New to site

[SamXp]

...and I think I'm going to like it here! One of the things I love about the internet is that it breaks down barriers from meeting kindred spirits. I'm feverishly digesting the incredible wealth of knowledge in the Tightwad Tips and Frugal Things threads. You guys are amazing.

I'm 36, recently divorced with a great career, but starting to give thought to putting it aside for a simple life in the Appalachian Mountains. I am finding that this lifelong city-dweller has a lot to learn, though!

Is anyone else on here that has made a similar change?

[Vickie44]

Always been a country girl but there was a period of time that I was concerned with having fun and making money. Now I enjoy the challenge of making due with what I have and enjoying it.

Welcome Sam Xp !

[Callieslamb]

Welcome! we moved from 3200 sq ft on Country Club Lane to 1200 sq ft 15 miles from town way back when. You can do it. I'm not sure I would give up a good job entirely though. DH is the one with the great career here - he works so I can play on the farm.

[CountryWannabe]

Welcome, SamXp. I was a child of the city. I had an uncle and aunt who had a small homestead when I was growing up, but that was my only acquaintance with "the country" till we moved to this tiny acreage about 20 years ago. I was in my mid-40s then, and knew absolutely nothing about anything.

I started small, with egg-layer chickens, and added more animals as time and interest allowed. It takes a whiles to learn what works for you personally and what doesn't. For me chickens, pigs and sheep work really well. The Dexter cow and her calf are working out. The dairy steer (who will be freezer fodder in a few months) is not as easy to care for as the Dexter steer was - mostly because he is more sociable and so refuses to stay in the area he is **supposed** to be in. The meat goats were a dead loss for me. The Nubian milk goats are "OK" but although I really like them as a species I have found them hard to raise. I did not like raising rabbits, and although I liked the ducks I lost way too many of them because they would go down to the creek and then get lost or eaten or whatever. I have not had a lot of luck with heirloom turkeys, either. They usually manage to fly off just before they are due to keep their appointment with the freezer. The broad breasted turkeys have done well, though.

My gardening efforts have been a mixed bag. If I have a little luck I tend to get overambitious and so guarantee that my next cycle will be a bust. I am getting better, though. This year was a pretty good one and I have curbed my enthusiasm for ordering new seeds so next year might be pretty good too...

Good luck with your future plans. Don't be too quick to give up your day job, though. My DH is the bread-winner whose salary allows me to process and cure the bacon...

Mary

[Patt]

Yep we went from a 6 figure career job to a 400 sq ft cottage on our small organic farm and complete self sufficiency (providing for all our needs and wants through our income here). You can do it but you have to really want this life. We do still head back to civilisation every now and then though!

[SamXp]

Thanks all for the insight and encouragement! I am definitely the logical type that will rationalize for quite some time before making a drastic move, but I've been making slow changes, getting rid of "stuff", reducing material goods and enjoying doing without. It has helped increase my level of appreciation for the finer/simpler things in life.

I would love to keep the career and still be able to homestead, but I really don't want to spend the time and burn the oil in a long commute. I can find some decent acreage about 20-30 minutes from the job. I'm hoping to start there. Would love to keep it under 1k sq ft and off the grid, as much as possible.

Definitely want to keep pigs. It's my family's heritage from back in Serbia. They raised pigs and chickens and kept large gardens. Some of the best food I've ever tasted!

[Sonshine]

DH and I are both city kids born and bred. DH grew up on Cape Cod and I grew up in Rockford, IL. We've been military for over 25 yrs and will be retiring in about 3 yrs. We decided that since this would be our last base, we wanted to learn how to raise our own food. This site has been a wealth of information for us, and the people here are quick to share what they know. We have 2 acres. We raise a garden, have an herb garden, a few fruit trees and bushes, chickens and soon to have goats. Right now DH helps out as much as he can, but since he works full time, DS and I take care of most of the things around the homestead. I love it!

[Windy in Kansas]

Welcome to the forums.

[Pony]

Welcome, Sam.

I was bred and buttered in Chicago (Cubs fan), and DH is from the 'burbs. We made the jump a few years ago to a very rural part of MO, and while it's a hard life, we don't regret it.

Well, most days. LOL!

My first husband's dad was from Yugo; came to the States after the war. The stories he used to tell about life on the farm before the war were so wonderful, and only reinforced my desire to get out of the city/burbs and on to some land. He also canned, made the most fantastic potica, and incredible wine.

Keep moving toward your goal. You'll make it.

[SamXp]

Originally Posted by Pony

Welcome, Sam.

I was bred and buttered in Chicago (Cubs fan), and DH is from the 'burbs. We made the jump a few years ago to a very rural part of MO, and while it's a hard life, we don't regret it.

Well, most days. LOL!

My first husband's dad was from Yugo; came to the States after the war. The stories he used to tell about life on the farm before the war were so wonderful, and only reinforced my desire to get out of the city/burbs and on to some land. He also canned, made the most fantastic potica, and incredible wine.

Keep moving toward your goal. You'll make it.

Oh man, my parents and grandparents have some incredible stories to tell of the hardship they endured in Communist Yugo. They enjoy their freedom here so much! One thing is for sure, the family I still have in some of those remote villages are relatively isolated from the global economic conditions because they're mostly self-sufficient people.

[Sammy]

Welcome Aboard.

I have never lived in a city. Have visited a few, I would rather stay in the country.

[Roadking]

Welcome aboard!
Spent my life in the burbs, same with wife. 5 years ago, I sold my businesses and we moved to the sticks (kind of), and there's been no looking back. We garden, she takes care of the house, I build cars (when I feel like it), and we have tons of time with the kids who also love the simpler lifestyle.
Best of luck.
Matt

[ronbre]

welcome, moved from town to the country in 1971..been there ever since

[Forest]

Welcome SamXp! I've always been in the city because that's where my job has been and always will be. It's one of those highly rewarding jobs with good pay.

While I, like everyone else, love the idea of 40 acres & a mule, I have found that there are folks who can make a simple, homesteading lifestyle in the city work. Unless you're dead sure you want to quit your job and/or are completely financially independent, check out what you can do where you are now, with what you've got (try Pelenaka's blog, for example: http://thirtyfivebyninety.blogspot.com/ - she's inspiring).

For myself, I've eliminated my commute by moving next to my workplace and walking. One of my best decisions ever. I have a community garden plot and don't have to buy vegetables in the summer. You can keep some animals in the city/suburb in many places, like chickens, rabbits, and bees, check with your zoning (of course, with pigs, you're usually out of luck). These are small steps, but IMHO, they do give a lot of satisfaction and allow me to keep working at what I love (and from an "environmental impact" point of view, I'm almost positive that my carbon footprint is lower in the city).

However you decide to go ahead, small steps or giant leap, I encourage you! Of course it can be done. Many others have done it, and tons of good advice is available here for you. Of course things will go wrong, they always do, but if you're able to stick with it and learn from your mistakes, you will succeed eventually.

[SamXp]

Thanks for that well-thought out post, Forest.
It would certainly make it easier to live in the city if I were able to walk or bike to work but in Aerospace, I'm near the airport and the neighborhoods around here are full of drug dealers and thugs. It's a shame because there are some charming smaller postwar houses with yards large enough for gardening, but all the windows have steel bars on them.

I'm having to content myself with the concept of at least building a weekend cottage in the nearby foothills to start acclimating to the idea of minimalist, remote living.