So you’ve decided you’re done with the city and ready for a “tree change”. Many others have gone before you and some had to sell out after running out of money or because they didn’t realise how difficult country life could be. Some have foolishly purchased land that was poorly suited for growing what they needed. Yet many others have embraced their new lives and found great joy in what a country life has to offer.
In this article, I hope to share some advice that if followed will greatly increase your chances of making the move to the country permanent.
Get Realistic
It’s important that you have realistic expectations of what you aregetting yourself in to. Only careful planning, consulting with those that can help, and most importantly self-knowledge and personal experience can help you. Here are some ideas to help you along:
1. Give WWOOF a try.
World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, or WWOOF offers a chance for you to volunteer on an organic farm. Depending on the needs of the individual farm, this could be on the weekends, during harvest, or for an extended time. This gives you an excellent way to experience farm life and understand the life you are switching to. You may find that the hard work and long hours is not for you, or you may be more convinced than ever. All this, and it doesn’t cost you more than your travel expenses and time missed from your day job.
2. Sit down with your family, write down your ideas of what you think this new life will entail. Who will do what and how much work will be required. During this workshop, consider:
What types of food you would like to grow. This could affect your decision in what climate you want to live in.
What will the land be used for? Will it be your primary source of income, or will you be funding this another way?
What skills do you have or lack? What is your desire to learn? Are you willing to put in the mental and physical effort? Rehabilitating a property can be a lot of fun, but it’s a lot of work the first 18 months to 5 years.
3. Finances
Don’t underestimate the impact to your bottom line. The larger the land you purchase, the more you will need to pay for maintenance and labour costs. You’ll be required, for example, to clear weeds and other fire hazards from your property and maintain fences and firebreaks. What kind of income (if any) do you expect to bring in to finance this venture? Are there jobs in your new area?
What to look for in the general area
Consider the community you are searching in. Is it filled with like-minded people, or will you feel alienated? Make sure that there are activities in the area that you enjoy. If you have children (or plan to), make sure there are schools nearby, or you will be having to drive them back and forth all the time. For example, they may be playing sports or taking swimming lessons. Make sure there is shopping, a hospital, and entertainment nearby. All of this will help you determine how far from town you are willing to be.
Thanks to increasing fuel costs, you should make sure there is a nearby railway so that you will be able to travel into and out of the area easily, plus it will make it easier to receive visitors.
Learn about the trends in climate change for this area. Is it getting wetter/drier? Make sure to check the area out during the dry season, so that you can see the worst-case scenario and experience the heat. Find out what the annual rainfall is and consider if it will be adequate.
What to look for on your potential property
First, consider the neighbours. You won’t be able to control what they do, so be mindful if they are doing aerial spraying, GMO, or if they are uphill to you, then you’ll be getting all of their chemicals in the rain runoff. If you can manage to have no neighbours uphill to you, that is a good thing.
Water is crucial. Do not underestimate the need for this, whether it be from bores or your own water-capture methods. You’ll want to have gentle-sloping land so that you can introduce dams and swales. Alternatively, if you can find a property with a stream in it, that will help provide water. 1 or 2 hectares of land is plenty if all you want is to grow your own vegetables, herbs, and have a few fruit trees with some chickens for meat and eggs.
Make sure to take soil samples in several areas and have it assessed for toxins, clay content (ideally it should be 30% clay so you can build a dam or two), and also keep an eye out for evidence of salt. You can tell a lot by the plants that are growing on the property.
Locals are the best source of information
Finally, make sure to ask around and see if you can find out any information from the locals. What was the land used for historically? Are there any problems (for example does it get bogged) during the rainy season? What grows best in the area?
Further Reading
[amazon-product text=”Introduction to Permaculture, Chapter 2″ type=”text”]0908228082[/amazon-product]
[amazon-product text=”Abandon Affluence and Growth (Third World books)” type=”text”]0862323118[/amazon-product]
Thanks Greg! I took your advice in mind when looking in the country for a new property. Although I didn’t go as far as WWOOFing it, I did a lot of research and found a place that is awesome! Very excited to get started on my adventure.