| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| gr8tfulmom |
Posted - Nov 27 2009 : 1:11:15 PM
Just wondering what others' stories were. I grew up in the country, but after a rotten marriage and divorce went to the city, met my dh and moved across the state, then back to the city. We were quite comfortable in our little subdivision on the edge of the city limits, BUT, that is where we figured out we had to come back home. For us it was the fact that we couldn't go outside to our gardens in our pajamas without the neighborhood getting in an uproar, forget going braless. There are many, many reasons I love being back here, but being comfortable at our own place was the biggest 
How about the rest of you farmgirls? I know some of you have never left the beauty around you, but what about the movers in the group?
Farmgirl sister #779
http://symbioticstitches.blogspot.com/ |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Laurie Rae |
Posted - Mar 08 2010 : 8:37:47 PM
At age 30 I could not dream of being anywhere else. I was raised in the country and moved to the city for college. Once that was over I could not wait to get out. I did not have animals at first but chose a modest home with acres vs the biggest house in any city. I know have horses cows rabbits chickens, barn cats a 2 corgi's and a sweet hound dog, a goat or two and my heart is warm. I work a lot but this place is my sanctuary. I would clean out any stall before going out to dinner, a movie or a shopping spree. Follow your heart it will lead you home!
While my mind is at work, my heart is back home on the farm. |
| alterationsbyemily |
Posted - Mar 01 2010 : 06:02:15 AM
I grew up in the North Hills of Pittsburgh. Jerome Betis lived less than a mile from me. We were really suburb people. I went to college at SRU, even dated a dairy farmer from clarion....I thought him and his lifestyle were nuts, plus he had the stinkiest barn ever, I get sick everytime I think about it. I never graduated college and got married to my hubby rich. We bought a house in the next township over (because we couldn't afford the 500g's near my mom) we had our baby girl and lived in our cookie cutter neighbor hood. Rich worked everyday of the week at two different jobs, and I worked downtown, and bridget was in daycare. We saw each other for about 4 hours a day, and the commute was 45 min to an hour for the 8 miles i had to go. Then UPMC layed off their workers and my husband was one of them. We sold our house in two days and rich landed a job out here in York county within a few days of loosing his job. that all happened the last week in october. We closed on our house dec. 31st and moved into our little duplex on January 3rd.
I am now a mostly stay at home mom, except my ghost tours in gettysburg. I have gotten to see bridget grow, learn to make do or do without. I never figured how much we lived on credit cards in the Pittsburgh days... but man am I paying for it... for the next three years of my life.
It really was the biggest blessing ever for him to lose that job.
See my custom costumes, download free patterns, and hear some spook EVPs from Gettysburg, PA on my site, www.alterationsbyemily.com |
| Ms. Hannigan |
Posted - Feb 27 2010 : 8:22:31 PM
My hubby grew up a "townie" in Oregon City, OR, and I grew up in a one-stoplight town in rural ME. We ended up in a restricted lakefront subdivision in middle TN, and by most opinions we were doing well. But we wanted something different. A clothesline for starters. A garden. Less of a "bug under glass" feeling from having no trees. So, we found our home two years ago and moved to the country. We now live on the outskirts of a TINY one-stoplight town, and I feel like I can be myself again. We now homeschool our girls, raise 40 chickens, 4 rabbits, 3 cats and 2 dogs, and have a garden. Instead of sitting at PTA meetings and soccer practice, now our lives are full of 4-H and farmers' market days. We can only see our neighbors in the dead of winter, and the closest one is almost a mile away. I love our rural life, and I don't ever plan to leave!
...some women are drippin' with diamonds... some women are drippin' with pearls... look at me, lucky me, the only thing I'm drippin' with is... little girls...
