We have this crazy idea....

[Dillpicklechip]

A bit of background--Dh and I have always disliked the region and city we live in. We also feel the need to separate ourselves from various family members who are a drain on us. Right now we are renting a townhouse, and slowly (painfully slowly) saving up for a downpayment on a piece of land. Our ultimate dream is to have a homestead--it doesn't matter where, really, as long as it's reasonably far from where we live now.

We have 3 kids, soon to be 4.

Okay, so our idea: Because we really feel a strong desire to just get away from here, we want to, in maybe about a year from now, get rid of all our excess stuff, rent or buy a big truck, and just pick up and go. We live in Ontario, and we have this idea that we could drive around country roads for a week or two and look for a little country house somewhere that we could rent. Maybe 3-4 hours from here. Then we could live there, and breathe a little easier because we'll be away from the negative people in our lives now, and continue saving up for a downpayment on a permanent property somewhere.

Does this sound crazy? Normally I am not the type of person to do risky or impulsive things...We just feel so DONE with our current living situation. We hate it here and we just want to GO, anywhere...is this foolish? My husband has a woodworking business (online) which gives us a small steady income, so wherever we went we wouldn't have to really worry about immediate employment.

Also, are there any country-living MDC'ers here from Ontario who might be able to tell me where would be a nice area to look for a place? I know the Guelph area is crunchy, but maybe it's too expensive for us. We just want a nice quiet place to get away from it all and recoup...far from our current toxic situation.

[Erinz]

I think this sounds exciting and fabulous! What a great experience for your kids, too.

[zuleicamoon]

I think it sounds perfectly sane.  We've done it several times, in fact :)  I would suggest, though, that for both practical and financial reasons, you put your belongings in storage until you find a new place to live.  Rental trucks are expensive, and even when you do find your new place it may not be ready for immediate habitation.  We've also found it to be a time/sanity saver to pick a camp spot (or hotel) near the approximate center of your search area and then take day trips looking for a house.  It's very time consuming to pack up and re-make camp every day.  Or, since you don't really want to go too terribly far from your current location, you could keep your house and take 3-4 day weekend trips until you find something...then you wouldn't have to pay storage fees or have to move your stuff twice.

Good luck, it sounds like a fun adventure!!

[RubyLu]

I'm nowhere near Ontario, so I cannot help in that way, but I admire families that strike out like you're considering---an adventure together! I've no doubt you'd find a good fit for you when you're out there, mind open. Exciting!

[confusionincan]

We live on a farm in the Peterborough area (from Essex County) and we love it here! We homeschool and there is a large community of homeschoolers in the area. I find it much more organic-natural minded than when we are from.

 

[Dillpicklechip]

Originally Posted by zuleicamoon 

I think it sounds perfectly sane.  We've done it several times, in fact :)  I would suggest, though, that for both practical and financial reasons, you put your belongings in storage until you find a new place to live.  Rental trucks are expensive, and even when you do find your new place it may not be ready for immediate habitation.  We've also found it to be a time/sanity saver to pick a camp spot (or hotel) near the approximate center of your search area and then take day trips looking for a house.  It's very time consuming to pack up and re-make camp every day.  Or, since you don't really want to go too terribly far from your current location, you could keep your house and take 3-4 day weekend trips until you find something...then you wouldn't have to pay storage fees or have to move your stuff twice.

Good luck, it sounds like a fun adventure!!

Thank you for this advice--it makes good sense. Thanks everyone for your responses and encouragement. :)

[omamasmama]

go for it!

[LessTraveledBy]

If you both feel equally strongly about this, I think it sounds like a wonderful idea.

Our family just spend three months living in a house the size of a garden shed, and I think it was one of the best memories we will have. Dh did not find it very easy, although dd and I loved it. Thus comes my warning about "if you both feel."

TBH, I wish I could do something like that. I am stuck in the city again, after living in that beautiful garden, overlooking a natural reservation... and I want out. I want to bring a Christmas tree into a beautiful "elf house", not the brick attached townhouse which is our real home.

[Dillpicklechip]

Originally Posted by LessTraveledBy 

If you both feel equally strongly about this, I think it sounds like a wonderful idea.

