Are you living in your dream or have you settled?

Living the dream here!

Oh, it required some compromises -- mostly because I married a city guy! I do miss my old job, but I did find some cows to milk here. I really can't complain.

If I had more money, I'd buy a nicer piece of land with a huge pasture for my girls. That's the only thing in this world I could possible want ... to make things nicer for my girls. Otherwise, I'm all set!

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

Yes-indeedy-do

My neighbor has 97 acres behind us. I am hoping to buy some of it from him

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Roger

Yep, I'm here, now. I'm me, this is here, and it's now. It'll never be better.

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{hugs and good luck vibes to all!!}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

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You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.

Yes, I am happy, out here, in the woods, on the Hill. We have been out here for 8 years now. It's 13 acres of hillsides, with a 1 acre pond. There's not much flat ground here, besides where the house is. And, it's adjacent to the State Forest.
I go for walks, in the hunting season with my old shotgun. But, I don't even shoot the rabbits anymore. I'm frequently accompanied on my walks by half a dozen cats, trailing along.
I worked up in the city at a large manufacturing plant, for 37 years. I lived in a suburban, brick, ranch style house & raised my five children, 3 girls & 2 boys. Fifteen years I was a single custodial parent. They are all grown and have families of their own, now. The youngest left home many years ago. He is now 36 y.old. I have 16 grandchildren, a few of them grown with children of their own.

When I approached retirement DSW looked for a place, just like this. And, she found it.
She is younger and still works. She very much wanted us "out of the City". Between us we get by alright. Not too many extras, but enough that we don't really do without.
I guess we are "living a Dream", in a manner of speaking. Comfortable.......

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Be Intense, always. But always take the time to
Smell the Roses, give a Hug, Really Listen, or
Jump to Defend your Friends & What you Believe in.
'Til later, Have Fun,
Old John

If you had asked that question a couple of years ago I would have stated that I just settled, but since then I'm seeing my dream about a homestead coming together. I always wanted to move back out west, never dreamed I would be content in Georgia, but our land, although only a couple of acres, is enough for what I want to do and our neighbors are like minded people. So yes, I guess I am living my dream.

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http://sonshine-littlebitofsonshine.blogspot.com/

Christian Homesteaders Forum
http://christianhomesteader.forumotion.net/

Living the dream... As some of you know we went on a 3 year plan to be completely debt free and we succeeded :-) We moved to our BOL and spent several months with no electric and no running water trying to get the place set-up... Slowly it is coming together and things are looking up... I had a hard time getting up and going to a stressful job and leaving the peace of this place too... So I quit my job, I'll spend the summer building the house and then look for a simple job in the fall where I can work until I retire (if I want)... Killing debt is the key to living the dream... If you do nothing else just keep paying everything off and don't finance anything new, get rid of your cell phone contracts and cable tv, kill every expense you do not need... You'll get in the grove and be happier than you ever have been.

I'd say me and the Mrs. got life by the short and curlies. Would we like more land? Who wouldn't? Would we like a newer truck? Absolutely! Are we satisfied with what we do have? We thank the Almighty on a daily basis for giving us more than we deserve. I got more garden than I can plant right now (oh yea, I'm good on that rain thing for the time being), firewood plenty, the fruit trees are settled in. I'm workin steady and I'm prepping for work in other fields should the need arise. My bills are paid, grandkids are healthy and the goats are soon to drop more kids. I got to cut wooden ware for more bee hives this morning, in a gutter-washin downpour in the newly roofed greenhouse I've wanted since I was 7 years old.

Yea, we're livin the dream, and learned the most valuable lesson in getting here. We could do it again if it was all took from us tomorrow. Might never be as nice, might never get finished with it, but we could chase it again cause we learned it is the day to day doing that was the real dream, not the finished product. I can say that since this place is still a ways from 'the finished product' but it is already better than we'd hoped. I give thanks every night when I go to bed (as you can't be too thankful when you get to live your dream) and can't wait to get up again in the morning and hit it another lick. Things don't always go right, stuff breaks down and needs fixin, some things get a second and third thought and then get scrapped cause while they sounded good at first that third thought made us wake up and not waste time and resources on something useless.

The Mrs. taught me years ago that you might settle on a place, you might settle on a price, you might even settle on a dream. The one thing you don't settle on is that someone special. Man I can tell you I'm glad she didn't.

