I moved from city to country and managed to stay there for 22 years. I absolutely loved it, but alas, due to divorce, I ended up selling the place and moving to town. Long story....
Having said that, country living is wonderful. When I bought the place, there was an old house with only wood heat and no ba
throom on 80 acres. I did a lot of remodling and set up a rotational grasing operation selling spring heafers into dairy herds. Basically, I would raise a heafer till it gave birth, keep the calf and sell the cow into a herd, and raise the calf. It was sooooooooo much work. I raised the boys to sell as meat. It was hard for me, because I tended to make pets out of them, and always felt bad when I had to sell them. At the end of the day, I really only made enough to pay the taxes, and the rest of the money came from my job. My ex grew vegetables and did a lot of canning while she was there, and she had a job, too. It really was a wonderful way to live, but I don't really think it's possible to actually make a living doing it.
One of my favorite tools was a 1953 Ford Jubilee tractor. I had a trailer, buzz saw, blade, plow, landscape rake, brush hog and cultivator. I did a lot of work with it, from plowing the driveway, hauling firewood, and a lot of mowing. I always wanted something a little bigger that had a bucket, but I never could swing it.
I had to put in a forced air lp gas furnace, because when i only had a wood stove, i was basically a prisoner there in the winter. If I would leave for more than 8 hours, I would have a pipe repair project when I got home.
Another favorite improvement was a Vermont Castings Dutchwest woodstove. It was so efficient, and cut my wood demands down by about 2/3. It made my life a lot easier. I would try to use wood as much as possible, because firewood was plentiful, and there were always trees dieing that needed to be cut down. It was great exersize, too. (they always say when you heat with wood, you get warmed when you cut it, and then again when you burn it... lol)
I had great neighbors. They had farmed in the area all thier lives, and I always felt a little like I was in a Green Acres episode, not so much because they were hicks, but because I was that city boy. I worked hard and was extra careful to keep thier trust in me. I would say that having good neighbors is very important living in the country, and to have a neighbor, you have to be a neighbor. I probably would have frozen to death in my first two years out there if it weren't for them...
I will always treasure the time and expiriences I had doing it, and I miss it sometimes. My life is much easier in town small town I live in now, though.
Best of luck to you!!
