Is It Just A Dream? (homesteading)

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Hi everyone. I am new here and new to the whole idea of homesteading. I just found this board and was so upset to hear it was going away. I am very thankful that someone took the responsiblity of keeping it up. Thank you!

I have a typical "city" life here in Montgomery, AL. Just recently I have a REAL urge to move to the country. We live outside of Montgomery, so we are considered country here. But I mean real country where there is wildlife and trees and creeks. I am planting my first real garden this year (I have planted before but never went back out after the planting) and I plan to can lots of food. I am reading A LOT and getting a little experience with simple living now.

Anyway, sometimes it gets so discouraging. I hear people say that homesteading or living in the country isn't all you think it will be. My dream is to raise my two kids (2 & 3) where they can run around outside all day. I want to sit on our deck and view wildlife. I want to hike through the woods- and 4 wheel and horseback ride. I want to live simple, enjoying nature at its fullest. I know that I can live simple anywhere, but I want the view that goes with it. I want the animals (wild) and the creeks and the trees!!!! We would like to build some hunting cabins to generate income and possibly a "youth group retreat". We do youth ministry.

My question... Is this an unrealistic dream?

I have looked for land and have found some BEAUTIFUL places but also expensive. We were looking in northern Maine, WV, KY, CO or MO. Any other suggestions for senic land? I would like small mountains. Any suggestions and opinions would be appreciated. I am a dreamer, but I am serious about finding the "perfect" place. I just get so discouraged sometimes.

-- Rebecca Gallant (rebeccagallant@earthlink.net), February 18, 2002

Answers

Welcome Rebecca, No it is not unrealistic! But you need to realize everything that goes along with what you want. Nature requires respect and some caring for. Animals cost money to obtain and maintain. Life on a farm/in the counrty can be ugly. Read some of the past posts about the babies of the first spring lambings and kiddings. The dream is great and real, I don't mean to scare you away. I will never look back and I am city, bred, born, and raised. But there is as much responsibility and work involved to have this dream as any, maybe more. See if there is someone who might do a house swap with you for a year. Offer to farm sit. Go out into the real country and get to know people.

You have the beginnings of what it takes with your dream. Good luck to you. Come back often and visit. Check-out the archives.

Susan

-- Susan in Minnesota (nanaboo@paulbunyan.net), February 18, 2002.


Hi Rebecca,

Is it a dream? Yep, and most of us countrysiders live it at various levels of accomplishment. Some time ago, Stacy pretty well summed it up: "homesteading is an ongoing process!" Each step you take toward independence is a greatly enjoyed event in your life. Most of us will never go back to that"city life". Dive in, have fun, and keep us informed on your progress. Plenty of people here to share advice! Best of luck!

-- woodsbilly N. C. Pa. (coleenl@penn.com), February 18, 2002.


Rebecca, I can very much remember being in your situation way back when. I was really "stuck" in the city for a while but did what you are doing. Gardening, canning, doing every single thing I could to be self sufficient and save money. Life is a journey, enjoy the process. Set some goals and go for you dream, one step at a time.

Some times the first place isn't the perfect place, but a stepping stone.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), February 18, 2002.


Type in www.ozarklandcompany.com.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), February 18, 2002.

Rebecca, You won't have or see much wildlife using a 4 wheeler. Tears up the environment too. Keep to trails you say? The muddy, rutted trails go right through the "natural" landscape. I sure don't want to look at them (the ruts and machines). I'm busy now trying to close off someone else's "trail" through my land (apple orchard)!! I don't want to listen to that 4 wheeler, I'd rather hear my horse neigh and the birds sing. :) I hope you stick to horses, at least they leave compost behind LOL.

-- Susan in Northern LP Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), February 18, 2002.


Thank you all for your input. I am still going to be searching for the perfect piece of land. Do you all actually see wildlife often?

I didn't know a 4 wheeler was a big deal. Sorry! I have never even been on one. I just though it sounded cool!

