“To be happy, free, and fruitful can only be attained through sacrifice of many common but overestimated things.”  ~ Robert Henri

While not the best fit for me right now, this has been a very popular and satisfying trade-off for many people in my area. I’ll include the story of friends who’ve done just that.

My friends (I’ll call them the Smith’s) lived in a high-end area on the west coast. Having celebrities and stars for neighbors was not uncommon. Along with that came high real estate prices, high cost of living, heavy traffic, and lots of peer pressure to keep up with the Jones’ if you were going to fit in. For several reasons, it became time to unplug and find what they viewed as a more sane and satisfying existence. As a result, they cashed out, made arrangements to work remotely, and relocated to fly-over country. They now live on a three acre mini-farm in a nice, spacious, and affordable home. The guy has a large metal building with tons of rooms for motorcycles and other toys, plus his climate controlled  woodworking shop. The couple grows most of their own food with occasional purchases of free range chicken or meat from area farmers. 

Do they miss some of the things from their old lifestyle? Sure, but they would both tell you it was a good trade. They’ve chosen an existence which created more time to entertain themselves doing what they enjoy and much more time to engage with one another.

Financially, it’s much easier to exist this way. Conspicuous consumption is generally frowned upon in fly-over country. It’s referred to as “being a big feeler.” Many people in their old neighborhood would refer to us as being unimaginative. Many back here might feel the same way about them. Regardless, maybe it’s time to examine if a mini-farm in fly-over country would be a good fit for you.

“I can accept failure; everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”  ~ Michael Jordan