Post BK homesteaders?

[Diesel73L]

I know that a lot of folks opt for a simpler lifestyle in a lot of ways post BK, but I was wondering if there were any posters here who moved toward (or are planning to move toward) a homesteading lifestyle post BK. What is eventually steering us toward BK is the fact that we were caught up in the rat race. My wife and I both went to college because our parents pushed us toward it (we were both first in the family to attend) so we did it, incurred the debt (both student loans and credit card debt from living on our own), etc... Then we started to do all of the normal stuff, getting engaged, married, bought a house, started a family, and so on... We are basically overleveraged in terms of debt and had the economic boom kept going we probably would be ok and well on our way to paying our way out. However, I'm stuck in an entry level job that I got just out of college-I figured I'd be here 3-4 years max and would move up (I took the place of someone who had done the same thing-I'm in what was a very high turnover industry)-now here I am going on year six making the same money. My wife is on teaching job number three as the school budgets keep getting cut and the non-tenured staff gets the axe every time.

In any event, we are hoping that freedom from debt and the ability to live simply and finally save will allow us to move to somewhere there is cheap housing and land (Maine is a place we're looking hard at) where we find nearby employment and perhaps start a business of our own. I know someone up there now who does landscaping in the spring and summer, snowplowing and firewood sales in the winter, and handyman type jobs year round. Housing is cheap, property taxes are low, and life just moves at a slower pace. I would like to do something similar, but put more of an emphasis on homesteading-growing, raising, and hunting our own food, having a large enough woodlot to provide ample firewood, etc... Wondering if anyone else has similar plans?

[Pandora]

I....life just moves at a slower pace. I would like to do something similar, but put more of an emphasis on homesteading-growing, raising, and hunting our own food, having a large enough woodlot to provide ample firewood, etc... Wondering if anyone else has similar plans?

We have been more towards being self-sufficient since moving out where we are 4+ years ago, with some exceptions. We dont do the wood heat any longer and obviously have electricity / other modern day conveniences, however we went as energy efficient as possible where we could. We did the wood thing for years when we were in our 20's and let me tell ya... after you're having to chop wood constantly, lug it in, deal with soot, etc - you're going to get tired of hauling at some point. We did... and that was 20+ years ago.

We grow all of our own veggies, have a small orchard we put in when we moved here, grape vines, all the berries, etc. We had chickens for about 3 years however we just gave away our remaining one to some friends because she was lonely (the other 5 died). Hubby hunts (I dont eat deer or anything he brings home because I dont care for it) and we have purchased our meat through local farmers, buying in bulk (full / side of beef) cut to how we desire, then use the foodsaver to store.

I can tell you that working a farm life is hard, back breaking work and that "slow paced" life you desire isnt there as much as one thinks it would be. There is constant work to be done, constant gardening, processing, canning, etc. Not to mention if you're doing heat via wood, you must get enough wood stored for a few years (and it must dry thoroughly). If you get animals you must learn animal husbandry, which in itself doesnt seem daunting ... at first....until one of your animals get sick. At that point you must know how to care for it properly else you'll be trying to find a vet that specializes in certain animals which will be very costly. There are so many fixes that are off-market branding that can be used for animals of different species; for instance - in chickens you can use certain products that are meant for bovine - but cannot do the same the other way around. I can tell you birds of any type get many many diseases / conditions / illnesses - and you have to be able to know what's what by looking at their feathers, eyes, beaks, feet, droppings, etc - every part of a bird you must know how to deal with, including insides. Some people just get chickens / turkeys / quail etc and put them outside, thinking they'll be fine on their own, and to a point, thats true; however birds are carriers of many things that transmit easily. Then you get into the entire thing of having separate shoes & clothing when dealing with animals - if anyone you know has animals, they need to avoid contact with yours and vice versa so nothing spreads between flocks and/or livestock. Cows aren't easy either depending on how you plan to raise them - on average you need 1 acre per cow (split into 2 fields for turn-over) for it to graze properly along with being provided supplemental food (hay, alfalfa, grain). Then you have to worry about what types of things are actually IN your field; spring onions and too much clover cause a cow to bloat and can make them sick. So much to learn...and money to put out - lots of money.

Leading a simpler / slower lifestyle is a mindset; you can live in the big city but still implement many of the same practices You can do a garden using larger pots if you are limited in space as well as growing your own fruit - they have mini fruit trees that produce reg. sized fruit that can be grown on a balcony.

