Live solely off of bitcoins [Bounty Canceled]

[kiba]

The Free State Project in New Hampshire!

Get all the libertarians to use bitcoin, then you have a local bitcoin economy. 

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[mizerydearia]

This would be nice to have a bitcoin-couchsurfing website, where you could ask for your needs (foods, travel, sleeping location) and people could make some offers: (for 10BTC, I take you with my car at this place and bring you to the airport).

bitsurfing.com is available

[error]

The Free State Project in New Hampshire!

Get all the libertarians to use bitcoin, then you have a local bitcoin economy. 

Ha!

Hello, I'm new here. I've been lurking for months and just registered today (probably should have a long time ago, but...).

So this got my interest because I'm one of those libertarians in New Hampshire, and I can tell you there's already some interest in Bitcoin here. I don't know that anyone's yet offering services for BTC yet; most people are more focused on silver for face to face exchanges. But I'm already thinking about what I can offer for Bitcoins.

[caveden]

If most people there are using silver already, why don't you set up a exchange between silver coins and bitcoins? That would be a good way to introduce bitcoins to other FSP members.

By the way, how geek is the FSP community? I heard there were many.

I find the FSP movement really interesting and I wish you all success! (If at least it was not so close to the north pole I'd maybe even consider the hassle of trying to migrate to the USA, but I don't think I'd bear the weather! )

[error]

If most people there are using silver already, why don't you set up a exchange between silver coins and bitcoins? That would be a good way to introduce bitcoins to other FSP members.

By the way, how geek is the FSP community? I heard there were many.

I find the FSP movement really interesting and I wish you all success! (If at least it was not so close to the north pole I'd maybe even consider the hassle of trying to migrate to the USA, but I don't think I'd bear the weather! )

Haha, the weather is much better than trying to immigrate to the USA! (It's sunny and -2°C this afternoon. The high temperatures are supposed to be around 5°C for the rest of the week. Shorts weather!)

It's true, we do have many geeks in the FSP. Something about working with computers just seems to naturally generate libertarian thoughts. Or at least anti-authoritarian thoughts.

And that's a very good idea, setting up a silver-BTC exchange. I think I'm going to need more than 150 BTC to get started though!

[TiagoTiago]

Perhaps people intending on attempting this trip idea, should first start practicing convincing random sellers and service providers on your neighbourhood to accept BTC as payment, and once you are confident you can convince just about anyone then you start your trip.

[Anonymous]

If most people there are using silver already, why don't you set up a exchange between silver coins and bitcoins? That would be a good way to introduce bitcoins to other FSP members.

By the way, how geek is the FSP community? I heard there were many.

I find the FSP movement really interesting and I wish you all success! (If at least it was not so close to the north pole I'd maybe even consider the hassle of trying to migrate to the USA, but I don't think I'd bear the weather! )

Haha, the weather is much better than trying to immigrate to the USA! (It's sunny and -2°C this afternoon. The high temperatures are supposed to be around 5°C for the rest of the week. Shorts weather!)

It's true, we do have many geeks in the FSP. Something about working with computers just seems to naturally generate libertarian thoughts. Or at least anti-authoritarian thoughts.

And that's a very good idea, setting up a silver-BTC exchange. I think I'm going to need more than 150 BTC to get started though!

hello error! I hang out on the free talk live bbs and free keene as terror australis . Glad you made it here

I agree that if anywhere was going to setup a local bitcoin exchange it would be NH.

[markm]

Would use of "food banks" to avoid starving be acceptable?

I offer various foodstuffs and nutrition items for bitcoin, but that doesn't help me myself to attempt a challenge like this as I am the merchant.

I have a house in Sheet Harbour Nova Scotia that has no electricity so no problem with temptation to use electricity, vandals have trashed the main power board/system enough that I'd need a LOT of bitcoins to get an electrician to fix it and re-certify it.

There is a food bank within walking distance, and I have already established that I am qualified to avail myself of their services should I need to.

No electricity poses a challenge to the online documenting though. Does anyone offer mobile internet of some kind that will work in Nova Scotia, and supplies of batteries, for bitcoin?

I can ship good nutrition to people in return for bitcoin, so no need to live off teas and coffees, although I can also supply those.

(I can also offer internet connectivity and travel/accomodation products too it seems...)

-MarkM- ( http://www.amway.ca/MarkMetson/Shop/Product/Category.aspx/Batteries-Light-Bulbs ... )

[ribuck]

I don't think it is in the spirit of the project I envisioned to be able to pay a bitcoin buddy 10 BTC to provide you food and transportation ... I'm talking about buying food and shelter from REAL bitcoin merchants

It's your bounty, mpkomara, so of course you can set the rules. But consider this.

By the time it becomes possible to buy food and shelter from "REAL bitcoin merchants", then Bitcoin will already have arrived in the mainstream and this undertaking will not be so interesting.

On the other hand, we are now at the stage where no-one has ever lived for a month using just Bitcoin, no matter how they do it, so it is an interesting exercise. Even if someone buys food, shelter and transport direct from other Bitcoiners, what's wrong with that? Why should a purchase only be meaningful if it's from Wal-mart or McDonalds?

