What is the life of a "dive bum" like ?

[Shasta_man]

One thing that isn't always mentioned is the cost of getting back into the US economy. You can leave and go live the low cost life but the cost of living in the US just keeps going up. So if you go burn up your money elsewhere, it's that much harder to come back and try and buy a house here.

 

[Hank49]

But why would any self respecting dive bum ever want to return to the life he successfully escaped from?

 

[supergaijin]

It's definitely not a 9-5 job. Most foreign dive centers will cheerfully promise 1 day off per week- the reality is that it is maybe 1/week... and sometimes 1/10 days or so.

Accom may be supplied in resorts or you have to find your own. Resort rooms can be quite nice. They can also be dank, windowless cells, stinking of mildew. Strangely, not many staff accoms are built with the climate in mind. Usually they are made of cheap brick which retain heat and sweat. If your neighbour is running his aircon at -15 degrees

Food may be supplied. It can be fairly fresh and healthy or an incredibly monotonous supply of sloppy fried mess.

You can net US$1000 and up- especially in 5* resorts. The most I was making was around $1200/month. I've grossed more than that elsewhere but had to pay for expenses which can get extremely expensive if you're not willing to live without aircon and western food. I remember Djibouti with daytime temps of 55C. Aircon was a must if you wanted to sleep and I think I was paying around 300 Euro/month on electricity alone. Food was very expensive as the markets closed before we finished work. I've often worked 12hr days. Right now I'm starting at 7am and finish at 5pm. We take turns at opening the center at 6-30am and also rotate the evening duty until 6pm. Night dives are usually once/week which means you're not truly finished until after 8pm.

When travelling from a different country for work, it's difficult to get a real description of the conditions. I've traveled far and wide only to save for 3 months in order to buy a plane ticket back out.

You will not be able to see your family/friends very often unless you are very close to home. Your friends will grow older without you and you won't be there for weddings, births etc. Worse is the feeling that your parents can get sick and you're not able to see them often.

Re-integration in to 'normal' society may well be very depressing. I don't think I would survive without a really cool location to get away from 'normal' people. If you do decide to, you may find it difficult to secure a decent job unless you have transferable skills.

All that said- whenever I'm having a bad day at work (because it is still work), I think to myself that I'd still rather be here than sitting at an office desk, listening to people prattle on about what 'so and so' did on whatever reality soap opera is currently running, or listening to armchair quarterbacks coaching the national team.

1) How did you get into this lifestyle
A decision to leave 'normal' society as it offered me nothing but frustration.

2) What qualifications did you need
Language skills got me in to every job that appealed to me. (Japanese/French)

3) How many days a week do you usually dive
6-8 days is typical. 3 dives + night

4) Best part of lifestyle
Doing something different. Learning a lot about nature and the different ecosystems around the world.

5) Worst part of lifestyle
The guests attitudes make or break the experience.

6) Favorite dive location
Temperate water = Milford Sound, New Zealand.
Tropical = .... Red Sea.


7) At what age do you think you will stop this lifestyle? What then?
Nasal Sex. I believe for me I will need a break from just diving. I have a rudimentary plan involving tourism in NZ but conditions there make it extremely difficult to survive in small business.

 

[billt4sf]

Last year in St. Eustatius we met a couple living this lifestyle. They were instructors. Apparently they traveled the tropical portions of the world -- basically running dive shops (or portions thereof) a year or so at a time, then moving on to the next one.

While we were there, they ran almost every dive, the boat, the store, -- and lugged all the tanks. I thought it was pretty good way to go, if that's what you want.

- Bill

---------- Post added March 15th, 2014 at 09:24 AM ----------

I have a friend who is living this life right now, as a retired guy. He dives nearly every day: dive tours, instructing, crewing a boat, all here in Monterey.

He's got the most important thing going for him if you're going to live this lifestyle -- he's a nice guy. He likes people. He likes dealing with people, their questions, concerns, day after day. He's very easy-going, I have learned a lot from his in this regard, especially as it applies to diving.

How do you feel about the same question over and over? How do you feel about giving direction, then the person does exactly what you told them NOT to do? if you're going to be an active instructor or DM, it's a people job before it's a technical job, I believe.

Kim is really easy to get along with.

- Bill