Belated self-introduction

I missed this forum when I joined.

I'm an English teacher living in rural Japan with a small but multi generational family. We decided to move in with my wife's family instead of living on our own for a number of reasons. Recently I've come to believe that neolocal culture, or moving out when you grow up, is one of the most environmentally and socially detrimental things you can do. That might be a controversial opinion, but I didn't come to it lightly... Living with the in-laws is certainly not easy at times.

The second biggest upside of moving in here instead of getting an apartment somewhere, after not paying rent, is I get the garden. I have a thread about that, so I won't detail it here. I don't plan on going full out self-sufficient, but I do want to make the absolute most of this plot of land and our life on it.

I am deeply worried about the state of our global capitalist consumerist society, and I think that in the long run, if we survive as a species, we're either going to look like the Borg from Star Trek, or agrarian farmerfolk. I prefer the latter.

Cheers to everyone, I like Paul's ideal of bringing other people up not down!

Welcome, Lew. Love your posts, hope to read more!

Lew, thank you for taking the time to introduce yourself; it's never too late!

Like you, I think we lost a lot as humans when we moved away from the multi-generational family. That's led to the modern trend toward age segregation - another mistake. I also agree with you that the very best thing we can do is to take whatever positive steps we're able to in our own "backyard." I think if everybody did that, we could change the world!

Welcome to Permies!

Welcome, Lew. I've been appreciating your posts, that remind me a lot of good times when I lived in Japan (though you seem to be a bit south of where I was in Fukushima! Our plant choices were a bit more limited due to crazy snow....). We've got a few other folks in Japan here as well. I look forward to seeing what you do with the place!!
Good on you with your family. It is a great thing for all involved, I believe, and especially well worth it for your kids.