It’s not often that I am lost for words or a blog post but lately I’ve been blank. I think it’s the long hours travelling in the car, pregnancy brain, rushing everyone to where they have to be and that little thing of selling and trying to find a new home. Last week we made the decision that it’s acreage or bust and so the search is on.
The last few years whenever I’ve been asked for my dream or a long term goal it has been 5 acres. Imagining the kids picking apples from our own fruit trees. So I’m dreaming of chickens, fruit trees, veggie patches and a ride on mower for retro daddy. My neighbour is a mad keen gardener and has already offered her services to help me get started.
I thought that it would be fabulous to hear your own stories. If you’d like to tell me about your move out of the city to a few acres or life on a property then I would love to hear about it. Email me on retromummy@hotmail.com and include a photo or two or just share it in the comments. Maybe you’re building your own home or you’re doing something up. Maybe you’ve bought somewhere and making the move out there later down the track. Maybe it’s your dream that you’re working towards. I know it’s a dream of many and I would love to have my lovely readers share their stories for some upcoming blog posts………then I can sleep easy that I have a few blog posts up. Win, win.
Corrie I think it’s awesome you guys are going to make your tree change happen! It’s the bes thing we’ve done! I wrote about ours here
http://www.ock-du-spock.com/2014/01/dreaming-of-tree-change.html
Can’t wait to hear how yours turns out
oh your place looks gorgeous and I’ll be wanting tips on those veggie garden beds! they look fabulous!
I would love this Corrie! I have the same dream but for me it is actually 2 acres. We have about 3 years here before that will happen but that’s ok! I am looking forward to how yours works out.
Love and kindness
Leanne xo
it’s good to plan and dream and make the right decision!
Corrie:)
Hi Corrie, we did our tree change nearly 2 years ago. It has been the best thing ever for us as a family. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else right now. Will drop you an email as I would love to share our story with you xoxo
thank you! I would love to share it here on the blog
Oh how I am very envious of what you are doing! I would like no more than to move and few a few acres myself!
we moved from inner sunshine coast to outer acreage just 2 acres, hubby wanted 5 acres but after a reality check 2 I manageable for us. We bypassed the ride on mower and bought a little Kubota tractor which has been great for moving things and renovating /landscaping not just mowing. Will try to drop you an email with pics of the 4 chooks we inherited ! x
Hi Corrie, some time ago I asked for your readers’ advice that have done just this, and here we are living our dream.
We sold our house in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire in July last year, after living there our whole lives, we have been in Batemans Bay for 6 months now and it’s been the best thing we’ve ever done.
Our three kids are really settled, have friends and have joined sporting clubs. We’ve made some fabulous friends too which was unexpected for me. We live a minute from the beach, no traffic, no stress, a beautiful bush outlook yet we can hear the waves at night. While we aren’t on an acreage, we have a lovely big new home and a plenty of space for all the family. New dog and cat too. All for under $400k!
It’s nice to hear you are taking the steps to live your dream. Life is too short to ponder for too long. For anyone else considering a big move, I say do it. The hustle and bustle of Sydney is something I don’t miss.
Good luck!
Hi Corrie, Ha! I was wondering how long you could stay residential with all of your beautiful kidos. We moved from Newport and Wamberal areas to the beautiful Hills district. 5 Acres, a Kubota tractor, ride on mower (make sure hubby gets a zero turn one, they are fast and fun). We also have chickens and a horse now. So much fun for my beautiful family of boys. Cant imagine living any other way now. Look for the Glenorie area on realestate.com. Lovely people, great schools and trees everywhere. Good luck hunting for your next project.
Retrodaddy needs to talk to Uncle Joe!!! 5 acres is a huge time commitment. Our next place won’t be any bigger than 2 acres or a complete downsize to just a large block we have decided there’s more to life than sitting on a lawn mower.
I’d second that comment from someone who had 40 acres, mostly bush, a few years ago. I had 5 years agriculture studies behind me.
If you have little or no experience, you would be surprised just how much time and effort goes into caring for the land. If part of the five acres is bush, then you will find it easier to care for. CHooks and fruit trees and vegetable gardens plus room for the children will work well on 2-3 acres. Then tree houses in the bush area and hiding places e tc.
If you are considering where I think you are, it’s beautiful. Transport is not wonderful and the bus services are not frequent.. I have friends and family from Maroota and a beautiful riverfront property upstream from Wisemans Ferry back to Round Corner and out along each side of the road. Lovely, much colder than the coast in winter.
