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Across the Fence:  Rocky Mount NC UPDATE  |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 26 2008 : 4:20:58 PM
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Well, ladies, if you've kept up with me so far, I just decided to start this as another thread, rather than tack it on to the last thread.
Basically, if you missed out, I had the opportunity to start a green market in downtown Rocky Mount North Carolina, which is very historical looking. This would have been a dream come true. Umm...well, I went down there this past weekend and... it's not quite so clear cut (ha! I'm starting to think all of the job opportunities I get are like this)
I'd explain, but why not read the story with pictures? And PLEASE, if you get to the end, what would YOU do about this? Hmmmmm....
http://bigtownfarmer.blogspot.com/2008/03/rocky-mount-north-carolina.html
Thanks in advance!
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View my work:
www.bigtownfarmer.com
www.pumpkinpatchparlor.etsy.com
And Blogs:
agriculture: www.bigtownfarmer.blogspot.com
art: www.queenofcrows.blogspot.com
animals: www.big-luv.blogspot.com |
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Peanut
True Blue Farmgirl
603 Posts
Jennifer
Waverly
Virginia
USA
603 Posts |
Posted - Mar 26 2008 : 6:15:58 PM
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Uh...he wants you to do ALL the work? You realize you could just do this (or something else, anything else) alone and keep the profits for yourself?
This guy doesn't sound on the up and up to me.
My blog: http://thecottonwife.wordpress.com/
"What is a farm but a mute gospel?"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 09:23:51 AM
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Zan, DUH! I'm Sooooo silly. I read your blog and viola, lightbulb in my head went off!!! You want to be a farmhand, this farm in Harrodsburg is fabulous, and they have intern positions available....they have a music festival, they are a csa and I think you'd love it, too--it might open more doors for you than say, you opening them all yourself with the NC thing. Not to sound like a mom, but I'm concerned for you. I love a challenge, but I think you might be really in for "it"....
The link for the intern position doesn't seem to be available, but CALL them Zan!!!!
HERE: http://www.terrapinhillfarm.com/dnn/
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
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Aunt Em
True Blue Farmgirl
137 Posts
Emme
Carnation
WA
137 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 3:50:24 PM
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Zan, you should move out here to Seattle! I live 30 minutes East, in the tiny very rural town of Carnation, and there's several CSA's looking for farmhands, or do future farmer type training. Seattle is totally hip and funky, farmer's markets galore (including one in Carnation), and country life is just around the corner. There's even a thriving Farmgirl Chapter waiting for you! :)
Farmgirl Sister #138 |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 4:05:24 PM
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Heehee, thank you guys. Well, I actually started this whole farming job search looking at CSAs and internships around the New York area. The problem was, they only wanted you for a short time, usually growing season--April to November, but they didn't pay very much, which I guess is the case when you are 1. an intern 2. work on the farm. So I couldn't blame them for the low pay, but the problem was, I couldn't also pay my RENT for the apartment I was supposed to return to after the internship was over, and it wasn't like I could get a secondary job because, like every farm job, we were required to work from dawn til dusk.
So, that's my dilemma at the moment. How to make a rural job work for me :( My mother thinks I'm crazy: "How do you keep managing to take the least paying jobs out there? First an artist, now a farmer! It's like I didn't raise you right, or something," she laments. Of course, she conveniently forgets she WAS a farmer but, as she will point out, she was born into it :)
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View my work:
www.bigtownfarmer.com
www.pumpkinpatchparlor.etsy.com
And Blogs:
agriculture: www.bigtownfarmer.blogspot.com
art: www.queenofcrows.blogspot.com
animals: www.big-luv.blogspot.com |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 4:09:26 PM
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Ok, Zan--they have the pay listed at Terrapin Hill Farm...they also provide the room and board and food...and they operate all year long, and even asked if the intern would be available year round.
I know you can find one...we just have to keep looking, girl!
Hey Zan--I love you too :)
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Peanut
True Blue Farmgirl
603 Posts
Jennifer
Waverly
Virginia
USA
603 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 5:20:41 PM
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I imagine it would be very difficult to take a job in any other place while still paying NYC rent. The cost of living in other places (more rural and/or southern ones in particular is soooo much lower (hence the lower-paying jobs), isn't it?
