From: de5@ORNL.GOV (Dave Sill)
Subject: Re: Earning a living in the country
Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 19:13:18 GMT

In article <1992Aug17.035841.4960@math.ucla.edu>, ramirez@julia.math.ucla.edu (Alice Ramirez) writes:
>I've been reading Mother Earth News since the late 60's and stumbled upon 
>this net and, stuck as I am in Urban Hell, I am still trying to figure out...
>how do you do it?

Think about it a while, make some plans, then make them happen.

>How does someone who has moved to the country earn enough
>to pay for health insurance, car insurance, property tax, etc. etc. without
>resorting to miserable commutes back to the nearest city?  Not to mention
>paying for vet care for a sick dog, etc. etc.

Well, there are lots of different approaches.  When my wife and I decided to
make the move (with our two kids, then) we agreed that a gradual approach
would be best.  We were both working--she as an engineer, I as a computer
geek--and living in a suburban setting.  We decided to buy a farm cheaper than
the fancy subdivision house we'd built a year earlier and that only one of us
would work full-time.  We could have stayed in that area (Fredericksburg,
VA) and kept the same job, but decided to consider other areas--especially
near the in-laws in Tennessee.  I was pretty lucky and found a job in Oak
Ridge after a few months of looking.  It took us another two years to complete
the move and buy a farm down here.  The sale of our house in Virginia was the
hold-up.  Paying rent on a place here for 1.5 years *and* the expensive
mortgage on the Virginia house on my income alone substantially drained our
resources, not to mention the thousands we lost on the house because of the
poor market, but we're mostly settled in now and glad we were able to pull it
off.  Maybe someday I'll be able to quit my job or just work part-time, but
for now we're just getting adjusted to the new lifestyle.

>How do you learn how to market your produce or meat or whatever?

Haven't done this yet, but I've read *lots* of books and magazines since we
decided to make the move.  There's lots of information available.

>Are State Ag Extension agents good sources for learning to avoid pitfalls

I haven't talked to mine yet, but neighbors and Co-op/feed store owners have
been helpful.

>Are there sources of income other than, say, farming per se?  

Sure.  Mail order businesses, for example, work well in rural areas.  The
current issue of Country Journal features rural business opportunities.  But,
depending upon what you do for a living and where you want to live, you might
well be able to work your normal job while living in a rural/farm setting.

>Do you go into it with a huge wad of savings?

That's certainly one way to do it.  If I didn't have a family to support, I'd
have probably sold everything (house, cars, etc) and made the move outright. 
If you've got some net worth, you can *buy* a rural place for the down payment
on a Silicon Valley or NE corridor suburban home.  Then all you need to deal
with is food, utilities, clothing, taxes, etc.  You can produce much of your
food cheaply, heat with wood.  You can always take a menial part-time job to
cover your expenses if things get tight.

As for health insurance...if you've got enough left over after buying your
place consider yourself self-insured.  If not, check into what care indigent
patients are entitled to.  If it's not enough, you might have to bite the
bullet and buy yourself coverage.

And, worse comes to worst, you've still got your education and experience if
you decide you don't like the rural life.  What a tremendous feeling it must
be to take such a risk and live by your wits.

>Those of you who have done it, how do you DO it????

See above.

>Thanks in advance.

You're welcome.  I'd like to see more people share their stories...

-- 
Dave Sill (de5@ornl.gov)           For every Bill Joy there is a Kirk McKusick.
Martin Marietta Energy Systems     For every Bill Gates there is a Richard
Workstation Support                Stallman.                     --Paul Graham