Any suggestions on where to look for the land I described would be helpful. I WANT large acerage (100+) - I know what everyone says about a lot of land :), a water source or two, trees, mountains or hills and wildlife!!!!!

-- Rebecca Gallant (rebeccagallant@earthlink.net), February 18, 2002.


OH Rebecca! I am so glad you're not a 4-wheeler. (This is gonna get me in trouble on the forum with some folks-oh well). You can do this. Go for it. I am excited for you. Lots of work (thinking and labor intensive). But that shouldn't scare you. Let us know what happens and where you end up.

-- Susan in Northern LP Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), February 18, 2002.

West Virginia land is cheap. It is also steep, snowy and mostly remote.

-- Jim NE KY (Jedeweese@earthlink.net), February 18, 2002.

If you had hills like I do...you'd want a four-wheeler. They usually do exactly what you tell them to, you never have to put on a saddle or brush it down when you're done. They eat a WHOLE LOT less in the wintertime. They're more fun to do donughts on. (my opinion)

ATV's only tear up the trail in a DIFFERENT WAY than horses do. When the fox hunter's come through our property, it's not exactly peace and quiet! Admittedly, the horses aren't noisy, (the dogs sure are!), but they certainly leave a trail wherever they go!

I go out of my way to INVITE ATV's onto my land. They keep the thorn bushes down much better than the horses do.

Don't get me wrong, we have a horse and I love to ride it. The ATV is pretty fun, too. You can have both. Some people act like it's the unpardonable sin to take a motorized vehicle into the woods. I'm not one of those.

Now, on public land, I feel a little bit different. I'd feel pretty bad if I came screaming up on someone riding a horse and spooked it into the next county. Also, people tend to really tear up land that isn't theirs. Where we live it's more the jeeps and 4wd trucks that cause problems. I think that ATV's and Horses each have their place, but put them together and you could have problems.

-- chuck (reply@mission4me.com), February 18, 2002.


Yes! Wildlife! Some of my neighbors are very wild....heehee! ....the neighbors live a half mile away so who knows?...heehee! I saw a deer in my orchard last week, a snake in the mulch around my strawberry beds, squirrels all over the place and a couple of bunnies. Birds galore! Even saw an eagle a few days ago. Armadillo scooted by in front of the truck yesterday. Can't think of any more right now, but am sure that there are plenty others!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), February 18, 2002.


Rebecca

My hubby and I are stuck in a much larger town than you Indianapolis. We feel for you. We have come up with a plan, To do this, ( homesteading ) we decided what we wanted first. Then we looked around for an area that suited our needs ( thanks to all the wonderful people here on the forum) . Then we checked out some prices. After that, we worked out how to pay off our bills, and get to that lovely piece of heaven in a reasonable amount of time. We will be moving to our farm in two years. PRAISE GOD, we are really excited. We are even doing somthings now to help us prepare. This summer we are doing a unit study ( we homeschool ) on Little house, This will give our youngins an idea of the chores they will have. We are gonna make cheese, clothes ( i already sew , so I am gonna pass it on ), butter, yougurt, grow a garden ( we do this , but we will be growing enough for the whole next year ), I mean all the stuff you would do on a farm. We are even gonna try our hand at the scrub board and making a covered wagon. ( the covered wagon may not come in handy , but they will get the idea of how to use some basic tools.). Anyway, When we do move , we will be ready. I grew up on a farm so I am aware of the HUGE amount of work, But hubby is in for a shock...LOL..I cant wait..( till we get to the farm , not hubby in shock...LOL )... Gods Blessings.. Kristean

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), February 18, 2002.


For land in Kentucky, try: www.landrealtyonline.com and www.hartcountyrealty.com . Hope this helps!! Good luck!

-- Trucker (Truckerbkf@msn.com), February 18, 2002.

Land in WV is not all remote. Snowy on occassion. You will find that most places in WV are in easy driving (2 hours or so) of large urban centers, like Washington DC, Pittsburgh PA, Cleveland OH, state capitol Charleston WV.

