i know i am nosey but think this might be interesting to many. why did you chose or get into homesteading?

by the way notice i can now do paragraphs. thanks to the people on the forum i am now less ignorant. still to lazy to use caps.

i wonder sometimes why a towner has always wanted to be in the country. i think a lot of my reasons come from several of my uncles and my grandpa were and those still living are farmers. as a young boy me and my sister spent a lot of time in the summer on thier farms. enough so we knew it wasn't just neat but hard work too.

when i finally made the move three years ago i was 47 and just getting really ahead at work ready to move into management and the pay and quirks that go with that. and yes the headaches.

i have always liked animals both as pets and have raised chickens and rabbits for food. i wanted the animals but for some reason having animals in the backyard is frowned upon in phoenix. i too was tired of reading and listening on the news about drive by shootings, gang warfare, and the other wonderful things we humans do to one another. so i knew when i had to break up a fight between two of my neighbors both carrying guns which were drawn that it was time to get out.

when i left i had to go a round about way to get to missouri as flagstaff had just got a freakish 27inches of snow in april. so it took a little longer to get here than i wanted. was glad when i made it that the pictures from the land company (i bought my land from a mail order company) were actually taken on my land and not someplace that just looked like it might sell.

so why did i do it? i wanted more control over my living space and i know 3.7 acres isn't much but a lot bigger than a houselot. i wanted to build my own house the way i wanted it. i wanted to have animals as i could take care of them.

has it worked? yes as a single man the first thing for economics was to get a place to live. as a single rent or a mortgage has always been the most expensive thing in my budget. my house is paid for not quite done but have lived in it for three years. my land is not paid for yet but the mortgage on it is down to about $2200 and payments are $56.25 amonth. also in phoenix even with your home paid for by the time you paid taxes and insurance you were talking about (for my entry level type dwelling) $2-4000 a year and thinking that i would be retireing in about 20 years just wondered how i would ever aford that. animals i have 5 dogs, 6 cats, 6 potbellied pigs, 1 white dove, and one goat with a buck coming next month.

what have i gotten done since i have moved here? built a house, 2 pig pens and sheds, a dog run with dog house, a goat pen and shed, 3 storage sheds, cleared about 3/4 s of an acre and had a pond dug.

also in regards to y2k i am so glad i was ready as the lights didn't go out but my back did. if i was still in phoenix i would be on the streets as a homeless person but because i had stored food and reasonable living expenses i have been able to last these 6 months without any income. i am sorry to inform you that i am one of those trying to get the govenment to pay for me to live as i have filed for and looks like i will get social security disability. but even with that i could never have lived in the city on what i will get.

so back to the title of this posting why am i here? to have a better life by the economics and freedom of homesteading.

thanks for listening and hope to hear why you want to homestead. any suggestions i have for anyone thinking about it is simply do it. gail

-- gail missouri ozarks (gef123@hotmail.com), August 21, 2000

Answers

I grew up on a dairy farm and ranch on the beautiful North Texas prairie. I spent 25 years as a journalist in big cities and small villages around the world. I returned to North Texas to be near my mother who is now 90 and well. I chose to live the rural life because as I look back, that's where I've always been happiest. I'm all alone now except for my cats and other animals and that's all I want. I like being alone. Being able to sit on the porch each morning drinking my coffee and watching critters run around as the sun comes up. I do not like breathing dirty air and being around rude city people who are in such a hurry. I don't like traffic and crowded places.

-- Joe Cole (jcole@apha.com), August 21, 2000.

I wish it were so easy to just do it. We all are in different situations. I can't just do it right now.....but my reasons for wanting to are the same as Gail and Joe. Plus, I want a garden big enough to grow everything that I want to grow. I want more animals, I want to let Daisy bark her little head off if she wants to. I want starlight instead of streetlight, the smell of flowers instead of the neighbors trash. I want to lie in a meadow and listen to crickets. All in time.

-- Cathy Horn (hrnofplnty@webtv.net), August 21, 2000.

I've wanted to live in the country since I was 16 or 17 years old...some 30+ years ago. After a few times of living in the country as a "transient", i.e.: student, commuter, I finally permanently did it about 17 years ago.

Like many homesteaders, I am probably some kind of "control freak". I don't like my decisions being made for me. I like to be able to control my food, my economy, my clean air. I do my little part; God does the big part, and I can chose what other participants I want to involve. Of course, this is all relative! I also like building community.

I prefer being outdoors more than indoors. I love being less dependent on $$$. I love being frugal and using resources wisely. I love animals more than people sometimes, and I get excited when I see plants grow. I think hard work is good for both body and soul.

I can't even imagine living in a city anymore. I would just wither and die. Guess that says it for me!

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), August 21, 2000.

I grew up on an acre lot in Southern California, raised by a grandmother who gardened, sewed, canned, and raised chickens like she was still in Arkansas. She was the one who gave me my desire to live on a piece of my own land and have an independent life. She never trusted the quality of store-bought canned goods or the ways of "city folks".

