public streets and likely dump their waste down storm drains, polluting surface water. California has a ton of these people, in the richest nation the world has ever known.

I worked in the Fiber Optic/Cable industry for 25 years. There are a lot of guys who live in an RV (from travel trailers up to luxury class As). They move from project to project. They make good money. The money was better in the 1990s, but I guess that is the way of things.

Yeah we’ve seen a lot of that. People traveling the country, while working. The park we’re in now has many traveling nurses. The park wouldn’t allow anyone to stay less than 30 days, thus preventing it from getting filled up by weekenders and keeping it available for the nurses and essential personnel.

 

[gipper]

Watched the movie Nomadland last night. Best thing I have seen in a while. Francis Dormond (Fargo and Almost Famous) is excellent.

It explores the culture of the nomads in America. The people who, by choice or by circumstance, live in vans or RVs. As an RVer, I identify with some of the reasons it could appeal to people.

The wife and I have talked about the possibility of taking a year off when we retire to do just that. Not sure if we will or not.
We will not retire where we live. We both have good paying jobs where we are, and that is the only reason we are here.
So... when we retire we are going to relocate. But we may sell the house, and instead of go right into another one... take a year and travel America.
Who knows

My girlfriend and I bought a small camper back in 2015. And we have enjoyed it. Both of us loved camping, and this just adds some creature comforts to the mix. When we retire we will upgrade to a bigger camper and spend a lot of time on the road. But we will always have a "home base".

That said, the movie is an eye opening look at an ever increasing number of people who are nomads to survive. Many people a little older than I am, lost a lot in the crash of 2008. And they don't have the time to remake the money their 401ks lost. Or plants closed, as in the movie, and left them with few options.

I think it is a fascinating and little explored look at this new phenomenon.

Absolutely.
Ageism is real. Racism is on it's death bed despite the faux outrage, but ageism is alive and kicking.
Bonzi is struggling with her employer now. The company was purchased by another corporation in December, and it is not going well. She has a stellar resume. Worked for some impressive companies in solid positions. But soon to turn 57, there have been at least 10 jobs she is perfect for. You would have thought they wrote the description describing her experience, education and history. But.... nothing. Not even a call.
You lose your job 50 plus and you are screwed. (she is still working)

Ageism is very real. And there are plenty of people who did it right, planned ahead, and are now behind the eightball.

And one of the worst parts of it, in addition to being under utilized like Bonzi, is the lack of health insurance as your healthcare needs grow.

Oh hell yes. That is our biggest problem. We don't necessarily need her income, we could make small adjustments and do fine with just mine. But I work for a small business that has no health insurance. Her main reason for working is just for that. GOOD health insurance for our age is a fucking crime. $1500 - $1600/mo. A crime.

You might rethink the health insurance. When we went full time, we moved our domicile to Florida to access their excellent HC exchange. We were 59 and 60 then, without any monthly income. I purposely sheltered all our assets and taking our pensions in lump sum rather than monthly. We signed up for an excellent Blue Cross plan that cost us nothing. They only look at monthly income, so we were fully subsidized.

 

[WinterBorn]

Watched the movie Nomadland last night. Best thing I have seen in a while. Francis Dormond (Fargo and Almost Famous) is excellent.

It explores the culture of the nomads in America. The people who, by choice or by circumstance, live in vans or RVs. As an RVer, I identify with some of the reasons it could appeal to people.

The wife and I have talked about the possibility of taking a year off when we retire to do just that. Not sure if we will or not.
We will not retire where we live. We both have good paying jobs where we are, and that is the only reason we are here.
So... when we retire we are going to relocate. But we may sell the house, and instead of go right into another one... take a year and travel America.
Who knows

My girlfriend and I bought a small camper back in 2015. And we have enjoyed it. Both of us loved camping, and this just adds some creature comforts to the mix. When we retire we will upgrade to a bigger camper and spend a lot of time on the road. But we will always have a "home base".

That said, the movie is an eye opening look at an ever increasing number of people who are nomads to survive. Many people a little older than I am, lost a lot in the crash of 2008. And they don't have the time to remake the money their 401ks lost. Or plants closed, as in the movie, and left them with few options.

I think it is a fascinating and little explored look at this new phenomenon.

Absolutely.
Ageism is real. Racism is on it's death bed despite the faux outrage, but ageism is alive and kicking.
Bonzi is struggling with her employer now. The company was purchased by another corporation in December, and it is not going well. She has a stellar resume. Worked for some impressive companies in solid positions. But soon to turn 57, there have been at least 10 jobs she is perfect for. You would have thought they wrote the description describing her experience, education and history. But.... nothing. Not even a call.
You lose your job 50 plus and you are screwed. (she is still working)

Ageism is very real. And there are plenty of people who did it right, planned ahead, and are now behind the eightball.

And one of the worst parts of it, in addition to being under utilized like Bonzi, is the lack of health insurance as your healthcare needs grow.

Oh hell yes. That is our biggest problem. We don't necessarily need her income, we could make small adjustments and do fine with just mine. But I work for a small business that has no health insurance. Her main reason for working is just for that. GOOD health insurance for our age is a fucking crime. $1500 - $1600/mo. A crime.

And those are good prices. God help you if you use it much, they will drop you from the coverage.

 

[WinterBorn]

We’ve been full timing for nearly three years now. We love it. Of course we’re not living in a van, but rather a luxury 44’ motor coach. All the comforts of home, including a 55” smart tv with blue ray surround sound.

Looking forward to watching this movie.

In our travels around the nation, we’ve seen many people living in old dilapidated RVs. They park on public streets and likely dump their waste down storm drains, polluting surface water. California has a ton of these people, in the richest nation the world has ever known.

I worked in the Fiber Optic/Cable industry for 25 years. There are a lot of guys who live in an RV (from travel trailers up to luxury class As). They move from project to project. They make good money. The money was better in the 1990s, but I guess that is the way of things.

Yeah we’ve seen a lot of that. People traveling the country, while working. The park we’re in now has many traveling nurses. The park wouldn’t allow anyone to stay less than 30 days, thus preventing it from getting filled up by weekenders and keeping it available for the nurses and essential personnel.

And people working as Camp Hosts too. Menial labor for a few dollars and a free place to park your RV.