Farmgirl #1158
blog: http://www.lifegetsmessy.com
website: http://www.eatlocaltn.com |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Feb 23 2010 : 1:00:53 PM
I grew up in the city. WAY in the city. The Bay Area, very close to San Francisco, California. I had a great childhood-My first word was horse. I rode my first horse at 6, and after that, I was hooked. I owned and trained many horses growing up in 3 day eventing-I was also active in my youth group until the age of 17 or so. By the time I turned 18, I wanted OUT of it ALL. I was in with bad friends, and into bad things. I wasn't making time for my horses, leasing them out, etc. etc.
Well, I moved in with my at-the-tme boyfriend, and I moved my horse out with me. We lived on a small farm (About 13 acres). I had built my horse a corral out at the place where I was living, and shortly after moving he kicked a cattle gate and broke his cannon bone in 4 different spots. The vet says there was really nothing they could do, so I had to put him down. I was devastated.
Shortly after that, I broke up with my first boyfriend and then moved to Sacramento, California, where I ended up living with boyfriend #2. Boyfriend #2 was a HORRIBLE person, with HORRIBLE motives, and abused me physically, and mentally, for 4 years. My parents finally literally "kidnapped" me, and I saw the light. I broke it off with him and moved into an apartment in Sacramento, and I swore off men for the rest of my life. Boyfriend (now ex) #2 became crazy, and I had to file a restraining order against him. At that point, I was so lonely and scared, I called up the first horse-related charity I could find and asked if they needed any help.
Thank heavens, they did. Horses were always a "safe" place for me, almost a therapy. I started volunteering at a place that helped disabled children in horse therapy. I tell you, that was more therapy for me I think than it was for them! Working with horses again made me miss the rural side of life.
So, after some real therapy, I signed up on a singles website called farmersonly.com. There, I saw the profile of this guy EVERY time I logged in. I didn't contact him at first, because I couldn't see really what he looked like. Well, finally I decided that if this darn singles website kept popping him up for me, I was just going to contact him. So I did. He was a farmer from Paint Lick, KY. (My first thought-PAINT LICK?!?! WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT?!) He farmed tobacco, and he wanted to get into cattle. We had talked a few times, passed a few emails,but, I never, in a million years, expected to move from California to KY.
Well, about a month and a half after we started talking, he decided to come out and visit. I was so nervous! When I went to go meet him at the airport, I wasn't sure which terminal he was going to be at-and I was all dressed up and I looked so cute-I was running around the airport in my heels looking for him, when all of a sudden I heard a knock on the plate glass of the airport terminal, and there he was! He'd been watching me run through the terminal the whole time!
And then I flew out to KY, and fell head over heels in love with that farmer, and that farm.
And that pretty much sealed the deal. It's been difficult at points adjusting to living WAY WAY WAY out in the middle of nowhere, but, I love it. There is no lifestyle more rewarding than this.
That's my story!
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
| classygram |
Posted - Feb 23 2010 : 09:57:03 AM
I grew up just on the edge of Kansas City. City girl all the way!!! Mini Skirts and gogo boots. And back then I loved motorcycles! Won't get me on one now. Probably couldn't even get my leg over the seat! But any way I met my first husband there and he was raised on a farm. We married and had two children and we decided country life is the life we wanted for our children. When we first moved here, first morning I woke up and heard chicken and cows mooing, I looked at him and asked "where in the ---- did you move me!" We were in a new addition and I didn't even think about the animals close by. My bother-in-law would stop right out in public and yell, Brenda look, that is what they call a tractor! But I quickly grew up and could keep up with the best of them. My mother-in-law canned all the time. So I thought I'm going to do it too!!! Well a got my canner and read my instructions and preparded my veggie's and started. My gosh! By the time I was finished I decided this was not for me! I was plain tuckered out!!! I didn't know anyone else besides his family and they weren't the kind to introduce me around. So I just got out there and joined into everything I could fine. I loved the young farm womens group and that is where I started picking up alot of my crafts and today I do like using all the fresh veggie's. I may not be on a farm but I am a farmgirl in my heart. I wouldn't leave here now for anything. My two children have married and made a good life for themselves and families right here where they grew up. Why would I want to go back to the hectic city again. If there's a time I miss it, I jump in the car and go for a few hours. Then back to my slow way of life in P. Hill.
