LOL..Mirror! Now when have you EVER found that to be a BAD thing!!!???

You just hit the problem on the nose James.

The problem is no one wants to do for themselves anymore, and when someone realizes that they CAN do for themselves, they get mobbed for not being a model citizen, or an upstanding member of community.
Well guess what? Not only can I , and everybody else do just that, we NEED to. I dont give a rats arse if it is the year 15999, we need to STOP using fossil fuels, and use replenishable fuels. Period. Non-replenishable fuels WILL run out after so long n matter what you do to preserve them.
Sunlight will never run out unti the sun dies ot, and then we are all ****ed no matter what.

Also keep in mind; fuel such as gas, is priced by how much in demand it is. If enough people quit using it, and go self sufficient, eventually there will be no demand for it. Thus the cost will drop more and more and more,a s oil companies try to talk everyone into going back to oil based.

If theres no demand, theres no price gouging. Simle economics.

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?

we started recycling about a year ago.. plastic bottles, soda cans, paper, copper, brass, anything and everything we could take to the recycling bins..

we also have several fruit trees planted.. and have tomatos and bell peppers, onions. garlic, corn, and okra planted..

we've had a garden for a few years now..

Just one question, jedi... What does living in the country have to do with getting medical care when it is needed? Absolutely nothing, thats what. And living out in the country is far healthier for any child, no matter who that child is, or what kind of health that child has to begin with.
If nothing else, living in th city, or inthe outskirts, you have all the air pollution, and the crime that goes with living there.

I never said that my children would not ge tthe medical care they need, when they need it. I just said that I am not going to continue subscribing to the idea that you HAVE to live in the city, and you HAVE to do things current with them timeframe (in other words you can't hunt and harvest).

I don't think anyone will argue on that, nor is anyone saying that he cannot utilize many things, like a hospital. I don;t think there are any areas where you do not have access to those things within an hours drive or so. It's not like he is moving away where the closest town is a 10 hour drive.

I think (and just my opinion) that he is listing these things showing that in the hard times ahead, he will at least be more prepaired than most are and less dependent on other "services".

For example, if there is a power outage here...my lights are still burning bright. If the power went out for a week, it would not phase me one bit. But the poeple around me would start to feel that hit. And I don;t live out in the middle of nowhere..actually quite the opposite.

I simply just decided to prepare myself for the upcoming crisis in America. I seen it coming years back. I just posted a long article done by Glenn Beck. Just as he said..its coming folks and there is no stopping it. The American people brought it on themselves. But at least now I won;t have to pay for thier own stupidity (Glenn Beck used the word stupidity..I think its very accurate)

So let "the ****tith hittith the fannith" (this is a pic post from another JSH) I'm ready!

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).

I totally understand! I have spent the last almost 18 years dealing with IDIOTS (used in the truest sense of the word) Spending half my days doing OTHER people's jobs that THEY are getting paid for!

Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT perfect, nor in the same STATE as perfect. I make lots of mistakes too, but I fix my own! I should not have to take what time I have left doing someone elses job that they are gettong a paycheck for.

And right now, the American society is about to collapse and will. There is simply no getting around it now. I did a post of what Glenn Beck had to say.

The American people have done this to themselves. As my mother told me growing up.. "if you're not going to listen..you're going to feel". Basically it meant if you are not even smart enough to listen to good advise, you will suffer your own consiquences.

I HATE to see this country fall apart. It use to be a place of HONOR and DIGNITY. Now its a JOKE!

Nothing I can really do about it now, so I just prepared for whats coming down the train track. Trains do NOT turn and this one is coming down at 100 mph fully loaded. I simply had sense enough to get off the track..walk away so I don't get hit by all the flying debris. I have warned people over and over, but they have the mentality of "oh that would never happen".

Oh well, when the sh*t hits the fan, that should at least weed out the cattle (people who don't use thier brains)and the world will recycle as it always has. Those who are survivors will continue on.

insert thumbs up emoticon here

hope it worx for ya daniel

good luck (and the harder ya work at it the better yer luck will be)

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.

Some very good points. And you are correct about the 'family' and "community".

So many have lost certain core values and traits now and they have lost them at an incredible pace! Just think only 100 years ago! 1908! the car was barely invented, no airplanes flying, most forms of transportation was still horse and buggy! ONLY 100 YEARS AGO! Thats like a BLINK!

Now we have MILLIONS of IDIOTS that can;t even count back change unless the computer/register tells them how much!

You mention the Amish, well yes they do, but thier motivation is religious reasons for the most part. But they are a good example on how it is done.

Look in most 3rd world countries, they still live that way today. Including our neighbor Mexico.

I made my change for one simple reason..to do my part in conserving the resources for the future generations. I have more than ample means and am set financially for the rest of my life. So I don't do it to save money. I do it to put action behind my words. I walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

And as far as what others think? I could not care less. Most are idiots in the true sense of the word, so why would I care what an idiot thinks anyway?

If more people would think and become less self involved and think about things as a "community", then we would not have such a crisis around the corner like we face now.

Those who are worth helping are those trying to help themselves and others.

good luck grizzly adams...you're going to need it, especially if you've never lived like that before...

I met a few "get away from it all/self-sufficiency" types one summer when I was in alaska.. lasted about 3 weeks..hope you fare better.

Never said it would be easy. However,a s kids, I went camping all the time, and since I left home, I spent six years in the military, where trust me, you live the rough life, lol.
but seriosuly, as you said, no it isnt going to be easy, but it will be worth it.
I knwq othe number one thing I will have a problem with, is having less time to play around ont he computer But it will all be worth it, when I start reading and hearing about everyone else screaming and whining causae they have nothing, due to the depression we are running into, yet I have everything I need, as do the majority of my friends.

I've been conserving for years.

Turning off lights when they weren't in use.

Driving a fuel-efficient car.

Living on a budget.

Oh yeah. I forgot.

That's not conserving.

It's being poor.

not poor (poor is an attitude)

thats broke (broke is a condition)

Adj, where do you get your definitions???? You've been way off lately from what I have read.

I already have the moblie home & am looking for land. This has been my dream for decades, & the bursting real estate bubble is the oppourtunit:y I have been waiting for.

Exactly so. I am takign advantage of several things happening all at once in order to do this, and it is still goign to take some time to get there. Where abouts are you at red?

I was thinking when I build my house, build it specificaaly as a bed and breakfast (another dream). Use that to raise the money for my taxes and such, and allow a place for people to stay initially if they want to join the community. Everyone in the community can then help build a house for that family/person and get them on their feet so that they can help the rest of us afterwards.

i WANNA be a ballerina......but I doubt it will happen

Get as much information as you can. you you will be supprised
how simple somethings can be. like how 2 grow 50lbs of taters
in 4 old truck tires.
Ya'll check out the Backwoods home magazine site. and
'Kurt saxons prepairdness pages' site. Mr saxon saw the great
depression. He knows his stuff.