Living off the land (majority)

[C3Team]

My fiancé and I have started to plan our next move. We plan on buying a 3br/2b trailer and putting it on 15 acres of land. We're digging a well and there's also a creek on the property. This will be in Helen, GA. Luckily, electricity is an option so we'll pay for that every month and have our own water and sewage. I also plan on having solar panels and 2 big generators with propane converters and a big supply of propane (it lasts forever). My fiancé has horses so we'll bring 3 horses, 2 cows, 10 chickens, a couple hens and roosters, and a couple of pigs and sheep. My fiancé will also be working on our garden (growing lots of different fruits and vegetables) while also taking care of the animals. I'll be helping with both and I'll also be hunting and fishing. We'll have milk, cheese, butter, etc from the cows, eggs from the chickens (+ reproduction for eating), wool from sheep, etc. I'm a prepper so I'll have a large stock of food, water, gas, propane, ammo, etc.I have bug out bags, sleeping bags, cots, first aid kits, etc. I'll also have a Bushmaster ar15, Winchester 30 06, Ruger 10/22, 12 Gauge pump, Smith & Wesson 9 mm, and eventually a .45 caliber Glock. We also have a few bows and bear traps. We have a German Shepherd x Mastiff puppy who loves the woods and creek. I plan on teaching her to hunt as well. My fiancé and I are very excited and this this planned down to the detail. I also plan on purchasing an ATV for hunting, trail riding, outdoor tasks, etc. We know this is going to take a little time, money, and a lot of work, but we're absolutely ready. We'll have about $7,000-$15,000 saved up within the next 2-3 years and then we're moving.

Anyone else live this lifestyle? What do you guys think? Any advice or suggestions would be awesome.

[RandyRhoads]

No, I have a pretty damn big chunk of change saved up and i'm thinking about using it to do the same thing. Only here what you're talking about would probablly be more like 100-$150,000.00. Maybe I should move out of state and buy 20X acreage what I could get here.

It sounds great to me, but have you checked local laws to see if you can even dig your own well?

[crashdive123]

It's a nice area right on the edge of the national forest, but as far as advice goes - I'd have to know a lot more about our current situation, skill sets, future opportunities, etc. Good luck.

[Wildthang]

That sounds like a great plan, just don't be surprised if it costs more than you have planned. One of you may have to work for a while after moving until the farm becomes self sustaining because it takes a while for farm profits to become available. Even though you will grow most of your food, ther eare many more costs to consider like:

1. Taxes
2. Medical insurance
3. Property insurance
4. Veterenarian services
5. Vehicle maintenance
6. The unexpected

Being totally self sufficient is almost a thing of the past and has never been easy, so plan for the worst when going into this endeaver!
By the way, welcome to the forum!

[hunter63]

That sounds like a great plan, just don't be surprised if it costs more than you have planned. One of you may have to work for a while after moving until the farm becomes self sustaining because it takes a while for farm profits to become available. Even though you will grow most of your food, ther eare many more costs to consider like:

1. Taxes
2. Medical insurance
3. Property insurance
4. Veterenarian services
5. Vehicle maintenance
6. The unexpected

Being totally self sufficient is almost a thing of the past and has never been easy, so plan for the worst when going into this endeaver!
By the way, welcome to the forum!

I want to add...Local codes....some places won't let you live unless you have a habitable dwelling that meet codes.

Other wise it's a good plan.

Will need a lot more money....
Just a legal well (depth?) and septic system/ mound/sprayer system....20K.

Good luck

[Seniorman]

C3TEAM - " ... We'll have about $7,000 to $15,000 saved up within the next 2-3 years and then we're moving."

That's a bit confusing. Do you mean you'll have "$7,000-$15,000" AFTER purchasing the 15 acres, buying a large double wide home, having a water well drilled and made functional, a septic system installed, building a barn and necessary fencing for your livestock and animals, etc., buying farm tools for your garden, buying huge propane tanks and filling them, buying an ATV and the gasoline for its use, a spinning wheel and loom to make the sheep wool into cloth and clothing, property taxes, etc., etc., etc.???????

