Finding the right property | General Homesteading Discussion | Forums

orchidius said
1. Starting capital

Are most all homesteaders people that bought land a fair while back when it was really affordable? Are they people who have had a succesful career, have the funds but want a different lifestyle? How do they do it?

There is no simple answer to this. Property can be of existing ownership, or acquired by purchase, inheritance, gifting by family, etc. Incomes (and ages) differ wildly.

orchidius said
2. Finding the property

I'm based in Belgium, Europe... how much land does the average homestead have? How much do you really need to run a succesful homestead that feeds the family well? I have considered moving to a different country, but for obvious reasons am hesitant. Are there countries known for their cheap/good land that are home to many homesteaders/self-sufficient communities?

Again, no simple answer. But you have only mentioned property size and not climate which can be a bigger determinant of success than property size. From the sound of Belgium's population density and land use, unless you can throw lots of money at it, you may have no option but looking elsewhere.

While you may get suggestions to point you in the right direction, the task of researching your options still falls mainly on you. It is not a glamorous or romantic notion and is not discussed enough, but it all starts and ends with educating yourself. If you want to make a go of this, learn, learn, learn.

I spent over 2 years learning before buying property. It is a large commitment, and not something to hurry. Joining in the conversation here is a good starting point.

I confess that I have not read the books you mention. Like you, I am skeptical. One of the key benefits of Homesteading and self sufficient living is eliminating as much dependance on resources outside of what you can accomplish yourself on your property as possible. It also means being able to live off a smaller income.

Let's take the example of living on 1 acre and of 1 resource: water. Your potential options are municipal water, a well, and rainwater harvesting. Municipal water keeps you dependent on an outside resource with a monthly bill that fluctuates with your water use and with political influences outside your control. A well costs upfront either to acquire preexisting on the property or to install. Once installed, you are then dependent on the aquifer that you are drawing from and vulnerable to any leaching of contaminates from the surrounding area. It is also possible for certain wells to run dry. Rainwater harvesting comes down to collection surface area, and storage capacity. On 1 acre, you would be limited in space unless you bury your water storage going deeper than you go broad. Municipal and well water also take up space and have piping running underground.

Another example on 1 acre: waste (poop, not trash) management. Municipal pipes it away for a monthly bill. Septic takes up lots of space underground and is a major expense if anything goes wrong. Composting takes up space, but much less than septic, and after a year produces a useful end product.

On 1 acre, you will want "economy of scale" type production. Meaning, low investment to high yield ratios. Minimal space, time, and money in, maximum yield and value out. So you will want animals that do not take up too much space, do not consume too much, or produce more waste than you can manage within the boundaries of your property. Chickens, turkeys, rabbits, bees, goats would be a good start. Fish too. You will want to cover your bases nutritionally which necessitates some diversity. For crops, an Aquaponics greenhouse that employs vertical farming will produce the highest yield in a small space and for a much longer growing season than traditional in ground row cropping. You also get fish out of it. Because plant roots are not fighting for soil nutrients, they can be spaced closer together. They grow larger and faster because there is no stunting from competition and they are getting a regular supply of rich nutrients. The growing season is longer because it is more controlled environment. Add vertical farming to that and instead of growing square footage of crops, you are growing cubic footage.