Sounds like you’re off to a good start. Like that acreage size. I plan on fencing whatever land I’m on by woodworking from scratch.
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Super interested in this. Currently looking for 5-10 acres in Missouri (or more).
We are planning on getting something with a house on it already and starting small with homesteading. We both work full time right now. The goal would be for the GF to switch to part time or be able to quit completely as we transition towards homesteading.
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I’m in Mizzou, too
that’s 3 of us! we can do a commune autonomous collective err. I bring plumbing skills, limited natural smarts, and my good looks!
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In!
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Can only comment on my personal experience fwiw. I sunk 90% of my roll into 10 acres + family home a couple of years post BF. Been laughably poor ever since, but dgaf most of the time. In hindsight I should have gone with maybe 75% tops of my roll.
The lifestyle is intrisically healthy obv, and our consumption of ‘stuff’ is at a bare minimum. I consider a freshly picked organic salad + home raised bbq’d chicken a luxury item (consumed most days), a gold watch essentially worthless. . I am currently dressed head to toe in donated clothes from my rich neighbours 30yr old son (undies and socks mine ldo).
We chose a country with a strong social safety net, so our healthcare costs are zero and my kids education is free right through Uni. Obv tax is high here.
We are not off-grid so still have bills to pay, our farm production takes care of that. We barter a fair bit with neighbours for labour/red meat/whatever.
I currently have a 5 month old bull calf fattening on our pasture. 6 sheep (+ 7 lambs), 50 layers and at any one time 40+ meat birds. Eggs and chickens are sold to pay for the feed.
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So glad to see this thread started. We are in a Texas suburb and thinking about locations to buy land. Would be interested to hear what folks recommend as minimum requirements. We think we’d like to live close to the Canadian border just in case.
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On the one hand it doesn’t sound like there’s much money for solar there, but, on the other hand, how many kwh/day do you use? Probably not much, eh?
Also, I’m not moving to Missouri ffs, and I’m not paying for your solar, but if any of you start a commune, I’ll donate my services to help set you up if you cover expenses.
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My step aunt quit a very cushy gov’t job to raise sheep and never looked back. They were living up in NW ND with a fucking coal heat system that had to be fed by shoveling coal and shit when they got married and I was there. This was around 1991 or so. I grew up on a crop farm mostly and was like wtf?!
ETA: One of my distant related step aunts or something had an animal farm there and they literally hid all their money in their mattresses and shit. The son had a patent on a Bobcat attachment. We ate from a meal cooked by a wood burning stove.
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What percentage of time do you estimate is spent on the care and feeding of livestock? Related, are cattle significantly more difficult to manage than, say goats?
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Just found the last electricity bill, we average around 250 kWh per month. I have no idea if that’s a lot?? Family of 3, 200l chest freezer and water heater for showering.
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Around an hour in the morning to feed and water the chooks, 3 rabbits, 2 dogs and a cat. Layers are in mobile chicken tractors so that adds a bit of time (fishing out the eggs, moving tractor to fresh pasture etc). Then another 30-60 minutes in the evening to make sure the meat birds are penned in at night (they free range during the day but never venture far from the feed trough).
If you spend a little time with goats/sheep/cows every day, feed them a little corn etc they soon become tame af and will come running when you call them. Goats are notorious Houdinis. You need good fencing for all 3.
Sheep are way easier to butcher than a cow obv!
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About the same as we use. Not very much by USA standards.
If you can do grid-tied about 3kw of solar would do it. If you are off-grid it’s more, maybe as much as double, because you have to provide for the time of year with the least solar rather than just the average.
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Grid-tied is an option here. Some sort of financing should be available too.
Very cool that quite a few UPers are considering homesteading.
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In if Canada
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bought the encyclopedia and it arrived in the mail yesterday
I’ve been skimming through it and it’s got a lot of info in it. I’m moving into a new rent house and not getting internet so going to binge hard on books when I do.
Another thing you mentioned up thread. I’m probably the poorest person itt but land is pretty affordable when financed. If shit gets bad enough then that piece of paper wont matter so I’m not too worried about it.
Order for me right now is Books → Firearm → Land.
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I just skimmed through the first few pages, but it would be such an adventure. I’ve got a van I could manage out of and enough money to buy some land. I think I’ve got enough aptitude and the constitution for it.
Get out and network amongst the locals. Work 16-hour days and feel ‘good’ tired.
Interesting that some women that thought they were infertile, immediately got preggers after moving rural.
Dallas/Ft. Worth Suburban Homestead Update:
Raised Beds completed and cabbages planted. I’m a little late to get the cabbages in but if they do well, I plan to make a lot of sauerkraut for the gutzzzz health.
Checked the HOA bylaws and of cours, no animals allowed, so that sucks.
Planning out solar and a bunch of DIY repairs. While DIY repairs might not be strictly on topic, my thought is every DIY project I complete is another skill in the homesteading toolbox.
Finally, looking for land. Kind of crazy, but I’m going to Idaho to scout properties. While Idaho is redder than Texas, there are few people there. I’m learning that I don’t want to be around people much anymore. 
Land is fertile, but growing season will probably require a greenhouse or hydroponics build.
If we pull the trigger on property in Idaho, my plan is to build a gravel road, farm gate, well, and barn. Then full STOP! Slowly transition from Texas to Idaho by building tiny houses/cabins as funds allow.
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Watched this video about a guy homesteading in the city. I wonder if you could hire someone like him to live on your land for a year or two and show you the ropes if you were going to try homesteading and knew close to nothing.
Randomly remembering this thread and wanted to bump it. I don’t want it to turn into a dystopian nuclear fallout how to survive thread. Im by trade a contractor and in the processing of building my place and being self reliant but at the same time realistic. This was almost all brought on by Covid and being stuck at home in portland Oregon.
I’m now living on an island in northwest. Connected to mainland by ferry. It’s taken me longer then I thought but finally should be able to start building this summer. While waiting for permits I was lucky enough to find a rental on the island. The guy that previously owned it was a survivalist/prepper. After living here for few months I have found some weakness in his planning. You are cut off from the mainland when it all goes to shit. You could take a boat easily back and forth but they creates some problems. The house is on a well which requires a pump which requires electricity. There is no back up generator or any other source of power. So I’m not sure what the plan was with no water source. The house itself is massively over engineered for a massive earthquake I assume.
Living super remote makes me think a gun is +ev even though it probably isn’t? The thought of a home intruder or something like that and no help coming for 45 min makes me think it’s probably the correct play. However who is coming to this island to do this?
It’s also super boring and being trapped sucks. I miss being able to just go to strip club or poker room to all hours of the night. Covid had a lot to do with my decision. I would say at this point I think If Covid some how just goes away or becomes something Thst I don’t care about is snap sell house I’m building and return to the city.
There are some cool things though. Ride my bike around with no traffic, super connected community, quiet, almost no crime, amazing views, beaches, and a few other things.
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