It’s good to have a dream and know what it is.

I still own the first house I bought, after renting in grad school and living with a relative after that. It’s been nearly 17 years. It’s 90 years old, the house, and less than 1400 square feet, cedar shingled, front porch, the usual city house.

Two years ago I bought a 650 square foot cabin in the country a hundred miles away. I did that because my passion is hiking, while my work as a lawyer is in the city. I had thought for the whole winter (when I daydream best) that I’d rent out the city place for a few years, since I’m leaving law, and see about selling it.

Nope. I just came back from spending 20 of the last 23 days in the country, and when I saw my city house again today it was love at first sight.

I don’t have mortgages on either house — prudent planning — and I’m growing an orchard on the country place. My expenses are about $15,000 a year, plus repairs, many of which I am learning to do myself. I grow much of what I eat, and shop at farmers’ markets for the rest.

I decided no more dreaming for now. A time will emerge — dreaming for another day down the road — when I will see another way to do this.

It’s good to have a dream. It’s also good to know when you have it.

I’m surprised communities aren’t popping up like this, with small houses, land to work, filled with like minded people. I guess there isn’t a lot of money to made with them so that is probably why.

I’m not sure if this qualifies as my dream or not, but if I were to come into money I would buy a nice piece of property – probably about 2-3 acres – build a well-designed house no bigger than 1500 sq ft and try to live off our land as much as possible – including vegetables, an orchard and chickens – maybe goats too. I guess for now I’ll keep living in suburbia and working towards FI.

I agree with Seth Miller – it would be nice to start a little community like you describe where neighbors are actually neighbors and not just people who live next door.

It’s very important to have dreams. If you don’t dream anymore, there’s something seriously wrong.

I wonder what will be the next one.

There’s a community in Missouri like this named Dancing Rabbit. You can read all about it online–they even have videos of natural building and what life there is like. Off-the-grid, community-based but not a commune, strawbale and cob small houses. It looks like a dream.

Making a big dent in your very-low expenses with a book would be pretty easy…

Haha, you know after a long time of not knowing what I wanted to do with my life and capabilities, I basically settled on the same exact thing you intend to do :P. Damn that Masanobu Fukuoka fellow.

Late this year I’ve been working on Hugel beds, and I’ll have them planted by spring if it kills me. Eventually I plan to buy some land and do Paul’s shack->bigger shack->awesome house progression. No way I would go for Oregon though, I would hate to have such an obnoxiously short growing season (and I hate the cold).

I think if you’re intending to build a house, you might want to check out Christopher Alexander’s “The Nature of Order” series of books. He was influential to a few in permaculture, and he makes some points you probably haven’t considered in terms of building and town construction (like why earthships are an abomination). “A Pattern Language’ is one you might want to own as it serves as a guide to building your own house and making living architecture in the process, but not something you have to have until that time.