Be careful too and ask locals about phone reception and internet access. Don’t take RE agent’s word for it. One property with family has no mobile reception unless the person goes outside and leans across car bonnet. That’s on top of a hill with no rocky outcrops etc. And don’t get trapped by the properties with enormous impressive brick fences and huge gateways. It’s often a dump behind several hundred metres of such fencing.
Hi Corrie
How exciting!! I can’t wait to follow along on your journey.
We have 60 acres at the moment but don’t currently live in the house as it needs renovating so we drive the short drive everyday (sometimes twice a day) out to check all our animals. We have chickens, ducks, horses, sheep, dairy goats, cows and a donkey! The kids love it although it is a huge time commitment. It’s definitely not a lifestyle for anyone who doesn’t love it!
The kids are currently incubating eggs to raise baby chicks and dreaming of the next lambing season. I am about to start planning my winter Vegie garden
Our dream is to move onto about 50000 or so acres way out west to escape Sydney.
Both hubby and I hate it but good things come to those who wait 😉
Whilst ours is not a tree change, it is definitely a sea change. Currently a SAHM to a gorgeous Mr 2 1/2, we live in inner Melbourne to be close by to my husbands work.
Before we met he bought a modest house down in the Mirnjngton Peninsula and after yearning for the peace, calm, community and sea air, we are set upon rebuilding to create our dream home. We are very excited that our little family will grow up down by the beach. I’m looking ahead to a garden of home grown veggies, school afternoon dips in the bay and escaping the busyness of the city.
Follow your heart and build a beautiful home for your gorgeous family, I say
Hi Corrie, good luck with your plans! We have one foot in both camps at the moment. We own a small farm, and plan to build on it soon, but in the mean time we are about to move to the country village that is close to the farm. We are taking on quite a reno! I’m so excited. I’ll get all of this into an email for you too, I’d love for you to check out my blog.
Picture of our farm are here: http://littlehouselove.com/galleries/gallery-our-little-farm/
And the current plan is here: http://littlehouselove.com/about/
Cant wait to see what you find. xx
I’ve just sent an email (with a few photos!) about our tree change. But I didn’t mention internet and mobile phone reception – which is well worth checking.
And I agree that 2 acres is plenty!
And before we built our house we visited the block very early morning, midday and at sunset to check what we wanted to see from which windows!!
All the very best with your dream!
I concur! Acreage is a full time job, even 5 … Good Luck though
Wow – go Corrie – we also did the move yet more of a happy accident for us really. From spending my whole life in sydneys eastern suburbs in blocks of units to ten acres with views of the gold coast in springbrook Qld – long story how yet we originally planned to build and sell making a magical profit and away we go – and here we are seven years later with a little boy who’s nearly two. Its not my choice anymore as he loves living here and its such a normal thing for him. The benefits outweigh the tricky bits – and theres always tricky bits to work around. For me I think Im a sydney girl at heart and so miss the place where Im born and bred – yet now we’re making a conscious effort to live a healthy, holistic, alternative lifestyle for our children. Living here is such a blessing and a gift we doubt we will ever be granted again if we ever sold. You’ll get hooked – and nothing like a glass of red on our balcony watching the stars and view with good cheese, good company and a sleeping toddler???? Or six – mind you I’m back in sydney next week for holidays and can’t wait – Think its just an attachment to memories – family is the ultimate yet you already know that. Enjoy the journey xx
If you want veges etc, check the lay of the land carefully, as someone mentioned above for house views. Vegetables and fruit trees need plenty of sunshine.
When you get there, as I’m sure you will, do things slowly and get ground established or chooks or whatever before you move on the next project. Otherwise nothing gets done properly and you will be discouraged.
Oh how exciting! We live in the suburbs in Perth, but are fortunate to be on a very large block. We have chickens and 21 fruit trees and I love it. Acreage when raising a family sounds absolutely wonderful and I look forward to sharing your journey via your blog!
