Posts

Robert Crain

I’m Retiring* From WordPress

So, it’s been almost 12 months since I last posted here, and hasn’t time flown.

I’ve made several posts, on my website(s), as well as on forums about me thinking about this decision, because there are quite a few things outside of WordPress, that I want to do.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I made the decision to give up Social Media. I still have my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter Accounts ‘active’, although I’ve made changes so I cannot log into them.

The past few years has ‘forced’ me to be a bit more private, and not share things online. I used to enjoy taking photos around the house, be it with my pets, or home improvements that I felt proud of, and publish them, but I am just so much happier not to, now.

I get more enjoyment out of life, from being private. I can get out on the Kubota and mow the strip whenever I want. My partner can get her hands dirty in her acre of gardens that surround the house, which cannot be seen from any direction. We are secluded, yet not far from Mittagong, Berrima and Bowral, in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. We get more enjoyment from people not knowing anything.

Thankyou, stalker.

WordPress has been good to me, and I’ve enjoyed dealing with some very nice people. I believe there are going to be challenges ahead for newbies entering into this field, purely based on the fact that there are so many competing businesses out there, hoping to get your business. I’m not going to name them, but you know who they are.

I’d rather retire from this now, while I’m still reasonably young, and can enjoy life a bit more. I’d actually considered walking away from WordPress for about the past 4/5 years, but decided to continue with it, at reduced hours and days.

So, today – February 1, 2022*, is my very last day. The funny thing is, I was going to give 4 weeks notice here today, but whilst writing this, it has changed my mind.

Jobs that have come in over the past 2 weeks will be passed onto another developer, and I will no longer be accepting any jobs.

It’s been fun. You will still be able to contact me via this website, until I decide to remove the page, which will probably be in around 6 months.

Here’s to a private life.

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Robert Crain

Change Of Hours, and some.

About two months ago, I changed the days and tweaked the hours I dedicate towards CrainWP.com.

My dedication towards the work I do for CrainWP.com hasn’t changed, but I made a promise to myself and my partner, to live a life more balanced than I have in recent years.

I wanted to ‘get out’ more, rather than sit behind a desk for 70+ hours per week. I am also looking forward to studying photography in the new year, and flying my drone [ as a hobby ] a bit more.

Although WordPress has been very good to me, financially, I’ve been doing consistently good elsewhere, with other investments and the time has arrived where I’ve needed to re-evaluate my ‘role’ in life. The age-old question of ‘how much is enough’ has been trickling through my mind for the past few years, so I’ve decided to act on that question.

I love WordPress, so I will not be giving it up. I’ll still be answering emails, helping people via forums, and accepting requests for assistance via theme developers – just less of it.

The time has come to fly more, drive more, and enjoy life more. The past 9 months, have been bliss :)

(Drone Photo via Unsplash.com)

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Robert Crain

Scene, Instagram April 18 2017

April 18, 2017. This is the date that my partner and I decided that we’d start looking at buying another house, and moving.

Tomorrow – 7th February 2019, marks 5 years since we bought our current residence. Since then, on behalf of a Trust that I’m occasionally associated with, I’ve been lucky enough to be allowed to invest (on behalf of the Trust), in 3 holiday apartments and a 700 hectare farm (that all produce passive incomes – for the Trust). We could move to the farm in a few months, but the Mrs wants to continue working.

We didn’t know where we would buy, and we didn’t know if we’d buy new, or established. It’s been fun, because we had been looking ‘on the sly’ since April 2017.

‘Some time’ during 2018, we found acreage that was big enough for us both to do what we wanted – that is, Vicki still wanted to work – and create a nice big garden on her days off, and I wanted something big enough and ‘cleared enough’ to build a grass strip for the aeroplane and build another hangar, which would allow me to sell the existing one (that’s owned by the Trust), located in the Sydney Basin – sorry, I need to sound vague here!

At this point, we aren’t saying where it is, except for ‘it is thoroughly secluded from other properties’. We’ve had a beautiful house built on it, that we’ll turn into a wonderful home. I’m not saying how many bedrooms, or who built it. It’s a ‘Trust’ baby, meaning that a Trust I’m ‘sometimes associated with’ paid for it, and owns it. Me? I own nothing. I’m poor.

At this point, we aren’t all that sure if we are just going to rent out our current ‘home’, or sell it. We’ll probably sell it.

We are planning on setting up the boys future, by buying a property for / with them. We’ll see.

There has been quite a substantial amount of landscaping done, but I won’t elaborate, yet ;) I might share some pics on my Instagram at some point in the future.

I don’t want to sound cagey, but we have to be. Most of you (that know me well) will know why.

Ok, the purpose of this post!

Because we aren’t sure of what our movements will be over the next 6 months, I’m putting off any new work until we settle in, and down a bit. We might even go on a nice holiday – trust me, we’ve earned it.

I’m happy to help with small tasks, and concentrate on my existing load, but bigger projects, no thanks :)

There are also some other small changes I’m making, and technically, we’ll be off the grid.

As always, I’ll still be contactable through this website.

Exciting times ahead!!

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