Matthew Young35 said:That’s exactly my point. Seriously.
It’s funny how things work out. When people from the rural heartland head into the big city, they seem to lose all sense of how to navigate the streets. But then again, we city folk aren't exactly much better at tending to sheep or growing peppers in the backyard. We're all just specialists in our own little ways, aren't we?
On paper, it’s a breeze. You plant the pepper seeds, and they just grow. Simple, right?
In reality, the wolves just end up eating peppers and leaving you completely screwed. How was I supposed to know I needed to be setting up wolf-proof fencing?
Agriculture isn't just about soil and seeds. You need actual expertise to pull it off, and more importantly, you need the guts to deal with the wildlife that constantly tries to tear your livelihood apart.
Rural life just isn't my speed, and honestly, it’s not the vibe for most city dwellers either.
To be successful in agriculture, one does not necessarily require a doctorate. What is truly essential is the business acumen to market your goods at a profitable price point. In this modern era, a child raised in an urban environment is often better equipped to handle the entire lifecycle of production and sales than someone raised on a farm.
Actually planting a crop doesn't require immense intellect, nor, given today's advanced machinery, does it require overwhelming physical labor. Most other hurdles are cleared through trial and error, though without basic education, those errors can quickly lead to total financial ruin. Historically, humans had to eat to survive, and even just seventy or eighty years ago, most families produced their own sustenance. Not everyone was a genius, yet they managed. You can learn the mechanics of planting in a two-week seminar, whereas mastering the logistics of distribution requires genuine creativity, strategic thinking, and vision.
It is my firm belief that life in smaller towns is superior, more beautiful, "easier," and healthier than the frantic pace of the city. No matter how much that might sound like a fallacy to some, especially in times as turbulent as our own.
The old adage that "the country can exist without the city, but the city cannot exist without the country" holds weight. All that is required is a modicum of effort and a genuine desire to succeed. Nothing more.
Consider the current reality: you can hardly find a standard apartment in downtown Chicago for under $400,000, and even then, it likely needs significant work. For that same amount of capital, you could purchase a house and acreage in the surrounding suburbs or nearby counties, complete with the necessary education and equipment to launch a vegetable production operation or something similar.
The result? You achieve true independence, a sense of luxury in space, peace, and vast land, providing the potential for near-total self-sufficiency. You won't have to worry about the chaos surrounding you, and with today's transit infrastructure (which certainly needs improvement), you could be in the heart of Chicago in an hour at most.
I am not attempting to generalize anyone's motivations, as everyone has their own reasons, but to my mind, there is no greater folly than dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on a cramped 700-square-foot urban unit when that same investment provides everything described above in the outskirts of the city.
P.S. If I didn't have a deep-seated desire to return to the Midwest, I would have purchased a home in New England or perhaps out on the Great Plains. Eventually, the infrastructure projects connecting the outskirts to the city will improve, and from a place like a suburb near Springfield, you could be in the city center in forty-five minutes. You couldn't ask for more. ☕
As proof of how remarkably simple modern agriculture can actually be, look at this individual. 👍
https://www.youtube.com/c/DutchFarmerMoreno