A friend (who lives in Virginia) and I were emailing back and forth about our upcoming move, and she ended one of her emails with the loveliest sentiment: "Wherever you go, you’ll be happy. You take smiles with you." Awww, thanks pal.
That said, some readers have gently questioned why we're interested in moving at all. It's a logical question, considering how many improvements we've made to our home and property, and how much we'll miss our wonderful friends and neighbors.
What it comes down to is three factors. One, as mentioned before, this house is simply too big with just the two of us. It's not practical to close up a portion of it, nor are we the type who would be interested in renting out a section.
Instead, this home deserves to be filled with another happy family, where the children can grow up the old-fashioned way, healthy and free on a rural homestead.
Two, we'd like to be mortgage-free. We're looking for a fixer-upper property we can purchase free and clear, then fix it up to suit our particular tastes and needs. We feel this is a wise financial approach as we get older.
And three -- and this is arguably the biggest factor -- we're looking for another adventure.
As Don likes to put it, we both feel we have the time and energy to engage in one more humongous "adventure" in our life, and moving to a whole new property and then turning that property into a self-sufficient homestead is the adventure we'd love to tackle. We've learned so much here on our current property that it's time to apply that knowledge to a new set of circumstances and see how we do.
And hopefully we'll take our smiles with us.
I am sure you will take your smiles with you along with your can do attitude. I will wish you all the best as we follow along.
ReplyDeleteI hope it goes great for you.
ReplyDeleteWe never felt free until we became debt-free. We get it. Awesome! And once you set goals for your new Homestead #2, remaining debt-free will have a tendency to keep 'mission creep' in check.
ReplyDeleteIt will be exciting to have an opportunity to use all that you learn at Homestead #1.
Montana Guy
Oh boy ! Now you've done it !
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I are in mid-70's and I mention a move to ID every couple weeks. Yes, we have a productive property here in the Northeast but always come up against the argument... " Well, maybe we are too old to take on this endeavor ". We always come back to cutting back on our projects here at the homestead instead. But then you had to mention it ! ONE MORE ADVENTURE !
That rings a bell - I knew there was more of an underlying reason to consider such a move ... but did not realize it until you said those words ... " one more " and " adventure ".
We'll see .... perhaps being rational will take over once again !
Best to you two !
Ron
Nothing ever wrong with new adventures.
ReplyDeleteFew people in this world are "free to go and do". Enjoy! Natokadn
ReplyDeleteAnd it's fun! You 2 are awesome. You'll do it and smile to boot.
ReplyDeleteCongrats and enjoy! Our friends thought my husband and I were crazy when we started our new adventure. The search for new property in a new location was part of the fun adventure. We were successful beyond our dreams. A lot of elbow grease later, we have a smaller home with chickens, fruit trees, a large garden space, fronted by a year round creek, surrounded by scenic mountains while nestled in a gorgeous cove. We've found new friends and neighbors in a quiet community. When friends and family visit, they look around and say "We get it"! We were about your age when we 'started over' again. We could not be happier and wish you only the best!
ReplyDeleteMay God bless your move. From experience I know you shouldn't underestimate the emotional turmoil that will occur for the first 6 months after you have left your homestead.
ReplyDeleteFor commentor Ron, husband and I are in our 70's and moving several states away to a 118 year old cottage !
ReplyDelete