Phew. I have been thru the ringer, but it really was all of my own accord. I have had a rough go at the homesteading lifestyle, to the point where I actually left my property for the better part of the year.
However, I am back now with a bigger broader perspective of why I chose this lifestyle, and I am ready to share my message with everyone. And that message is, be sustainable, be self-sufficient, be free!
I won't go into mega detail here, but I would like to share some key points in my journey that caused me some pivotal changes and lessons, and maybe you will learn something along my experiences.
On January 2nd, 2021, I broke up with my boyfriend who was also my homesteading partner. Basically, we got into a fight, it turned physical, and he went to jail for a couple of days. There was a no contact order for a couple of weeks.
Within that two weeks, I moved everything out of his RV (which is what we were living in on the property) and I moved into my 9X12 shed.
It was a pretty rough adjustment as living in my shed was fairly primitive. I made due with what I had.
Fast forward to June of 2021. I was out of work and going broke. I was isolating and lonely. I did not feel the confidence that I needed to be a productive homesteader. I felt like my property had become a burden and I went into a mental downward spiral that I was not able to get out of.
So I decided to leave the property. I landed an apprenticeship for network infrastructure and I took it. The job required travel, so I was able to see a good part of the western countryside while I worked and stayed at AirBnBs and hotels, which was a nice change from the primitive shed life.
Things were going pretty decently, but then the owner of the company died tragically in a gruesome motorcycle accident. I did stay on the road and finished the contract I was on, but then we were called back home and the company closed down.
I quickly landed another job as an IT technician for ADOT, (Arizona Dept of Transportation). Although I was a contractor, I had the opportunity to move up into being a full-time state employee, which sounded like a dream at the time. The only hangup was I had to move to Phoenix, AZ, the 5th biggest city in the country. I was excited about this, because I had never lived in a city before, so I thought I would give it a shot.
Everything was going well, really well, and I drank the cool-aid. My goal was to become a full-time employee of the state, retire with benefits one day, and have a little house in the city.
Here I am, in the big city!
But, just when I thought I was in for life, I was let go. I was let go because I did not pass the ACJIS background check (Arizona Criminal Justice Information Systems). This was due to an arrest/no conviction that I got when I was 28, which was 12 years ago.
I was floored and ultra devastated, but I quickly pivoted into building a data center for AWS (Amazon Web Services). I was determined to make a career in the tech industry. And this was my last ditch effort.
My plan was to get in with AWS and move up into network engineering. But there were some unforeseen flaws to my plan. Right about the time I moved into this position, ChatGPT was released. And coinciding that were mega layoffs from Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc. Now my position was solid as a structured cabling tech, as I was helping to build a MEGA data center for AWS that was 100% Artificial Intelligence machines.
But the landscape in tech was quickly shifting. From massive hiring to massive layoffs, it became apparent to me that tech would never be the same. AI is going to obliterate hundreds of thousands of jobs and I was trying to break into an industry that is flailing.
The work conditions were deplorable at the data center. Everything was very anti-human. We were searched and wanded every time we went into the vault. There was no bathroom and no water allowed in the vault, so for several hours we would work without any relief. It was like a prison in the vault, no windows, nothing to make you feel good about anything.
I decided that I needed to exit the position and go back to my property. And I did just that. Now, I am unemployed and back in my tiny shed. I have come full circle. The difference? I have a completely DIFFERENT perspective on life!
I realized that I can DO anything. I can build it, dig it, harvest it. I have the strength and smarts to achieve anything I put my mind to.
I also saw the deplorable way people are living in the city. Sure, things are shiny and new and exciting for a while. But the smoke and mirrors wear off and it becomes quickly apparent that people are barely scraping by, living beyond their means with credit cards and debt they can barely manage. And then there are the homeless folks that are broken from addiction. Its very sad and practically unbearable to watch.
I quickly decided that city life is not for me. Its unaffordable, even on a decent wage. There is crime, unhappiness, road rage, and accidents all the time. I much prefer a more pastoral lifestyle where I can live free and in peace, grow my own food, and be the master of my life. I am done being a slave for the man!
So what now? I am building up my own business as I have vowed not to work for another slave corporation ever again. I will never sell my soul like that again.
Here I am now, working hard in the garden!
My primary trajectory is to become a successful content creator with my website, Maximum Off Grid. I've been working on this website since 2018, so I have decent momentum. I also have my YouTube Channel as well.
My secondary trajectory is to build a vendor stall and go to markets, faires, and festivals to peddle my wares.
I also live on very low living expenses and I am practically debt free.
I can make it, I can do this! This is my season of "YES I CAN." I want to thank you for your kind comments and upvoting support ahead of time as I will be bringing valuable homesteading knowledge to HIVE. I have been a member of HIVE (Steemit) for going on 7 YEARS in July, wow! I come and go, but I am ready to come back again and share my knowledge and journey with you.
Regina Cal
Maximum Off Grid
