This is my declaration!

[daswolter]

I apologize if this gets a little long. I've always considered myself a country boy who grow up in the city and seemed trapped there. This is my declaration to getting the hell out even if it kills me. You see 10 ago I had a good paying job at a paper mill working hard making an honest living. I would never had got rich off the job but I never asked to be rich either. 8 years ago the mill laid me and about 300 others off. Even at that I can understand business has to do what it has to do. But lets just say towards the end the bosses were not to kind and that I can't understand. I don't need to be kicked in the nuts when I'm already down and facing an uncertain future.

After this I had to decide what to do. I decided to go back to school. Hummmm what to do? Well in this world there will always be sick people and criminals. Well I'm not smart enough to become a doctor and at 38 probably to old to start that education. So I went into Law enforcement and earned my 2 year associate degree. During these 2 years I was on unemployment, hard time trying to keep a roof over our heads and all the bills that go with it on 8.25 an hour I think it came out to. But like I said, I never asked to be rich.

After graduation I took whatever jobs I could get. One was at a security company for 3 months the other driving for and carrying for an armored car company for another 6 months. I Have some good memories from both jobs and good friends made at both but both low paying jobs. I applied for the local county jail and got hired as a corrections officer.

I have Been working there for 5 years I like the job but due to political winds blowing through state we are no long viewed as needed and are being treated as such, and that is all I'm going to say on that subject.

I'm tired of my life and future being in someone else's hands. I declare here and now that Number 1: That in 2 years or less I will get the hell out of this cement hell hole called a city. Number 2: I will buy a piece of property away from anywhere remotely that could be called a city. Number 3:I will build a homestead on that property be it a Cabin, Trailer home, Tent or a hole in the ground if need be. Number 4: I will quit my job move onto that home stead and stay there till the day I die. Number 5:I will live my life as I see fit may society be damned. At least if I fail it will be of my own faults and failure and on my own terms and not anybody else's.

Well if you have read this far. I thank you! I will keep updates on my progress but even if it takes longer then the 2 planned years I will do it. Thanks again I just need to get this off of my chest.

[Jack]

Trust me brother, I know how you feel.

[pipewrench]

Not sure who said it, but I once heard; only in solitude can true freedom be realized. You my friend have figured that out, you will no longer be a slave to society, self reliance is the key to freedom. Best of luck!

[farmertrappe]

I also know how you feel. I'm working on an exit plan for myself.

[farmertrappe]

I also know how you feel. I'm working on an exit plan for myself.

[Admin]

Jan 31, 2014 23:02:18 GMT -5 daswolter said:

I apologize if this gets a little long. I've always considered myself a country boy who grow up in the city and seemed trapped there. This is my declaration to getting the hell out even if it kills me. You see 10 ago I had a good paying job at a paper mill working hard making an honest living. I would never had got rich off the job but I never asked to be rich either. 8 years ago the mill laid me and about 300 others off. Even at that I can understand business has to do what it has to do. But lets just say towards the end the bosses were not to kind and that I can't understand. I don't need to be kicked in the nuts when I'm already down and facing an uncertain future.

After this I had to decide what to do. I decided to go back to school. Hummmm what to do? Well in this world there will always be sick people and criminals. Well I'm not smart enough to become a doctor and at 38 probably to old to start that education. So I went into Law enforcement and earned my 2 year associate degree. During these 2 years I was on unemployment, hard time trying to keep a roof over our heads and all the bills that go with it on 8.25 an hour I think it came out to. But like I said, I never asked to be rich.

After graduation I took whatever jobs I could get. One was at a security company for 3 months the other driving for and carrying for an armored car company for another 6 months. I Have some good memories from both jobs and good friends made at both but both low paying jobs. I applied for the local county jail and got hired as a corrections officer.

I have Been working there for 5 years I like the job but due to political winds blowing through state we are no long viewed as needed and are being treated as such, and that is all I'm going to say on that subject.

I'm tired of my life and future being in someone else's hands. I declare here and now that Number 1: That in 2 years or less I will get the hell out of this cement hell hole called a city. Number 2: I will buy a piece of property away from anywhere remotely that could be called a city. Number 3:I will build a homestead on that property be it a Cabin, Trailer home, Tent or a hole in the ground if need be. Number 4: I will quit my job move onto that home stead and stay there till the day I day. Number 5:I will live my life as I see fit may society be damned. At least if I fail it we be of my own faults and failure and on my own terms and not anybody else's.

Well if you have read this far. I thank you! I will keep updates on my progress but even if it takes longer then the 2 planned years I will do it. Thanks again I just need to get this off of my chest.

Well it's about time!!!

