If you live rurally... - Page 2

[swellmomma]

Interesting thread. I am moving to a village (pop. 760) next friday. I will be right in town but it is still a very small place with very little business. We will be about 15 minutes from the next town which has more stuff, and 1 hour from the closest small city, 2 hours from the big city.

I make enough now to pay the bills and get by out there but I am hoping to do some home daycare to boost the budget a bit. I figure even 1-2 kids is better than none kwim. Because I will be in town fully homesteading is not possible at this time, but I am looking at gardening etc to at least help lower the grocery bill a bit. My goal is to have my mortgage paid off within 7 years as that will open up my budget a lot (given the normal mortgages in my province I feel so blessed to have found a great house for next to nothing so I can pay it off that fast)

There is also a K-12 school jsut down the block from me and I am going to see if they reguire lunch hour supervisors at all, as that would be an extra small income coming in each month and at this point every tiny bit helps.

If I meet my goal of having the house paid off(and if I bring in $1000 a month extra all my debts too) within that 7 year time frame I will be in a position to require very very little to support us.

[wendyland]

I don't live rurally, but a lot of people that I work with do. They work at home as computer programmers.

[CherryBomb]

We don't live terribly rural, we live right outside a small town of 400 in a little subdivision of 16 other houses on 1/2 acre lots, but we're outside the city limits. But everyone commutes, between 10 and 45 minutes depending. Dh was working 20 minutes away, though he's unemployed now.

[mnnice]

We are trying to get a country place within 5 miles of the small town that DH and I both work in. The little town we work in has a few manufacturing concerns and a school. I work in the school (part-time, but professional job and DH works in the largest manufacturing job in the same field he has worked in the last 15 years in more urban and expensive places).

Anyway in general the employment prospects are not the fabulous that area sometimes you can luck out and find decent jobs. We are going to stick to a smaller acreage and learn the ropes. I wouldn't expect agriculture to ever be a sole support and most likely not even a cash producing, but I sure would like to be able to trade apples for firewood or hay for a discount on my grass fed beef.

[Nursingnaturalmom]

My DH owns a computer consulting company. Some months are better than others, but we're doing okay. I stay home with our 5 kids and we homeschool too so there is another expense

[Artichokie]

Originally Posted by Chicky2

My dh works an hour away. I guess that's not what you wish to hear. He also works side jobs. We could not make it on what we grow/sell/raise here.

when we lived rurally, this was our situation as well. I HATED it. We now live in a city and dh commutes 4 miles which takes 12 min by car.

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by Chicky2

My dh works an hour away. I guess that's not what you wish to hear. He also works side jobs. We could not make it on what we grow/sell/raise here.

Originally Posted by MoreThanApplesauce

when we lived rurally, this was our situation as well. I HATED it. We now live in a city and dh commutes 4 miles which takes 12 min by car.

I actually love it, though. I mean, yeah, when gas prices go up, it's more expensive, but what I mean is that when we lived in the metroplex and dh worked just a few miles from home, he'd have all that nasty traffic to go thru, preventing him from processing his work stuff on the way home. So he'd bring it in the door w/him. Now even though the drive is an hour, it is an *easy* drive, and work doesn't always come in the door w/him.

[Artichokie]

Originally Posted by Chicky2

I actually love it, though. I mean, yeah, when gas prices go up, it's more expensive, but what I mean is that when we lived in the metroplex and dh worked just a few miles from home, he'd have all that nasty traffic to go thru, preventing him from processing his work stuff on the way home. So he'd bring it in the door w/him. Now even though the drive is an hour, it is an *easy* drive, and work doesn't always come in the door w/him.

I agree with this for sure! when dh had an hour drive he would be much more relaxed when he got home. but it was hard losing 2 hours every day that now we have with him.