Foo - Is 42 too old.....

to be considering buying some land, building a log cabin, and dropping out of society?

I was reading a book last night about how people used to live in the appalachian area and it explained how to build a cabin, how to cure meats, how to make soap (even how to extract lie from hickory coals/ashes), and many other things people used to do. It kind of appeals to me.

Am I nuts for thinking this way?

My grandma gave me a set of Foxfire books when I was younger, I've never been the same since.

Too old? Definitely not, I'd think it's more accepted the older you are. I was wondering if 25 is too young...

My grandma gave me a set of Foxfire books when I was younger, I've never been the same since.

Too old? Definitely not. I was wondering if 25 is too young...

great books, aren't they? Some of the quotes are bit hard to understand though.

Dick Proenekke started at 50 I believe

Dick Proenekke started at 50 I believe

That was an awesome show...I think that is what rekindled my outdoor spirit. It wasn't long after seeing that show that I began dreaming again of hiking the AT.

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/assets_c/2009/01/Hoody-thumb-340x340.jpg

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/assets_c/2009/01/Hoody-thumb-340x340.jpg

I'm balding....so wrong pic.

Are you telling MV to manifesto up?

to be considering buying some land, building a log cabin, and dropping out of society?

I was reading a book last night about how people used to live in the appalachian area and it explained how to build a cabin, how to cure meats, how to make soap (even how to extract lie from hickory coals/ashes), and many other things people used to do. It kind of appeals to me.

Am I nuts for thinking this way?

Nope. Lots of people do so around your age, youngster. We moved to Costa Rica when I was 45. One of the best things we ever did. I left a very lucrative career too, but then again, I have made more money since then.

One of the really simple things that people miss is that it isn't how much you make that is important, it is how much you have left over.

I love the idea of homesteading, but I will freely admit that I am not fond of the idea of milking cows. So we have sharecroppers who do it all for me. :D

to be considering buying some land, building a log cabin, and dropping out of society?

I was reading a book last night about how people used to live in the appalachian area and it explained how to build a cabin, how to cure meats, how to make soap (even how to extract lie from hickory coals/ashes), and many other things people used to do. It kind of appeals to me.

Am I nuts for thinking this way?

I hope not.

>>> 43 <<<

to be considering buying some land, building a log cabin, and dropping out of society?

I was reading a book last night about how people used to live in the appalachian area and it explained how to build a cabin, how to cure meats, how to make soap (even how to extract lie from hickory coals/ashes), and many other things people used to do. It kind of appeals to me.

Am I nuts for thinking this way?


Thats how old I was when I went to Vermont with the same intentions.
Due to urgent family matters I had to re-enter society, but even at 50,
its my goal to Appalachian or Upstate NY for my final phase of life :)
Never too late. Lifes short, Enjoy :beer:

I found, the older I get , I question whether all the "hard work"
philosophy I ascribed to was worth it, and my answer is "No".
Yeah, all that overtime and climbing in the company got me
houses and motorcycles and stuff like that, but in retrospect,
I wish I had the time back to do more soul enriching stuff and
spent more time with the pppl in my life who are gone now.

You're never too old to be nuts.

to be considering buying some land, building a log cabin, and dropping out of society?

I was reading a book last night about how people used to live in the appalachian area and it explained how to build a cabin, how to cure meats, how to make soap (even how to extract lie from hickory coals/ashes), and many other things people used to do. It kind of appeals to me.

Am I nuts for thinking this way?There's a reason people stopped doing that - it's hard work and unecessary. Plus there aren't going to be enough hickory trees.

I'm 29 and think of these things all the time.

There's a reason people stopped doing that - it's hard work and unecessary. Plus there aren't going to be enough hickory trees.

There are things, like making soap, that is so not worth it. But making your own yogurt and cheese is pretty easy and definitely worth it.

Of course, for hermits, soap is definitely optional... :rolleyes:

no

There's a reason people stopped doing that - it's hard work and unecessary. Plus there aren't going to be enough hickory trees.


Thats just about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Thats just about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Obviously you don't read P & R or A & S...

Buying land? Don't forget to pay your property taxes. :innocent: That's right, our society has made it nearly impossible to do what comes naturally. :D

to be considering buying some land, building a log cabin, and dropping out of society?

I was reading a book last night about how people used to live in the appalachian area and it explained how to build a cabin, how to cure meats, how to make soap (even how to extract lie from hickory coals/ashes), and many other things people used to do. It kind of appeals to me.

