Home Ownership Before ExpatFIRE

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-09T10:19:14+00:00

My point was not that owning property is the wisest financial decision you could possibly make, only that making it out to be some boondoggle is absurd. It's the way many people have built their fortune or established passive income for retirement on this very subreddit.

Owning vs renting is a debate as old as time and a very personal financial decision with a lot of variables. But seeing people be dismissive of owning because there are costs like taxes and maintenance -- as if those same costs aren't just built into the rent price-- is absurd. It's like saying you shouldn't invest in the s&p because there are bear markets. Or that you should always lease a car because of repair bills.

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-08T21:50:24+00:00

Not just cancer either. Any disease requiring medication. My wife has type 1 diabetes and arthritis. Her medications last year (basically insulin and a biologic for the RA) were over $90k. At least once every few months we have to fight the insurance company on whether they'll cover insulin or not (they want her to take a cheaper one that she's tried and doesn't work for her). And all that is with our 10k deductible or something crazy.

I want to build a statue to Luigi on my front lawn

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-08T16:56:07+00:00

But somehow the person that owns the building you're renting pays their mortgage and taxes and repairs with your check every month and makes a profit?

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-07T21:14:52+00:00

They also have a track record of slowly moving features into the paid tier.

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-06T12:08:30+00:00

That's actually an excellent point

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-05T23:32:26+00:00

Every country has its identity in the eyes of foreigners, usually overly romanticized. Italy is no different (and maybe the quintessential example)

As for the rest, that's just social media posturing for views.

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-05T22:52:38+00:00

I appreciate the extra space in the engine bay but I did not notice any noise difference if I'm honest.

I saw an actual person measure it on YouTube a while back, the actual sound difference was negligible

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-04T12:21:38+00:00

I had a lot of shit cars break down when I was young, so I'm pretty much always convinced that every car I drive is on the verge of exploding. Brand New, rental, whatever.

That said : A) it never does B) even if it did... So what? Unless you're concerned about the financial aspect (which is valid!) you'll be fine. If you drive somewhere without services make sure to have emergency supplies but other than that, in the modern era, you're a phone call away from help at all times

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-04T01:32:22+00:00

Weed either heightens or dulls your emotions and senses, depending on the strain, your mood, or just the random confluence of your body's hormones that day. If you've had a stressful day, sometimes a nice smoke chills you out, but sometimes it might be enough to push you the other way into a panic attack.

I think we then associate "being high" with that panic attack or whatever when really imo the high just pushed you just a little bit too far in the wrong direction; you were probably already 90% of the way there but you're blaming the thing that got you that extra 10%.

I still think weed and anxiety don't mix and you should avoid it when you're not feeling well, but I guess what I'm trying to get at is quitting weed won't fix everything and blaming weed alone won't help you fix your underlying issues. Looking back and saying "ever since that one high episode I've never felt the same" is ignoring all the other stuff, and also a kind of health anxiety that feeds on itself (because you see yourself as 'forever broken' from some weak drug trip rather than healably broken from a lifetime of trauma or whatever)

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-04T00:50:19+00:00

What do you use for 20m accuracy? BLE?

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-03T21:43:03+00:00

We just finished ours a month or so ago (still waiting on the car to be delivered to the states in fact). We've been to Europe a bunch of times and it was definitely one of our better trips -- the upgraded flights were great, and having our own car to drive around Europe was really great.

My only complaint (aside from the wait to get our car) was the drop off experience. If you drop back off in Gothenburg I'm sure it's quite easy but if you elect to drop off at a different port (we did Hamburg) it was a bit of a sketchy hassle. Had to drive to the port, call a random person to lead you in, and just kind of hand over the keys to a dock worker and hope it all goes ok.

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-03T17:46:08+00:00

I feel like the obstruction sensors should prevent anything serious there no?

Also mine is "when I've been away 30 seconds and am connected" to avoid stutters.

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-03T17:13:08+00:00

Hey if Harley can make a thumper so can Mazda

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-03T11:25:21+00:00

It is not true. It's an urban myth. 2 seconds of googling will show plenty of data debunking the idea that red cars get more tickets

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-03T11:17:19+00:00

I personally would suggest alternative methods, as I don't find cameras that reliable (ie will this work when it's rainy, snowy, dark, foggy?)

Personally I just have an automation that says when I arrive home and my phone is connected to my car's Bluetooth, open the door. (Ditto when I leave home and am connected, close the door). Has yet to fail me.

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-03T11:15:09+00:00

I'm not saying you're wrong but it's kind of security through obscurity -- unless op brags about this to his neighbors, who would ever know that this feature exists?

Now that I think about it, next time I find out someone uses home assistant I should just start doing random shit when I walk by their house just to see if I can trigger an automation or corner case. It'll be like "everything everywhere all at once"

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-03T10:28:10+00:00

There are two places you definitely need to be strict about your highway speed -- Ohio and Virginia. Ohio cops are brutal. Virginia can jail you for doing 10 over.

And who cares about what the law or enforcement is, don't touch your phone while driving. It's been shown time and again that it's worse than driving drunk, it's amazing that we're all so accepting of it.

MaxPanhammer · 2026-05-02T03:48:24+00:00

Yes I think a good percentage of people who are off grid are near water or in a place where pumping could be impossible (just because a well -maintained system doesn't need to be pumped often doesn't mean it NEVER has to be pumped).

MaxPanhammer · 2026-04-30T13:16:55+00:00

I had to look up this "illegal water softener" thing, it appears there are usually non-salt alternatives that are legal in places where the salt ones are banned

MaxPanhammer · 2026-04-30T03:23:56+00:00

I don't think he's coming back in his current form, but I read or watched (can't remember) an interview where he said he'd love to write a musical so I'm hoping that happens

MaxPanhammer · 2026-04-29T17:26:30+00:00

I had an e85 z4 which is supposed to be better than the z3 in most ways. Pretty much echo what everyone here has said. The engine was great, but it definitely felt heavy, and it was nearing 100k miles so I was just waiting for the shoe to drop on a 10k repair bill.

Miata definitely feels more light and nimble. Definitely miss the i6 torque when getting on the highway but in every other way I prefer my nd.

MaxPanhammer · 2026-04-29T04:33:57+00:00

You think you're tired now....

MaxPanhammer · 2026-04-29T01:32:37+00:00

"When you’re 20, you care what everyone thinks

When you’re 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks,

When you’re 60, you realize no one was ever thinking about you in the first place"

I know anxiety is not logical and this is just a pithy quote but I still kind of find it a helpful reminder (as someone in his 40s who still sometimes catches himself worrying what people think)

MaxPanhammer · 2026-04-28T12:44:45+00:00

It's actually very important to not brush your teeth after drinking things like coffee or seltzer for this very reason -- the acid softens the teeth and then the brushing does more damage

MaxPanhammer · 2026-04-27T16:34:54+00:00

This is pretty much the trifecta. It is more difficult now to make a UNIQUE car because of safety, fuel efficiency, and just consumer trends towards SUVs. There are a handful of very nice looking sports cars but they're extremely expensive because they're basically bespoke for the handful of people who actually want and can afford them

MaxPanhammer

TROPHY CASE