Our family just spend three months living in a house the size of a garden shed, and I think it was one of the best memories we will have. Dh did not find it very easy, although dd and I loved it. Thus comes my warning about "if you both feel."

Well that's a cool thing about my husband and I...our ideas about such things are exactly the same. We've talked about such matters endlessly over the years and we almost always agree. We'd both love roughing it for a while, it would be a fun adventure. We are not city people at all, the only thing we really care about is being close to nature...it seems stupid that we have been living unhappily in this ugly townhouse with no yard for 5 years! There must be a better way...

We keep talking about this and more and more we want to just pick up and go somewhere. Although not in the next few months, since we have a baby coming in March...let's not get TOO crazy, lol.

LessTraveled I am curious...can I ask what the situation was that you guys were living in such a tiny house for 3 months? It sounds like fun! Did you get to cook over a campfire? I guess such a tiny house couldn't have a stove...
 

[kimmom]

We did something similar (ish)

We had 4 kids then , 5 now :)

We sold our big home to get out of debt and DH was always away working to pay the big bills, not home with the family. So we sold most of our crap, stored some at a friends. Bought an RV and hit the road. We travelled and studied sustainable building and looked at land in different area of BC. We settled a few times over the year and a half we were on the road for DH to work on jobs. After a year and a half felt drawn back to the island and under amazing circumstances this awesome piece of land came up and it all worked out for us and we bought it. We are in our 5th wheel still since we bought here but are ALMOST done building our small passive solar cob home. We will be in the next few months. Making the changes we did have made our family so much stronger and connected. At times it was tough but I would never change it for anything.. Heres a link to our website/blog www.canadianfamilyrobinson.com

[wendybird]

That sounds wonderful to me, I would totally go for it. Good luck!

[Tumble Bumbles]

Sounds awesome, I would totally go for it! Life's too short :) We have a similar type of dream (with slightly different details of course).

Pretty please keep a blog or update if you decide to do it! I love reading about adventures such as these!

[birthgreeter]

Do it!!!!!!

13 and 1/2 years ago we lost everything we owned in a house fire.  The place that burned down we had sold before but stayed there renting it,  we did already own land somewhere else with nothing built on it.  I wanted to buy a travel trailer, travel across the county for about 2-4 years, before we would return to the land and build and settle in-we never did.  We built right away, and here we are today.  We had 5 kids, were already homeschooling, so it would have worked out great to travel.  Now my hubby wishes we would have just traveled with the kids...enjoyed a few years living that way....

 Take my advice-don't regret not doing something like this-like we now do.  GO for it!!!!

[SugarGlider]

Back in Sept we packed up and moved two and a half hours away from everyone we knew and to an area we only knew one person.  It's been the best thing we've ever done!

A couple problems have cropped up because we have a crappy vehicle and it does scare me that we have no one to call... but it's been such a huge growing experience and I have not regretted it for a moment.

We rented a tiny house and we just love it.

[Dillpicklechip]

Originally Posted by SugarGlider 

Back in Sept we packed up and moved two and a half hours away from everyone we knew and to an area we only knew one person.  It's been the best thing we've ever done!

A couple problems have cropped up because we have a crappy vehicle and it does scare me that we have no one to call... but it's been such a huge growing experience and I have not regretted it for a moment.

We rented a tiny house and we just love it.

That's awesome SugarGlider! I love to hear from people who have done something like what we are planning. Did you guys have a job lined up before hand, or did you just hit the road? I'd love it if you told me more. :)

We are still totally planning to pack up and leave this town, but probably not until early 2012, since we have a new baby arriving in a few months. I'd rather not uproot our lives hugely with a newborn. But I am working towards it, downsizing our possessions all the time, bit by bit, which is a pretty big job because we've lived in this house for 5 years and have (for now) 3 kids. Thank goodness for Freecycle!

[momtoalexsarah]

I've chatted her with you a few times, grey county is nice - there are lots of options up here - 3-4 hours from where you are now, pretty crunchy area, 2 hours to guelph,TO,kitchener.  Homeschool friendly (but also have good public schools, not fancy city ones small town good.)  If you want more info on specific local stuf shoot me a PM

[Annie Mac]

It actually sounds like a fantastic idea, considering your ultimate goal. You can get a "'practice run" living away from an urban centre to see if it's really for you without the financial commitment of purchasing.