[mpkomara]

If you can buy your food from a merchant who accepts bitcoins and would offer others a similar rate for the same product, i think this would qualify as a proper bitcoin/food exchange with respect to this bounty.

So, for example, XS Wild Berry Blast Energy Drink from Markm's store is available for purchase using bitcoin (although i can't find the bitcoin option at checkout).  if you buy this drink from Markm for bitcoins, i would consider this valid for the bounty, since he is a bona fide bitcoin merchant.

I would not consider the following scenarios valid:

You message a bitcoin user who is willing to order you a Domino's pizza and pay Domino's in dollars, then you give the user some bitcoins.

You go to a soup kitchen and get food for free, and later donate some bitcoins to their cause.

[markm]

The checkout on my Amway "personal site" is run by Amway not by me, so I cannot add currencies to the checkout.

Usually we either create people an account there if they aren't into doing the computer thing themselves and plug in their orders through that (like if doing home visits to people who hate computers, stuff like that) or if they want they can create their own account (making sure they sign up as my customer) and fill their shopping cart or set up their automatic orders then if they don't want to pay using a method Amway directly supports in it's checkout they can arrange another method (such as bitcoins) and as long as I have their login and password I can have my upline pay it with his credit card or I can pay it using PayPal. (The checkout might well apply your local sales taxes automatically so that it is all squeeky-clean legal. Amway is very careful about being legal...)

Refunds due to warranties would be sent by cheque in your local fiat currency, returns are by post office mail usually and they pay the postage on such returns. (Many products have 180 day empty-box guarantee, as the idea is to make it very easy to dare to try things until you find the things you like enough to settle on as your family tradition things to buy forever. )

Although the company (and reps) like to have customers just go to the site and do self-serve the fact is many customers do not and often those who do forget their account and who their rep (IBO) is and just create a new account that gets credited to some random Platinum level rep in their region. So it is actually quite normal that our customers don't even know about their account at the site it is just the mechanism we use to have their shipping address on file and a shopping cart dedicated to them. (You can put zero quantity of an item in the cart so as to remind yourself what you might someday want and stuff like that, it is persistent cart.)

At nanotube's suggestion I made a quick google sites page about accepting bitcoin:

https://sites.google.com/site/bitcoinknotwork/

*** NOTE the part about I can do lower prices on many items for people who use bitcoin ***

-MarkM-

[ribuck]

OK, I'll put my bitcoins where my mouth is.

I'll give 200 bitcoins to the first person who lives for a month making all of their transactions in bitcoins.

They are welcome to buy things informally from their bitcoin buddies. They are welcome to get food from food banks with or without donating bitcoins. They are welcome to use fiat to charge up their phone credit before the month starts, or to pay for things like rent in advance.

But for the designated month all of the transactions that they make must be denominated in bitcoins.

I reserve the right to withhold the bounty if there's nothing avant-garde being done. For example, if a teenager just lived normally for a month, and their parents paid for everything using fiat currency, that wouldn't earn the bounty.

(If it's later than 1st June 2011 when you start this, check with me first to confirm that the bounty is still on offer.)

[Anonymous]

Heh, one could simply order pizza through a proxy buyer using BTC. Food problem solved.

[ribuck]

Heh, one could simply order pizza through a proxy buyer using BTC. Food problem solved.

Sure, and why not? That counts as "living off bitcoins", as far as my bounty is concerned.

[error]

Heh, one could simply order pizza through a proxy buyer using BTC. Food problem solved.

Sure, and why not? That counts as "living off bitcoins", as far as my bounty is concerned.

Ah, but it doesn't count for mpkomara's original bounty.

Hell, even managing to pay some significant part of your monthly expenses in bitcoins would be an achievement. I wonder if I can convince my landlord to take some bitcoins....

[markm]

I just heard from an old friend I had not seen in a long time. It seems he might be a potential tenant for my primitive rustic hideway, so I have suggested he consider using bitcoin for any financial aspects of such a spring break... Seems promising... A tenant who will pay bitcoin? Cool idea.

Of course he will probably earn it back and maybe more if he helps keep the place from falling down...

-MarkM-

[opticbit]

I might take the challenge, but I need to figure out how to earn bitcoins first.
not sure what products or services I could provide
if you think of something let me know.
I don't have a computer powerful enough to generate any coin.

[Local]

Heh, one could simply order pizza through a proxy buyer using BTC. Food problem solved.

Sure, and why not? That counts as "living off bitcoins", as far as my bounty is concerned.

Ah, but it doesn't count for mpkomara's original bounty.

Hell, even managing to pay some significant part of your monthly expenses in bitcoins would be an achievement. I wonder if I can convince my landlord to take some bitcoins....

I imagine you're in a contract, but I've got a room open immediately for a free stater who pays bitcoin.

[genjix]

How much could you get by with in NH?

[Local]

Room is likely taken, confirming tonight, not for bitcoin.

How much could you get by with in NH?

Bare minimum? Figure $400 for room+util, could probably eat on $150/mo if you were selective, get by with no car if you are in a city or can get groceries with a roomie or whatever. I'm sure a few more expenses would crop up, but $1k/mo should make you not miserable.

That's all guesses, I haven't been here long and haven't lived without my expensive family for a long time.