My blog: http://thecottonwife.wordpress.com/
"What is a farm but a mute gospel?"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 7:03:48 PM
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Hey Jennifer. Well, this is true, although I looked at NY farms for these internships first, before anything..and I still couldn't keep up with my half of rent. Mind you, my rent is pretty cheap, only 1100 because I live in the Bronx, but still...kind of hard when the entire months internship comes to $500...ahh, well, what to do? Hmm...at this point, I think most internships are filled up because the growing season is upon everyone....hmmmmm.....
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View my work:
www.bigtownfarmer.com
www.pumpkinpatchparlor.etsy.com
And Blogs:
agriculture: www.bigtownfarmer.blogspot.com
art: www.queenofcrows.blogspot.com
animals: www.big-luv.blogspot.com |
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Peanut
True Blue Farmgirl
603 Posts
Jennifer
Waverly
Virginia
USA
603 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 03:49:37 AM
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quote:
Mind you, my rent is pretty cheap, only 1100 because I live in the Bronx...
I think I just had a heart attack. And that's HALF.
Honey, your HALF is twice as much as my mortgage on a two-story farmhouse (5 bdrm, 2 bath) and 30 acres.
How long left on your lease? Or do you want to keep ties to NYC?
My blog: http://thecottonwife.wordpress.com/
"What is a farm but a mute gospel?"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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mommom
True Blue Farmgirl
854 Posts
Susan
Lancaster
Pennsylvania
USA
854 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 05:04:13 AM
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| First, let me say that you have the most beautiful name I have ever heard! SEcondly, I am down with the flu but after reading your blog and looking at your pictures I feel so much better! You go girl! Keep following those dreams of yours! I, for one, could never sit behind a desk. That's why I love what I do....I clean beautiful houses for the most wonderful people! I will continue to read your blog and I pray that you do what you want to do in your life! Susan |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 08:29:23 AM
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Susan...you are a sweetheart! Thank you so much, the words mean so much to me! :)
Jennifer, I know!! And 11oo is CHEAP, I don't live in Manhattan...you wouldn't believe what they pay there, and for ugly little boxes! My friend pays $2200 A MONTH for a ONE BEDROOM, and by this I mean one bedroom, a tiny living room where one side holds a small stove a sink and a refrigerator (which I loosely call the kitchen...it doesn't even have a countertop!) and a bathroom the size of a water closet! There isn't even a tub, just a shower. So, no I don't want to stay in New York and have no problem relocating!
Even with the cheaper rent, my mothers 3 BEDROOM, 2 BATH house in Florida has a mortgage of only $800.oo. Crazy right? Her mortgage is less than my RENT :(
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View my work:
www.bigtownfarmer.com
www.pumpkinpatchparlor.etsy.com
And Blogs:
agriculture: www.bigtownfarmer.blogspot.com
art: www.queenofcrows.blogspot.com
animals: www.big-luv.blogspot.com |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 08:41:31 AM
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Zan, why do you think I lived in Brooklyn with 5 other people :) I paid $385.00 as did everyone else, but we had that sprawling (code violation) first floor that used to be a commercial garage.
Have you checked the Outpost jobs posted by Jen on the forum lately?
http://www.maryjanesoutpost.com/jobs/
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 09:42:13 AM
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Zan, I had much the same dilemma as you when I was a college student and looking for work immediately after school. I did an internship through SCA (that's not the Society for Creative Anachronism, it's the Student Conservation Association). While it was a great experience, I could not sustain doing more because I had to pay my bills back home while living on their weekly food stipend of $50.
You don't say much about what you would actually be doing on the border collie farm in Upstate New York. If it would be giving you valid experience and skills that would help you do the kind of work you want to in the future, I would think it's the better job. Especially with guaranteed pay and health benefits. And how isolated can it really be? Wouldn't you still be within a day's drive of NYC, Boston, or Montreal?
Can you tell us more about that job? |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 1:36:25 PM
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Hey Amie, ok...here's the situation with the border collie farm: It's in Morris NY, 4 hours from New York City in a teensy (like: one movie theater, one store, one Italian Restaurant, one stop sign)town. Now, I know I'm from the big city but I've been raised in the South and in desolate places and I don't MIND not being in the thick of things. I'm crafty and creative and can figure fun stuff out if left to my own devices...no worries.
