Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> There are any number of reasons to start over so what would be a good 
> strategy to set oneself up for a self sufficient retirement even with 
> limited income and physical resources?

Buy a small, old farmhouse with a few acres in an area of long growing 
season. Farm consolidation has left lots of little spots with an old 
orchard, trees, old house, old well, electric service and modest 
outbuildings that still have enough value to not burn down to create more 
crop land. Many of these spots are far enough from population centers to be 
low in price. They are potentially good homestead places, with the myriad 
caveats I write about in my book and which are too numerous to list here.

The primary required budget item is housing. Unless you ensnare yourself in 
the insurance trap, the next is transportation. Next is food, and that is 
where homesteaders shine. So, a cheap house with a few acres, a modest 
pickup or car and trailer, low taxes, and you have a good head start to 
making do with little as you age.

Gene GeRue
Author: How To Find Your Ideal Country Home
http://www.ruralize.com