I met the most interesting man at the beach the other day.

I actually met him a week ago, but when I saw him again he offered me a beer, and we sat to talk for a while.

He had his dog Max with him, and told me he had spent the entire last two weeks parked in his van at the beach, just enjoying the time of year. When the weather turned, he would go further south, find another beach, and do it all over again. I asked how he funded his “endless summer” on the beach, and he said that he was a certified HVAC repair tech. I asked him how that worked, because I had only ever seen HVAC techs in work vans, wearing official looking uniforms. He said he didn’t do that kind of work, he had a system to approach local general contractors who might need a little quick HVAC work done off the books. He didn’t fill out applications or file tax paperwork, he did quiet HVAC jobs for cash, and then lived off that cash until the next town, where he found another contractor. Every town has HVAC contractors, and they all like finding someone who is skilled, certified, fully trained, and willing to work for cheap. The contractors saved money, my new friend didn’t have to set up a bank account, and the HVAC work got done properly, so it was a win for everyone. He told me that he cycled back through this town once a year or so, and usually worked with the same HVAC contractor every time.

heating and air conditioning