It is important for people to realize that there are Christians like me who aren't trying to convert others, who are not die-hard-bible-thumpers. We ARE out there.

I know, I am married into a family just like that. Husband and BIL are atheist, mum-in-law is practicing christian, but completely relaxed, tolerant, secure.

Here's a question.

Especially in India, the difference in quality of live between the childfree and the childed (!!) is pretty stark, in my observation. Has there been significant impact on your career and financial decisions because you are CF?

What's the most noticeable difference, would you say, between your life and the life of a childed person in your life?

For me, it is time and relative financial freedom.


For example, after working full time in training and communication for about 10 years, I now work part time, flexi hours and from home. The money is lesser, but I don't need too much, since responsibilities are fewer. With my spare hours, I do music, i read a lot and so on.

Travel is a major hobby, we trek, bike, dive... My husband and I take 10 day vacations twice a year for our travel interests. We both work, are not rich and need our jobs, but we feel all these are possible only because we are CF.

I'd love to hear about your CF lifestyle...

Heyy... I am a 30-year-old girl from Pune, India.

I am also looking for a Childfree groom..

Anybody interested can send me a PM

Thanks!

@Harry, I'm not a mumbaikar, I moved here an year ago. I live in South Mumbai, what about you?, send me a PM.

Especially in India, I believe there's a great need to be more vocal about being "child free by choice". People, even those who are capable of free-thinking otherwise, assume children to be an inevitable outcome of a marital life. It's all the more so because of our tight family system. People can't imagine a life without children, they will probably feel empty. When you're young assume the soul of your life to be your children, and when you're old get entirely emotionally dependent on them. The circle completes. As always the conditioning is more on women, even when they're the major 'beneficiaries' of all the pain. That makes me amused.

The kind of responses I've got from my female friends were at times aghast : "you are a shame for women" (Come on! please, is procreation the essence and aim of a woman's existence?). This response came from an otherwise progressive urban raised 23yr old researcher colleague of mine. Another friend of the same qualifications reacted : "you should rather meet a therapist and fix it".

I myself would not perhaps have thought of a CF lifestyle if I hadn't seen a few couple at my workplace, practising the same (there were also a good number of couple without biological children, and one couple with one biological and one adopted child). I was fortunate to live in a progressive set up and question some fundamental assumptions that have gone into our society. (I'm also surprised to see Sandy's list of CF friends. So there're stuff happening privately, in isolation, just that no great awareness). I would like to see CFBC spreading here as an awareness, through media, through word of mouth etc. etc. I do not have webpage or blog at the moment but once I make it, I'll do my bit. We're already a few, we could even think of something together. My reasons are just that I feel for this society, I see it being too conditioned and conservative and I get upset.
What say you?