Did you know you could buy little houses from Amazon for less than $2,000? Did you know you can buy land in New Mexico for less than $2,000 an acre?

I now have new retirement plans.

I’m going to have enough money by the time I retire to buy a small house and two acres of land out in the middle of nowhere. I’m going to be completely cut off from civilization except when I decide to head into town to buy supplies. I can throw up some solar panels for power and buy a small refrigerator to keep stuff cool. Might even be able to get a small air conditioner to keep me cool. Just me and a tiny house out in the middle of nowhere New Mexico…

Until I die of dehydration and heat exhaustion, of course.

I’m surprised that no one else is doing this. Sure – land is more expensive the closer to civilization, but it’s there. You can have a decent house for yourself on an acre of land, have plenty of room to move around – even if you buy one acre. If you have the money to buy multiple acres, go on ahead! There is something about being on my own, alone in the middle of nowhere that touches something in my soul. Of course, I’m writing this in a nice, large-ish house in air conditioning awaiting my dryer to get finished so I can fold the laundry. It’s romanticizing it to be sure. I’m not a fan of the heat, I’m absolutely addicted to the Internet and can’t do anything without Spotify playing in the background. Don’t even ask me to go without Spotify, Hulu, Paramount or Disney Plus.

But…I can stay entertained with my Kindle, and all I have to do is go into town once a week, buy a couple of series and head back to read them. While I couldn’t live with all of the above things, there is something to be said about being on my own and just reading. No distractions, just me, a chair and a bottle of something to drink: vodka, water or soft drink. Maybe even coffee in the morning. Even if I don’t want to read, I’ll have solar panels and more than enough power to keep this laptop going. No interruptions to get in the way. I say no interruptions because there is no way in hell my wife would want to do this. She’s not the wilting type, but she’s not going to like the lack of water. Even though she was raised on depending on well water, there was water there on tap. Out in the middle of the New Mexico desert? She’s going to be a little addled. No matter how much of a fan of the book series Dune.

Well, maybe I’ll do that if I’m on my own. For now, I’ll live among the roaring engines and half-empty malls of Louisville, KY. I can bear it here.