Survival, Prepping, Cost of living, Eat healthier, Opportunity for income, Opportunity to give back to those who helped me, Opportunity to help others, Opportunity for community involvement, Preserve and improve my land, Be the change I wish to see in the world.
A few months ago @wholesomeroots did a video challenge on YouTube asking homesteaders to give 10 reasons why they do it. Lots of great homesteaders answered the call. I didn't have a homestead at the time so I was still dreaming when I made this list, and had no clue I would be acquiring one in the very near future when I made this list. The order of this list was changed from that above to the list below. Here's a link to the video playlist of other homesteaders who participated.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmNsCPmvFOipgmpAL-itEKhP02nWDY7kT
#1 Survival
I'm not talking about a zombie apocalypse, I'm talking about having food, water, and shelter in our current world. You can't always rely on government or family or friends or neighbors for more than a few days of help. Things happen. We've all seen beggars on the streets who are in this situation. With land, you at least have the opportunity to produce your own food, collect water if nothing else, and put up a tent if the government allows. I am not a survivalist, if there's a zombie apocalypse I will be a zombie and I'm sorry if I eat you, but we all need sustainable food sources to survive.
(My friends from Natural Living Homestead on YouTube hooked me up with some awesome homegrown "treats".
#2 Cost of living
Other than couch hopping or boon docking, you can't get much cheaper than having your own cheap land with low or no property taxes. Apartments or lot rent in a mobile home park? Forget about it, not cheap enough for me. A necessary evil, sometimes, but paying rent is basically just flushing money down the toilet. I want to minimize my cost of living and this is best way to do it over the long term. Everybody is in a different situation, but $5k for 2.8 acres is possible with no debt and low bills. I'm looking at less than $400/month for electricity, car insurance, internet, property taxes, and basic food needs.
(My place in Sacramento, I know how to live cheap.)
#3 Opportunity for income
Do your homework, but if you have land in a "friendly" area, you have opportunities to grow things or do things worth money. Flowers, livestock, eggs, plants, birdhouses, and 1,000 other ways to make money from land.
#4 Prepping
I am not a prepper, by my own definition. I don't have a specific or imminent date in mind when I believe the world is going to end or anything like that. I know my home state of Illinois gets closer and closer to a Greece like debt collapse every day, and I want no more part of that. I just would like to have some food and supplies saved up to make it through difficult times if needed.
#5 Eat healthier
When you're poor, you don't eat healthy, even if you're lucky enough to snag a SNAP card. Potatoes are cheap, bread is cheap, pasta is cheap, meat is expensive, good vegetables are expensive, and organic or natural foods are way out of the price range. If you can produce some of your own on your own land, you can eat healthier without spending more.
(I can roast a chicken I grow myself just as easily as one from Aldi.)
#6 Opportunity to give back to those who helped me
I've been down and out and have had people throw me lifelines on several occasions. I'd like to pay them back in some shape or form, even if its just some good food or some laughs at my adventures or some lessons I might have to share. I may never be able to write a check, but I can do what I can do.
(My living room in Illinois where almost everything is because of a little help from my friends.)
#7 Opportunity to help others
Again, I may never be able to write a check, but maybe I can provide a safe place to stay for a while. Or maybe I can introduce someone to a better quality of food. Perhaps I can inspire someone to do something that makes a better life for themselves. I don't know how now, but I'll know it when I see it.
#8 Opportunity for community involvement
This might not happen with my direct neighbors, although I hope it does, but thanks to social media like Steemit having land will help me connect with people doing similar things as I plan on doing. Hopefully I'll be producing some things that others will appreciate, creating even more opportunities both locally and online.
(The ham radio tower on my property, I might even put it to use some day, you never know.)
#9 Preserve and improve the land
This might be tricky for me, but I think I can pull it off. My land is a forest and was meant to be a forest. However, there is some junk there than needs to be taken care of and I aim to do that at the very least. Then I'll look for natural ways that the land and I can help each other without harming that land for the future. Who knows, I may even be able to team up with neighbors and help improve their as well.
(Google maps overhead photo of my 2.8 acres that I want to make even better.)
#10 Be the change I wish to see in the world
That's from a Mahatma Gandhi quote that has stuck with me for years. I was heavily involved in politics in a previous attempt to change the world, but now its time to do it at the personal level. I can control my own choices, that's as fine a way to achieve change as one will ever find. I can stop buying GMO soft drinks, I can stop buying high fructose corn syrup products that strips the land in places like my home state of Illinois, I can stop eating fast food and helping perpetuate that bad food system, I can reduce my waste, I can, I can, I can. I can control my own choices, and if a large enough chunk of us do the same thing the world will change.
Now that I have some land to move to this fall, I'm about to find out how bad I want to achieve this. Here's my YouTube video from a couple months back on this topic. Blogging might be a better media for me than video, but I tried.
You can also check me out on...
