canadians: want to be homesteaders, preppers?

the title says it all. how do i find canadian preppers still stuck in the system? homesteading is so much more work than city people can imagine. i know - i was one. now i want to find others who are as determined as i was to make a new start by putting in the effort to live a simpler life off the grid despite the hardships involved.

Where in Canada are you?

I'm in Canada, firmly planted in the system, dreaming of the day I can transplant to the country. Where are you?

I have two lush riverfront acres in a remote area of Northern CA. I tried to find people interested in homesteading it with me, to no avail, a few years ago. I still have it, but the dream is more complicated because now I am only part owner, and I've relocated to a little plot in a rural area of Florida. I've lived completely off the grid, and it takes some planning, especially if moving off for the first time. I'm not a prepper, just seek an alternative, self-sufficient, sustainable, low-impact/cost lifestyle.
Where in Canada do you dream of homesteading?

Hi Samantha!

Judging from your other post I might not be too far away from you. I'm also near the boreal forest east of Prince Albert about an hour.

I can relate to the difficulty in finding people who want to share a homesteading sort of experience. Before I bought this piece of land I was searching for potential partners and finding someone with the right motivation and means proved to be pretty much impossible. So here I am trying to do it alone - I live off-gid, but still have a regular-ish sort of job (talked my boss into four day weeks, which helps a lot).

Anyway, I'm interested in meeting more people living the homesteading lifestyle if you're not too far away, even if I'm not super keen in leaving my land just yet.

well! this is progress at last! let's start with Lorne G. i think i know where you live, my hubby and i were looking at a property of 80 acres near choiceland when we were first searching for land, we didn't buy it but we often drive by it on our way to town and we have noticed an unfinished cabin popped up with a modest solar array on the south side. i bet that's you! well next time i get my horse rigged up for a cart ride i had plans of popping by to make introductions. just now the horseflies are still bothersome during the day so don't expect me yet - it'll be another couple weeks till they taper off some more. perhaps i'll aim for the first or second saturday of october?

on to Rick LaJambe. from your other post i gather you and your family sound like a fair match for us. we were hoping to find people with kids of a similar age to ours. Our oldest girl is turning 4 in Nov and our youngest is 2 and a half. having kids brings dedication and focus to life and it would be a relief to have that most basic thing in common to start with. however, when we were looking for land we found that BC was simply too far out of our price range since we wanted to buy our land outright and own it without a lifetime mortgage. as such, would you be willing to consider Saskatchewan? just in case you have any stereotype predjudices and think all of sask is "flatland" - it's not. we are almost completely surrounded in trees and our woodlot takes up more than half our property of 24.4 acres. we live in an area on the the border of the massive boreal forest and is about as north as you can get and still have arable land.

Wow...that sounds a lot like my place. And here I thought anywhere within a couple hours drive would be 'close'. So is the buggy your main mode of transport then? Do you have a phone? Are the horseflies really that bad where you are? I seem to have found a pretty good way of trapping them with my tarp-based construction perhaps, because there are tons in my addition some days, but not too bad in the open. The mosquitoes on the other hand can be fierce when the sun starts dropping. Anyway, I'm often at home Friday-Sunday during the day....feel free to stop in but be warned: if I'm not around to stop him, my daughter's dog might try to follow you home.

no, i do have a vehicle but i try to keep my gas usage minimal and make few supply runs, so when i do - i'm too busy to stop and socialize. winter approaches, we generally have more time then to slow the pace.

im aiming for homesteading in the future. have some land in peace river, alberta.

I'm a Canadian, new to the list but well-versed in Paul's and others' permaculture ideas, to near Sepp levels of crazy! I'm from Saskatchewan, currently spending my time loving my nephews and helping my family. I have a TON of knowledge, skill and passion but not so much in the way of cashola (alas, many of us sensitive, uncivilized types don't do well in full time overstructured careers) or land. I have dreams of starting a family centre that offers some education and opportunities to children, families and individuals (part school, part day care, part seniors centre, part restaurant, part work exchange, part retreat, part market garden, and part whatever else I think up!) all in the context of strengthening our connection to the land. I haven't been able to find anything like that on the prairies, even though a lot of people seem to be moving toward that ideal, but seem to be limited only to expensive technologies, music festivals and organic food. Plus it's just little old me who is crazy for the forest and I haven't found any companions who are even close to the level of hairy-legged beast that I'm at! Usually at this point in my introduction, most of the urban normies turn up their nose and clutch their cell phones closer, but I have a feeling I'll have a better response from the permies forum peeps.

It's a pleasure to have the chance to connect with you fine folks!

Laura Ciesla wrote:I have two lush riverfront acres in a remote area of Northern CA. I tried to find people interested in homesteading it with me, to no avail, a few years ago. I still have it, but the dream is more complicated because now I am only part owner, and I've relocated to a little plot in a rural area of Florida. I've lived completely off the grid, and it takes some planning, especially if moving off for the first time. I'm not a prepper, just seek an alternative, self-sufficient, sustainable, low-impact/cost lifestyle.
Where in Canada do you dream of homesteading?

Where is your land in Calif?

Hi Samantha and others. I'm a homesteader/prepper of sorts near Saskatoon, but know I will have to relocate, probably to points north or west or northwest. Until such time, I'm on a family farm, but have no idea if these others (non-prepper/homesteaders) will relocate with me. I expect a lot of collapses soon, so maybe that will convince many of the need to gear towards hard times. Anyway, I seek to connect with others of similar mind. I have no like-minded community here to speak of, but have built up a Facebook group of 350 friends who are at least interested in these topics. I'll add a link to that. feel free to join. https://www.facebook.com/groups/394343721340520