The city life never did anyone any good unless they were a city person. So many people dream of a simple life on a country homestead or a cabin in the woods but they work work work in the opposite direction of simplicity. Get that city job, then live near the job. Saddle themselves with a mortgage in a place they really don't want to live because their job is there. Life goes on, they keep on working, keep on paying the high cost of city living, keep on dreaming of escaping it, they keep on keeping on, working hard to afford the lifestyle they dream of escaping. For some reason they view moving to the country as something they can't afford to do when in reality... living that SIMPLE LIFE is the simplest route to take. Remote property is the cheapest, the lowest taxes, the land pays for itself with firewood, meat, fur, gardens, etc etc and life is easy....... and cheap. But people keep working and working and working..........and dreaming of a different life. People watch my cabin videos and dream of a cabin of their own but act like they could never afford one. I have 9 grand invested in that land, 6 grand in the cabin. The people dreaming of it will pay 3 times that on a vehicle without thinking anything of it. But while they're driving it back and forth to their city job they're dreaming of a cabin in the woods. It's all bass akwards.

So... with all that jibber jabber, I say GO FOR IT. You will find that you'll be a LOT HAPPIER, HAVE MORE OF WHAT YOU WANT, LESS OF WHAT YOU DON'T, AND WORK A LOT LESS TO OBTAIN IT. It's about time.

[daswolter]

Well JC You are my inspiration. Every video you put out is another inspiration to me that I am on the right track. As I'm sure it is to many people on this site and on Youtube. You are the man JC.

[Deleted]

Wish you the best of luck. I was in law enforcement 25 years. Thankfully it was not city work. You'll be better off in the country. Simplicity is a choice. The happiest people I have ever known were not wealthy.

[nytrapper23]

I wish you luck , and don't take this the wrong way , but even if you do fail, it was on your terms. Still way better than what your going thru now.

[daswolter]

That is for sure NYtrapper I would rather live as I want to and fail miserably then wait for someone else to decide to screw me and make me fail. Besides my wife is all for this too. So if we can make it through the last 10 years we can make it through anything. If I plan it right from the start we should be able to make it. We don't need much to live on. The simpler the better my eyes.

[nytrapper23]

Your 100% right. I have worked for " the big guy" for to long. And I'm here to tell you if you think they care about you or your family ,well let's just say your going to be disappointed. I won't rant to much , but I really envy the guys and gals that can make the decision to do what you are about to . And to have your family behind that decision , wow, awesome.

[mitrapline]

Best of luck to you "das". I mean that. I don't know how people in the cities do it. I have never lived anywhere with more than a couple thousand people.......and they were spread out pretty good. I hope things work out for you and you make things work for you. We'll see you in the Swamp.

[daswolter]

MItrapline That is one of the reasons I'm getting out I just can't take it any more. It just seems the more people you have in an area the dumber they all become. It a collective stupidity and it's driving me crazy.

[patricimo54]

Go for it!

[Ipostbulls**t]

Hear you loud and clear !

[rick2]

Funny I met a guy just like you from a paper mill many years ago.Well times are changing and not for the better.Too many jobs leaving this country. I myself found myself in that position back in the 90s.There is nothing more depressing than losing everything you have.Family included.I wish you luck and never give up.

[John Gusmano]

You sound a lot like me, although I am younger than you, my dreams aren't quite that different. Put the pedal to the metal buddy! Life is too short to dilly dally with things that don't make you happy. I am fortunate to have my wife on board with me in my personal aspirations, and once the kids are grown and off to college, We will by then, if not before, be living our dreams. As JC says, baby steps are the key. Keep working towards what you want and you will find success a lot sooner than you think!

All the Best and Good Luck!

[daswolter]

Yep I am still working at it. This year is all about getting our finances set which we just got our credits cards paid off which was a big step for us. Next year it will be to find apiece of land and get that paid off. I can't wait to get the hell out of this city.

[Admin]

Yep I am still working at it. This year is all about getting our finances set which we just got our credits cards paid off which was a big step for us. Next year it will be to find apiece of land and get that paid off. I can't wait to get the hell out of this city.

Good for you man Keep moving forward and you'll get there before you know it. Good luck.

[Deleted]

WARNING: LOTS OF CYNICISM TO FOLLOW

There are plenty of people feeling like you right now, working a minimum or nearly so wage and paying it all out in debt as soon as they get a pay check. Now let me get this right. If they pay people earning minimum wage a little more then they will take their football and go home. Less jobs will result. Why don't we cut the minimum wage in half and create more jobs then? Or better yet....forced labor-slavery. We could have jobs out the ying yang and a GDP like no other. Oh yeah, we decided against that with a civil war and a little thing called the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

You know most college grads are leaving school in debt at least $25,000 and going right into a minimum wage part time job with no health care? No hope of ever paying it all off unless they live with their parents for the next ten years. It is no different than legal slavery.

