Country-wannabe mamas? (Aka Aspiring Homesteaders)

[seawitch]

I've looked through the various threads and haven't seen one quite like it, but if it already exists - please point me in the right direction.

Is anyone else looking to head towards country-living? We've been doing the urban homesteading thing for a few years now but now our life is changing and we're going to be looking for an honest-to-goodness house in the country. We're looking into West Virginia and Tennessee at the moment. I wouldn't mind Missouri either but DH is against it. Our house just has to sell, and that might be next month, or it could be a year from now. Yargh.

I'm excited about some things that we can do that we couldn't in the city. Goats, chickens, a REAL garden (not just herbs in a container!!). Down the line I'd like a cow and maybe even a horse, but not for a while.

I've lived in rural areas before but only as a kid and I've never been in charge of chores or anything... I *know* I dig the isolation and the pace of life. I feel much more at home in the middle of nowhere than I do in a strip mall or city. But I'm a little scared of being far away from the hospitals (for the kids) and being in charge of animals, etc. But oh well. I'm also scared of my kids running out in traffic in the city, so I guess that's going to be the same no matter where we are, there will be something to worry about.

We have a pretty low budget of about 100-120K for a house with a little bit of acreage, but there are some properties that look promising... Still have only seen them online though so who knows. But we only have that to work with so it's going to be modest for sure. Oh well. I'm looking on it as an adventure.

Any other aspiring country folk?

[Earthy Mama]

Me! We live in SC and would love to move to western North Carolina.I want the whole nine yards.

We're in the process of developing a plan now-we just rent so we don't have to wait for a house to sell, but we need to save some serious cash.

[Lovemytwogirls]

Us too!!  We have some land in Alabama that we will one day retire on, but until then i am trying to make my backyard into a little homestead paradise. Currently we can only have a garden, but a good friend of mine just bought a house that has a huge garden, orchard, honeybees, a chicken coop and has been certified as a natural habitat. She lives IN a town. It is crazy. She did get a goat, but that didn't last too long with the neighbors. LOL. So I am currently living and learning through her.

[omMommaom]

I love to dream of the homestead!  I have been studying earth-building for years now, and sustainable energy....just need some land to put my busy hands to work!!!

[harrietsmama]

Subbing

We just moved to a tiny town on the west coast of Michigan.  We are 20 miles from the lake and surrounded by farms, orchards and sand dunes - and a lot of state land.  We only have 1.29 acres but we've been thinking hard about how best to use it.  We have goats and chickens.  We are really excited about next years' gardening!!!

We are looking into water stuff, we got 2 huge bin crate things that had a de-icing salt in it.  they hold 250 gallons each and are plastic with a metal cage around them and a big spigot.  We could have gotten ones with soda syrup in them but in reading about the deicing stuff vs. the syrup, the ingredients in the de-icer were less harmful.  We got them at the airport.  So eventually they will be hooked up to the gutters and used for the yard and such.  We'd like to build a wind energy system.  We'll see!

[seawitch]

Ah, it's been a while...

I'm a little disoriented. We're in FL right now. Our old house sold but we didn't really get as much for it as we were hoping to. So now we're trying to figure out where to move to, and I'm having commitment issues. Things with DH aren't really going well (not between us, he just has medical issues and things have taken a turn for the worse in the past year) and there are just SO many factors to consider when choosing a property. I want to be there forever once we move but I don't know WHERE I want to spend forever. Will DH be around in a few years? If so, then we could afford a mortgage and get a kick-ass place for a low payment. Or is there a chance that, gulp, he won't make it? Then we should settle for a more humble place and make do. But then, where? Florida? I'm scared of snakes. New York state? Taxes and heating costs are high. South Carolina, West Virginia? Both nice places, both have rural areas, but they're both unfamiliar.... And should the worst come to pass and me be left alone with the kids, I wouldn't want to be stuck in America anyway, I'd want to go back home to Europe.... But should he stay around, he definitely does not want to move to Europe, he wants to stay stateside... Ugh, I'm just having minor panic attacks considering all these factors!

[jimblejamble]

We almost bought a house about 8 months ago with 1/3 of an acre with a portion of it already sectioned off for a HUGE garden. I was going to try to grow a bunch of vegetables plus keep chickens and a few goats for milk so I could make soap. It didn't work out but ohh, I dream of someday having the land to do that!