Homesteading offers independence from the uncertainty of American life, but few people actually make the switch

Homesteading requires resources and 
stamina. (Photo by A. Spratt, Unsplash) 

For people looking to leave the unpredictability of mainstream American life behind, homesteading -- or at least the idea of it -- is becoming more popular in the U.S., reports Anemona Hartocollis of The New York Times. Some regional pockets of homesteaders host expos that draw thousands to learn how to live life "off the grid."

"Pryor, Okla., is a low-slung town of 9,700 people, tucked among hills and woods," Hartocollis writes, "But for two days in March, its population swelled, as the Okie Homesteading Expo brought 3,000 people from all over the country eager to return to the land."

A need for self-sufficiency and a drive to prepare for the end of the world are at least part of what draws attendees to the Okie Expo, where they learn to grow and preserve their own food, raise goats, chickens and other livestock and hunt and fish.

"For all its bucolic, back-to-the-land imagery, homesteading taps into the desire to escape from the discontent and disquiet of modern America," Hartocollis adds. "Homesteaders believe disaster could happen anytime, and few are ready to handle it."

Despite the growing number of Americans who are interested in homesteading, it's a goal few attain. "The number of people who are truly self-sufficient is vanishingly small," Hartocollis reports. "To go back to the land, you need to buy land, which can be expensive." Some homesteaders live in a spot where they keep jobs "in the world" while raising their own food and striving toward independence. 

Some homesteaders view it as a religious calling. Others see it as a way to have more agency in their own lives. Hartocollis writes, "One couple, Matt White, 50, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, and his wife, Lara, 51, a real estate broker, are buying 30 acres north of Oklahoma City."

Lara White told the Times, "We’ve always been controlled by our circumstances. We want to try to control our own circumstances.”

Opinion: Homesteading frugality is one way to make life sweeter and less complicated

A frugal life has fewer decisions and offers more peace.
(Frugalwoods photo)

Learning from Americans who live as homesteaders is one way to embrace —and even relish — living frugally.

"It's uncommon to hear someone espouse the virtues of frugality for frugality’s sake," writes Elizabeth Willard Thames for Frugalwoods, a financial newsletter. "Frugality gets a horrendous rap, primarily from those who peddle the pricey products we’re lured to believe will equal the good life. I didn’t realize at the time that my frugality would become a destination and an enriching element all its own."

Thames shares 19 reasons why frugality can make life better. A few of her homesteading ideas and habits are below.

Honoring your priorities is what frugality is all about. A successful frugal budget allocates money "only on the most important things, and a happy frugal person only allocates their time to their highest priorities," Thames explains. "I know that my time and money are both limited, so why fritter either away on stuff that doesn’t bring me happiness?"

Frugality creates a life filled with learning. Thames writes, "By embracing the art of DIY, we’re never at a loss for what to do with our time. If it’s a sunny day, we’re out in the garden or hiking. Rainy? We’re inside writing, baking, reading."

Frugal people become more creative. Thames notes, "We innovate, we experiment, and we do it ourselves. We devise our own food, our own entertainment, our own gifts, our own way to live."

Living frugally means making fewer decisions. Thames notes, "Research has proven that the glut of choices we face in making decisions in our modern economy do not, in fact, make us happier."

Keeping things simple can help build community. "Frugality encourages a reliance on one another, a sharing of skills, of time, and of stuff," Thames adds. "The frugal life is an interconnected life where you acknowledge that you need help and have gifts to offer."

More than anything else, "frugality gives you options. Or, more precisely: frugality gives you a level of financial stability that affords you options," Thames explains. "When you’re not in debt and you’re not living paycheck-to-paycheck, you are able to make decisions based on what you want to do with your life, not what you have to do."

Opinion: New farmers with 'can-do' attitudes learn the trade from older farmers and agriculture support systems

Josh Pearson and Esme Martinson
(Turner Road Farm photo)

The life of U.S. farmers is often depicted by some "experts" as difficult, solitary and lacking many services, but that view only offers one slice of the profession. For many farmers, especially those new to farming, the career is full of learning, abundance and people helping people, writes Jason Maloney in his opinion piece for Agri-View.

Commentators and politicians often "talk of young people leaving rural areas, saying those rural areas have poverty and unemployment, and lack emergency services and nutritious food," Maloney adds. "But in the countryside of far-northern Wisconsin, where broadband and cellular service can be spotty. . .the outlook can be quite different. . . . There’s a sense of optimism that comes from building community and having a can-do attitude. . . . There are young people on the land who are making remarkable progress."

In northern Bayfield County, Wisconsin, Josh Pearson and Esme Martinson, who own Turner Road Farm, are learning how to be food and animal farmers, and they enjoy sharing their knowledge. Pearson told Maloney, "Esme and I are first generation; we didn’t grow up on farms. We read. A lot is possible if you put your mind to it.. . . . People have an experience coming up to our farm. We bring a lot of school groups to our farm – kindergartners, high schoolers, and even some college classes come out. It’s fun to see them react to the animals."

Location of Bayfield in Wisconsin
(Wikipedia map)

Turner Road Farm slowly purchased its livestock from a nearby cattle ranching family who wanted to retire. Part of Pearson's approach to the "generational transition of agriculture" is to learn from those leaving the profession. Pearson told Maloney, "Now they are done with their beef herd, and their beef herd is here on our farm. . . . I’m making hay in Port Wing, Wisconsin, with Dale Peacock of Red Hoof Farm. I’m helping him as he’s getting out of the business, and he’s mentoring me as I am going in."

Pearson and Martinson credit the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency as great support sources. Pearson told Mahoney, "My first suggestion to [new homesteaders] is to develop a relationship with the FSA office. There are programs out there to help us. We didn’t do this all on our own."

Right now, there are "things happening in places that aren’t seen by 'experts,'" Mahoney adds. "The important work that solves problems like hunger, environmental disasters, dying communities. . . is happening all around us. . . . Young people are grabbing hold and pulling us forward. If that doesn’t provide one with optimism, nothing else will."