the upside to unemployment

i read a statistic the other day that 1 in 12 americans are unemployed now. and, more and more people are losing their jobs every day. in fact, another one of my friends was let go just today. there is lots of doom and gloom out there right now and unemployed people have a lot of real things to worry about like the chances of finding another job in a timely manner, the risks of changing careers or going back to school, finding the money to make ends meet, cutting back on necessities not to mention luxuries, losing health insurance and losing that extra money for savings or retirement accounts.

however, its plain to see that unemployment has its benefits, too. if you can put aside your fear and worry about ever getting another job again (something i admit is difficult) you can take advantage of the things that all this free time allows you to do -- like sleeping in, traveling and drinking in the middle of the day.

here are some other perks that i have picked up on in the past few months of my unemployment:

good deals
after being downsized, i started to downsize my expenses. but, i found that sometimes when i went to cancel things, i was given an extra bonus instead. people either took pity on me because of my lack of unemployment or they didn't want to lose another customer in this time of extreme belt tightening. for example, my gym let me "freeze" my membership while still giving me full privileges at my local branch, cutting my monthly costs by $70, while the new york times cut my subscription costs significantly.

empty stores
people without jobs don't have much money to spend on shopping, but one good thing about having your days free is the stress free shopping you can take advantage of when you need to buy something. shopping in new york can be a terror, especially in the evening. and while i assume stores are seeing less traffic at all times of day due to the recession, there's a thrill about walking around a grocery store in the middle of a tuesday and not having to jockey for space in the awkwardly thin aisles. its also lots of fun to hit the tanning salon when it first opens -- there's no lines and the beds are cool to the touch. amazing!

breakfast/brunch dates
one of my favorite things to do is meet my friends for a late breakfast during the week. diners are great for this kind of meet up, and they are generally empty in the hours before the daily breakfast and lunch rush. i also like seeing midday movies during the week. that's the perfect unemployed outing.

taking advantage of stress-free culture
although i have yet to do this, i think it would be worthwhile to hit a museum or art gallery in the middle of the day during the week. if you go during a non-holiday week, you'll only have to contend with school trips and other unemployed people. one time my mom came in to the city for the day and we went shopping in the diamond district for stones and tools for jewelry making. it was fun and something i would never attempt on a weekend. a perfect weekday afternoon.

getting to know your local coffee shop
unemployed people and freelance workers like to congregate at local coffee shops and restaurants that offer free wifi. i love setting up shop somewhere because it gets me out of my apartment and lets me interact with other people without actually talking to them. its motivating to be amongst other people tapping away on their laptops, sipping endless cups of coffee. and, if you visit enough, you'll become a regular and get to know everyone. that is my dream. unfortunately i seem to have too short of an attention span and there are too many cute coffee shops for me to hit up around my apartment, so i hardly ever go to the same place twice in one week.

travel whenever you want
i have very little money to go anywhere and the department of labor likes me to stay in the state of new york and hunt for jobs all day -- which i do, i promise you! however, if i feel the urge, i can jump on a train and head home to stamford (where i whip out my laptop and search for jobs nonstop, natch) and i have also visited friends and family in places like morristown in the middle of the week. i love that i can do that. traveling during the week is less stressful and sometimes less expensive, and it means i can spend my weekends in nyc with my friends.

these are just the first ones i could think of...maybe i'll add some more later if they come to me. do you have any to add? email me. (contact info at left)