[frogger]

We lean towards it, doing many of the things discussed. We are not planning to go off the grid however, for one of the perks in life is electricity. We do raise a lot of what we eat and sell some as well.

[Diesel73L]

We have been more towards being self-sufficient since moving out where we are 4+ years ago, with some exceptions. We dont do the wood heat any longer and obviously have electricity / other modern day conveniences, however we went as energy efficient as possible where we could. We did the wood thing for years when we were in our 20's and let me tell ya... after you're having to chop wood constantly, lug it in, deal with soot, etc - you're going to get tired of hauling at some point. We did... and that was 20+ years ago.

We grow all of our own veggies, have a small orchard we put in when we moved here, grape vines, all the berries, etc. We had chickens for about 3 years however we just gave away our remaining one to some friends because she was lonely (the other 5 died). Hubby hunts (I dont eat deer or anything he brings home because I dont care for it) and we have purchased our meat through local farmers, buying in bulk (full / side of beef) cut to how we desire, then use the foodsaver to store.

I can tell you that working a farm life is hard, back breaking work and that "slow paced" life you desire isnt there as much as one thinks it would be. There is constant work to be done, constant gardening, processing, canning, etc. Not to mention if you're doing heat via wood, you must get enough wood stored for a few years (and it must dry thoroughly). If you get animals you must learn animal husbandry, which in itself doesnt seem daunting ... at first....until one of your animals get sick. At that point you must know how to care for it properly else you'll be trying to find a vet that specializes in certain animals which will be very costly. There are so many fixes that are off-market branding that can be used for animals of different species; for instance - in chickens you can use certain products that are meant for bovine - but cannot do the same the other way around. I can tell you birds of any type get many many diseases / conditions / illnesses - and you have to be able to know what's what by looking at their feathers, eyes, beaks, feet, droppings, etc - every part of a bird you must know how to deal with, including insides. Some people just get chickens / turkeys / quail etc and put them outside, thinking they'll be fine on their own, and to a point, thats true; however birds are carriers of many things that transmit easily. Then you get into the entire thing of having separate shoes & clothing when dealing with animals - if anyone you know has animals, they need to avoid contact with yours and vice versa so nothing spreads between flocks and/or livestock. Cows aren't easy either depending on how you plan to raise them - on average you need 1 acre per cow (split into 2 fields for turn-over) for it to graze properly along with being provided supplemental food (hay, alfalfa, grain). Then you have to worry about what types of things are actually IN your field; spring onions and too much clover cause a cow to bloat and can make them sick. So much to learn...and money to put out - lots of money.

Leading a simpler / slower lifestyle is a mindset; you can live in the big city but still implement many of the same practices You can do a garden using larger pots if you are limited in space as well as growing your own fruit - they have mini fruit trees that produce reg. sized fruit that can be grown on a balcony.

Totally hear where you're coming from. I should add that my wife and I do have some experience-we heat our home entirely with wood now, burning about five cords per winter and you're right it can be tough, but it's worth it. The key to wood heat is efficiency. I have a wood fired furnace which is more efficient than a stove because it's tied into our ductwork and feeds heat evenly to all rooms, but 40-50% of the heat is still going up the chimney. A gasification boiler is 80-85% efficient, meaning that in order to heat the same house it's going to burn about 40% less wood than my furnace. Sourcing, splitting, and stacking two cords per winter is a heck of a lot better than five! We already substitute venison for beef as New Jersey has way too many deer and the January unlimited doe season allows me to fill the freezer easily. We grow a large garden, know how to can and freeze things properly, etc... I also converted my truck to run on vegetable oil and have been doing it for over three years now. We are on the grid and hooked up to city water/sewer though. When I meant slower pace of life I was referring more to just getting away from the suburban "keeping up with the Jones' types" where everyone's kid is in three sports, SAT prep at age 10, plays two instruments, and has a cell phone. Not to mention they're all chasing the dream of bigger houses, nicer cars, and trips to ever more exotic places.

[LadyInTheRed]

somewhere there is cheap housing and land (Maine is a place we're looking hard at) where we find nearby employment and perhaps start a business of our own.

My husband loves to look at real estate listing in the more rural areas of Northern California and point out how cheap land is and how we could live in a mobile home while we build a house. I love the idea, but the problem is there are very few jobs in those areas. So, I think you need to be able to rely on your own business, or find a job that will allow you to telecommute. I could do most of my job by telecommuting and someday hope to get my employer to allow that option. Then I might consider moving out to the country. But, I love the city too!