be really sure country living is for you..

It took me 6 years to become happy in Texas, now I am but my wife is hating it.

When we moved here it was just supposed to be for 2 or 3 years and then back to FL -- that was 9 years ago.
But I'm making more money than I ever have in my life in a job that I love and I like our neighbors, our Church, our house is good (not great, but more than livable), just added more garden space thats producing the best garden I have had in decades -- I don't want to move back to FL now and have to start all over again.

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Apocalyptic and Survival Fiction - Readers and writers welcome

we have lost to many neighbors to count, the average is one year. Most don't realize they don't deliver the paper this far out, get the garbage from the curb or deliver pizza.
We have one family that came from New York city, yes the city, and bought a 40 acre blueberry farm with their 2 teenage kids. Now these people have had a culture shock LOL
They have finally sold their place and are moving into town in 2 months, but hey, they have lasted 2 years.

My dream has always been to raise our own food, and not worry about neighbors. I admit that I am not crazy about the long drive to a doctor but you take the good with the bad

Born and raised in Iowa. Went away for 25 years traveling the world and getting enlightened by cultures and personalities. Not always in pleasant circumstances either but my roots made it a heck of alot easier. Back to Iowa but a little farther south. Times have changed though. Family farms are few. Seems like every farmer is paid by the government in some form or another to grow or not to grow. The big barns of wood are groaning with age and have been replaced by mammoth steel buildings that house half a million in machinery. Crops that use to be planted 2 maybe 4 rows at a time are now planted 20 or 30 at a time. Sorry for the flashback. I left in 77 and came back in 02. Felt like Rumplestiltskin.
Still one of the best places to raise the kids though.

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We have now officially entered the twilight zone.

Somehow I could not leave this post uncommented on as it hit a chord with us.

We seek to help others in whatever way we can. Some remember, many forget. Hence, we move on. Yet we keep on helping and seeking and lo and behold God is putting genuine people in our paths. Most of them live across the country and so I keep in contact by email. Some live close by and I am thoroughly enjoying developing relationships with them.

So do not give up hope, if you keep helping and seeking you will find like minded people and...it will be a lot of fun.

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"in returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength"

http://gardening-by-cathy.net
http://mysolarenergyplus.net

How do you stay married if he lives in the city and you live on the farm? Seems a mite hard to do and still have things in common.

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Be yourself - no one can tell you that you're doing it wrong!

Spinner, my situation is similar! My farm is 28 miles from my husband's house. He's a city guy, too! I go back and forth every day. He comes out to my place 2-3 times a year. I don't mind though; we both like to work in our yards but our styles are very different so this way there's no arguing!

The driving gets kinda bad, especially in winter ... with the winding roads here, it's 45 mins each way for me.

But my last husband bailed after 5 years on the farm ... he just didn't want to work that hard, I guess! I love it, though, and wasn't about to give it up. I did sell my old place and move 400 miles to start over here, but I'm busy planting all the stuff I used to have back in Michigan! I don't mind doing things on my own, and this way, I don't get in over my head, because I don't take on more than 1 person can handle (or afford) right from the outset. Hopefully I'll never find myself in a jam again the way I did after the ex left.

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"I love all of this mud," said no one, ever.

There was an article in the news here a few weeks ago about a man who had moved to the country, then was dismayed to learn his neighbour had a rooster that had the nerve to crow at 5am. Guess what, he took the town to business, and they forced the guy to get rid of his rooster. Am I the only one that feels this was wrong? I think the first guy should have moved back to the city where he obviously belongs, but that's just me. Wow, I bet he just set himself up as a "good neighbour" doing that, though, huh? I wonder how long before he needs some help on his lot, and wishes he could ask that neighbour for use of his tractor, manure for his garden, etc. Won't be happening now.

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"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap."

Dixydoodle- the town in which he lives must have some regulations about animals or noise in order for him to have been able to force the rooster's removal. It's so hard to make a judgement about something like this when the details are not really known.
If it's truely country land, usually places are far enough away from each other to avoid treading on each other. In towns, it's more of a juggling act.
I remember one lady in town had the police called to her house by her neighbor for "excessive" duck noises. SHe had three ducks and a crazy neighbor.
I had the misfortune of once living next to place where the college student's rock band played in a garage that was 5 feet away from my house - they played at all hours and even ear plugs under the gun ear muffles couldn't deaden the sound.
One of the reason I treasure where I live now.

considering all this I discussed it with friends from all areas (few as rural as me) at my reunion. One gal (Wall Street) points out that city life (NYC) is great for the old folk- senior discounts for everything, time to go to all the wonderful museums and shows, good transport and medical care. Her neighbor recently went to EVERY NIGHT of some 6 evening concert series of different pieces by some composer.

Not that I could ever move to center NYC but my current plan is travel to such places for a week every year or so- helps to do that while visiting relatives (and after the reunion will try to do so with some old roommates I never visit enough). For me I just wish we had better restaurants closer but not sure I want to bother moving- pretty good here and a place closer to good restaurants might be a much mroe expensive area to live or maybe I'll run out of money quicker going out to eat so often....

Am actually considering ways to address the restaurant issue here- if anyone knows an Indian cook or dim sum chef who'd like to open a restaurant in SE Alabama I might be interested in investing in their business- send them my way!- and consider the idea (not seriously yet) of a supper club where we import a fancy chef once a month for a weekend of that particular sort of food. Learning to cook stuff on my own or finding frozen versions helps, but my friends and family are used to me insisting on every meal out when I visit their big city digs- homecook for me for breakfast or at my place!