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/PeoriaDude
Twitter
https://twitter.com/Bobbleheadstead
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/bobbleheadstead/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/peoriadude/
I wish I got notifications on steemit when people tag me!!! I didn't know you posted this here!!!! Thank you so much for sharing this with others! Your video was definitely one of my favorites!!!
same here this has been up for five day's :O and I thought I was doing good seeing who posted and joined the contest :/ guess I need I need to be better at snooping :P also I find it does not let you know when somebody has responded to your replies :( I noticed on one of my comments a reply from last week :/ ooops so now I'll have to find the origenal post and see if it's updated :D
You are inspiring Rose! And you were helping me out today with this great idea you created and didn't even know it. :) When I left earlier today this post was at $.30, so right now I'm floored. More than happy share , I hope a few more can get inspiration from all the other wonderful homesteaders who joined your project!
you are inspiring! $174.68 now, wow!!! i.m lucky to hit 20 cents!
And now its falling to the $130.00s, so I'm learning something new about Steemit about why post values go down. Its tied to the trading price of Steem, for one, but most of all I learned that our future upvotes reduces the value of our previous upvotes. So basically, all post values go down during the 7 days. Not complaining, just found that useful info. I was worried I was getting downvoted or something, but that wasn't the case.
Oh, and I just found a Steemit app where you can find posts that mention you, here's the link.
https://mentions.steemdata.com/
Nicely written. I wanna live autarkic in the future, too. You really had me at the "my place in Sacramento" pic. I was laughing and still similing now. I don't wanna be that minimalistic, but I get the idea.
Thank you. Once upon a time I packed everything I could into a mini-van and moved out west from Illinois. Its easy enough to find free or cheap furniture, so that was kind of an exaggeration from the first couple weeks I was there. I moved back to Illinois in an SUV, so furniture just isn't something I've spent any money on, and I've done alright in that department. I wish you success reaching your dreams.
What a great inspiration to others, including myself who has been homesteading for a few years now. Your apartment looks like my son's, maybe I will show him your post. Thanks for sharing
Thank you, what a great compliment. I hope your son has fewer spiders than I did, never could get rid of them all :)
I am looking forward to what your future is and know it is being done by design to improve your life and those around you, sharing for others to follow along on your trip to a better life.
Thanks so much weetree, your encouragement is always appreciated!
I am looking forward to more too, this was a great piece! Resteemed!
This was a GREAT piece Peoria Dude! Loved every bit of it and read it to my husband.
I totally laughed out loud at this line:
"I am not a survivalist, if there's a zombie apocalypse I will be a zombie and I'm sorry if I eat you, but we all need sustainable food sources to survive."
Boy, 5k for 2.8 acres?! Wow, I do not think we would ever find that good of a deal where we are at. We are looking at a 3.8 acre piece down the road but they are asking 65k for it! Bare land even. There is a year round creek behind it but it is not on the property.
Yes, the west coast states have pretty expensive property values, I learned that when I lived in the Seattle area. I was looking for land back then anywhere in Washington, Oregon or CA, and it was all priced pretty much like you described in your area.
I lucked out in Arkansas, and only an hour away from some relatives. Although once I get down there and start showing the condition of the property, that low price will probably make a bit more sense. I'm hoping I can turn some junk into treasure. Thanks for all your support Heidi!!!
What area in Arkansas? We are in northeast Arkansas now and wanting to find something around the Ozark Foothills.
The postal address is Havana, Arkansas but I'm about a mile from Blue Mountain Lake. Its in Yell County. The Ouachita National Forest is my neighbor to the south, so that's cool. The southern most section of the Ozarks is just north of Blue Mountain Lake at Magazine Mountain.
I have relatives in Russellville and have been looking for land within an hour or so of there for a couple years. Prices are going up over that time, but there's still plenty available. landwatch.com was one of the easier website to use for land shopping for me.
Most of Arkansas is pretty good about land regulations and letting you have livestock when you're out of the cities, but you'll want to check at the county office to make sure its ok. Good luck, and if there's anything I can do to help, let me know. I love seeing people giving this homesteading thing a try.
Good read.
Thank you for saying so.
Great stuff. Btw, you can't get ham from a ham radio lol. :) Best of luck on your homestead!
Thanks. You're right, the piggies will have to stay on the ground :) I appreciate the support.
Get out of Peoria!!
Good luck on homesteading. Before you start, make sure you check any local ordinances that might hinder your activities. Illinois loves to tax and is still a union state. Better take the time to check first to avoid headaches later. EDIT : Just saw you are moving to Arkansas. I guess the Ozarks siren has called you. Good luck there.
lol, yup, goodbye to Peoria and to Illinois. Rampant corruption everywhere there. Very wise advice, ALWAYS check with local rules and regulations. I did my homework before buying, thanks to learning from other folks who went through it before me. I should be able to do almost everything I'd like to do in that county of Arkansas, unlike Illinois.
