Starting Over at 49

Personally, I'd rather eat a bowl of hair!

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

Gak!

Well, I'm a single woman who has had to create a homestead from forestry, doing 85% myself. This is NOT AN EASY CHORE!

I would not...NOT...attempt such a thing as the OP is talking about without some items I've learned are essential.

Needing shelter? Need tools to construct it!

Needing food? Need shelter AND protections for animals...ALSO need a way to feed and doctor them!

Need water? How you gonna get it?

Need self-protection? I'ld get 1-3 or 4 dogs (depending on how many I could feed and care for well) as well as both a shotgun (for hunting) and a hand gun (Glock 37 good one-shot kill) for self protection.

Need to stay warm in winter? How you gonna do it? What tools do you have?

There is a lot to be considered when setting such a goal for yourself!

Can you do it ALONE? I could!

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I am what I am! Acknowledging this is the beginning; and my growth is yet to end. http://motdaugrnds.com/farmsales ~~~~~ http://motdaugrnds.com

My mom lived in Northwest Arkansas. She would not go anywhere without her gun and told me many stories of times she had to pull it.
When I was there with her it was not the place I remembered as a child. It was dangerous. My mom had so much of her stuff stolen and she was done wrong by so often by her neighbors. She loved it there, so would not leave but I would not want to have to live that way.
Just thought you should know.

I say do it. But leave the horse out of it. No matter how selfsufficient you are, eventually you will need an expensive vet visit. And it will break your heart if you cannot afford to call that vet in time of emergency.

Having thought more about your situation, first let me say I admire you. Next, here's an idea.

How about spending a small sum on a travel trailer and an older but reliable truck. You could certainly put that trailer on some rented land and give your theory a try before making it a permanent situation. I lived in a 31 ft trailer for seventeen years before buying my farm. The best part is, if you decide the area is not for you, you can pick up an move. Still no need for phones, internet, TV or any strings attached.

I rented a spot on horse farms here and there, and usually stayed long enough to have a bit of a garden and a few chickens.

I'm sure a 50 year old woman who has homesteaded herself for years can figure out that structures need to be built, and tools are required to build them. I'm also more than sure that she knows her animals must eat, water must be obtained, and wood cannot be chopped by hand. Lets assume she knows how to wipe her own rear end too.

A bowl of hair - great balls of fire - what some will do - in the mean time - back at the ranch - JoePa is relaxing on the swing -

Yeah, we know your just smarter than the rest of us.

Guess what? That leather sofa, refrigerator, 55 inch screen, porch swing, and the rest cost you alot of time and effort to afford. Maybe a lifetime of lost time and labor, huh? Time and effort that some would put to other uses. Instead of talking about the stuff you bought by selling your productivity, why not a little bit about what you gave up?

Lucky you - Youre either extremely good looking or rich or both!

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Zone 7B / 8A

Just to let ya'll know I'm the original OP. I had forgotten my screen name. It has been a long time since I've been on these forums. I had an "epiphany" and gave everything away -sold my land and cabin - and have been meditating these past three years.

But now I realize that I need a home place. I can't just drift for the rest of this life. Very grateful for all of the helpful suggestions. I'm no stranger to livestock, firewood, chiggers, ticks, hornets etc. I can and have built fences on my own, sheds on my own, and planted, harvested, canned on my own. Though I also don't own anything anymore. Even the bulldog(s) (a baby bulldog is expected early fall ) will have to come from somewhere. Though not independently wealthy, I don't have to work to pay land taxes or buy staples or medicines for the animals or self. I can live very cheaply and keep the necessary tools for a small homestead. I guess I should have been a little more clear in the OP but I have so appreciated those who have understood that this sort of life is possible and beautiful for a woman as much as it can be for a man. That it is not a last ditch attempt- or surrender or sign of failure. It is a dream. I'm really looking forward to it and taking my time to find the right piece of land to start over. but honestly I CAN"T WAIT!!!

