It had already been on the five year plan to move to a larger piece of land. Our suburban edge 1/4 acre was full to bursting with 5 chickens, a beehive, vegetable gardens and fruit trees. Not to mention a dog, a cat and a pond full of goldfish. Suddenly though there was a new imperative. Instead of 1-2 acres for all of the above plus a pig and perhaps a goat, we were looking for 10 acres or more for all of the above, plus pig, goat and the newly acquired pony.
As we scoured the lifestyle block real estate pages it became apparent there were a couple of choices.
- Buy land near Auckland and spend the foreseeable future commuting an hour or more to the jobs needed to pay back a large mortgage.
- Jump off the edge of reason, let go of being JAFA and commit to living in a smaller town. Thus needing no mortgage, possibly having a modicum of money left over to invest, and gaining the luxury of time to enjoy the new lifestyle.
The answer was kind of obvious, although it’s surprising how hard it feels to commit to changing cities. I haven’t actually made the move yet but the new property deal goes unconditional today so there’s no turning back now. Let’s see how it all pans out shall we?
Buffy
