Greetings from Western Canada

No experience beyond back yard agriculture of a couple fig tree and various tomato and other small seasonal plantings. Now a father to a newborn daughter and looking to increase our autarky and move somewhere that is possible.

Very much drawn to the natural rightness of self sufficiency, and looking to learn more about permaculture so that I can leave the best world for my daughter and any other children I persuade my wife to bear!

Thank you for a place to come and learn.

David, so glad to have you as a part of Permies! You've come to a wonderful place to learn and share. Welcome!

Welcome there are quite a few of us in western Canada on this site.

welcome  from another left coaster

r ranson wrote:welcome  from another left coaster

Best coast. Though perhaps the future is in the Interior.

Hey, David. Welcome aboard!

I notice you said "move somewhere that is possible."

That is the dream for many. Making it a viable reality is complicated. Grand gestures can fail, but baby steps move forward. Western Canada is brimming with resources and opportunity. I invite you to consider this exercise in perception: how much of "somewhere that is possible" is present right now, under your fingertips, if you can see it and tap into it?

Well I'm not planning on a grand gesture I dont think. But my wife and I (now a daughter as well which is added impetus) have been planning on leaving the city for some time.

Our plans don't include Osee Mtn levels of wilderness, nor do they currently include only eating what we grow or barter.

But they do include living somewhere that we have more space than the 1'x5' beds on two sides of our 6x10' backyard.

An acre is a lot of land if you're starting from nothing IMO. Living where we do currently we are surrounded by very expensive real estate, but have family in the Okanagan. Relocating there provides us the seed of the plan. Plus more family is good.

I've just been reading SKIP and PEP, which have provided me with a lot of good food for thought, and constructive avenues that I can pursue to improve right now, no waiting. Worth the price of admission right there.

Any suggestions? An intro thread seems like a poor place to turn away advice from those more experienced.

I suggest you post your big-picture plan as a thread in the general forum. You will get a lot of welcoming and well-considered feedback, including positive and constructive criticism.

I only post the "thought exercise" because I know there is available and underutilized land just about everwhere, within walking distance, if you have the skills to find it, negotiate access, and make it produce. (Easy to type, much harder to do; but it's true.)

Welcome from another Wet Coaster! Don't discount the Island in your quest for land...real estate is very reasonable here compared to the Lower Mainland, and in many cases, compared to the interior areas accessed by the Coquihalla. We are not so pressured by those with "holiday" homes; the smaller Islands are often an option also - and we don't have the snow the interior has, so a longer growing season. There are even Vineyards between Victoria and Nanaimo!