From my earliest memories, I longed to have my own garden, raise my own food, and breathe clean air. Growing up in So. Cal. will do that for you! Luckily, I married a man 34 years ago who shared my desires and we have steadily moved toward our goal. We have always had the garden, the small animals, usually on an acre or so in the city. Now we have 7 acres in the boondocks of Arkansas. We have a tiny village of wonderful folks just a mile away. The nearest Wal-Mart is 32 miles one way. That's far enough to be an event when we go. We usually make an evening of it, make the rounds of all the stores we need to hit, and eat out. Big stuff!

I work a part-time job in a small town 9 miles from here. It's enough to put bacon in the beans, but not enough to have to pay taxes. We do fine, we don't tear up the world, but we never cared to. I have my chickens, rabbits and a couple of worthless dogs. We have a young orchard and a pasture that will hold a couple of goats in a year or two, when we get a shed built. I refuse to milk goats in the rain again. Been there, done that, got the Purple Heart. We are getting chicks this week to raise in a chicken tractor on that pasture. This is an experiment for us and will determine whether we want to expand that idea into a moneymaker. My husband is expanding our garden plot into a chicken/garden complex that we saw in Backwoods Home a few years ago. Looks good on paper, I'll be able to tell you more in a couple of years.

We are starting slow this time. In the past, we went out and got the goats, then ran home to build fences and shelters. We bought the sheep with no idea of who would shear them. The horse came along, but there was nowhere to ride. We are older and wiser, and we think things through. Not as much fun, but much more rewarding in the long run. Now, anyone else want to share their chicken tractor experiences? I'm all ears. Melina

-- Melina Bush (goatgal1@juno.com), August 21, 2000.

I started homesteading back in the late 60's as a result of the "counter-culture" "get back to the garden" movement of the the 60s. Plus, I needed to unwind from the Viet Nam thing. I grew up on a small family dairy farm and all I knew was farming for your food as a child. It was necessary to survive and eat well. So, I was considered somewhat of a guru to most of the folks getting back to the land back then...it was just reliving my childhood to me! ;-)) Truthfully tho, one of the main reasons for "getting back to the Earth" back in the 60s was to be able to "grow your own" and use it without being pestered!! Which most of us did back then.

My wife and I then had a daughter and that changed my life from the carefree method of homesteading w/o a real job and w/o insurance to trying to become a reasonable/ responsible adult and working a real job.

I returned to college in about 1978 and continued to chip away for the next 12 years. Then in the mid 90s we again bought a small farm and have been doing it right since. I think we had this discussion before and I also stated that I do this because I love to farm...it is in my blood. I do it well. I love everything about it. I'm not making a statement to society or experiencing some religious nirvana...I just like to handle dirt and animals and eat freshly grown food knowing how it was grown.

Now, as we approach retirement, we have purchased more acreage and plan on retiring near a small central Ohio farm town and "work with the earth" for the rest of our lives.

-- JimR (jroberts1@cas.org), August 21, 2000.

I've put in nearly 20 years with the same company, had a good career, however don't see much of a future ahead for hardware techs in my field. Got the house and land and figure to try retirement the way it worked before S.S. (house,land, nestegg). Homesteading seems to lend itself to this nicely, hope to see results in 3 to 5 years. In the meantime, I'm satisfied with being able to get by with one income comfortably and know that I will never look forward to that 70 year retirement day ( I'll be out of the rat race long before that). I already see it when offered overtime, I smile and say "no thank you, I have plenty to do at home". Haven't done OT in 2 years and don't miss it.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), August 21, 2000.

Nothing else seems as real.

-- Doreen (liberty546@hotmail.com), August 23, 2000.

JimR! You said it all!!! No other reasons for me either --well besides the solitude, peace and quiet, than to just be where He wants me. I love the smell of fresh plowed dirt in the spring, when birds are chirpin and flyin around the tractor or---when you're workin in the garden/truck patch. The smell of new sprouted plants, the feel of sunshine upon ones face and the feel of dirt on my big old bare feet! I'm not alone whilst workin in the garden [don't farm anymore] as He is there with me. I can sometimes just almost touch Him as I'm workin alone outside. I'm sure He is there because He told us in His Word that He'd never leave nor forsake us. I believe Him! What about when it's time to start pickin things in that garden? Takin a big grocery sack of tomatoes, green beans, onions and maybe even corn, to a nieghbor that isn't able to put out a garden or maybe even lives in town. Yes! We will be held accountable for what we've done in this life--why not help those poor souls that needs help! Nursing homes are a great place to visit also. Those old folks are so lonesome and will welcome any and all vistors to their places. Something to think about-----! In the meantime I'll continue to live here and enjoy what He has loaned us for awhile. Everybody should be so blessed! Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), August 23, 2000.

My heart has always wanted a simpler lifestyle....even tho I've been a reporter for more than 20 years I believe I'd go nuts if it wasn't for our homestead....

Husband in June started a home based business where he goes to others homes and business and does repair work...my office for both newspapers is at home but I still have to go out and do interviews, cover court, etc.

I would love to be totally self sufficient here but at least we're making strides toward greater selfsufficiency. We have a large garden, raise Angora rabbits and hopefully will have Angora goats and chickens by next spring.

My husband worked for more than 20 years in the steel industry and then had that job snatched from him by "foreign" competitors and our government....after all that he finally realized my ideals of a simpler life were what is a better reality...

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), August 26, 2000.