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i can do it and i will!
- Thread starter dadko20
- Start date
Have a plan... do your research... anticipate problems and have solutions ahead of time.
JayLapointe
Member
I'm not saying don't pursue your passion of getting a goat but maybe don't rush into it and spend the vast majority of your money in one shot. I'd try to save up a little more so that you can do the goat idea and still have a decent emergency fund. The only other thing I'd consider would be vet bills. Make sure you've got the 1st year or so covered.
Apart from that bit of caution honestly if getting a goat and your own little bit of land to live on is your dream, pursue it and don't let anyone tell you different. Until proven otherwise we only live once so make the most of the time you've got.
Apart from that bit of caution honestly if getting a goat and your own little bit of land to live on is your dream, pursue it and don't let anyone tell you different. Until proven otherwise we only live once so make the most of the time you've got.
You need to write budget. You'll have to pay to build the shack, plumb and electrify it, furnish it, annual property taxes, property insurance, build a goat-proof fence, utilities such as water, sewage, garbage pickup and electricity, food for yourself and the goat, veterinary bills, etc. I really don't think you currently can afford to do it. If you have some kind of income on a regular basis such as a job or SSI or SSDI, then you might be able to afford to do it.
Show your parents your written budget so they can understand that you are financially capable of doing this.
Show your parents your written budget so they can understand that you are financially capable of doing this.
The usual challenge off-grid is generating enough cash for taxes. Most places also have zoning to keep you from living in anything they can't tax heavily, even on your own land. Then there's the drudgery of dealing with water, heating, and any other systems you have to supply, and the tedium of having little variety. Without a herd, your goat would probably be unhappy too. 1.8k does not sound like much of a cushion to get set up with, and it is far easier in the spring. I'd keep the dream, but plan more.
One guy had hopes of moving to a place in the desert, and while he was saving up the money to buy the land he fancied, he'd sneak onto it after each rain, and add an inch to a series of little dams made from debris on the tiny seasonal creek. They would silt in again with each rain, and by the time he had the money, the landowner didn't know there was a nice deposit of good soil.
One guy had hopes of moving to a place in the desert, and while he was saving up the money to buy the land he fancied, he'd sneak onto it after each rain, and add an inch to a series of little dams made from debris on the tiny seasonal creek. They would silt in again with each rain, and by the time he had the money, the landowner didn't know there was a nice deposit of good soil.
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I’d go for it. I’m sure there will be bumps and learning curves, but I believe in following your dream whenever possible.
Here's my place:
I don't have a goat though. Here's the Google Maps image:
The white "roads" shown in the second picture are sand and mud trails that require 4 wheel drive vehicles, or horseback, or foot, or helicopter to reach. My place is at the top, labeled Camp Notastitch, and is 9 miles from the county road. (The county road ends at the Green Suburban Estates label on the right. Suburban Estates is essentially a joke name. There is a gate at the end of the road, and only people who own lots back in there get a key to the gate.) The big pale green patches near the center are cattle ranches. Because the ranches are fenced, I have to use the route shown in yellow below to reach my place:
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Love the name.
It's descriptive. Anyone entering the property sees thi sign:Love the name.
and this one:
Goats are herd animals. They require the company of other goats, and become unhealthy when their social needs are not met. It needs a companion of its own kind, or it suffers.
Secondly, autism or not, we all need human contact and are not designed to be hermits. The Unabomber (autistic) never harmed anyone until he isolated himself in a remote Montana cabin and lived that way for seven years. Without sufficient human interaction, any mental health issues present are amplified and one's worst impulses take over. The Aviator, Castaway, Misery, The Shining, and hundreds more... Isolation madness is a movie trope because that's what can be reliably expected to happen.
Secondly, autism or not, we all need human contact and are not designed to be hermits. The Unabomber (autistic) never harmed anyone until he isolated himself in a remote Montana cabin and lived that way for seven years. Without sufficient human interaction, any mental health issues present are amplified and one's worst impulses take over. The Aviator, Castaway, Misery, The Shining, and hundreds more... Isolation madness is a movie trope because that's what can be reliably expected to happen.
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I think it's good to follow your dreams, but make sure you think about the future so you don't get stuck in a bad situation without a plan.
So I suggest before you spend almost all your money on this plot of land and a goat, think about the answers to the following questions below.
I don't need to know the answers, these are things to ask yourself.
The answers to questions like the ones I list are things I think you should make sure you have figured out before you go ahead and buy the land and adopt the goat.