Blessings, Brenda |
| KaleidoscopeEyes |
Posted - Feb 23 2010 : 08:12:30 AM
Aw thanks gr8tfulmom, I'm a fan of the Beatles and I just think Kaleidoscopes are beautiful because they remind me of patchwork and quilts. LOL.
I agree, I really loved reading everyone else's stories! |
| gr8tfulmom |
Posted - Feb 22 2010 : 4:57:50 PM
So many great stories ladies. It is amazing how we can all start from such different places, take different paths and wind up in the same dream :)
dig your screenname KaleidoscopeEyes!
Farmgirl sister #779
http://symbioticstitches.blogspot.com/ |
| shepherdgirl |
Posted - Feb 22 2010 : 11:50:46 AM
I grew up in a small town about 26 mis from where I live today. My grandparents had a ranch that I spent quite a bit of time on growing up, but there were no animals, except dogs, and an occasional cat. I loved the peace, fresh air and lots of room for a passel of cousins to run and play, but my TRUE passion for country life started the day one of my 3rd grade classmates brought a dairy cow to school for "Show-and-Tell." We all got to try our hand at milking her and I asked God right then and there to let me live on a farm when I grew up-- and here I am! I've lived on this 20+ acre farm (my husband's family's) for 20+yrs now, raised my kids and LOTS of critters, and have loved every minute of it, the good, the bad and the UGLY! I wouldn't trade this life for anything in the world!
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~~ George Carlin |
| 5 acre Farmgirl |
Posted - Feb 21 2010 : 5:25:47 PM
Was raised on 5 acres, with evey animal we could have, now own my own 5 acres...thats why 5 Acre Farmgirl...LOL!
Farmgirl Sister #368
~~~**Terri**~~~
http://thecontentedwoman.blogspot.com http://frocksfrillsfurbiloesandmore.blogspot.com
http://blogonthefarmandgarden.blogspot.com |
| KaleidoscopeEyes |
Posted - Feb 21 2010 : 4:51:47 PM
I feel the same way as "paradiseplantation", I am being led to it by my heart. I was born in the city and I am still there currently, but I have plans to start my country life in the summer. My boyfriend is from a rural town, and he shares the same dream.  |
| Bag Lady Diva |
Posted - Feb 06 2010 : 7:09:11 PM
I grew up in Calfornia. I joined the Army, and met my husband of 34 years. He had grown up in a small town in South Dakota. When my husband retired, I resigned from the Army and we bought a small 80 acre homestead. We leased additional land and ran sheep and cattle. We raised our sonin the country. He had his pets, of his horse, and his pet sheep. He was involved in 4-H. It was a great way to raise our son. When my husband decided to retire from ranching, I cried. I knew that I did not want to live in the city, but I knew it would have to be his decision to sell our ranch. We moved to 2 acres, but still it was close to town. So we decided to sell the 2 acres and buy more land. We purchased 10 acres, and designed and built this house 5 years ago. I have enought chickens that we get enough eggs for our use. We have fice pet sheep and 3 miniture ponies. We love this country life. We have the country life, yet we have time to garden, enjoy our yard. Our grand daughter loves to come out. We also have a miniture Astrialian Shepherd puppy, and 1 cat, named "Cat. Oh our puppy's name is "Skeetles". So how did I end up in the country. I married my husband who had a dream to own a ranch. We did and we consider ourselves very fortunate, to still be able to live in the country even if it is only 10 acres.
Quilting in the Black Hills |
| MBurns |
Posted - Feb 06 2010 : 4:32:47 PM
Kai- where do you live in Iowa? I am curious as I don't see many Iowa girls on the forum. I grew up on a farm in mid iowa and want to return. Winters can be rough but the rest of the year is nice.