Hi Corrie,
My husband grew up on a sheep property in southern NSW. We met at uni, got married, travelled, had 3 kids, etc. Two years ago we picked up our family and moved back to the farm. These days I work in the nearby town, while my husband helps his father with the farm. The realities of a tree change are very different to the dream, but we have a good life. My blog chronicles the ups and downs of country life. I would be happy to write something for you, should you want. http://www.countrylifeexperiment.com
Hello Corrie, have been enjoying reading around the blog and catching up on your news – many congrats on the pregnancy, don’t new babies hiding in tummies always feel like a miracle. I will enjoy hearing of your readers’ tree changes… one day my hubby and I will have a sea change to live down the coast at our house at Jervis Bay, but it’s the Sydney ‘burbs for us for a while yet. My big boy is in Year 11, can’t believe it…doing a non-ATAR HSC… I know your wee lass is yet to start school… we must have a natter some day about it all… I do worry about what will happen after school but we have two years to work on that. I’m so glad that he has three brothers and sisters… safety in numbers! How lovely for all your kids to be in such a big family.
Hi Corrie
While we aren’t upsizing to a 5 acre block, we are upsizing from a 650m block to 3/4 of an acre. We moved from a country town in southwest Victoria to a suburb in north Brisbane 2 weeks before Christmas. We are renting ATM and move into our new home in early April. It’s has been a huge move and quite draining at times especially early on before we moved and hubby was already working in Brisbane and the kids and I were still in Victoria. Very much looking forward to growing our own veggies, fruit trees and having chooks.
Kylie
Growing up on a farm I know how fantastic it is to grow up with a large area to play and without the restrictions that kids in the city have. I loved growing up and being able to ride my bike without Mum worrying about us getting hit by a car, growing veggies every summer (corn, tomatos, snowpeas, watermelon, the list goes on), running around on the lawn because it was HUGE, winter BBQ’s in the scrub with ALL the cousins… so many memories that I would never have had if we had lived in the city.
Now, things are different. I need a little bit of city life every now and then and I’ve spent the past three years living in Sydney before now taking a job out country once more. If I ever got the chance I would love my future kids to have the same experiences as I did because there is nothing better than being able to roam free and play for hours climbing trees and playing in mud (when it rains)
Sophie xxx
Hi Corrie Just reading this article on the lifestyle newsletter and thought it was just for you. http://www.lifestyle.com.au/property/top-tips-on-buying-an-acreage.aspx
Hi Corrie
I grew up in Melbourne and moved to a 10,000 acre property when I married my farmer husband 19 years ago. It took me about 10 years not to feel homesick but I don’t think I could live in a big city anymore. You have to get used to isolation and you must love driving your car because you will be in it a lot! My daily commute involves two school bus runs (am and pm) – 20kms to secondary bus then home and 12kms to primary bus stop and home. About 120kms per day! It takes an hour to get to our closest main town including 20kms on dirt road – my 4WD skills have improved over the years! You need to be super organised with your groceries because it can be too far to dash into town and get supplies. And I agree with the other comments – 5 acres is a lot to look after especially when you have little children. You will need to make a list of positives and negatives then make your decision. You may find your dream property in a regional area and not too far from civilisation. Good luck!
My dream is to have a place with fruit trees and chooks! My boy (almost 1) loves looking at the neighbours “ladies” (hens) and laughs and laughs and laughs at them. It’s such a beautiful sound.
Olá!…Acompanho seu blog a anos, antes da Elodie….tenho 2 filhos com 11 e 13 anos, quando me casei, fomos morar em um sÃtio, pois tinha a mesma idéia sobre alimentação, vida e estar perto da natureza. Perto da cidade, 40 minutos de carro.
Porém, faz 6 que nos mudamos para cidade, pois as crianças tinham compromissos com a igreja durante a semana, com os amigos da escola e estava difÃcil o ir e vir para cidade.
Quando decidimos morar na cidade, escolhemos um lugar grande onde pudéssemos ter nossa horta, pomar e animais.
Estranhamos muito, mas agora acho que foi o melhor, mais prático e perto de nossas necessidades.
Boa sorte para sua linfa famÃlia.
Marta Baratella – Brasil
Our tree change was UK-NZ.
Love it. I grew up rurally, growing veg, raising livestock.
The only comment I’d say beyond good luck and enjoy it! Is to really consider if you need 5acres. That’s a lot of land, unless your thinking sheep/ponies (and have some experience) I’d really recommend considering 1-2 acres. 5 acres is ‘keep a couple of horses and a kids pony on’. Or a decent flock of sheep. With the chooks and veggie beds too. It’s a lot of work day to day. (I’m qualified in estate and land management.)
Good luck and god bless, just don’t get sucked in to the belief you need more land than you actually do – too much is a millstone round your neck and will suck all and any enjoyment out.
Honestly take a break as much as possible from blog
land; your to do list is big! Bless ya!