People are sharing things people romanticise but are actually incredibly tough – 17 to bring you back to earth with a bump

It’s all too easy to build up a romantic idea about a possible scenario in your head. Maybe turning your passion into a job will be rewarding. Or perhaps living off grid will solve all of your problems.

Sure, these things are possible. But they’re just some of the many things that are much more difficult in real life. To find out more about this, Reddit user FastRoyal turned to r/AskReddit and posed this question:

‘What’s something people romanticise but is actually incredibly tough in reality?’

Here are the best answers that will bring your dreams back down to earth with a bump…

1.
‘Running cute little coffee shop/bookstore. I bet you picture yourself just having a cup of Joe and chatting about Cormac McCarthy with an elderly gentleman in a tweed coat.

‘You’re never gonna be profitable but you won’t realise it until about 2 1/2 years in. Also that guy never showed up, he’s got a Kindle.’
-AccessPathTexas

2.
‘A self-sustaining family “farm” life. It’s practically impossible for a lone family to achieve it.’
-thatcluelesslad

3.
‘Turning something you love into a business.

‘Often, instead of “I turned my passion into money!” It’s “I turned something I love into work.”

‘I am currently scaling back my photography business because I don’t love photography like I used to. It’s work now.’
-LizardPossum

4.
‘Starting a business. Everyone talks about the freedom and potential money, but the reality is constant stress, long hours, and a ton of financial risk. It’s way harder than the “be your own boss” vibe suggests.’
-SaffronTwilight09

5.
‘Mental illness or playing an instrument.’
-MiskyWisky2791

6.
‘Living in Japan as a foreigner. There’s a certain subset of people that really romanticise Japan and Japanese culture as highly advanced technologically and socially. It’s not that Japan is actually particularly a bad place to live.

‘But they still utilise antiquated technology, have dated social mores and brutal work-life “balance”, and are quite xenophobic and openly turn away foreigners from many services (even medical care). It’s not some anime utopia where everything is perfect. It’s quite a challenging place to live for foreigners. It seems Japan welcomes visitors but does not always welcome immigrants.’
-Fun-Assistance-4319

7.
‘Moving abroad.’
-InvestNewcomer

8.
‘Shower sex.’
-C-57D

9.
‘Birthing and raising a baby.

People will acknowledge that it’s not easy, sure, but it’s so much harder than imagined, especially if you don’t have a good support system.’
-Embarrassed-Skin2770