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Ask HN: Did I make a mistake jumping on the homestead bandwagon?

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Re: Ask HN: Did I make a mistake jumping on the homestead bandwagon?

#181

Post by ConfusedDog »

bane wrote: post #72

Something I've noticed among the "successful" youtube homesteaders is that they almost all invariably have property "in the city" that they rent out (generally unseen, usually unspoken, and always off camera) for significant passive income and treat homesteading like a virtuous hobby. Many of them also have side hustles like giving paid talks on homesteading, renting out "farm experiences", or offering classes on var…

You guys have talked me out of it... thank you. I have really considered to live in the woods last past few months.

Re: Ask HN: Did I make a mistake jumping on the homestead bandwagon?

#182

Post by sigmaprimus »

snarf21 wrote: post #84
bane wrote: post #72

Something I've noticed among the "successful" youtube homesteaders is that they almost all invariably have property "in the city" that they rent out (generally unseen, usually unspoken, and always off camera) for significant passive income and treat homesteading like a virtuous hobby. Many of them also have side hustles like giving paid talks on homesteading, renting out "farm experiences", or offering classes on var…

I've always said, the only people who think farming for a living sounds fun have obviously never farmed. It is more tenable if you have income sources so you aren't depending on farming for your dinner. If you are independent wealthy and can pay others to do all the farming for you, you aren't a farmer, you merely own a farm. It is a tough life. The best part is the half days, just pick any 12 hours you want to work!

I have read through most of the comments regarding my question. I must admit I was amazed at the number of responses I got, so many I was nervous about reading them, but after a day I have read them and think your comment hits home to my current situation.

I would not say I am independently wealthy but I am not carrying a mortgage or any debt and do have enough squirreled away to last me another two years (Depending on inflation) at which point it will have been 5 years since beginning this venture. I would estimate between the property value, equipment and infrastructure I would have between 400K and 600K USD if I was to sell it all today.

I think part of the reason I asked the question is that I have experienced a grave loss and what used to be a shared dream that two people were working towards, now feels somewhat like an overwhelming task that I now must face alone.

I have decided that I will stick it out for another year and then reevaluate my situation, one good thing about my living situation is there is no outside pressure to change it.

Also I know you were joking about the 12 hour days but truth be told from the time I finish my coffee and get to work till the time I put the last logs on the fire and crawl into bed, it is more like 16 hours and the days only get longer from here. (The animals don't care if I'm discouraged they want their food and water and let me know it, especially the roosters which being someone who never lived on a farm, I thought they only crowed when the sun came up, not two hours before!!)

Re: Ask HN: Did I make a mistake jumping on the homestead bandwagon?

#183

Post by sigmaprimus »

Nbox9 wrote: post #116
newyankee wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Homestead may not work if you depend on your own farm for all of your food needs. However, I feel off grid life with solar, storage, EV etc. combined with a remote job and hopefully cheaper Satellite Internet in the future may work for a lot of people. If I lived in a scenic country I would've at least tried this lifestyle, but may be that is because I am inherently introverted.

I think you might be missing a lot of the amenities of modern towns/cities. Let’s ignore energy and internet/cell service. * You’ll want to live close to a grocery store. * You’ll want to live close to doctors —- not only hospitals and ambulances but also any specialist you or someone in your family mind need. * You’ll want access to tradesmen/craftsmen. Plumbers, auto mechanics, carpenters, electricians. Things brea…

You make very valid points and I appreciate your input as it echo's many of my issues.

Re: Ask HN: Did I make a mistake jumping on the homestead bandwagon?

#184

Post by sigmaprimus »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #170
Nbox9 wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you might be missing a lot of the amenities of modern towns/cities. Let’s ignore energy and internet/cell service. * You’ll want to live close to a grocery store. * You’ll want to live close to doctors —- not only hospitals and ambulances but also any specialist you or someone in your family mind need. * You’ll want access to tradesmen/craftsmen. Plumbers, auto mechanics, carpenters, electricians. Things brea…

For us, we've decided that we need to be around a fair number of university-educated people (or at least people who are able to think at that level - they don't have to have a degree). So, first, we need at least a town, not to live 40 miles from nowhere. And second, we need that town to be either a college town or the kind of town where people move there after college. That's just us. You may be different.

The first year living here was definitely a culture shock, I must admit that people in the country do think differently than in the city. I have over time come to appreciate their points of view though and TBH if I was to show them your comment about Uni Educated people they would just smile and say bless their heart!

Re: Ask HN: Did I make a mistake jumping on the homestead bandwagon?

