Anyone switch to country living/off the grid later in life? (50’s or older) - Page 2

[notsheepable]

I am doing it and started at age 63 and a single guy to boot! Couldn't yet swing the cost of land so I am working with a single woman age 73 who has the land. Just about to settle a deal for one or more acres with a man that is impressed with what I am doing and agreed to sell me land with no down and low payments - complete with shares in an existing well. Doing this on Social Security pay and no more. On one month I buy solar panels and the next month batteries. Got 6 chicks a few months ago and got my first eggs today and yesterday from them. I built a solarium/greenhouse for this woman - with a rocket stove to heat it and helped her with some cob straw covering on one of her buildings - and much weatherization and general maintenance on her buildings in return for a room in a small shack and a place to grow my own veggies. I made a deal with her neighbor and am planting more on his land to share with him and his wife. I have 3 gardens going now and red worms galore after getting 2,000 a few months ago - for worm castings and composting - as well as for food for the fish I will have in my aquaponics set-up, which I bought a 400 gallon tank for recently.

All that stands in the way of people doing this is blockages in their minds and nothing more usually. Fear of change, fear of failure and fear of criticism are the most common barriers - or it could be what kept me from doing it many years sooner - a wife who would not cooperate with me... It took me 11 years to recover from the nasty divorce and a couple other set-backs and find my nitch - but I hung in there and I am doing it!

I spent much time and effort trying to get others to form a community effort to do this - and some time on the Hopi reservation trying to work with some there, which didn't suit me - but these are learning experiences and temporary setbacks, not failures, if one looks at it right. Everybody says "build it an we will come!' I say if they come after I build it they are too late and will pay for my goods and there will be no room at the inn!

Right now I am on a mountain in Southern UT and the land I am getting will be in northern AZ - not too far from Saint George, UT. Hot in the summer and darn cold in the winter with sand and cactus. If I can do it here at my age - what is your excuse? If you are a good woman and needing a good man - there just might be room at the inn - if you have the proper attitude of course. If a couple needs some help - I sure could use some good neighbors and would help you get the land and maybe teach you a thing or two - and trade work. If not - I will be out there doing it alone and loving life - like I did today making a soup/stew from naturally raised beef I bought from a local and I put a bunch of veggies I raised in it - yum! Dehydrating a bunch of fruit and veggies now, too. Sprouting wheat to make Essene sprouted bread and growing wheat grass for juicing.

Did some trading for an old travel trailer frame that was sitting around being junk and working on getting it built into a living space and place for my aquaponic system while I build my dwelling on the land I am getting soon. It will be cob/straw bale earth bag construction. Just don't ask me what I do in my spare time - usually studying while I rest.

After 2 AM now so I need to get some sleep - just had to reply to let you all know you can do it if you set your mind to it - and get over the mental barriers. I help people do that when I have the time - when I get the help I need with all of these projects I plan to hold some seminars on getting past those barriers - or after the fall harvest is all stocked away securely and the snow sets in.

[Crystal Pegasus]

Notsheepable... just wanted to let you know that your post inspired me!  Well done with your adventure, and keep up the good work.

I really like your mindset.

We are planning to make the move to our own sustainable 'patch of paradise' at some point in the future and I hope we can approach it with a similar outlook!

[EmsMom]

I am 50 this year, single mom but my kids have a very involved dad.  I always thought I wanted to live "out there", but I think now I would be kind of lonely.  I am planning to compromise on a kind of suburban homestead.  Small house, bit of land (and maybe eventually I could even rent out a bit more if I needed it).  Full time job at first, then transitioning to part-time consulting and a couple of part-time businesses.  Even on a small house in town, you can often still do chickens, sometimes even a goat or two, big gardens, fruit trees, etc.  In some small towns, the property lots are quite large.  There are a couple of homes in my neighborhood (a very proper suburban North Jersey one) with an existing barn and chicken coop on a large lot.  Completely unused, but I find it very appealing... And there is an advantage that you might be able to easily walk or ride a bike to a supermarket. The house that my grandmother lived would have been perfect for self-sufficient town living, with a perfect root cellar and unheated pantry and large level lot.   I think the most important part of self-sufficient living is health and physical fitness.  At 49, I am in the best physical condition I have ever been in, I run and lift weights and do some yoga.  And most people will regain good conditioning with regular consistent, but not necessarily intense effort.  Anyway, this is my compromise life.  I won't do it out of fear but out of joy in the life and the freedom.  Even though I don't have my home yet, I still add to my skill load regularly - I am a trained herbalist, I make bread, can, sew, garden, I even took up the fiddle!   And I just received my masters in policy analysis so as to have a decent paying career and part-time contracting possibilities.  So it isn't an either/or thing, right?  There are other options that might work better...
 

[jmarroq]

Sounds like fun! I think it will keep you young and fit. It will be hard work, but very rewarding! It will be so nice for your children to learn about these things. I am also very interested in this lifestyle, not so much for "gloom and doom" reasons, but I can certainly see that aspect as being part of it. I am glad to see your husband came around on this, as my husband seems like he wouldn't consider even planting one vegetable in his lifetime. I will do the work on my own when our day comes!

You also have to consider the "what ifs". If one or both of you gets sick or worse, will the other be able to keep up? Would you be able to pay for help around the property for a little while until you figure out what your next move is? Perhaps it will really work out and your children will value the lifestyle so much that they will help you as you get older. Then you can stay there well into your retirement.

You could also weigh the pros and cons of being self sufficient in the suburbs vs. the country. Could you keep a plot of land for "just incase" but also have a small place in town that doesn't require as much work? 

[Kikogal]

HI.  I am in my 60's, partner in her 70's.  Five years ago we purchased a ten acre farm and then began to raise and breed goats.  We had both had desk jobs most of our lives so this was really a total break from our normal way of life.  We love it !  Is it a lot of work?  YES !  Is it worth it.  YES !  We actually have the time to enjoy the sunrises and sunsets.  We actually have time to teach our grandchildren and great grandchildren the care of animals and the love of living with the land.  We are expanding and will be selling our home and 10 acres.  If you know of anyone who wants to be self-sufficient on their own land, and are interested in Illinois, tell em to let us know.  We are not leaving the land.... we need MORE land.  Our goat business, breeding the Kiko Goats, as grown larger than our 10 acres will hold.  Anyone out there have about 20 acres with a small liveable house on it?  Let me know.

[1stimestar]

Kikogal, how did things turn out?  Did you end up getting a bigger place?