Couldn’t find an email for you so figured I’d post this here. My wife and I (and now our 3 month old daughter) are both from the San Diego area, and have been homesteading in the mountains east of there for the last few years. We've come to the conclusion that life here just isn't going to work over the long term, as the drought gets worse, sprawl takes over more and more land, and fires get increasingly intense. It’s a tough decision, since most everyone we know lives here. We’ve been trying to figure out where to start a new life, and one of the top candidates is the western part of Virginia. I stumbled across your writings through a comment on Simon Sarriss’ substack, and I’ve been greatly inspired by them. Truthfully, knowing that there are people like you who live out there brings it up a couple notches. So I guess I’m just wondering what advice you’d have for an outsider potentially looking to relocate to your region? Anything in particular to be aware of? If you had to do it all over again would you still settle there? Planning to come out within the next couple months to investigate. We’re looking for a modest house and a few acres near a smallish town good for raising a family, and are both into permaculture and natural building, and I’m an avid home winemaker. Anyhow, I know all this is fairly broad and open ended, but I'd really appreciate your thoughts!
Hi Fred,
Couldn’t find an email for you so figured I’d post this here. My wife and I (and now our 3 month old daughter) are both from the San Diego area, and have been homesteading in the mountains east of there for the last few years. We've come to the conclusion that life here just isn't going to work over the long term, as the drought gets worse, sprawl takes over more and more land, and fires get increasingly intense. It’s a tough decision, since most everyone we know lives here. We’ve been trying to figure out where to start a new life, and one of the top candidates is the western part of Virginia. I stumbled across your writings through a comment on Simon Sarriss’ substack, and I’ve been greatly inspired by them. Truthfully, knowing that there are people like you who live out there brings it up a couple notches. So I guess I’m just wondering what advice you’d have for an outsider potentially looking to relocate to your region? Anything in particular to be aware of? If you had to do it all over again would you still settle there? Planning to come out within the next couple months to investigate. We’re looking for a modest house and a few acres near a smallish town good for raising a family, and are both into permaculture and natural building, and I’m an avid home winemaker. Anyhow, I know all this is fairly broad and open ended, but I'd really appreciate your thoughts!
Best,
Andrew Haupt