Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2018 June 4

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June 4

Is it feasible to abandon your current life and start a new life elsewhere?

A random but profound contemplation I recently had while in an altered state of consciousness:

What if one were to completely abandon their current life and start a new one somewhere else? Just like how reincarnation is a major aspect of some religions, what if your identity was to be reincarnated? What if this part of your life was over? What if your current identity committed suicide and you made the decision to recreate a whole new identity with a new name, birthday, SIN etc? Get on a plane, travel somewhere, and attempt to start a new life as if you were a Grand Theft Auto character spawning for the first time in a new game file. If you have dreams of being a movie star or doctor, could your new identity pursue them?

There's also the logistical issues. How would you legally immigrate elsewhere? Could you destroy your passport and other documents that prove your identity and personhood? If you were to arrive at another country, how would you obtain citizenship? If you only have pocket money (no bank account/credit cards), how would you find a stable source of income? How would you manage your basic human needs of food, water, clothing, shelter, and hygiene?

Finally, there's the emotionality of it all. Would you be willing to completely sever all ties with your family, friends, and everyone else in your life? Could you rationalize your decision to start anew and work to minimize the pain, as if you're preparing to commit suicide? Could you live a guilt-free life knowing you abandoned your parents, the very people who raised you? Could you think of your friends and family as if they're complete strangers with whom you've never met?

- 70.70.5.26 (talk) 01:47, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

This does not sound like a request for references, but rather an invitation for discussion. That is not what we do here. If you're looking for a place to start an idle discussion on whatever random thoughts pop into your head at that moment, may I suggest you try somewhere else? --Jayron32 02:16, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

Joining certain religious sects might accomplish what the OP is looking for. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:21, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

Just be sure not to drink the Kool-Aid! —2606:A000:1126:4CA:0:98F2:CFF6:1782 (talk) 07:11, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

List of prison escapes might be a place to look for stories of people who have attempted this.—agr (talk) 09:28, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

What about the witness relocation program? 209.149.113.5 (talk) 14:51, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

This is alleged by locals in the Australian opal mining town of Coober Pedy to happen there. Most mines are small operations, often involving only one or two people. The weather is appallingly hot. A lot of people live underground because it's cooler, sometimes in simple extensions of their own mines. Any opal found can be exchanged for cash in town, then that cash can be spent in businesses in town. The town is a long way from any major city. It would certainly be possible to relocate there and "disappear", at least for a while. HiLo48 (talk) 22:56, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

John Stonehouse famously failed to get away with it. Reggie Perrin managed it for a while. DuncanHill (talk) 13:58, 5 June 2018 (UTC)

But the execrable Dr Josef Mengele did get away with it. It would be a lot harder today I suspect. Alansplodge (talk) 12:18, 6 June 2018 (UTC)

He did for a while, anyway. Note that The Boys from Brazil came out while he was still alive. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:36, 6 June 2018 (UTC)