Am I nuts for thinking this way?

already started on it myself

just be prepared for it to take way longer than you expect depending on tools and materials

I chose to use what is on the property which is mostly hardwood which is not really the way to go. Using spruce or pine 1 guy with an axe and a wedge can do a single room cabin in 60-80 hours of work after the wood is dried. Using hardwood I am finding its gonna take 4-5 times that long and on top of that I am limited pretty seriously by wood size, getting really big logs up on the roof by yourself is a limiting factor. Takes longer to dry and season hardwood too, I cut most of it two years ago and some of it is just now getting dry enough to use. It is definitely a learning experience. Good thing I am no hurry. I have maybe 120 hours or so in it so far and all Ive got is 4 walls and some roof framing up. Long long way to go yet. The roof is becoming a real PITA, but it is one thing you must do right or your screwed.

Thats just about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.So what's your explanation for the fact that nowadays most people have opted not to live in a log cabin they built for themselves in the woods and to cure their own meat?

So what's your explanation for the fact that nowadays most people have opted not to live in a log cabin they built for themselves in the woods and to cure their own meat?

Bunch of slackers I tell you... :rolleyes:

But I have seen people jump in their car to drive to a grocery store to buy mayonnaise when they had all the ingredients in the frig and the shelf. (look it up sometime)

Buy a house for 400K and work for 20 years paying it off, build it for 20K (though smaller of course) and enjoy the free time.

If you think you are recreating the life, it is stupid. If you are changing for a simpler life, sure, you can do it just fine.

buying land? Don't forget to pay your property taxes. :innocent: That's right, our society has made it nearly impossible to do what comes naturally. :d

+1

Heh. I'm 42 too. (Forty tutu?) Building a log cabin isn't my thing, but I certainly understand the thinking and feeling behind it.

In my case, I was wondering if 42 would be too old to become a firefighter/EMT.

Buying land? Don't forget to pay your property taxes. :innocent: That's right, our society has made it nearly impossible to do what comes naturally. :D

There are places in the world where you can live without going broke on property taxes.

also, your cabin doesn't necessarily need to be made of logs; I'm partial to New Mexican adobe construction myself (even then you'll still need some timber for the roof, window and door frames and other bits and pieces of framing).

If you think you are recreating the life, it is stupid. If you are changing for a simpler life, sure, you can do it just fine.Agreed - opting for a simple life is good. But I'd go further than you on the retro thing: thinking you are going to live "off the grid" and independently from society like a pioneer (who usuallly didn't actually live independently from society) is romantic, impractical, unsustainable, and frankly, masochistic.

Agreed - opting for a simple life is good. But I'd go further than you on the retro thing: thinking you are going to live "off the grid" and independently from society like a pioneer (who usuallly didn't actually live independently from society) is romantic, impractical, unsustainable, and frankly, masochistic.

So then it's best for everyone that those sorts of people do live way out in the woods.

There are companies that sell log home kits, you know. Think of it as a Lincoln Logs playset that you can live in.

Of course the in thing to do around here is to build using a pole barn.

There are things, like making soap, that is so not worth it.

Depends. Well, we used lye, didn't make our own. But we made 5-10 batches in 1999/2000 and haven't bought any soap since. Natural scents, we know all the ingredients in it. They last a long time and it isn't really that difficult to do. Most of them are honey oatmeal, or clove, but we also made a pumpkin pie soap and a goat milk soap.

Depends. Well, we used lye, didn't make our own. But we made 5-10 batches in 1999/2000 and haven't bought any soap since. Natural scents, we know all the ingredients in it. They last a long time and it isn't really that difficult to do. Most of them are honey oatmeal, or clove, but we also made a pumpkin pie soap and a goat milk soap.

Soap is very easy to make. All you need is fat, lye, heat, and elbow grease. Add some rose petal water for scent if you have to. I'm thinking about trying my hand at a small batch to see how it comes out.

I have cousins that lived up the road from where I grew up in WV, their father owned a small sawmill and when they got old enough to move out of school he gave them some land and they cut the trees and sawed them into lumber and built their houses. They hunt and fish when they need food, but they do hold jobs to pay taxes and such. Both sons graduated with me but they are a couple years older as they had failed a couple years so that puts them at 39-40. One of them makes a decent wage and orders a bunch of stuff from the Cabelas catalog so a couple years ago another of my cousins drove him to the Cabelas in Wheeling and we drove over with them. It was the first time he had ever been on a highway or out of the state. My grandfather was a full time farmer, my father's generation the first to have a job and there are a lot of small family farms around that the current generation didn't want to be "stuck" there and will sell it off. The area around my parents farm is selling fast because people do as you wish, retire or leave the rat race and buy an old farm and live there. The hospitals and other such serives are being overtaxed.