Keep your ATVs, motorcycles and 4 wheelers on your land and you'll be a good neighbor. Keep them off the roads and off my property. You want to ride anything, be sure to buy enough property to assure appropriately 'neighborly' use.

The cheapest WV land is remote and may meet your needs. Certainly consider it depending on your employment status/needs.

Those *&%$$% wild animals can be a pain...deer eat more than their share. The coons get the chickens. The mice get everywhere you least expect (just cleaned a bunch of seeds off my battery in my car--and I drive almost everyday!). Be careful what you wish for. ;)

-- Anne (Healthytouch101@wildmail.com), February 18, 2002.


You want to know about wildlife O.K. Two days ago I had a coyote in my back pasture, I thought it was a wolf at first because it was large and in such fine coat for a coyote. Usually they are pretty mangie. I have an eagle's nest I can watch from my kitchen window. I have loads of foxes, they got all the chickens last summer. I have porcupines who love to eat my maple trees. Voles, moles, gophers, skunk, and raccoons.

I am glad too that you are not into 4 wheelers. If the people on the forum get mad at one Susan they'll have to get mad at both of us. I don't think anyone wants to do that.

Have fun dreaming!

Susan

-- Susan in Minnesota (I'm the other one) (nanaboo@paulbunyan.net), February 18, 2002.


Hmm, listened to the great horned owls today, just across the creek. Our dog keeps the deer at bay, but they aren't too far away. Whatever it was that ate the guineas was pretty sneaky so I'm thinking fox, but I haven't seen one. Possums out the wazoo, dumb enough to get on the front porch and hunker down while you whack them with a broom...good tip for possums: bucket of water. It's been a few weeks since I've seen the wild turkey troop that comes through here, but there's one that hangs out in a field on the way to town. Neighbors over the ridge said they heard a "painter" (that's panther to you and me) the other night. Fortunately we haven't seen the bear that ravaged the neighbor's cat food and bird feeders again this year. Maybe you would like it here in the mountains of NC.

No dream is impossible. Heck, if I can make it out, anyone can!

-- gilly (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), February 18, 2002.



Rebecca, have you looked around your area much? Northern Alabama has the trees, small mountains, good water sources you're looking for. Probably moreso than MO or WV and close enough to you now that you could spend more time looking for the perfect place. If you bought close enough to where you live now, you could make the transition over time, spending weekends, etc getting your homestead ready while you still have attachments to the 'citylife'. If you're not dead-set on mountains there's alot of nice land around Montgomery and thick wooded land southeast of there.

Most 4x4'ers are responsible and respect private land. An ATV can be very handy to have around.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), February 18, 2002.


Anybody, Instead of a NOISY, smelly, destructive, expensive, gas burning, Big Shot pocket lining ATV/4x4 get a used golf cart with batteries. Another thing, horses make one skinny trail. Never saw a 4x4 or ATV make less than 2 permanent paths at a time. One walk thru the land with a horse and you never knew it was there after a while, if at all. One drive thru with an ATV or 4X4 and the path is there for years and more years (always and forever?). I've got the scars on my hill (besides the orchard) to prove it. Sorry guys, really a sore spot with me. Go ahead, blast me out of the woods. I'll try not to cry. BUT, thank you to those who are responsible ATV/4X4 owners whoever you are. HA, actually I'm one. I just keep my wheels on the road. And thanks Minnesota for backing me up. Poor Rebecca, ignore us when our dander is up! We really do get along pretty well 86.3% of the time LOL. More opinions under the sun than grass seed.

-- Susan in Northern LP Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), February 19, 2002.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!! I only expected a couple of responses at most.

As for the 4 wheeler thing - forget it!!!!! I have a golf cart and love it.

I am searching for land and still wonder if my dream is too much a fantasy. I find a perfect piece of land (all but the price) and then start to wonder... If I had it right now, what would life really be like? What do you do all day (I don't want animals)? I stay home with my kids now and will homeschool but have all of my family and friends around. My husband is a network security guy and plans to work from home, so he would be around. I just wonder what it will really be like. Will I wish that I stayed where I am?