Maybe we can blame it on the banks, academia, corporations, politicians.....preying on people that expect the so called "American Dream." Maybe...it's on us for buying into that paradigm. But I know the answer...and it's not in changing the system.

It is one person at a time choosing, like you, not to be a victim. You have to sell that notion of have it now and pay for it later. You know if more people changed their expectations, there wouldn't be anybody to sell all this debt to. The people who prosper from others enslavement to debt....they would have to get a real job and actually contribute to the economy instead of sucking the lifeblood out of it. Financial Planner: just who's finances are you planning for?

Hey, look at it this way. As soon as our economy stops growing enough to pay off the interest on our debt, there are going to be alot of city folks wishing they had a place for a garden. Nobody's going to bail out the middle class like we did the banks and auto companies.

What you want to do......some day everyone will be forced to do anyway. So why not get the bugs worked out? You can start a little mini economy yourself with others who are likeminded. Just don't let Uncle Sam and corporate America know. They've turned into pretty greedy bastards of late.

I applaud your Declaration of Independence

[Tim bly]

I love that I to wish I could do that but I am stuck where iam at

[daswolter]

Butter your only stuck when you give up. Me I've gave up on what this society expects me to be a good obedient hard worker, be where and when they tell me to, buy what they say I should buy, and telling me not be greedy and give my money to the people they say I should. I say the hell with that I'm going to do things my way for me and my family. Maybe some day this society will figure out when you give people homes, food, and money they can't and don't appreciate anything because they didn't have to work for it.

[Admin]

May 23, 2014 18:37:03 GMT -5 dino said:

You know most college grads are leaving school in debt at least $25,000 and going right into a minimum wage part time job with no health care? No hope of ever paying it all off unless they live with their parents for the next ten years. It is no different than legal slavery.

Well said Dino.

At this present time, I ONLY know of TWO people that have a great job stemming from time spent in college, but know hundreds that have college debt. What I don't know is... why do SOOOOOO many people work SO HARD in the opposite direction of what they dream about, but VERY LITTLE in the direction of achieving it? What I'm referring to is a life of simplicity, self sufficiency... "independence", which is the topic of this thread.

The majority of folks that follow my channel, share the same dream. A life of self sufficiency. People dream of this avenue of life because it requires less money, less restriction, and offers more quality of life and once again, more "independence. BUT... Instead of going for that simple life, which would be the simplest route to take, they chase wages. The higher paying jobs are near the city, so they get a job near the city, which makes them live near the city and this is usually followed by a mortgage with a house in a neighborhood on a postage stamp piece of land that is governed by restrictions and there's massive amounts of bills tailing the ownership of such a place. SO they keep on working and working and working to sustain a lifestyle they dream of escaping. With a lot of folks it's life on a sinking ship. The high wages never really amounted to a pisshole in a snowbank case they could have had their dream life on a LOT less income.

Rural property is cheap
less taxes
less restriction
it offers more life sustaining possibilities: Firewood, Meat and fur, lumber, space to grow vegetables and rise livestock etc.

A homestead pays for itself if managed properly and it's not very hard to do.

The "normal" life doesn't have the same offerings and cost so much more to sustain.

I could never live the life that my daughter lives. Her high paying job keeps her in the city where she needs a high paying job........... while she dreams of a cabin in the woods, where she wouldn't need one.

Nuff said.

[John Gusmano]

Spot on JC, very well said!

[IWALKOUTDOORS]

I started couple days ago. I was so into the working hard thing I had two fulltime jobs. watched JC last to vids picked up the phone and retired! Now im working on the other one. I have a camp in pottersville NY with a nice size piece of acreage so im headed there tomorrow to start my new life. even put my own youtube channel together to help me stay focused. LIVE LIFE LIVE IT NOW!

[Admin]

Hey buddy, good to see you on here. Where is Pottersville?

[IWALKOUTDOORS]

Exit 26 of the adirondack northway. Just south of scroon lake.

[daswolter]

Well congrats Iwalkoutdoors That is great and I hope the rest of your days are spent doing the things that you love to do and when you want to do them.

[daswolter]

Well I got to the point where I have enough money for a down payment on land. Now I have a question for you all. I have been looking at land and trying to determine if I should buy the first piece of property that I could change into what I want (50% woods 50% open field)or do I try waiting for that perfect property. I realize I could be waiting a long time and no guarantee of getting the property. Also is there any hints you could give me in this process to help me out. The only property I have ever bought is my home and that was 20 years ago.

[hunt4it]

Good for you daswolter.  Just read through the entire thread and then realized you were posting from an original thread from a while back.  Bravo to you for doing so sir and for keeping at it.  Follow your heart....it will not steer you in the wrong direction.