Sometimes dubbed "ruralpolitans," these city and town dwellers are looking at land as their new safe investment, one they hope could prove more stable than their jobs and 401(k)s—and provide a better lifestyle.
Motivations can vary, but typically there are three groups: young people buying land as an asset or investment, with vague hopes to live on it someday; exurban commuters who have jobs in big towns or cities but want to escape the sprawl; and back-to-the-land types who want to dabble in hobby farming. While the 76 million-strong baby boomers eyeing retirement represent the largest ruralpolitan segment, they're being joined by a growing contingent of 20-to-early-40-somethings freshly imprinted by this recession's pain.
Ruralpolitans -- nice moniker. The Wall Street Journal Article highlights some of the surprises that hit the "hobby farmers" et al who find it's not always the farm they imagined, but in general it seems like lessons get learned and people grow smarter.
Most of all, it's a break from the treadmill of work and fear:
For some people, the break to rural living is a hedge against an unpredictable future. Brandon Peak is a 36-year-old technician at Intel Corp. who works nights on the factory floor in Phoenix and rarely sees his wife and three children during the week. Mr. Peak's company laid off workers this year, and he's received no raise. So when his parents called recently to say they'd purchased 80 acres in Missouri, and asked if he and his family would join them to start a dairy farm, their son jumped at the chance. They're scheduled to move in March.
"I can't tell you how many people at work say, 'Man, I'd like to do that,' " Mr. Peak says. "Everybody is looking for the next opportunity for hope."Just watch the hippies turn out to be right after all. In a yuppified kind of way.
1 comment:
Yuppies on the farm: Oh, I'm desperately trying to withhold my laughter.
Perhaps this'll ring a bell:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058808/
Post a Comment