I Need Help 874561568523

I fear my current job is at stake. If I lose my job, I don't really have anywhere to go. I have a wife and a 7 month old son. My wife's parents live in an extremely rural area of Missouri. I have been considering moving there and doing work for them in exchange for room & board for my family. My question is this:

Has anyone successfully moved a small family of 3 into a rural area and become self-sustaining? If so, please explain. I may pursue self-sustainability for myself and my family.

Note: The current social environment and stresses of trying to survive in this society is taking potentially catastrophic tolls on my psyche and my mental well-being.


EDIT: Moved to Survival, as the poster is specifically asking about living in a rural environment, off the land, etc.

[edit on 2-4-2010 by Gazrok]

reply to post by OrphenFire


Many of us are under these or similar circumstances. You can survive on very little, we all can if we grin and just bear it.

You may want to go Here or even request a Mod to move it there for more response.

Members section on BTS is more about who you have a crush on or posting up pics of when you were a kid

reply to post by Signals


Holy crap. I actually DID post this in the survival forum, for that VERY PURPOSE. Some mod moved it here... ???

-_-

:bnghd:

man im sorry for you but according to most here your lazy or you did it to your self ooo man this place bashes ppl who are on hard times .
as for rural life its the monye problem as aloways and its even harder there.
but if its a true farm you can goto then easy done it is goodluck man i know how bad it is

At this point in time most people do not have a sense of stability, especially those of us on ATS. I have been dealing with this problem over the last two years and I can tell you that the only place of retreat is friends and loved ones so hopefully you haven't made too many enemies. The kindness from others is what ultimately pulled me through.

Originally posted by OrphenFire
I fear my current job is at stake. If I lose my job, I don't really have anywhere to go. I have a wife and a 7 month old son. My wife's parents live in an extremely rural area of Missouri. I have been considering moving there and doing work for them in exchange for room & board for my family. My question is this:

Has anyone successfully moved a small family of 3 into a rural area and become self-sustaining? If so, please explain. I may pursue self-sustainability for myself and my family.

Note: The current social environment and stresses of trying to survive in this society is taking potentially catastrophic tolls on my psyche and my mental well-being.


EDIT: Moved to Survival, as the poster is specifically asking about living in a rural environment, off the land, etc.

[edit on 2-4-2010 by Gazrok]

Not something my dealt with. But my opinion is, here if it's worth anything.

If you have no other options and your in laws have offered it, what else can you do? If it's a way to make sure your family has food and shelter I would take it. Granted there would be no employment options for you in your current location that could support your family.

Originally posted by Signals
You can survive on very little, ....

Sure, so long as you don't have any debt.

I thank the day when I decided it was time to sell my home and use the equity to pay off my medical bills. I got out just before the housing crash in my area, back in 2007. Of course, I saw this coming years ago, so it wasn't just a stroke of lucky timing. I'm living in a one bedroom apartment now, and I couldn't be any happier now knowing I have no damn debt what-so-ever.

If one downsizes everything in their life to a modest minimum, you could probably get by on your own without a 9-5 job, doing things that will bring in a little money each day. I.E., if you're good at fixing cars, offer to fix your friends and family cars. Can you mow yards? Clean garages? Help other people move? Plant a garden? Sell stuff on eBay? ... My actual bare to the bones living expenses are down to around $1200 a month, that's 1/4th of what it once was, and hell, I can make that kind of pocket change begging on the streets if I were forced to. I could make that selling watches on street corners.

Maybe this depression will revive the entrepreneurial spirit in america. Certainly we have too many in this country that are under some impression that a job is a right, which it isn't.

Sell everything you can do without and downsize! I'm surprised people still have cable TV these days because one day they will wish they had that money they wasted instead.

wait. So you have not really lost your job yet? Is this some kind of preemptive begging?

reply to post by OrphenFire


Don't know where you are now but I can see you doing quite well in Missouri... Not only do you have farming to make ends meet you also have fishing hunting not to mention doing little odd job to make extra cash, selling fire wood eggs chickens... when the wife and I lived up in Wyoming I'd work as a hunting guide and camp cook to the rich Texans...

Small town America is where the good life is, why we're leaving the city and moving to a mini farm out in Kansas. better on the nerves too... falling asleep to the sounds of a hootie owl rather then gun fire and sirens.

[edit on 2-4-2010 by DaddyBare]

Just my two cents... My daughter homeschools her two kids, and they are constantly researching the topic of Homesteading. There are alot of sites online about how to start your own farm, what to plant, how to fix and make items you'll need, etc. just Google "Homesteading" and you'll be amazed at all you find! hope this helps. Oh, yeah...in southern Missouri, you'll find alot of survivalists, preppers, and others who can give all kinds of help and sugesstions.

[edit on 3-4-2010 by CaptGhost]

Well, I know it's an old thread, but I feel I have something to contribute, even if it';s for searches/posterity's sake.

1 I live in semi-rural Missouri. A college town.

2. My brother in law did just what you are talking about; Moved away from big city, (Richmond Va. to move in with us to get up on his feet).

My advice: Don't do it. It's a downward spiral to ruin. Here are the reasons:

1.Far less jobs. You are talking about leaving an area that has the higher potential for jobs. For an area that has WAY less job opportunities. This makes you indentured to your in-laws, because you can't find a job around you so you just keep doing what you're doing...doing less than getting by on some else's coat tails.