Not quite the Ozarks, but the Ouachita National Forest is across the street, and the southern most point of the Ozarks is maybe five miles north. Mount Magazine is the highest point in Arkansas, and is part of the Ozarks, and its just up the road from me. Thanks!
EVERY one of your reasons is valid and why I also homestead. The only addition I would like to mention is learning skills. Skills that have gone wayside and are no longer considered necessary thanks to technology.
Simpler life and the freedom of homesteading is invaluable
Thank you. Yes, that's another great reason. Many unique opportunities to learn on a homestead and to keep those "old" skills alive to pass along to the future. Great addition!
gardening is like meditation for me. thanks for sharing your 10 reasons why homestead. upvote your post.
That's great you get than benefit from gardening, I'm sure a lot of people share that experience. I'm looking forward to having a garden for more than a year or two at a time, that'll be new for me. Thanks.
We were one of the people who leave every five minutes from the most corrupt state in the union two year ago, life has been great ever since we got away from those blood sucking politicians up there! Best of luck to ya! keep us posted...
Good for you! I've left Illinois a couple times before, but this time I think its gonna stick. Thank you, and likewise, I wish you success. Looks like you picked a great location and are off to good start!
I probably will never become a homesteader for a number of reasons but the idea is appealing. I do grow a large organic garden so at least I'm doing something. Thanks for a great article. Check out my garden blogs.
Lots of homesteaders aren't very good at gardening, so its all good to me. I moved around too much to ever get much experience in the garden, so I'm looking forward to that. I'll definitely check that out and look for more, thanks.
I wish one day I can buy some land, I just need internet !
You can do it. I've fiber optic internet through the phone company there, luckily. Internet can be tricky on cheap land, but sometimes it works. Good luck to you.
That necessary evil of rent is where we are stuck at the moment. I call it buying patience, it sounds better to me than flushing the money out in the toilet.
You have some good and valid reasons to homestead Sir.
Hopefully, I'm about to pay my last month of rent ever. No way around it sometimes, I do understand. Earlier in life, I was paying rent when I should have been buying property instead, but at least now I know better. Good luck on your journey, and thank you!
kumusta bobblehead! nice post. 'sorry if I eat u..' :P great stuff. thanks for sharing. Im following u and upvoting now.
Thanks @chinito. I enjoyed your post about the cost of living difference in the Philippines versus Hawaii, that was interesting.
The lifestyle!
Right on. I can't wait to get started. Thanks for the comment, I'm liking your list of posts, glad to find them.
Great article! I would like to include this post in the next issue of the Weekly Homesteading Newsletter which is a series posted every Sunday that aims to help collect awesome articles and resources like this one! This article will be linked and your username featured if you accept - please let me know if it is alright to include your article as soon as possible! Thank you and have a great day!
Yes, that would be a great honor to be included, thank you so much for asking. I've found several new to me authors that I really enjoy from your newsletters. Awesome :)
So enjoyed your post. I agree with the whole message. Going to re-steem now. Best to you🐓🐓
Thank you. I really appreciate the support!
Everyone could use a bit of homesteading in their lives. Doesn't take much effort to implement some life changing ideas. Thanks for dropping in! 🐓🐓
That is a wise choice for anyone I do believe. Just learning to cook was a great place for me to start before I got some land. Not that I'm a good cook, or anything, but that can be a life-changing skill.
I enjoyed the read. My family and I are trying to sell our house right now so we can find a spot in the country. I have always dreamed of having my own homestead. I will be cool to follow along with someone else just starting out.
Good for you. Thank you, I'll try to share my journey as much as I can once I get moved. When I caught the bug wanting my own land, I started watching a lot of YouTube channels of people just getting started and I learned so much. I think Steemit is another place to do that, hope I don't disappoint. :)
great entry sir I like how blogging and vlogging can be worked together though the vlogging does have a bit more info such as other peoples clips as a teaser :) but just like youtube this is your page/channel do as you like I'm sure it will be fantastic :D
Thanks @freakygeak! I'm always open to ideas and suggestions for improvements, so don't hesitate to share any you have with me. I'm just piecing stuff together for the most part, and always room for improvement.
Be the change I want to see in the world. you are spot on mate and I like to think that's how I live my life too. similar to your story I started from a place of protest and ended up searching for how to be self sufficient.
Any way great post mate, I have up voted and resteemed. I have just joined steemit recently and I have just started a Series called Natural Builders Journey, if you like permaculture you will love my posts, please check it out.
I will start following you, look forward to future posts.
Thanks for finding me! I will certainly be reading more about your journey, your intro post was great. The projects you have been involved with and actions you've taken to educate yourself are inspiring and full of hope. I wish I had done that myself. I certainly could use the advice of someone with your knowledge and experience as I start out on my land, so I hope you will keep dropping by. Good luck to you!
Im sure we both have useful things to share with each other and the world. I look forward to many good post.