OK, I'm rambling and you're probably thinking that if I don't know what I want, I should just stay put. Anyway, thanks everyone. It was WAY more than I expected and I appreciate it very much.

-- Rebecca Gallant (rebeccagallant@earthlink.net), February 19, 2002.


Rebecca, try www.swisslands.com and www.fliehmanrealty.com, they tell you all about our very affordable area and they have some lovely pictures of property and the county as well. Land and houses with land are still under 1000 an acre here.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), February 19, 2002.

Rebecca, sounds like you should try to find a farm/place in the country to spend some time at before making your decision. I know there are places that will put you and your family up for a period of time in exchange for you working with them. I think it's considered some kind of vacation package, but I'm sure the amount of vacation vs work differs at each of these places. And, yes homesteading is a dream, some days a good one and others a nightmare! We carved our homestead out of some very old farmland and woods, are still building our house and work harder than we ever did at city jobs. One thing I really do miss is the freedom to travel without having to find someone to do chores and take care of animals for us. Another suggestion is that you take it one step at a time, don't try to do it all at once. Get your place, start with gardening, then move on to animals, or vice/versa. Don't overwhelm yourself all at once. Good Luck and let us know what you end up doing.

-- rose marie wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), February 19, 2002.

we only have 5 acres but many more to roam. luckily, i don't pay taxes on the land i roam. i have a gorgeous view, wildlife everywhere, and cheap taxes somehow!!!!!! we have our hands full trying to maintain our bit of heaven and can't imagine tending or paying for any more! taxes are a pain, and we have beauty, cool stuff, places to go, a swimming hole nearby (yes, we drive thre but are there in 5 minutes), fishing, and GREAT PEOPLE everywhere, doing what we are doing. Among my "peers" 30 acres is "RICH" and then they must raise livestock to sell to pay for it. We get by with ours and don't need anymore. So, just consider that an isolated 5 acres can mean more privacy, less stress, and then you wouldn't have to deal with renting out a bunch of cabins and deal with other people to pay for it. I'd rather have my privacy!!!!

-- marcee (thathope@mwt.net), February 19, 2002.

Hi Rebecca, I'm sure you will find your "place", and the everyday realities of living on the land will present themselves-but the "dream"is most important. Without that, it's just work! I've just recently learned that myself,with help from this board. Let me know how it goes.Take care, Kim

-- Kim Sandker (kosmicpossum@hotmail.com), February 19, 2002.

Rebecca- I scanned the responses and saw some new sites I will have to check out for land, but didn't see anyone refer you to the "usual" favorite- www.unitedcountry.com- They have a great site, searchable by state or nationally, that allows you to input not only price range and acreage range, but you can put in key words like mountain and creek. I have seen some wonderful places there. Good luck. Jack

-- jack (atl.jack@excite.com), February 19, 2002.

what do you do all day?, well, you work , you clean , you plan , and improve ,

you do a heck of a lot of research , on darn near anything you can think of, you make bread , from scratch ,

you teach your 12 yearold homeschooled child how to make cherry pie , and then laugh at him when you tell him you dont like it , cause you HATE cherries!,

you budget VERY carefully, and Dream without a budget,

you work the garden, plant trees , walk the property,

you live and hope and try to convert every single person you know to your lifestyle, cause you are so happy!

and , eventually, you get animals, because they seem so natural , then you decide you love this kind , but wouldnt it be neat to try.....

and thats how it goes, every day something new , you watch the sunrise, and make your coffee, eat breakfast, and start your day ,

you turn the news and tv off, and go outside, and when its 5 pm on sept 11, you are shocked and glad to find out what you missed out on all the "latest" news. and no longer live in any area that could remotely be considered at risk of terrosist attack , and you watch and think and plan and hope, and again try to convert all your friends to the lifestyle

LHK Beth, in North Dakota

-- Beth Van Stiphout (willosnake@hotmail.com), February 20, 2002.


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