内容摘要：ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendicióDogan’s cousin, 28-year-old Ergun Dogan, Ergun’s younger brother Mehmet Dogan, 16, and their father, Serdar Dogan are also trash scavengers.

ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendicióDogan’s cousin, 28-year-old Ergun Dogan, Ergun’s younger brother Mehmet Dogan, 16, and their father, Serdar Dogan are also trash scavengers.

ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendicióIn this screengrab taken from a video posted on Oliver Widger’s Instagram account on Friday, May 2, 2025, Widger pets his cat, Phoenix, on their sailboat somewhere in the Pacific Ocean as both make their way from Oregon to Hawaii. (Oliver Widger via AP)ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendicióIn this screengrab taken from a video posted on Oliver Widger’s Instagram account on Friday, May 2, 2025, Widger pets his cat, Phoenix, on their sailboat somewhere in the Pacific Ocean as both make their way from Oregon to Hawaii. (Oliver Widger via AP)

ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendició“The world kind of sucks and, like, I don’t think I’m alone in how I felt with my work,” Widger, 29, told The Associated Press on Wednesday via Zoom. “You can be making $150,000 a year and you still feel like you’re just making ends meet, you know what I mean? And I think people are just tired of that and working really hard for nothing and want a way out.”ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendicióPeople are inspired by someone who found a way out, said Widger, who is among a growing number of people who have undertaken suchólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendicióBeing diagnosed four years ago with a syndrome that carried a risk of paralysis made him realize he hated his job as a manager at a tire company, a job requiring him to be clean-shaven and wear pressed shirts. He heard about people who sailed from California to Hawaii and decided that was the life for him.

ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendicióHe abruptly quit his job with “no money, no plan” and $10,000 of debt.ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendició“I knew one thing: I’m buying a sailboat,” he recalled. “I’m sailing around the world.”

ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendicióHe liquidated his retirement savings, taught himself to sail mostly via YouTube and moved from Portland to the Oregon coast, where he spent months refitting the $50,000 boat he bought.

ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendicióNow, Widger is harnessing the power of social media to fund his round-the-world sailing dream.ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendicióHis friend didn’t have the money or the will to fix up the house after her abusive husband moved out.

ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendició“I think house shaming is about comparison, but it can also be about a person’s own struggles,” he said.ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendicióBarbara Fight was a TV producer for

ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendiciófor 12 years before going into home organizing in New York. She said house shame got way worse with the rise of social media and its idealized depictions of homes most people can’t afford or otherwise will never have.ólicoenunauniversidadsecularpuedeserundesafíootroslovencomounabendicióBut there are lots of easy, inexpensive ways people can help themselves feel better about their living spaces if they so choose.