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Tiny Forest ~ my tiny blog

Well I gave up 7 years in the Army - with a couple of them fighting in Korea - after getting out of the service I went to school - worked fulltime, raised a family (5 kids) (now have 15 grandchildren) and eventually got good jobs - worked very hard - finally retired at 62 and have been doing the things I always wanted to do but couldn't - yep I have it pretty good now - I'm on Social Security and get a pretty good pension - I earned what I have - don't believe I owe anyone anything - was it worth the effort and time - I think so - would I do it over again - most of it - I wouldn't consider what I did - lost time - just the opposite - I made good use of my time - considering I grew up very poor - the son of a coal miner - have a good one -

Well good for you. I do it different and feel I make very good use of my time too, and I'm not waiting till I'm 62 to live. I guess there really is more than one way to live a life, huh?

Being employed is not a waste of time, it is work and it provides for our needs. Living in the wild alone is work, lots of it but not a waste of time for that person either. Folks who choose to get an education and work to have the good life have not put their life on hold. That is their life. If they didn't like it they would do something else. Dropping out and being a hermit is no better, no worse. We each choose our life and reap the consequences and rewards. No need to knock someone else's choice.

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Living Large Down on the Farm.

Like many other things ... it just depends.

Working to earn a living is foolish, in my (worthless) opinion. You can choose a better path to affluence than the one held out before you as the "American Dream".

My own path to affluence has been to reduce my expectations of what affluence actually is. I have defined it as "ample time to work on my homestead and my own projects and to spend that time with my family, raising up young Christians to live simply and free."

I don't need a whole heckuva lot of money to do that, and so I'm not willing (any longer) to enslave myself to the 40 hour a week treadmill. About 10 hours per week is all I would ever really need to work off the farm in order to buy certain things, and I only need that until such point as my other businesses prosper (Lord willing).

There are some very blessed people out there who work an 80 hour week and love what they do. I was not one of them. If I had been, then I would see nothing wrong with that employment.

What I don't understand is the people who hate their lives, hate their jobs, and cannot ever find any way out of the situation. For them, they should use their income now to start buying their way into a better life which suits them.

There was a story in a book once I read about a man who went to visit his friend and saw his friend's old hound dog sitting on the porch whimpering.

"What's wrong with your dog?" he asked.

"He's sitting on a sharp nail," the owner replied.

"Why doesn't he get off of it then?"

"Guess it doesn't hurt bad enough yet."

Tango, how do you feel about the cold? I think looking at some other states that may be friendlier to single woman doing their own thing would be smart. Upstate NY (which I think you mentioned), maybe PA, much of rural New England. Many woman farming in Maine where my brother lives. Yeah, I know, I'm stereotyping much of the south, but...

The mid atlantic states tend to be pricey. I don't know much about the Midwest.

Thanks . I've been waiting for over a week now to speak with the code officer of a small town in upstate NY. I't hasn't been so straightforward to find code info. online. If anyone knows of a good resource for NY or any other northeastern states, I'd be very grateful to receive it. Me and the cold are good friends. Most of the past three years were in cold climates and I didn't notice the hot flashes 'til I left I've used some amazing tiny woodstoves for a tiny cabin which would require just small chunks of wood for heating and cooking.

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Tiny Forest ~ my tiny blog

If you are headed up towards the adirondacks, I suggest you check with the APA ( adirondack park agency ) they control a lot of what you can and cant do. They have a website.

Darntootin ... got stung by a hornet?

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I am what I am! Acknowledging this is the beginning; and my growth is yet to end. http://motdaugrnds.com/farmsales ~~~~~ http://motdaugrnds.com

Yeah sorry I did sound a little harsh in my posts, I was just put off by some of the negative posts. Reminded me of all the nay-sayers who criticized me when I decided to quit my job, leave town and become a homesteader. I turned out to be right, you can follow a dream and live better.