Hell no you're not too old. I would do it if I could.

Your life is yours to make what you will of it; if you want to go 'pioneer', as someone else said, go for it. Just make sure that it's either what you really want, or that you can walk away from it if it doesn't work for you.

Take it to any level of simplicity you wish, from off the grid to off the map.

Your life is yours to make what you will of it; if you want to go 'pioneer', as someone else said, go for it. Just make sure that it's either what you really want, or that you can walk away from it if it doesn't work for you.

Take it to any level of simplicity you wish, from off the grid to off the map.

I agree it is up to him, but I can confidently predict that living off the grid will not prove to be simple.

Living off the grid can be simple, you just have to make sacrifices. Can't expect to live a "plugged-in" lifestyle.

you cant drop out of society till you turn 75. thats the rule.

Just don't go all "Into The Wild" on us and wind up dead in a bus.

Am I nuts for thinking this way?

Clearly.

Accordingly, you live in the Southeast.

There's a shock.

Clearly.

Accordingly, you live in the Southeast.

There's a shock.

this from the biggest idiot on BF's. :rolleyes:

Don't you live in the great NE? You know, where it stays frozen for 8 months out of the year.

You don't even need to buy/build a house; find a piece of land that's got an old house on it.

There are still lots of parts of the country where property is sold for the value of the land, not the buildings on it (within reason). In the midwest, for example, if you buy a modest-sized piece of farmland that has an old farmhouse on it you're usually not paying much more (if anythng) for the farm with the house. Buy a quarter-section of land (160 acres), you can get a house for free.

My "plan" is to even skip the land and cabin part: I just want to roam up and down the coast in a vw van or very small "rv" and surf. I'll join a chain gym like 24-hour fitness that has locations all over the place and that'll be my workout and clean up facilities when I need them. Will I ever be free enough of "responsibilities" to do this? Don't know...

"Too old"? I'd be more inclined to think 42 is too young to do that. But that's just me. I was raised by parents who valued frugality and practicality, and so for me I'd need to have a solid nest egg socked away before I dropped out of society...and at the rate I'm going, I won't have that nest egg until about 30 seconds before I hit retirement age!

But age has nothing to do with it. You're writing on a cycling forum, so I presume you're in decent enough physical shape that you can build a log cabin without having a heart attack.

Am I nuts for thinking this way?


No. In fact I've been encouraging you to drop out of society for quite a while now. I figure you're mostly harmless, except to youself. So, I expect no mainfestos, just the occasional visit to the emergency room, where the doctor will be overheard saying "Sir, we've told you this before, but if you're going to do that to yourself 14 times a day, please use some sort of lubricant. Those burns could cause scarring".

Since there are so many people in agreement here...let's build a 10 story log cabin condo and we can all move in together.

Yeah because with 20 people and the internet in the house, that'd be just like dropping out of society... without actually doing it.

Soap is very easy to make. All you need is fat, lye, heat, and elbow grease. Add some rose petal water for scent if you have to. I'm thinking about trying my hand at a small batch to see how it comes out.

Use an immersion blender - takes all the hard work out of it. Just be careful handling the lye (use cold water if it is warm) and make sure there aren't any aluminium pots involved. Scent - rose water, honey, oat meal - just look in your cupboard and see what you have available. We had chocolate ones with cocoa powder in them that were bad because it looked like fudge... try not to taste test :)

I'm 49 and think that with a little planning you can do it.
I have some ideas along these lines as well.
They include a "Cob" house; wind, and solar...
The taxes require some work; but at the rates I've examined for many BC locations, they are manageable...

MV, as usual you're behind me on the curve on this,.. :)

We're the same age, I've been going down this road for three years now.

Let me give you a few alternatives worth considering.

http://renaissanceronin.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/katrina.jpg

This is the original Katrina cottage. 308 sq feet, 14 x 22 (or so) and originally designed to be massed produced for quick transport to hurricane devasted areas like NO. (mobility built with quality)

Tumbleweed tiny homes company (http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/houses/)

even smaller houses,....

http://cyanpdx.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/tumbleweed1.jpg

(Loring, 251 sq feet)

My personal favorite now,... "Amanda's stuga"

http://www.blackforestkids.com/images/Replicas/Stuga/Burmeister%20Burmeister%20Cottage/x%20front%20left%202.jpg

10 x 16


Point is, you don't have to go the cabin route - You can try the lifestyle and worse case scenario you have a new guest cottage.

You're welcome,

Airwick