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"Only the rocks [and really embarassing moments] live forever"

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands..." tick-tick-tick

I'm definitely settling... If money were no object, I'd be living on at least ten acres, rather than living in the city. Finding small ways to do the things that I want to do have helped to ease a bit of the hunger for rural life. However, it can also continue to fuel it.

Some of the things that I've done to dabble in homesteading include writing agricultural articles, getting a pt job a few years ago with a hatchery, hatching out my own chickens & quail and increasing the vegetable gardens. My skill level has increased greatly and I know that it will help me immensely when we do get our farm.

It shouldn't be long now...We just want to pay down the rest of the mortgages on our rentals and install a few necessary repairs to our own house so that it can be used as a rental. I just try to keep my eye on the prize...

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~TheMartianChick~

My latest novels:
Bystander: A Tale of the End of the World as SHE Knew It!

Christmas in Bystander & Other Village Tales

Coming Soon: A Slice of Heaven

If I won the lottery today, i would not move from where I live! Of course there are always ways things could be better. It would be nice not to worry about bills and such and if I had unlimited money I would buy more land. BUT, I am very happy on the 20 acres we have. Each year we add to our self sufficiency.. We have chickens and meat rabbits. I have 2 gardens and a greenhouse. I don't feel like I am settling and I have learned to work around limited funds. The journey is half the fun after all! +

Scoot over, City Bound. I'm in this same boat.

My sentiments exactly (almost) except I do have kids.

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Life is short....Do not waste it on unworthy people, ideals, or activities.

If we had unlimited funds, yes, we would move. We only have about 5 acres of hilly ground and would love at least 10 of forest and some pasture. Would love a bit more seclusion, smaller more self-sufficient house, a place for beef and hog. We are currently working on making that happen but doing it debt free and I don't want to be constantly thinking of the ideal and perfect but working on making this place work for us as much as possible. I think being content with all the blessings God gives us is a good place to start, otherwise one has the risk of never being satisfied. We have so much more than the rest of the world.

Living my dream!

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Ozark American Hippy Chick
Farm Mamma to:
Cows
Geese
Ducks
Pigs
Turkeys
Chickens
Goats
Dogs
and a couple of cats

I am living my dream and I am very happy. If I won the lottery I would put alot of it into this place....I'd go totally solar ( you basically need a boat load of money to do that ), travel a bit more, breath a little easier....but I'd stay put.

I'm settled & happy. But would love to see a mountain now & then. Money & serendipity both played a part in my being here on 48 flat acres with a small, old house surrounded with huge old live oak trees. When I have to go away for a day or two, I could just kiss the ground when I get back here. With my 6 cats, 1 dog, a plethora of chickens, & my garden, I have found peace.

I'm living my life.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

That would be Great, Best of Luck!

I am living my dream, where I want to be and how I want to be. It works for me. I have no desire for an abundance of money, which is a good thing.... coz that has never been nor will it ever be a part of my reality. God provides me with enough, but there are seldom leftovers and I am content with this arrangement.

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"Nothing so needs reforming as other peoples habits." Mark Twain

I'm responding to the "internal dilemma of epic proportions." I have had that, too. The size of my dilemma is diminishing as my willingness to embrace God's will is growing.

I thought I had the life of my dreams at the coast. Then DD married and she and DSIL started their family. We lived hours apart. God provided a way for all of us to live close together. It is not a location I would have chosen. I struggled with giving up my business and lifestyle. I went from being debt-free to re-mortgaged. My own weaknesses and those in my marriage were exposed as never before as I adjusted to my new situation. So I'm broke and in debt again BUT

I am here to be family. I am here for DD and SIL. I am here for the grandbabies. They know me and I know them. I have the privilege of being a mother and a grandmother and watching them all growing - your children don't stop (well, hopefully not!) growing when they leave home.

So the dilemma still bites at times due to my own faults and a difficult marriage, but I'm here and that's what matters. I have no doubt this is what God wanted me to do and I am very grateful. I know that one day I'll look back and it will all be clear to me even though the last few years have passed in blur of alternating joy and struggle, joy and struggle, often at the same time.

And I will be debt-free again as quickly as I can. That's the one big mistake I made - I should have sold the old place asap. Well, you do what you do and now I'm grinding away at the debt and we have a home and food to eat and clothes to wear so I cannot complain.

Freya, best wishes for working out your way day by day.

Awww. Big hug. I welcome the company.