I recognized I was living on a hamster wheel- running as fast as I could without going anywhere because I was uncertain how long my term position was going to last.  Not knowing created financial instability and mental stress.  I couldn’t afford to buy a house without some job permanence or even decide where to look for a house not knowing whether I would have to move to stay gainfully employed.  This also prevented me from being able to save enough for a safety net if I didn’t get an extension for my term position.  Meanwhile, I had to rent an apartment at an exorbitant market rate.  I was in a perpetual state of stress wondering whether I could make rent and get groceries if something happened.   

I knew something had to give and I didn’t want it to be my mental health!

As I began to look around for ways to get off the hamster wheel, I considered joining a commune (a group of people living and working together on a farm).  I considered moving back home and living with my parents (not an ideal solution).  I considered living in a fifth wheel at a trailer park (turned out not to be cost-effective).  Homesteading came to my attention because it was my Dad’s retirement dream.  So he and I joined forces to start the process of creating our own homestead.  

Finding the perfect piece of land was one of the first challenges.  I could live in the city (way too expensive), near the city (still expensive with lots of rules), or further from the city (affordable and liberating).  We decided on Option #3.

This whole process has been far more difficult and far more rewarding than I or my Dad anticipated.  In fact, it was far more physically demanding than he expected, and he decided to head back to his suburban home for the winter.  The onset of COVID-19 prevented his anticipated return the following spring.  He hopes to return in Spring of 2021.

Now I know that not everyone has the ability or the desire to move out to the middle of nowhere and start farming. I hope to inspire you to reflect on how sustainable your lifestyle is, and how you might want to change it, or why you might not want to change.  

Next blog post: Unanticipated setbacks and solutions.