The Walden Effect hits the road
I never thought I'd
write this post...but Mark and I have decided to sell the farm and move
on. The reasons are many and varied, but what they boil down to is ---
we're ready for a new adventure.
Ever since fourth grade,
I've wanted a big, sprawling homestead where I could raise every kind
of plant and animal imaginable. And this farm was the perfect solution
when I grew old enough to make that dream a reality. It was cheap
enough that I could afford the price while barely out of college,
and its size allowed us to make huge mistakes with relative
impunity. I've loved growing food, taking the goats out to graze, and
playing in the creek, and Mark has loved the independence the farm
provided for him to create a microbusiness and scratch his inventing
itch.
But they say that we
become entirely new people every seven years. And the new person I've
become wants something slightly different. I still crave isolation and
room for a garden...but it doesn't need to be as huge of a garden and
I'd like more cultural and social opportunities nearby. Writing fiction
has become a much higher priority for me in recent years, which has led
me toward simplifying my homestead life so I have the leisure to pound
away on the keyboard without guilt, and Mark feels the same way about
his film aspirations. Meanwhile, we also want to plan for aging, which
meant either pouring money into the driveway...or pouring that same
money into something smaller somewhere else.
To cut a long story
short, we're beginning the long, scary process of severing ties here
and building new ties somewhere new. We plan to offer this farm to our
neighbors first --- it is, after all, the neighborly thing to do. But
if they're not interested, we'll be posting about a ready-made
homestead for sale soon. So, if you'd like to slip yourself into
fifty-eight acres of potential (some of it already realized), start
counting your pennies and thinking about a change of your own. And for
everyone else --- don't worry, the Walden Effect will continue...we'll
just be opening a new chapter on a slightly different life. More
details on that to come in subsequent posts....
Or explore more posts by date or by subject.
About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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I applaud your wisdom to see that things must change, and the courage to act on that insight.
Don't rush the process. But don't be afraid of seizing the moment when opportunity presents itself.
The only thing that I would caution against is debt. As the saying goes: don't buy what you cannot pay for, and don't pay for what you cannot buy.
I'm temporarily closing up my homestead after only 3 wonderful years. I'm moving to Mozambique for the time being, to focus on work and make money (I have plans to build a 'real' house on my Oregon place, rather than continue to live in a shack), and have a bit of time perhaps for some personal travel, which I haven't been able to do in those 3 years. I look forward to continuing to follow along with you! If you get to the Oregon Coast, send me an email. You would be welcome to camp out and explore a bit of the wild rivers coast whether I'm there or not.
Hugs!
I was really shocked to hear that you are giving up the farm, but you know what is best for you! I look forward to hearing about your new adventures!
Could you post whatever links you might have to other similar sites out there please.
And maybe make your posts and the comments received available somewhere so I can download the whole collection.
Thanks, John
We had a similar train of thought, at the end of last year. Due to a myriad of reasons, aging being one of them too, we considered selling. Only as we got down to the business of making our house sellable, we realised, we didn't want to be anywhere else.
I can understand why you two, want to change directions though. Good luck on your new journey.
Hi there. I thought long and hard before sending this comment, and I expect it to have no better reception than any advice, nor to deserve it. I found myself thinking a couple of things when reading your post: first, that there is a very, very big difference between having a homestead and having a garden. Moving away from self-sufficiency, however slightly, seems a scary thing to me in these times. Also, both writing and filmmaking, though absolutely essential to a civilized society, require that people have disposable income to allow the writer and filmmaker to make anything like a living. Our economy continues to stumble on against all odds this last decade, and it may well continue another decade or more. But a cautious person will be prepared for the worst, and I hope your new home will be another true homestead. Good luck.
I wish you both all the best! I've enjoyed following your homesteading journey and hope you continue to share on your next adventures.
Thank you!
I'm shocked! But also relieved to hear you'll continue the blog. I love your small Posts about the little things you fix day to day. Good luck! I hope your farm sells for a million bucks!