Happiness is having
farmgirl friends. |
| mscountrygirl |
Posted - Feb 02 2010 : 09:37:18 AM
I am looking (praying) to move from MS to Eastern OH or somewhere in PA to be closer to my mother. She has just recieved a poor report from her doctor and may wind up in a wheelchair in the next couple of years. I still want to stay "country". I was so scared to move back up north but everyone's stories and experiences have quelled that.
It's all good! |
| wellswillow |
Posted - Feb 02 2010 : 06:01:29 AM
Hubby and I were both raised in the burbs of Rochester, NY. When our children were about 1/2 grown had a family meeting and decided to look for a place to camp in the country. We found one, camped there for a couple of years and decided to sell out in the burbs and move to the country. We could never move back, love being rural.
Marcie
I enjoy chatting with my friends. |
| caro |
Posted - Jan 31 2010 : 04:40:29 AM
Very interesting stories!!! I'm a city girl, too: born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. However DH is from the country, and even at the age of 25, told me he wanted to retire here. How could I know those years would fly by so FAST, lol?????!!!!!
Hubby's family has lived in this area since 1820. His cousin and wife lived in the old homeplace (built 1840) until it burned down 12 or so years ago. However, they rebuilt on the property, so someone from the family has lived there all that time. We built a home on family land about 1/4 mile away. I HATED living way out here!! When all our "kids" and grandkids moved to North Carolina, we decided to go, too. Sold the beautiful farmhouse we'd built on 14 gorgeous acres DH had landscaped. Moved to an acre in a subdivision and, you guessed it, hated it there!! Could NOT get used to having neighbors so "close" and DH was lost without the dirt to play in. So, here we are again!! I appreciate the wide open spaces so much more this time around. However, I DO miss Trader Joe's and some of the other big city amenities. But it's fun to visit--don't know that I want to live in the city again. Having a hubby keep busy with what he loves to do is worth it. We miss the family but they LOVE the opportunity to come to the country. |
| marcyl |
Posted - Jan 30 2010 : 12:34:14 PM
My husband and I grew up visiting the family farms in Maine as children. We raised our blended family of six boys and one daughter in a subdivision in Missouri. Last Summer we went home for a family reunion, coming home we were homesick for the rural life. We purchased a six acre plot with an 1890's farmhouse on it. We plan to move to Maine this year, as soon as we sell the house in Missouri. My blog is http://sothenweboughtthefarm.blogspot.com/ |
| smiley |
Posted - Jan 30 2010 : 10:54:19 AM
we look for the fixer uppers and go from there. We have been married 24yrs. We started with an appartment you could stand in the center,turn and see every room. It was TINY. We saved and bought our first home with 1 acre. It was 980 sq ft. I had my first garden there. Then we found this one. It has 6 acres and a 1560 sq ft home. We have partnered with people and worked a 600 acre cattle operation once but they moved off and kinda left us holding the bag so going it alone seems the best for us. Who knows where the next adventure will be. We are happy here but if more land with a deal comes up we would probably jump on that too. Life is short and I dont want to look back with regrets. I might fail but at least I try, right? |
| mscountrygirl |
Posted - Jan 27 2010 : 06:37:00 AM
At 2 it may be ok for your baby to have more animal friends! The are often gentler, in my opinion. The USDA is a wealth of knowledge for home loans. Probably everyone knows that but I always like to share it. I heard that the USDA has money to give but no one knows it's there.
It's all good! |
| katevc |
Posted - Jan 26 2010 : 11:26:15 PM
still wishing and hoping for a piece of the country to call my own. grew up on a hobby farm in central GA. Lived in WILDERNESS for most of my twenties. Married and settled in KS with a native Kansan (they lost the historical family farm a generation ago - so sad...). Lived in town our first year in KS. I hated it. Noisier and stuffier than anywhere I've lived. Now we rent on farm. It's heaven and torture at the same time...maybe really just motivation to find a way to get our own place....raisng a little girl on the farm life - has more animal friends than people friends and knows how to do her chores at 2 yrs old.