Also, asking people to give you questions like mine or to help you figure out good answers and plans might be a way to show
them you are responsible and capable of achieving your dream -- so that they know you are serious and might support you instead of just telling you "stop - don't do it".
First and most important questions:
Are you going to live on the plot of land with the goat or just visit and only the goat lives there?
Do you have to pay property taxes on your plot of land? If "yes" how much are the taxes going to cost you every year? Will you absolutely for sure always have money to pay those taxes? What about if the property taxes are increased? How much of an increase could you afford? Can you find out from local government how often the taxes usually go up and by how much?
Are you well-educated about how to take care of your goat?
Do you know what is and isn't safe for your goat to eat?
Will you have a fence to make sure your goat doesn't wander off and get lost or hurt or eaten by wolves or bears or roaming dogs or coyotes or cougars or whatever predators live around your plot of land?
Do you know how much it costs to take your goat to a vet if it gets sick? Do you have a way to transport your goat to a vet if it gets sick?
Can you be 100% sure you will be able to afford costs for taking care of your goat -- including any food it can't graze on from your property or in winter if the winter is cold and snowy? Including medicine your goat might need if it gets sick? Including big and very expensive emergencies needing veterinary care that might cost thousands of dollars?
What will you do if something happens to you and you cannot take csre of your goat anymore? Like you lose your income and cannot afford costs? Or you get sick and cannot physically do things to care for the goat?
Questions/things to think about if you are just going to visit your goat on the plot of land:
Do you have a driver's license and own a car/truck/similar vehicle? If "no", how will you get to your shack and your goat? How will you get back home from your shack and your goat?
If you have a car and can drive: What happns if your car breaks down -- can you cannot afford repairs or a new car? What happens if you get sick and cannot drive anymore? What happens if you lose your income or costs of living go up snd your income doesnt and you cannot afford gas and car insurance anymore?
If someone else would would drive you:
Would they drive you as a personal favor or would you pay them?
If you paid someone can you be certain you will always be able to afford all the trips you need to make? Can you be sure they will always be available when you need them?
What happens if the person who drives you gets sick or moves away or goes on a
holiday or for some other reason can't drive you anymore?
Questions for if you are going to live with the goat on the plot of land:
Do you have a driver's license and own a car/truck/similar vehicle? If not same how will you get yourself and your belongings and your goat to your land? How will
you get to the store to buy things like food and soap and medicine and anything else you might need? How would you get to the doctor or hospital if you got sick? Plus all the same questions about getting to places and back home I asked earlier.
Is the shack actually a shack or is it a house? If the shack is actually a shack -- meaning is just four walls and a roof and a floor and nothing else, where will you live? Is there also a house on the plot of land? Will you live in the shack? Will you live in your car if you have one?
Does your plot of land have a source of water that is safe for humans (or goats) to drink? Like a tap or a well? Or even a river -- but if there is a river how will you make sure the water is safe for humans to drink? Do you know about how to to check that a water source is safe, and about how to boil water or use purification tablets or filters to make water safe for humans to drink? Lots of germs and parasites can live in the water in rivers, lakes, and ponds, and can make you sick or kill you if you drink them in with untreated water. Sometimes also rivers and lakes are contaminated with poisonous chemicals from nearby industry or toxic natural mineral sources,
If there is no actual house: How will you keep yourself clean? How will you keep your clothes clean? How will you store food? What will you do for light and heat?
If there is a house or the "shack" is a house:
Does it have a bathroom with a working toilet? A shower? A bathtub? If not what will you do for washing snd for a toilet? Is there an outhouse? Do you know how to maintain an outhouse?
Is the shack and/or house sturdy (nothing broken or needing repairs)? Does the roof keep out rain or does it leak? What is the weather like at different times of year -- will you and the goat be warm enough if there is a very cold season? Is there a heat source inside the shack and/or inside
the house? Is there insulation in the walls of the shack or house?
Do you have money for regular maintenance (like paint) and any sudden need for repairs to the shack/house, to any plumbing or electrical wiring or appliances or he roof? Can you be sure you probably always will have money for these things?
Does the shack and/or house have electricity? Is there any electricity already wired up to electrical outlets anywhere on the plot of land?
If not then what will you do for charging a phone (is there a landline telephone connection? You should have a way to contact other people in case of emergency where you need help)?
If not then what will you do for light at night and how will you cook food snd store food that spoils and grows deadly bacteria and mold without a fridge?
If there is no electricity for an electric stove is their gas hookups and a gas stove? Do you have a portable gas stove? Do you know how to build and safely stoke and put out a fire? Is there wood that you can cut and and use on your land if wood would be your only source of heat and way to cook food or boil water?
