Moving Back to the Land at 50 (And Older)

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On discovering the little cottage on their property was beyond repair, the Carlsons began their move back to the land by salvaging what they could and burning down the rest.
On discovering the little cottage on their property was beyond repair, the Carlsons began their move back to the land by salvaging what they could and burning down the rest.
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LEFT: A scenic outlook from the Carlsons' island. CENTER: Gus clearing the foundation area of the Carlson's future home. RIGHT: Gus in their field shower requesting a towel.
LEFT: A scenic outlook from the Carlsons' island. CENTER: Gus clearing the foundation area of the Carlson's future home. RIGHT: Gus in their field shower requesting a towel.
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LEFT: They cleaned and restored the old well, and....   RIGHT: fitted it with a hand pump assembly.
LEFT: They cleaned and restored the old well, and....   RIGHT: fitted it with a hand pump assembly.
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The stones Gus salvaged.
The stones Gus salvaged.
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The original ad that brought Nancy and Gus together.
The original ad that brought Nancy and Gus together.

I received over 35 replies to the Lifemates & Companions advertisement that I placed in MOTHER EARTH NEWS in the May/June 1978 issue, but I sensed — from the moment I read his letter — that the man who closed his note with the words “healthy, handsome, and all systems go!” just might be the one for me.

Sure enough, that fellow — Gus Carlson — and I were married just two months later, on July 29. And ever since we met, we’ve been preparing for our big change moving back to the land. We’re not spring chickens (Gus is approaching 62 and I’m now 49), and neither one of us has homesteaded before … but, as far as we’re both concerned, you’re never too old to change!

Actually — the way we look at it — there are some advantages to being “well seasoned” before you make the jump to a self-sufficient country lifestyle. For one thing, any children you may have raised will have grown up and gone off on their own … and — for another — many older folks have saved up a bit more capital than young couples just starting out (or will receive some form of retirement income). So my husband and I think that as long as a person is healthy and not afraid of hard work, being a bit “experienced” is actually beneficial to the would-be homesteader!

To tell the truth, we can’t wait for Gus’s next birthday … when he can retire (he’s currently chief electrician at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts), and we’ll be able to make a permanent move to our recently purchased, isolated, 80-acre island homestead in the Canadian Maritimes.

For now, though, we’re busily making plans and preparations for the big day.

  • Published on May 1, 1980
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