To plant a thing and watch it grow... that is to nurture a miracle. |
| Candy C. |
Posted - Jan 21 2010 : 2:47:46 PM
Hmmm...at one time I lived in a suburb of LA in a gated townhouse community, drove a little red sports car, had my nails done every week and even had a housecleaning service for awhile! My, how things change! Although, I was always a farm girl at heart baking, sewing, crafting, etc. Now I live on 4 acres, rarely go to town, keep my nails clipped short so I can milk the goats and work in the garden, and I wouldn't trade it for the world! When I married my second hubby, he wanted to have a place where we could have horses, so we moved from Tucson to the "country." Little did he realize that he had created a "monster!" Soon, there were chickens, a burro, a dog and the goats! We both love it!
Candy C.
Farmgirl Sister #977
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. |
| mscountrygirl |
Posted - Jan 21 2010 : 11:20:02 AM
I was dragged kicking a screaming to MS! My husband got a job here after Katrina. I was not prepared for the rural life. I cried for a year. I have now been here 4 years now ans would never go back. I can hang my laundry without the HOA giving me a fine, and we can have whatever animals we want. I love going into "town" and my favorite things are now my new muck boots and the sewing machine I just got for graduation from college. All of your stories were great.
It's all good! |
| amomfly |
Posted - Jan 19 2010 : 09:04:49 AM
After my parents moved to more land and a smaller house we bought this huge house and small land from them. My DH is a city boy. But he has learned much and we love it here! We were paying for boarding for my horse so this was cheaper!
I love my chickens,horse,llama,pig,dogs and cats. We are truly happy!
Someday more land! |
| Roxy7 |
Posted - Dec 10 2009 : 7:52:14 PM
I have to say I havent made it to the country yet. Born in the city and still live in the middle of the same city. |
| paradiseplantation |
Posted - Dec 08 2009 : 04:57:10 AM
I was led by my heart. A city girl by birth, a farm girl by heart, and that heart led me to a great guy who shared my dream of country life. It took us 15 years, but we finally made it. And now, have to work our tails off just to keep it. But it is so worth it!!!!!
from the hearts of paradise... |
| ceejay48 |
Posted - Dec 07 2009 : 06:54:57 AM
Brought home from the hospital to the farm where I grew up here in SW Colorado. We raised cows, sheep, @ chickens. We grew potatoes (acres and acres!), corn, alfalfa, apples, peaches, cherries, apricots, plums, pear. No indoor plumbing until I was in high school . . . yup, we had a "Mrs. Murphy's" (that's what we called an outhouse) and a cistern. My dad had to haul water, was VERY, VERY strict with it's use and to this day, dripping faucets or such like drive me nuts!!!
I went to college my freshman year in Omaha, Nebraska . . . transferred my sophomore year to college in Phoenix, Arizona. Met my hubby there, we were married 41 years ago and lives in Phoenix until the spring of 1974 (both of our kids born there), moved to Tucson for a couple of years. While my husband is a "desert rat" he, along with me, got tired of dealing with that horrible desert heat and we moved back to Colorado. Built our first house (log for which we did our own logging and milling) in 1977 (it burned down in an arson fire in 1994) . . . and we built another house on 3 acres of the farm that I grew up on. I can see the farmhouse I lived in all my life until leaving for college from my front window. We no longer own any of the farm, but can see it and remember. My younger sister lives about 1/2 mile down the road on another parcel of land that was part of our farm. Our 4 older siblings are scattered from North Carolina to British Columbia.
I couldn't do the city!!
CJ
...from the barefoot farmgirl in SW Colorado...sister chick #665
From my Heart - www.fromacelticheart.blogspot.com
From my Hands - www.cjscreations-ceejay.blogspot.com |
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