#185

Post by sigmaprimus »

jethro_tell wrote: post #171
User23 wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They exist. I know several small farmers who are HNWIs in the low 8 digits, not counting their real property. I'd say that's comparable to what you'd expect someone in tech to accumulate over around a 30 year career. They achieved that through a combination of savvy, connections, and growing relatively high margin niche crops instead of trying to compete with corporate gigafarms. But it's extremely hard work, and dep…

This can absolutely be done. But it's hard work and you have to be very self-sufficient. I've done quite well for myself with my farm as a side project but I can weld, program, do HVAC, mechanic work on out machines, pluming and building upkeep. Then you also have to be able to farm, and to top that off, you have to be ready to work when it's time, which is not unlike tech but you also won't have a backup for your on…

This is a fair comment and some days I admit I feel the same way.

Tell me though haven't you questioned your choices? When you were repairing the broken machines or digging that ditch on Xmas, doubt never crept in?

I am at the point where I am wondering if the doubtful times are outweighing the joyful ones these days.

But I will admit, I posed the question at a particularly "Whoa Es Me" time, still I understand what your getting at, When the going gets tough...right!?

Re: Ask HN: Did I make a mistake jumping on the homestead bandwagon?

#186

Post by BergTheBold »

jethro_tell wrote: post #132
he_is_legend wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not disagreeing, but having worked for 20+ years now as a web dev, and also on and off on farms (parents, relations, neighbours, friends, and 30 acres behind my house), I'd move to a farming job that offered the same income in a heartbeat, no questions asked. There is something much more comforting about having worked yourself to physical tiredness and a feeling of having accomplished "something useful" instead o…

where are you going to get a farming job that pays the same as tech without also feeding the corporate beast?

I think the point here was about preferring one type of work over another, not actually about the income.

Re: Ask HN: Did I make a mistake jumping on the homestead bandwagon?

#187

Post by jethro_tell »

sigmaprimus wrote: post #185
jethro_tell wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This can absolutely be done. But it's hard work and you have to be very self-sufficient. I've done quite well for myself with my farm as a side project but I can weld, program, do HVAC, mechanic work on out machines, pluming and building upkeep. Then you also have to be able to farm, and to top that off, you have to be ready to work when it's time, which is not unlike tech but you also won't have a backup for your on…

This is a fair comment and some days I admit I feel the same way. Tell me though haven't you questioned your choices? When you were repairing the broken machines or digging that ditch on Xmas, doubt never crept in? I am at the point where I am wondering if the doubtful times are outweighing the joyful ones these days. But I will admit, I posed the question at a particularly "Whoa Es Me" time, still I understand what…

I wouldn't say that I question my choices. Before going into tech about 10 years ago, I spent 15 years in construction, farming and mechanic type work.

I love welding, (I went to welding school out of high school but decided it would be a better hobby than job).

I love the crops we make. The whole thing started when we couldn't buy what we wanted in the quantity and quality we wanted.

My whole family lives around the farm so while I didn't enjoy digging a ditch on Christmas, I did do it with my father in law, and then we went in and had Christmas dinner and a stiff whisky with the whole family. It's not something I'm doing alone, and lots of it is stuff I love doing.

I'll often stay up till 2AM+ on the weekends just building random shit in the shop and listening to music. I'm working on soil moisture and temperature sensors to put into the fields to target watering and start collecting some data. I'm working on turning one of the old 70s fords into a battery motor, I've got the old tractors all tuned up and running and to me this is my idea of taking a break from my desk.

I'm not sure what to tell you. Have you done farming and gardening and other types of manual labor before? If you wanna hit me up and chat a bit about this I'd love to understand a little more and maybe I have tips or perspective that can help out here.

Re: Ask HN: Did I make a mistake jumping on the homestead bandwagon?

#188

Post by satisfice »

core-utility wrote: post #32
satisfice wrote: post #23

I just don’t understand why you would ask that question of perfect strangers on Hacker News. And why would you call homesteading a bandwagon? It’s a major life decision, not a new kind of yoga pants. It’s very simple, really. Are you happy? Are likely to be happy? No? Then come home Bill Bailey.

> And why would you call homesteading a bandwagon? It’s a major life decision, not a new kind of yoga pants. This is true, but I understand why OP would say it's a bandwagon. There's been a sharp increase in homesteading as a trend going around Tik Tok, YouTube, etc. People are seemingly more interested in it now.

I want to encourage us to distinguish between something that happens to be trending, and you decide to do it, versus doing something BECAUSE it is trending. Invoking “bandwagon” sounds like you are doing it for FOMO purposes rather than because it is a fit for you.
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