Sacrifice Almost Everything to Live Near Your Friends

Is farming your full-time job?

Someone asked me recently how I made the transition from Snowboarders & Skiers for Christ [https://wearesfc.org/] to farming in New Hampshire, and whether farming is how we are making a living for our family. The simple answer is no. It would be extremely difficult to make a living doing what we’re doing and it’s actually not our goal. In this post I aim to share a better picture of how our family spends our time and energy. I’ll also briefly explore the state of farming in America and why very few people are making a living growing food on small farms, though I understand it is possible.

One summer I repaired over 80 lawn mowers.

One of the last summer’s that we were living in Colorado I repaired and sold over 80 lawn mowers. The business was simple. I posted ads online that I would pick up lawn mowers in any condition for free, the farthest I would drive for them is about 10 minutes. Then I would fix them and sell them for $80-$200 on craigslist and facebook marketplace. It wasn’t about the money, it was mostly fun to take something broken and make it work.

This is the perfect daily routine.

One of my most up-front goals when I moved to New Hampshire was to slow down. Cities are great at many things, fostering a lifestyle of high productivity is certainly one of them. After living almost 15 years in the suburbs of Denver I would occasionally drive by someone who broke down on the side of the road and think “gee, I wish I had the time to help them.” I’ve realized that this is a lifestyle choice. One that has not come automatically.

Sacrifice Almost Everything to Live Near Your Friends

If you want to be happy live near your friends, the closer the better.