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Category Archives: Remote Living

Starting a guinea flock

Posted on March 28, 2016 by vernsix Posted in chickens, gardening, guineas, pests, Remote Living, rodents, snakes .

Guinea-fowl-with-chicks jpgI have to have silence when sleeping. Ranae and I often joke that I can hear a cat walk across the yard 200 paces away from the bedroom window and it will wake me up. This sleeping issue of mine is, in no small part, a major contributing factor as to why we live in the country. I could never tolerate the noise of the concrete hell known as city life. If I lived in the city I would be back to countless sleepless nights in a row until I finally pass out due to total exhaustion. Been there, done that. No thanks.

So what in the world are we doing but getting a flock of guineas? We must be off our rockers. Hopefully it won’t be too bad, but guineas are some of the loudest birds ever. The good thing is, they are typically quiet until something startles them. Then it’s one bird screeching that sets of a different bird that sets off another and so on. Once they start screeching, it can take a long time for them to calm down. Which probably means, I will have the pleasure of working many sleepless nights and asking myself “What have I done to my peaceful nights?” Continue reading →

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Baby Steps

Posted on February 15, 2016 by vernsix Posted in planning, Remote Living, Self-Sufficiency, Uncategorized .

baby_stepsJudging from the email I receive, a lot of people jump into this lifestyle as a last resort or as a result of some severe economic down turn in their lives. I understand that thought process, but this lifestyle is NOT cheap. Far from it from actually. If you are considering this lifestyle for these reasons, I strongly urge you to reconsider. Continue reading →

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Learning is fun

Posted on February 1, 2016 by vernsix Posted in DIY, Family Fun, Make Your Own, planning, Remote Living, Self-Sufficiency .

I love when I receive email from my readers and I do receive a lot of it. Last week I received an email from a man who read a couple of my articles. He had read the one about how hard it was to find good reliable help out here in the sticks and the latest one about starting with a portable building for a house cabin. He asked a pretty good question, “What if I just don’t have the skills to do the building and construction you talk about?”

I realize not everyone has been trained or even exposed to such things, but for me this is what I find the most exciting about the lifestyle. The constant learning and trial and error at skills I may not have is what keeps this lifestyle interesting for me. While I have had some training and plenty of practice in building construction, I don’t have all the answers to every problem we face out here. Continue reading →

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A roof over our heads

Posted on January 24, 2016 by vernsix Posted in DIY, Family Fun, Make Your Own, planning, Remote Living .

portable-buildingThis series of my articles has been about deciding if this self-sufficient lifestyle is right for you or not. In my “Back to the Basics” article on January 3rd, I mentioned the six things Ranae and I put at the top of our list when deciding to make the leap to be 100% in this lifestyle. Those six items are: water, shelter, food, energy, finances and community. Keep in mind, we filter every decision through the frugality filter.

Last week I talked a bit about how we were able to get internet out here in the sticks and how that provides for my ability to make a living. So, once we had all the big hurdles met, what about a roof over our heads? Continue reading →

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Internet in the sticks

Posted on January 18, 2016 by vernsix Posted in Ham Radio, Internet, planning, Remote Living, satellite, WISP .

microwave-transceiversWhile living a self-sufficient lifestyle, especially in rural America, does mean doing without some modern conveniences, such as the ability to run to Walmart any time you like, it doesn’t have to mean doing without internet. I am a computer programmer and my income depends 100% on my ability to be connected to the internet.

Out here in the sticks, getting internet can be problematic to understate it greatly. DSL or Fiber simply aren’t available in many rural parts of the country, and where I live is no different.

This lack of connectivity has created an industry all its own. WISP is an acronym for Wireless Internet Service Provider. Typically a WISP company will install a large radio tower within 20 to 30 miles of where you live. They may also use existing towers such as your local water tower, etc. Continue reading →

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Good Help Is Hard To Find

Posted on January 11, 2016 by vernsix Posted in planning, Remote Living, Self-Sufficiency, Workers .

Help-WantedChoosing this self-sufficient lifestyle has its rewards and a lot of them I might add, but it doesn’t come without a hefty dose of frustrations too. I want to make sure anyone who considers this lifestyle does so with their eyes wide open.

When we returned from living as missionaries in Guatemala, we had very little money to our names. Before going on mission, we sold every replaceable item we owned. We had cashed out our retirement accounts and when we returned the USA, all the money we had in the world was less than would buy a month’s worth of groceries. We had to work and save in order to buy our land and begin this lifestyle. Continue reading →

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Tags: Help Wanted .

Back to the basics

Posted on January 3, 2016 by vernsix Posted in community, gardening, planning, power, Remote Living, Self-Sufficiency .

back-to-the-basicsHappy New Year! I pray this new year brings each and every one of you joy, peace, love and many blessings.

I apologize for missing an article last week. I normally write my articles Sunday morning before going to church. But last Sunday, I was under the weather and couldn’t sit at the keyboard or anything else for that matter. I have had a heart condition since birth and last week, my ol ticker decided to start acting up so it was much needed (and rare) day of rest for me.

The past three articles have talked about some planning and mindsets needed for this lifestyle. In the first article in this series, I suggested to everyone to be frugal. In the next article I suggested that you needed to make sure your partner was of the same mindset about this lifestyle and in the third article, I gave a few suggestions about how to properly make plans. This article is about what came first in the planning, for us. Continue reading →

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Friends In Rural Places

Posted on September 10, 2015 by vernsix Posted in Remote Living .

according-to-vern-2015-09-10According to the latest US Census data, nearly one-fourth of Americans live in rural areas. I have read studies, as well as seen with my own eyes, about 40% of the entire world lives in remote or rural areas.

Living remote has incredible rewards, in my not so humble opinion. While I think it’s the best type of living possible, if I am honest about it, there are some inconveniences as well. Living a significant distance from a major city brings challenges that most city dwellers rarely face nor are they willing to. Continue reading →

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Tags: fellowship, heatlh care, location, remote living .

Great Quotes

"The more you know, the less you need", Cody Lundin

"Self-Reliance is the only road to true freedom, and being one's own person is the ultimate reward", Patricia Sampson

"Self-Sufficiency is the greatest of all wealth", Epicurus

"Happiness belongs to the self-sufficient", Aristotle

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