If ALL that stuff is bought and paid for and you have only "$7,000 to $15,000" and neither you nor your fiance have regular jobs with a regular income, I think you will have an extremely difficult time making it. In today's economy and society, it is very, very difficult to "live off the land" unless you have some means of regular income.

As for hunting and fishing, the State has hunting and fishing laws, regulations, and seasons. If you're planning on obeying those laws and regulations, that's one thing. If you plan on poaching, you can expect a visit from the Game Wardens of the State, and they do not take kindly to poachers.


C3TEAM -"We have a German Shepherd x Mastiff puppy who loves the woods and creek. I plan on teaching her to hunt as well."

Hunt for what?? Better check your State's fish and game laws about using dogs for hunting... if you mean your Mastiff will drag down deer and kill them for you, etc. If you plan on letting your dog run off your land, chase and pull down game, etc., you should be aware that in most States, dogs running off leash in the woods, chasing game, can be legally , and very often are, shot by other people in the woods. Something to consider, I assure you.

Just a few thoughts here, since you asked.

Good luck if you can swing it.

S.M.

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

Horses = Must have income! You can't eat a horse.

[kyratshooter]

The way codes are set up nationwide now you can count on it taking around $40k to set up the lot to accept a trailer. Slab or piers for the foundation, septic, water.

Been there, done that, it ain't cheap and it takes continued income.

[ubercrow]

It can be very expensive to set up an infrastructure on land fence posts, chicken wire, lumber, shovels,,,, on and on.. you can buy a dozen eggs for $2 but you could easily drop $1000. in a chicken coop. Barns, stables, tools, $$$$$

If you budget is low you might be better off buying an old house that has a couple of out buildings.


Horses = Must have income! You can't eat a horse.

Sure you can, they do in Europe Lasagna Products Test Positive for Horsemeat in Britain (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/world/europe/lasagna-products-test-positive-for-horsemeat-in-britain.html)

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

Sure you can, they do in Europe Lasagna Products Test Positive for Horsemeat in Britain (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/world/europe/lasagna-products-test-positive-for-horsemeat-in-britain.html)

Alrighty then, let me rephrase that....You can't eat my horses!

[Rick]

Good luck with that.

[hunter63]

Well, if you are gonna eat your horses, don't name them.......

[Batch]

You can eat any mammal. But, not all mammals eat like a horse!

[Power Giant]

We've lived off grid since '96. Started off with self sufficiency in the plans, and still feel that way, but we ended up getting real jobs to take on the responsibilities of health insurance and retirement. Especially if you have children, you owe it to them and to the rest of society to take care of these two items. This is so other folks will not have to pay for your needs later on. That being said, we still make our own electricity, pump our own water, sewer, grow some food, and hunt. Also, all of our children were born at home and we home schooled them K thru 12. A life goal for me is to be a man of maximun practical application. I like to think that I have accomplished this, but I am still learning new things every day.

[hunter63]

Congrats.
I think you will find that a successful homestead is a mix of idealism, and practicality........
And the wisdom to know the difference.

[tacmedic]

[QUOTE=C3Team;384054] We'll have milk, cheese, butter, etc from the cows, eggs from the chickens (+ reproduction for eating), wool from sheep, etc. I'm a prepper so I'll have a large stock of food, water, gas, propane, ammo, etc.I have bug out bags, sleeping bags, cots, first aid kits, etc. I'll also have a Bushmaster ar15, Winchester 30 06, Ruger 10/22, 12 Gauge pump, Smith & Wesson 9 mm, and eventually a .45 caliber Glock. We also have a few bows and bear traps. QUOTE]

Just wondering if you have the knowledge and ability to DO all of these things? Milk, cheese, butter, etc all sound like great ideas. . . until you actually have to produce them. I think about all of my failures at making cheese. Both when I first started and currently, there are still things that I have to learn and I am very thankful that I am able to learn them when I do not depend upon these skills for my life. Same thing goes for the weapons. The ones that you have listed will take care of pretty much any hunting or protection issue that you may have (depending where you will be living), but if you do not know how to use them they may as well be paper weights.

