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Comment by baremetal | Hacker News Reader

I quit tech, moved to a rural area, and bought some farmland at the beginning of the year. got a couple different jobs to learn how to do things. first building polebarns and then framing houses. got to journeyman in framing last month and quit. finishing up my first barn and now i am getting ready to build a greenhouse over the winter. been preparing the soil. will be ready for planting next year.

technically i didnt really quit working. but rather i am free to pursue what i want to do. for example im going to build my own house. and grow and sell organic food. i want to develop technology to improve farming. i enjoy designing and building things in all sorts of mediums. i like working, but i have an entrepreneurial spirit. and in order to feel fulfilled i have to pursue my own ventures.

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I literally did this too. Moved to Austin, TX and bought a farm after I quit my last full-time job. Went back to school to get an associates in construction management instead of actually learning the job (sounds like I should've gone your route). Anyway, graduating this semester then working full time to build up the raw land and get animals to keep my ag-exemption. Long-term I'd want to hire a farm-hand to keep everything going day-to-day so I can travel.

I've sort of conned myself into thinking I could start some solo projects on my own in the past 6 months, but it just hasn't happened due to classes and a myriad of distractions. Recently I've been beating myself up a bit for it, but I know that isn't productive. Once I solve a few ongoing projects in my life and I get things moving a bit faster for the farm I'll start keeping to a strict schedule of farming from 6-9am, then going to my coworkspace and code until maybe 3pm, then work out, then either socialize/read or go to a local hackerspace and work on side-projects.

Medium/long term it's important to me to not just live off of my savings and to generate enough value (not off investments) to maintain my quality of life.

Serendipitous to read this comment. I was just this morning trying to find a farm share to buy into. If (when!) you make your organic farming dream come true, register and sell on a place like this site: https://www.harvie.farm

Makes it easy for people like me to buy your stuff. Anyways, good luck!

To other people commenting here, farming is hard work and long hours. Don't romanticize it until you've actually spent time doing it.

depends how you farm.

at the same time. it is a lot of work, you should try it before you just jump in. ive had suburban gardens for years. so i kinda know what to expect.

Home suburban gardening is quite different from providing ~2000 calories per person per day for a family. Depending on the source, I found a figure of 5-10 acres per person needed for a year's food (for a 100% vegetarian diet, no livestock). So for a family of 4, you'd be looking at 20 acres or so, minimum, which is approximately 1000x1000 feet.

why don't people just maintain a healthy balance between real and virtual in their lives? as somebody from the countryside I don't know why people elect to do such things

funny reading stories like this as someone who grew up on a farm and knows how much hard work it is, I would drive tractors, feed cows, pull in hay, silage etc on evenings and weekends and even before school when required, from around age 11... I studied maths/sci and went into computing, and am now again coming full circle with vertical farming and controlled environments! Traditional farming is so much better for the planet than intensive farming, however, I believe it takes a certain type of person and mentality to get through it. It really is a lifestyle choice! I have also wondered how much easier farming could be if the farm didn't actually need to generate money to survive...

>vertical farming and controlled environments!

Curious what this involves for you. Are you in an urban, rural, exurb, etc area? What are you growing?

All the world used to be farmers. Pretty much anyone can do it if the alternative is starving.

I've been daydreaming about this for years.

How did you get into building polebarns? And then framing houses? Who did you convince to take you on? Did you have prior experience?

i found a job listing on craigslist and called the guy, he hired me on the spot.

for the framing job i walked up to a framing crew and asked if they needed a guy. they did and so i got hired. i just convinced the boss. the place where i moved to has lots of small crews and lots of home building going on right now.

previous relevant experience includes woodworking and machining. i also watched a fair amount of youtube before and during. ability to do fractional math and read a tape. ability to read and produce mechanical drawings helped.

really it was just being interested in the field and convincing someone i was serious enough about it. and i followed through everyday.

Cheers, that's awesome!

This is kind of the dream for me. Retire and live in a farm.

It is the life. i highly encourage you to do so. so many new experiences and opportunities to learn. im growing so much personally. developing parts of myself i had never dreamed of developing. rounding out myself and my character. it really tests what you are made of and is very rewarding so far.

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