Mike and his wife have decided to stop chasing a paycheck.
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In May of 2011 my wife and I decided to stop chasing a paycheck and start chasing a different carrot. We taught high school for a combined twenty years but had enough and decided to move towards the exit of industrial life. What that means is we are trying to gain a skill set to become more self-reliant and less dependent on the institutions that make up our various systems.
Now that we’re two and a half years into this journey of self-discovery we’re looking to settle in a bit. For the past thirty months we’ve been nomadic moving in and out of city life while spending time in between on various homesteads living and learning from others. What we’ve discovered is we have a lifetime to learn and that most folks we’ve encountered have bitten off more than they can chew. That’s the main reason we’re invited to spend time on various properties. Our hosts are generally overwhelmed with their chores. It seems many people who have chosen the “simple life” have made it complex. These complexities have given my wife and I an incredible learning opportunity.
We work for food and shelter and we enjoy the fact that we are not land owners. Ownership has its privileges but it also can be a burden. We find many become weighed down by their properties and we enjoy our freedom to come and go as we please. If and when we do settle in a bit more we will be looking at communal situations where ownership is not an option but land use is…on various eco-villages and land trusts. We’re not ruling out ownership but as of now we have plenty to learn before that happens.
Today as we consider the possibilities over the next year our excitement grows. We have come to realize that our obliviousness to the importance of water is pushing us towards locations where rainfall occurs regularly. We’re also considering places where we can forage and hunt if necessary. Our prospects are greater in number than most would think. Our patience in locating a place to land (pun intended) will be key.
What this journey ultimately has done is revitalize our relationship as a couple. Our marriage has grown stronger and as we approach our twentieth wedding anniversary our lives are becoming fuller and richer each year. While others live for the future we live for one another. This choice has made all the difference.
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I love this. I have a little dream to do it when the kids fly the nest…
That picture does not get the happiness across all too well.
That’s the joke….Neo American Gothic.