The Truth About Homesteading: 4 Facts

Homesteading is a way of life many people are choosing to adopt these days. It’s the idea of being self-sufficient, living out in the countryside, and having your own farm. As you can imagine, making the leap from traditional urban life to homesteading is a pretty dramatic change. Your life will flip upside down, and there are plenty of new things to consider compared to your life in the city.

There’s plenty of homesteading advice out there, but I usually find there are certain things no one ever tells you about this lifestyle choice. I’m sure many people may have decided against homesteading if they knew these things beforehand. On the other hand, there could well be many of you out there who are sitting on the fence, but these things help you decide to go through with this lifestyle change.

Either way, it’s time to learn the truth about homesteading by looking at these things:

The Truth About Homesteading: 4 Facts

You Can Still Enjoy Modern Home Comforts

By far the biggest homesteading myth is that you have to transport yourself back in time to live this life. People assume that you cast aside the luxuries of modern city life, and start living as though you’re an old farmer with no electricity or connectivity to the wider world.

In reality, the truth about homesteading is that it has evolved in the same way that modern life has evolved. Homes out in the countryside all have good access to electricity, along with fairly decent internet speeds as well. In the majority of cases, you can get a good internet connection, a cable tv service, and a reliable phone line. Likewise, you can have modern heating systems – contrary to what many believe. You don’t have to rely on a roaring fire to heat your home. So, if you think you have to cut yourself off from modern life when you opt for a homesteading lifestyle, then you’re wrong! You can easily enjoy many of the modern home comforts out in the countryside.

You Won’t Be 100% Self-Sufficient

A lot of people think that this way of life means you’re 100% self-sufficient and will never need to visit the grocery store ever again. You can grow your own food, raise your own animals, and so on. However, it’s pretty much impossible to do everything. As a result, there will always be things you need to go out and buy because you can’t provide them for yourself. This is another truth about homesteading people are misled by.

A great example of this is a fruit or vegetable that’s not suited to your climate. Depending on where you live, you may only be able to grow certain things. As a result, you still have to go out and buy what you can’t grow. Similarly, you might have animals that you can’t raise on your farm, purely because they’re too hard to handle all by yourself, or you haven’t got enough room. So, if your main reason for homesteading is that you want to be 100% self-sufficient, then you may need to rethink your decision.

You Can Earn A Decent Income From Homesteading

It’s common to hear that homesteading is a quite expensive way of living your life. Sure, you save a lot of many food products, but it still costs money to maintain your home and your land. As a result, a lot of people have put off this idea, and they choose not to make the lifestyle switch.

However, one thing you rarely hear is how much money you can earn from homesteading. You don’t have to consume all the farm products yourself, you can sell them at farmers markets or directly to other shops in your area. Butchers are looking for local meat to sell, and many places are keen for fresh, local, milk. Jams are another popular thing to sell, and you could even bake your own bread and sell it at a market.

Consequently, you can generate a sizeable income on the side – all while still going to work and having a regular job. Not only that, but the land you own presents a good money-making opportunity too. Lots of people buy country homes that provide them with lots and lots of land. You could have two or three massive fields all to yourself, and you may find that it’s hard to use all of them. In which case, you could use your other field as a clean energy field. The government is always looking for land to install wind turbines or set up solar farms. They’ll pay you to do this on your land, and you can earn money from the energy you create as well. So, homesteading may be costly, but it pays back those costs and more. This is yet another truth about homesteading that people don’t realize.

It’s Hard Work, But You Don’t Need To Be An Expert

This point kind of targets two separate groups of people. On the one hand, you have people who assume that homesteading is fairly easy work. How hard can it be to grow your own things and take care of a farm? In reality, it can be very hard! The truth about homesteading is that it requires hours of hard work. And you’ll be out there on the weekends as well. If you assume it’ll be easy, then you’re in for a rude awakening!

The second group of people understands that it’ll be hard work, and they decide not to pursue this lifestyle because it’ll be too difficult and they don’t know where to begin. Well, this is how every homesteader starts out. No one truly knows what they’re doing until they start doing it. If you’re worried about not knowing what to do, then don’t! It comes with experience, and you don’t need to be an expert to commit to the homesteading way of life.

After reading this, you’ve probably got a new picture of homesteading in your head. I really hope that it’s helped you figure out whether or not this life is right for you. Some of you may now want to go ahead and start homesteading right away, while others may want to avoid it. The best advice I can give is to only go ahead with this lifestyle if you truly believe you’re suited to it!