Homesteading & the kids???

WalterD · #1 03/29/12, 07:41 AM

Ok folks, here is my story:

I am 43, my wife is 38 and we have two kids that are 12(daughter) and 8(son). We live in the Hill Country of Texas on 1.6 acres which is pretty rural allowing us to raise a few chickens and garden a bunch. My wife and I really want to start on the path toward a self-sufficient lifestyle by buying about 40 acres (maybe in Missouri). I will be able to retire from my teaching job in 11 years with a full pension, at which time I will be 54 and the kids will be full grown. I hate to wait till retirement to get started on this next phase of my life, and I wanted opinions on what could be done between now and then to make the transition. Should we buy land now?
Any input is welcome, and we love to hear about other peoples success (or failures) in their decisions to homestead?
Also, any information about Missouri would be great (soil, weather, mosquitoes, rain, trees, crops, . . .)!

Helena · #2 03/29/12, 09:43 AM

Back in 1980 we picked up and left for the mountains of PA. Our 2 daughters were 13 and 11 and not happy about leaving friends but that's what we did and they came along. Wish we have moved earlier in our lives..never regretted our choices although it has and still is a rough ride. don't wait until things are perfect..perfect timing never happens..You can always return to Texas. I would plan on making the move very soon. Best of luck..

indypartridge · #3 03/29/12, 10:33 AM

For many years my wife and talked about "someday". Someday we'd get out of the city. Someday we'd get a log cabin. Someday when the kids were older. Someday when life looked to be more manageable.

Then cancer struck. Twice.

Surviving that, we decided there are no more "somedays", only "todays". We left the city, got the log cabin and often laughed at ourselves when we regularly mucked things up, being complete greenhorns living in the country.

We are SO glad we did it before the kids were grown. Getting them out of the city was the best thing we ever did for them.

Our only regret is "Why didn't we do this sooner?"

dirtman · #4 03/29/12, 11:12 AM

We waited until we were down to two boys before making the move. They are in their thirties now and are still crabbing about getting moved out into the country. I feel real bad for them.

meanwhile · #5 03/29/12, 11:55 AM

Our boys were ages 4, 10 and 13 when we up and left the big City. It was the best decision of our lives. The mistake we did make was that my husband stayed behind to work. It almost killed him. If we had it to do over again, we would find a way to move everyone at once even though it would mean a total change of lifestyle. The younger the children - the better since they will grow up learning the Homestead Life style.

We are in another cycle of life now. The boys are older ( ages 14, 20 and 24) and the older boys have finished college but moved back home last year to help out. Now, we are ready to think about "what next" and decide if we will stay on the Homestead of move to something smaller and easier to handle.

Start small and with something you can afford and handle. Good luck. Best wishes.

Ifistav · #6 03/29/12, 02:54 PM

I just wanted to say Thank you to all who responded to the OP! We're in the Big City now, and bought a house in PA last year. We're trying to make the move, but first we have to take care of our employment. Well the reason I'm thanking you is because you're telling me how great it is to take the kids out to the country and that the sooner the better. I agree, and I hope DH, the kids, and I can move to PA SOON!

Ifi

ChickadeeL · #7 03/29/12, 03:04 PM

I hope you can too, Ifistav.

There is just nothing like growing up in the country....even my girls who are preteen/teen age say how much they love it. Even the really social one.

Best wishes on your dreams coming true soon.

Copperhead · #8 03/29/12, 08:45 PM

I'm over thirty and wish to this day that my parents had bought a farm when I was a kid. Hmmm, maybe I am trying to gain a lost piece of my childhood

johng · #9 04/01/12, 02:31 PM

We are in the same boat as you same age, 10 more years to retire, my kids are a little older than yours. We have a small homestead now with honeybees, chickens, and a large garden. I want to move further out when I retire and buy more land with a smaller house and a bigger barn. I plan on looking for our new land once I only have about 5yrs before I retire. That way I can start to get some stuff done to the property. I won't be able to build the house until we sell what we have. I'm thinking of building the barn first with a small living quarters inside. That way we will have a place to stay while we are there for weekend and vacation work days. Then once we move we can live in it while we build the house.

twomeal · #10 04/01/12, 09:54 PM

WalterD, I agree with other PP's who suggest to do it now. You can surely find a way. Are you committed to working in TX for your remaining 11 years to get your pension? If not, I see nothing holding you back. If so, there are other options, you just need to dig deep.

Dreaming for another 11 years is tough. Imagine all the wonderful memories and roots you can grow in that time. I think it's all priceless.

Sorry, don't know a thing about Missouri.

Our success story- DH (34) is from California, I am from Florida (30). I left for Iraq when my son was 3 months (now almost 2 years) and spent 14 months there. Saved up some money, bought a house in Kentucky where we had never been before but the property, house, etc were perfect. We really jumped in head first without knowing anything at all. It was extremely scary. We've been here for about 6 months now and almost everyday one of us says to the other "man, I love it here." This is the best thing we've ever done. Sometimes it is difficult, but it's really rewarding in every way.

Good luck to you and your family.

**Terri** · #11 04/02/12, 06:37 AM

We bought a little piece of land with a house on it within commuting distance. To FIND land within a decent commute, DH took the interstate from his job to out of town, and when he had driven far enough we looked for land in that area.

Further out of town would have been cheaper, but we have had 20-odd good years here.

My oldest found friends in the area, my son joined teh scouts for more social interaction. While neither has any real interest in homesteading, they grew up with a creek at the foot of the hill, chickens in the back yard, and home grown berry pie. They both liked growing up here!

In the mean time I got to "farm" on my days off.

Edited to add: Oh. I see that you are already on a small acreage like what we have. I *WILL* point out this: you have no guarentees in life. We bought a larger parcel out of town and I promptly got sick! Life happens. I wanted to sell food and also provide more of ours but now it will not happen. So life is a gamble: do you move now and scramble for the money you need (the tax man does not accept barter, and neither does the gas station) or do you wait in the hopes you will both stay healthy?

Roll the dice, and hope you guess right.

If I were you and the commute was not too bad, I would go now.

unregistered168043 · #12 04/02/12, 06:45 AM

I grabbed at my dream the second I was able. I've seen what happens to those who wait for this or that and plan 10-20 years down the line. Life is too short, there is no guarantee of a tomorrow.