If there is no electricity or gas for heat or cooking is there a woodstove or a fireplace or a fire pit OUTSIDE (it is not safe to have an open fire inside a building without both a chimney to let out smoke and a place to contain the fire like a woodstove or a fireplace)? Could you build a firepit with stones, bricks or sheet metal? Do you know how to look up zoning laws and building codes to make sure you are allowed to build the fire pit and do it according to the laws so you don't get in trouble and get fined and have to take it apart?
If there is no fridge and/or way for you to cook, can you figure out how to eat a diet that doesn't require a refrigerator or stove ever and not get sick from vitamin deficiencies? (I tell you from personal
experience, this can be very challenging ...multivitamins are a wonderful thing in this situation, but not necessarily good enough.)
Can you afford all the costs of just looking after yourself on your plot of land, including any utilities like electricity, water, gas?
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The Tortoise has outdone us all at sound advice. However, people seldom have all the answers before they try something new. There is also learning on the job. My off-grid friend is totally in violation of the zoning laws, but he gets along well enough with the neighbours that they don't report him. That was a calculated risk, but he had experience at all the other skills. The more adventures you have survived, the better you get at not jumping into a hopeless situation. Or maybe it is that the better you are at evaluating a hopeless situation, the more adventures you survive.
I have my cabin bought years ago 7k now worth 100k no goat though.
What experience do you have with goats?
Some of the problem solving experience and preparation my off-grid friend made: He had months of sleeping in the woods in winter with no tent. He had, with friends, driven a pack of wolves off their kill to steal a quarter section of a Deer. Taught himself enough about sawmill work to be promoted over men with decades of experience. Turned an unfinished project into a great underground home. Found the problem with a brand-new bailer everyone including the dealer had given up on. He had managed a horse ranch so well that it had to be sold off when he left. His dogs were able to help as intelligent partners with special abilities, not as stupid servants. He was physically fit, well equipped with tools, and very experienced at campfire cooking. His shack on wheels had everything needed.
BTW, a lot of people are building tiny homes as highway-ready trailers. You might want to consider a wagon that is confined to slower or rural roads, but cheaper overall. Having to move at night if near a city is not much of a bother if it very seldom happens.
If you want to live with goats, and have a mobile shelter, you might get paid to help manage undergrowth in remote areas.
BTW, a lot of people are building tiny homes as highway-ready trailers. You might want to consider a wagon that is confined to slower or rural roads, but cheaper overall. Having to move at night if near a city is not much of a bother if it very seldom happens.
If you want to live with goats, and have a mobile shelter, you might get paid to help manage undergrowth in remote areas.
I worked with people with developmental disabilities for over 20 years. When you make someone check off all the required skills, boxes, etc., before they can move into independent living they never get there. And I mean never.
None of us knew all we had to know before we made the great leap. I started with some goats and it was on the job training so to speak. We learn by doing.
The tiny home idea is something that might be worth pursuing. But many now cost $100,000s. That would take some research. I stayed in a tiny travel trailer Airbnb. It could work for a single person. Bed, frig, stove, table, lots of storage in odd places, bathroom very tiny. Water. Heat. Propane.
Some of us need less social interaction than others. Base your interactions on what you need, not what someone else tells you you need.
None of us knew all we had to know before we made the great leap. I started with some goats and it was on the job training so to speak. We learn by doing.
The tiny home idea is something that might be worth pursuing. But many now cost $100,000s. That would take some research. I stayed in a tiny travel trailer Airbnb. It could work for a single person. Bed, frig, stove, table, lots of storage in odd places, bathroom very tiny. Water. Heat. Propane.
Some of us need less social interaction than others. Base your interactions on what you need, not what someone else tells you you need.
Am I correct in stating that goats are herd animals who require the company of their own kind? I learned this lesson the hard way by keeping a different species of social animal as a solitary pet without realizing this was cruel and unacceptable.
That is the conventional wisdom. OTOH, if one raises a goat from a newborn kid, it might bond with you, like a pet. Likewise it might bond with other social animals. But I am no expert.
I suspect the OP will learn this and more as they go about setting up their new living arrangements.
RemyZee
Well-Known Member
I got to work on a reservation for a summer while I was in college, and my job was taking care of goats and sheep--herding them too. I learned very quickly it wasn't the romantic thing I had in my head. It was the best experience I have had--it was also dirty, exhausting, and did not in any way come naturally...as I thought it would. I would say, if you are interested in having a goat and living on the land--volunteer first, go to a local farm and offer to help with the day to day. See what it is really like first.
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