Our Story That Led Us to Homestead in the City

Today, I’m sharing our story that led us to homestead in the city.

We have been dreaming of doing this for a very long time.

Our love for country life was born many years ago when we adventured to move to Okanogan, WA, when our oldest daughter was 7 months old.

We lived in a small two-bedroom home that we rented for $350 a month.

This is the current photo of what this home looks like right now.

It’s a little ratty and worn.

But back when we were young, it was the first home we ever lived in, and it was wonderful!

The master bedroom had red fluffy carpet, and there was a swing in the backyard for our daughter. The backyard also had apple, cherry, and pear trees.

It was a sweet time living there.

My husband worked with me in our in-home daycare business for three years in this tiny little house.

It was the best of times as my husband, and I worked so well together.

But our sights were on getting a better job, and it looked like going back to the city was our best option.

It was a hard move because we knew we were leaving a lifestyle we grew to love and entering into what we already knew was a rat race.

We moved into a split-level home that we rented for $1350 a month. Which was a big jump from where we were.

I continued our in-home daycare career in this home that had two kitchens and a separate area downstairs for the daycare from our family home that was upstairs.

After five years of living in this home, we desired to own a home.

I had taken my daycare kids for walks around the neighborhood.

I noticed a for sale sign in front of a house.

It was absolutely gorgeous, and I thought there was no way we could afford a home like this!

I grabbed a flyer that was on the for sale post and showed it to my husband.

He, too, thought it was a beautiful home and agreed it was worth looking into.

The day I went to meet with the real estate agent to look at it (my husband was at work), I remember walking down this road for the first time to look at it.

The anticipation of starting a new life in this gorgeous 4 bedroom home was a dream!

This is the view I saw as I approached this home to look inside for the first time. Talk about the excitement!

It was grand and big and lovely and absolutely all the things that a young mom could desire in a beautiful home like this.

Never did I expect to live in such a home.

It even had a porch!

Well, as you probably guessed, we purchased this home.

It was the highlight of our lives.

Each of our three kids got their own room.

The kitchen was huge, and the yard, although small, was perfect for our little family.

Now, we fast forward to today.

It has been nearly 20 years now living in this home.

Our kids grew up, and our oldest two daughters moved out. While our son still lives at home but will expand his wings sometime soon.

We’ve lived the best life here, and the treasured memories within the walls of this home are ones we will always cherish.

But birthed within our hearts has been a longing to own a piece of land.

The taste of the country life long ago in Okanogan, WA, stayed with us all this time.

We have longed to own 20 acres or more. And to live off-grid.

And we know we will someday.

But instead of waiting to start a homestead in the future on land, we decided to create our dreams right where we are. And have our homestead in the city.

It makes sense to learn all we need to know and get experience in a small yard to prepare ourselves for the bigger dream ahead.

I share a little bit of the beginning of our homestead in the city journey on YouTube.

What will our homestead in the city look like in our tiny yard?

We plan on building raised beds along the fence.

Plus, some raised beds against the house where there is full sun for watermelon, corn, and green beans.

With the summer coming to a close, we will be planting some lettuce and other vegetables that can grow in the colder season.

Once our crop is ready to harvest, we will be canning for the winter months.

Being city dwellers most of our lives, we aren’t accustomed to growing a garden.

We’ve never canned food or raised chickens.

But we have a determination and the willingness to learn along the way.

We’ve read books, like the one here, watched YouTube videos, and continue to delve into learning all we can to be good at gardening.

We know we will make mistakes and accept the challenges this will bring.

But as we become efficient and step into the rhythms of new routines to make our garden grow, we will have a successful backyard homestead.

We look forward to the changes and are excited to do this together and make this our dream right here in the city.

Will we have chickens?

That is something I would love to incorporate.

Our county would allow it, but raccoons and rats are a big issue in our area.

So we will see.

I found an amazing tractor chicken coop that can house the chickens and be moved daily so they can eat fresh grass.

If you know how to raise chickens this way, I’d love to hear your tips.

I am happy.

Happy to have this vision to make our little yard into our homestead become a reality.

It feels good to have a plan. And now, as we prepare, I plan on reading every book I can to learn all I need to move forward.

Thanks for coming by to hear my story about our new adventure here in Seattle to make a homestead in the city.

I am so grateful to have you follow along as we move into a new phase in our life.

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And follow this link to learn how to paint an antique sofa here.

Have a great week.