2. In-laws. I love my brother in law, and we even WANTED him to move in. But now after a year, I want him OUT. Families live separately for a very good reason. After a while people get sick of each other, and then that grows into arguments and it like this whole plan spirals into ruin. BTW Which side do you think your wife will take?

3. Money. Who has it? They do. Who makes the decisions on how that money is spent? They do. What makes the world go around? Money. So who decides what and how your world works out? Them.

Let me run a scenario by you. In-law:I don't think that milk is healthy for your child, I only buy soy milk. Now what are yo gonna do? Nothing. After a hard days work you come in, and are starving. In-law: We need some wood, and your wife has been keeping it cranked in here all day so you need to go chop wood for the rest of the night. We'll save you a half cup of tuna casserole for when you come in tonight, oh and keep it down, I'm going to bed in a minute, ya mooch. Whatcha gonna say? Nothing. You're mooching butt is gonna go chop wood all night... quietly. in-law: I have decided your child should be baptised in our church. And you're gonna come and like it. What are you gonna say? Nothing. Now, are you any closer to getting back on your feet at this pace? Uh, no, as a matter of fact you're getting further behind my losing marketable skills while you are digging ditches and mending fences.

Wife. Everyone will have a plan for you. You're wife especially. You should do this, or you should do that. And since you're out cleaning hogs all day who is she going to share these ideas with? Inlaws of course. Then it will be, "Dad said you should do this, or do that." Then if you don't do it you are not listeing to her, and not appreciative of their advice and charity. And your wife wants to know why. And then you want to have a beer after shoveling cow manure all day she says that is just like you, wanting to just relax and get drunk while she has been taking care of the baby all day. big fight.

Don't do it man. Get a 1 bedroom eficenty apartment in someones basement if you ahve to. Keep looking for jobs, and start taking part time and odd jobs in the mean time.

reply to post by OrphenFire


How well this would work out for you depends on a number of things... especially cosidering the realities of what ChosenWonn just laid out...

-What sort of reserve funds do you already have tucked away?

-Do you already have a truck?

-Do you already have tools & equipment that you'll need to sustain yourself, and, even better, tools that will make you more useful for doing various jobs for other people?

-Are you already experienced at gardening, or any of the other things you're going to need to do?

-How much property do they live on? What are the property taxes? Will you be able to truck in a trailer or build some other scructure seperate from the parents house so you dont end up in ChosenWonn's scenario?

-Is there already pastures, or will you be facing having to clearcut land and rip out stumps to have soil to plant in?

-Is there bodies of water nearby to have access to some good meat you dont have to raise?

-Are there good shallow ponds you can use to spawn crayfish in? (You can get a LOT of pounds of crayfish per acre of pond, and grow water crops in there with them and perhaps even algae for biodiesel)

-Are there already fruit tree sources on their land?

-Have you taken the time to learn about all of the cold season crops you can grow thru the winter, and could you live comfortably off of them alone for many months if need be? (There are actually quite a few good ones that will survive the cold, mostly green leafy plants (just about all of them), but also snow peas, lentils, fava beans, celery, cauifower, broccoli, cilantro, probably all types of onions and some others that arent mere 'leafy' plants.)

...and I'm sure plenty of other questions I cant think of right now.

The economy is going to collapse, sooner or later anyways. So trucing out of the stomped anthills could have you ahead of the curve... but who knows when the total collapse will take off, so if you get too far ahead of the curve you'll end up maybe far behind.

[edit on 9-4-2010 by IgnoranceIsntBlisss]

I am from a very rural part of Missouri. Webb City, MO to be exact. Population 7K, and hasn't changed in 50 years. 10 miles away is Joplin, MO. Population about 50K, it is the "big" town! Used to only be 35K when I lived there.

I now live in Florida, but I would love to move back to MO. Cost of living is half of what it is here. Morality is triple, and help from neighbors and family and friends is unbelievable. Pull off on the side of the road to talk on the phone, or take a piss, and you will have 5 people stop to check on you! When I was a teenager, I was tearing up some guys front lawn with my car, and I got stuck. He went and got a tractor, pulled me out, fixed me something to drink and called my Dad. I spent the next couple of weekends fixing the lawn, but WOW! What an experience, and what a community.

Also, about a year ago, I moved my family of 4 in with my parents. We went together and bought a large house at auction. We remodeled it, fixed up the pool, fixed 2 master living quarters, made some more parking, etc. I quit working 80 hours a week for a corporation, and I started working 40 hours per week for the State government. I have every weekend, and holiday off, and a ton of vacation time, and my Health Insurance is free. My Dad was able to save his job by taking a cut in hours from 40 down to 30. Now we all live much easier, we have home cooked meals all the time. We have an acre of land that backs up to wetlands, we have an in-ground pool, and large deck, and a ton of free time to enjoy it.

I highly recommend giving up the "good life" chasing the dollar bill, and move in with some family. Take a lesson from the immigrants. Conserve your resources, pool your labor, take care of one another, get to know your neighbors, throw a party, etc., etc!

BTW, feel free to U2U me if you want more details.