The farm is basically like a huge shelter for border collies. It is on 167 acres and, in the summer, the founders, a husband and wife, run a children's camp. You can actually see, and read details of all this at their website, it's a great organization: www.glenhighlandfarm.com
IT was a horsefarm, but converted for the needs of this breed of dog...so there is PLENTY of room to run, and the dogs live in the large stables of the barn, which is heated, has springboard floors. Basically, they get border collies from everywhere, 40 or 50 of them. The job is to feed them, clean their "stalls" let them out to run, several times a day. Groom them, give them meds. Mind you, I've worked as a vet tech, this is not new to me, and the pace at the farm is less rushed and stressed than any city vet clinic I've ever worked in.
The problem is two fold: THere is a huge (1200 sqfoot) house on the back of the property which would be mine for no rent, if I take the position. Sounds perfect right? Have a long day working with the dogs from 7Am to 6pm (those are the work hours there), then go home and crash on the couch. Wellllll...the problem is, the house is supposed to accomodate those dogs that are not quite ready to be adopted yet...such as dogs who chase their shadows, have a fear of humans (none are aggressive, they won't take them in, thank goodness), and your job is to help them improve. However, this means you are SURROUNDED by dogs ALL of the time. For some people, this is a dream come true. In theory, I would say that, but honestly, sometimes people want QUIET, you know? Like, a place to really unwind. I wouldn't even mind ONE dog in there, but you are supposed to have up to FIVE of them, which means there are all these wiggling bodies getting into all kinds of potential trouble.
So that means, I'd always be in "ON" mode. Now, they have built several of these extra rooms in the house just for the dogs, you can "send them to their rooms" at the end of the day, but STILL....
Because of this, even on you days off (two days off), you cant really "go away" and leave them, you know? You couldn't go on a two day trip back to the city. This is what I was told. AND, they expect a 3 year contract from you. Umm, well, my parents aren't getting any younger so I can't imagine being so far away for so long, by requirement. BUT, right now, it's the only offer on the table that is paying me that much, with free room, and insurance. And, I don't DISLIKE the dogs, I'm just not used to that level of work. Who knows, it might be alright....
Uhh...but you see my dilemma, right?
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View my work:
www.bigtownfarmer.com
www.pumpkinpatchparlor.etsy.com
And Blogs:
agriculture: www.bigtownfarmer.blogspot.com
art: www.queenofcrows.blogspot.com
animals: www.big-luv.blogspot.com |
Edited by - Farmtopia on Mar 28 2008 1:39:04 PM |
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Aunt Em
True Blue Farmgirl
137 Posts
Emme
Carnation
WA
137 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 1:46:16 PM
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My advice...don't settle! It sounds like it doesn't feel right to you. Wait for your path to become clear. When it is truly right for you, you'll feel it in your heart. Spend some time getting crystal clear about what you really want. Like to the point where you can see details in your mind. Then you'll know if you're moving in the right direction when an opportunity comes your way. Enjoy the process, you have so much freedom right now! Choose YOUR path. 
Farmgirl Sister #138 |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 4:33:52 PM
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Emme, you are sweet. Well, I don't know...I wish I had THAT much freedom, but I really need to find a job. I have a job taking care of people's pets in the city, it's my own business...but I can BARELY pay taxes, etc, here, and it's not getting much better...too much outside competition (as is always the case in NYC). I realllly don't want an office job here, though, but I don't have TONS of time to figure it out, so it's really: what is the closest I can get to that goal, but do it in the next few weeks, even if I have to tolerate a few things...hey! That's more than some people can say about their jobs!
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View my work:
www.bigtownfarmer.com
www.pumpkinpatchparlor.etsy.com
And Blogs:
agriculture: www.bigtownfarmer.blogspot.com
art: www.queenofcrows.blogspot.com
animals: www.big-luv.blogspot.com |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 6:59:29 PM
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Zan, say no more about the dogs! I totally get it. Maybe the NC opportunity is the better of the two. But it seems like a lot of work with a lot of potential for failure and not much reward. And it's downright dangerous to be without health insurance.
I volunteer for an organization that would be a perfect match for you. But it's just starting up and doesn't pay anyone yet. Too bad you can't move your pet sitting business up here to the Rochester area and help our director get it off the ground. Living is much cheaper here. |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2008 : 07:03:57 AM
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It's called the Heritage Project. No website yet, but I'm planning to let everyone know all about it as soon as it goes live.
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Across the Fence: Rocky Mount NC UPDATE |
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Rocky Mount NC UPDATE
