It's so beautiful! That's what I've always dreamt of!

Ah, to be 29 again with a wide-open future on a wide-open landscape!

Perspectives are so interesting! I'm 26 and all I feel I have to look forward to is a sour economy and not being able to have the same living standard my parents did. I guess we all have different outlooks!

Ah, to be 29 again with a wide-open future on a wide-open landscape!

Uhm you forgot to mention the wide open pocketbook that goes with 150 y.o. farmhouses. LOL. It did with all mine, anyways.

Krycek1984.........I felt that way at 22. Life seldom turns out as you expect. My life is so rich now and it got here by twists and turns. And ups and downs. And losses and wins. I pick up on a basically upbeat personality in your threads and I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised down the road thirty years from now. It is different than it was for my generation .....as it was from my parent's generation. They married in the great depression compared to which this economy looks like a picnic. And standard of living can be seen through many paradigms. Hold that thought.

jenangelcat.......whoo hooo. Keep us posted.

Lol, definitely seeing a wide open future. Our previous house was bought cheap as it was also a fixer upper. Dh did all the work and we sold it for a lot more than we paid for it.

We actually sold so we could cut our living expenses in half and live a more simple life. Next year we hope to get some animals and expand the current garden. Maybe do some market gardening eventually. We experimented a lot at the previous house with growing our own food but we couldn't have animals in the city.

The house needs work but it's almost entirely superficial stuff. Paint, plaster repair, new shutters, carpet ripping out, new kitchen cabinets, lighting. It's all stuff dh can do and we did end up with enough left over to cover these expenses.

I hear all the time from friends how much they'd love to do something like this but they can't because they can't afford it. They all make at least double we did before the move. The reality is most people don't want to give up their current consumerist lifestyle. I'm talking about Canadians here, you guys in the states definitely have it rough with the economy.

That looks like a postcard. It's perfect. No cars to spoil the illusion that we are looking at a farm scene of 100 years ago. Looks very enjoyable as-is.
Casey

jenangel, one part about making what you did tough in the US is health insurance. I don't know your particular situation, but most health insurance here is tied to a job so if you quit your job to start a homestead/farm, etc. (which I would love to do and it is in my future financial plans), you can usually kiss health insurance goodbye. Or even if you want to go part-time at work so you have more time on your homestead/farm, many companies don't offer health insurance to part-time employees. Without starting a political discussion, hopefully that kind of thing will be addressed with the reforms. Sometimes I am so jealous of Canadians that they are able to do stuff like you're doing, or start a business, without fear of losing health insurance!

Calliope, yes I do tend to have an upbeat personality..it's hard to look at the future right now to see much that is bright but I know it will be good as long as I keep doing what I've been doing!

Did I already say your house is beautiful? LOL

Dh is going on paternity leave for 8 months (halving our income). Because health insurance is through the province it doesn't matter what you are doing, you still get it.

I love our house. It is gorgeous and pretty much every house in this area is. Most are huge Victorians. There are very few new homes. Down in Lunenberg NS they have very strict building codes when it comes to the houses, to maintain the old vibe. No vinyl siding and such. It's pretty cool. If you want an old house (very reasonably priced) Nova Scotia is the place to buy it.

I would love to go to NS sometime. If it's anything like Downeast Maine (Acadia, etc.), I'd be in love!