6 ms·

The families I know who live best are permaculturalists. Visiting them for dinner is always a treat. It's hard work though, and like others they have supplement

The families I know who live best are permaculturalists. Visiting them for dinner is always a treat. It's hard work though, and like others they have supplemental income. I imagine this old man knows well the trick: an independent life is impossible unless you have enough healthy young people around to do the labour.

jimbokun 6y ago
"an independent life is impossible unless you have enough healthy young people around to do the labour." Or about $1 million stashed in index funds, give or take based on cost of living in your location.
- raintrees 6y ago
  Or around $600K in down payments in cash flowing rental properties in the US... My wife and I spent around $75K to get approximately $1K a month in cash flow (5 doors, $200 each)...
  - Rumudiez 6y ago
    I think the topic is independence, not being a parasite on others who are less well off than you.
    - 1MoreThing 6y ago
      It is kind of hilarious how often rent-seeking behavior is called out as evil when it comes to software companies, but actual rent-seeking with real estate is seen as virtuous investment.
  - vageli 6y ago
    $75k for five doors? Might I ask whereabouts? That seems ridiculously cheap per unit.
    - ngngngng 6y ago
      I believe they're saying the down payment was $75k
    - wahern 6y ago
      Not impossible in impoverished areas. A rural trailer park, some section 8 housing in a bad part of town, or maybe they scooped up some single-family units at the bottom of the housing market crash.
    - raintrees 6y ago
      $65K for a 4 plex in Del Norte County, California, $10K for a single family in Lee County, Florida. Deals exist, it requires effort and action.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
silexia 6y ago
I agree it's hard work. Every project seems like it will take an hour at the outset, but ends up taking eight hours due to a wide variety of unexpected real world complications. I traded in a beautiful city home for 106 acres at the beginning of the pandemic and am still glad I did. People have a fantasy picture of the tradeoff though... In reality, in rural places you have less social interaction and the people are of a lower caliber than urban areas. You can't make money farming unless you do it at massive scale, so I still work just as much online as before. Only now my free time goes into farming instead of golf or restaurants.
- noxplode 6y ago
  Supposedly, small market garden farms can be quite profitable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbHwAfHQA9M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbHwAfHQA9M
- CuriouslyC 6y ago
  You can't make money commodity farming unless at scale, but growing boutique items can be profitable. You just need to find things that nobody else is providing, and build a market for them. Vertical integration is also a good way to make money without scaling up - things like pickles and other cottage foods have a much higher profit margin.

jimbokun 6y ago

"an independent life is impossible unless you have enough healthy young people around to do the labour." Or about $1 million stashed in index funds, give or take based on cost of living in your location.

raintrees 6y ago
Or around $600K in down payments in cash flowing rental properties in the US... My wife and I spent around $75K to get approximately $1K a month in cash flow (5 doors, $200 each)...
- Rumudiez 6y ago
  I think the topic is independence, not being a parasite on others who are less well off than you.
  - 1MoreThing 6y ago
    It is kind of hilarious how often rent-seeking behavior is called out as evil when it comes to software companies, but actual rent-seeking with real estate is seen as virtuous investment.
- vageli 6y ago
  $75k for five doors? Might I ask whereabouts? That seems ridiculously cheap per unit.
  - ngngngng 6y ago
    I believe they're saying the down payment was $75k
  - wahern 6y ago
    Not impossible in impoverished areas. A rural trailer park, some section 8 housing in a bad part of town, or maybe they scooped up some single-family units at the bottom of the housing market crash.
  - raintrees 6y ago
    $65K for a 4 plex in Del Norte County, California, $10K for a single family in Lee County, Florida. Deals exist, it requires effort and action.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

silexia 6y ago

I agree it's hard work. Every project seems like it will take an hour at the outset, but ends up taking eight hours due to a wide variety of unexpected real world complications. I traded in a beautiful city home for 106 acres at the beginning of the pandemic and am still glad I did. People have a fantasy picture of the tradeoff though... In reality, in rural places you have less social interaction and the people are of a lower caliber than urban areas. You can't make money farming unless you do it at massive scale, so I still work just as much online as before. Only now my free time goes into farming instead of golf or restaurants.

noxplode 6y ago
Supposedly, small market garden farms can be quite profitable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbHwAfHQA9M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbHwAfHQA9M
CuriouslyC 6y ago
You can't make money commodity farming unless at scale, but growing boutique items can be profitable. You just need to find things that nobody else is providing, and build a market for them. Vertical integration is also a good way to make money without scaling up - things like pickles and other cottage foods have a much higher profit margin.