As some others have stated I think your budget is rather light. In my area that amount of money won't even cover the septic system that would have to be put in.

I would encourage you to keep planning and follow your dreams with an educated and level head.

[kyratshooter]

All that stuff is supposed to jump onto your plate! Didn't you know that?

Like the butter. After you get up at 4am and milk the cow, then strain the milk, then skim the cream, all of which taks about an hour. Then let the milk sour, you sit and churn for another hour and salt and pack the butter you have invested about 3 hours in that two pound cake of butter that you could have purchased for $5. About the time you finish that it is time to milk the cow again.

And of course you have worked the garden, cooked three meals from scratch, gathered eggs, tended all the other livestock, gone hunting and caught a mess of fish and home schooled the kids while you were making the butter.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that the goats got out while you were busy with all that and the pigs followed them and they got into the neighbors' garden.

Homesteading is pure heaven, until you've been there.

[birdman6660]

we have been off grid a and semi homesteading for many years .... we do less than half of what youre planning to do from scratch and it virually takes all day .... you better have lotsa help ... good luck with it .. its well worth doing but it sure isnt easy .....



My fiancé and I have started to plan our next move. We plan on buying a 3br/2b trailer and putting it on 15 acres of land. We're digging a well and there's also a creek on the property. This will be in Helen, GA. Luckily, electricity is an option so we'll pay for that every month and have our own water and sewage. I also plan on having solar panels and 2 big generators with propane converters and a big supply of propane (it lasts forever). My fiancé has horses so we'll bring 3 horses, 2 cows, 10 chickens, a couple hens and roosters, and a couple of pigs and sheep. My fiancé will also be working on our garden (growing lots of different fruits and vegetables) while also taking care of the animals. I'll be helping with both and I'll also be hunting and fishing. We'll have milk, cheese, butter, etc from the cows, eggs from the chickens (+ reproduction for eating), wool from sheep, etc. I'm a prepper so I'll have a large stock of food, water, gas, propane, ammo, etc.I have bug out bags, sleeping bags, cots, first aid kits, etc. I'll also have a Bushmaster ar15, Winchester 30 06, Ruger 10/22, 12 Gauge pump, Smith & Wesson 9 mm, and eventually a .45 caliber Glock. We also have a few bows and bear traps. We have a German Shepherd x Mastiff puppy who loves the woods and creek. I plan on teaching her to hunt as well. My fiancé and I are very excited and this this planned down to the detail. I also plan on purchasing an ATV for hunting, trail riding, outdoor tasks, etc. We know this is going to take a little time, money, and a lot of work, but we're absolutely ready. We'll have about $7,000-$15,000 saved up within the next 2-3 years and then we're moving.

Anyone else live this lifestyle? What do you guys think? Any advice or suggestions would be awesome.

[Wildthang]

I prefer to stay on the grid, live a nice comfortable life, and just harvest the things that I can grow in the garden and fruit trees. This place could theoretically be self sustaining but I am going to work as long as I can and just buy the staples and necessities and not work 16 hours a day trying to eek out an existance. Yeah I'm not way out in the wilderness, but I'm far enough out of town that I feel like we are safe from gangs and riots if and when the chit hits the fan.
You may want to consider a small farm about 15 miles from a town that has work, and have the best of both worlds!

[kyratshooter]

Lets see, let me try to remember.

Why did my Dad become a Chemistry professor and teach for 40 years?
and why did my Uncle become an accountant?
and the other Uncle an account manager?
And the other Uncle a Research and Development engineer?
And why was my Mon really intent on marrying a man with a college education?

OH YEA!!! Now I remember them telling me!


It was to get off the freekin' farm!

[themountainman]

good luck to you guys. Sounds to me like some more planning and unexpected set backs may be in your future. But if you guys stick together I'm sure you can make it work.