Everyone says honesty. Just once I'm waiting to see someone say "Oh baby, lie to me, PLEASE!"

Ok so what is a relationship to you? what do you people want out of a relationship?

What you’re suggesting here is certainly not knew. The Amish have been doing it for centuries, and there are also non-religious self-sufficient communes as well as many self-sufficient individuals.

I did basically what you are talking about myself, in the 1970’s. I quite my high-paying job in the city to move to the country and live off the land. I didn’t bother with fishing and hunting in the wild so much, instead I raised chickens for eggs and meat, bees for honey, and grew large gardens. I became mostly a vegetarian with an occasional chicken dinner. And of course, I had eggs pretty much everyday.

I grew all the food for the chicken, my horses (which I used for farming) and even my dogs! Dog’s can actually be made to become vegetarians. They love zucchini! At least mine did. And they ate a lot of chicken eggs too since I had more than I could eat myself.

But you’re right, the neighbor’s thought I was being ‘backward’. And living like that is a full-time job in and of itself, so trying to work for income and keep up a self-sufficient homestead is not easy. I did work part-time here and there because money was an absolute necessity if for no other reason than to pay property taxes, etc.

I lived like that for about 5 years. It was a nice lifestyle, but I was also all alone and women weren’t too anxious about becoming involved with a many who only has an occasional part-time job. They viewed the lifestyle as being ‘financially insecure’, which is absurd. Because most people who have full-time jobs are in debt so far that if they lost their job tomorrow they’d be up a creek without a paddle or a boat! Their financial ‘security’ is an empty façade that only appears to have substance when it fact it does not.

Anyway, I finally ‘gave in’ to the pressures of society. Part of that was because I broke my leg and couldn’t work the farm very well anyway and so I took the opportunity to go to college on a grant.

So I ended up back in the rat-race. Eating at fast-food joints, driving a costly automobile, etc, etc, etc.

It really is a trap because by the time you keep up a car, and buy all the necessary wardrobe to participate in society, pulsing buying all your food at grocery stores, you’re financially bankrupt enough that it forces you to work just to make the money to be able to pay to stay in that predicament.

I much prefer the back-to-basics lifestyle. It’s closer to nature and far more rewarding. This is the way all of civilization should live. I’m currently retired and trying to get back into a more self-sufficient lifestyle again. But now I’m having physical health problems that are making it not so easy.

For it to really work well, it needs to be done on a family level (like the Waltons), and it’s even much better if the whole community lives like that, then neighbor can help neighbor and it makes it easer to barter things.

But don’t let my story discourage you. Many people have succeeded in making a self-sufficient lifestyle pan out in the long haul. Maybe I didn’t move far enough into the boonies. Also, if you can find a like-minded partner that would be a huge plus, because where there’s love anything is possible.

I did really enjoy the 5 years I lived like that, even though I was "alone", I didn't feel alone with all my animals. But I did feel alienated from society to a large degree.

Very well put, and thank you. The main reason I am moving to the middle of nowhere is I am sick to death of society and their views. I am so sick and tired of people coming up to me and telling em what I can and can not do, because I am renting somewhere, ot because there is a committee of neighbors who don;tl ike something (like having a clothesline for drying laundry in the summer months instead of using gas or electricity).

I am sick of neighbors calling protective services, because they don't like the fact that I will tell them off if they are rude or antagonistic towards me. Or because they dont like the idea of a father having sole custody of his children(I have had both happen).

What have you heard about it? I only know the little bit of what a friend verbally told me. When I went to the store, there was a sale on rice.

This ship was made to sink.

Most Americans have little to no understanding of how the monetary system works. The Federal Reserve, which prints our money, is as federal as Federal Express. It is a privately owned, run for profit, bank who's owners are kept private. They control the strength or weakness of the dollar by determining how much of it to print and then lend to the US government with interest. They determine the interest rates and when payment needs to be made. Bankers used similar tactics as they are now to obtain business' or rival banks for pennies on the dollar by artificially inflating the economy with low interest debt causing short-term growth. Following this is the stage of debt deflation where massive amounts of people are in debt and have trouble paying it back which in turn cuts consumer spending leading to layoffs and the failure of some businesses. We are at the beginning of a similar stage as what happened during the Great Depression. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.

On November 12, 1864 Abraham Lincoln said, "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country... Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was the final stage of what Lincoln was referring to and what our founding fathers revolted against.

One of my friends told me that they heard on the radio that stores are going to be limiting the amount of rice each person can buy.

Has anyone else heard this?

I went to the gas station today. Ugh.

I went to the grocery store today. I was very surprised to find that the cost of the food had risen so much. It didn't feel very good.

Yes the story on the rice limitation has been going on over a week now.

Sharing, love, and helping. That's what life is about. And it should be that way. Even if it means sacrifice. Selflessness should be a virtue. My laundry list is long. I've helped many freinds and strangers. It is the way I live. Its called a big heart. May your God bless and keep all of you.

ok first off I would like to state that I myself have never really encompased and have love for the city, but life is
never perfect and one always has to put up with things he or she doesn't like. But where childeren are involved practical conculsions must be made. I would point out that there are some things that one can practice wherever he lives -- things like simplicity, frugality, etc.. You can practice many of these things without moving to the country. I believe in good common sense and practical mindedness. There are some things about the idea of living self-sufficiently out in the country that I have questions about simply because as stated there are childern involved. The main one relates to health care. How are you going to deal with medical needs? Do you dare to go without it? Sooner or later we all have need for doctors and health care.Even if you live by a healthy lifestyle, seem very healthy, and then, out of the blue, suddenly have some ailment or problem, or one of your children does. I have seen enough of life to believe that it happens to essentially all of us. We are all probably genetically predisposed to some kind of ailment or another. And if it requires operations and hospitalization ? What then?? I consider this to be a very serious question and something to give thought to.I do not recommend that anyone embark on a self-sufficient lifestyle out in the country without careful and serious thought. I still dislike the system just as much as I ever have but one must be practical. right?

it sucks

Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being.

try to learn to trap game. once you do that, you can fence in what you catch and no longer have to hope you can find them in the wild.

That is great Daniel, wish I could do the same.

My main problem was coming up withthe intitial money for the move, and beginning. Thanks to my kids government checks though from their mothers disability, I pretty much have it all set aside now to start. And no one can tell me that I am not using that money in their best interest by doing any of this. We are GOING to be in just as bad a depression as we were in the thirties, if not worse, and I intend on being prepared for it.