Planning

Change is on the Horizon!

Sunset over a river in Kruger National Park, South Africa
Sunset over a river in Kruger National Park, South Africa

Hi there! We are Charli and AC, and we’re making a big change! But before I tell you about our future, let me tell you about our present.

Where We Are

I (Charli) have a full-time remote job as an instructional designer for a US-based company. I’m also an amateur woodworker and an avid DIY-er. AC “complains” that I don’t know how to sit still. I say “complains” because I know, deep down, that she appreciates my constant activity because I get s$!% done!

AC is currently the Director of Operations for a collegiate women’s basketball team. In that role, she handles pretty much everything that happens off the court: travel planning and logistics (transportation, lodging, meals), equipment ordering, scheduling, player onboarding and development, summer camps, and so much more. She doesn’t have a whole lot of time to do things outside of work because, well, work never ends; one season wraps and summer responsibilities kick in, then the next season starts. She’s been at it for 5 years and, truth be told, she is exhausted. So, she is planning to “retire” in August. 

Where We’re Going

That brings us to our big plans! A little over a year ago, we started discussing our future — where do we want to be? What do we want to do? AC surprised me when she said she really wants to live abroad for a bit. I would love to do that, too, but, alas, my job does not allow for it quite yet. Maybe one day, we’ll be able to do that, but not right now. 

Our conversations started leaning more and more toward how we want to simplify our lives (I, especially, am guilty of buying a lot of unnecessary stuff), reduce our waste, and become more self-sufficient.  AC has wanted several acres of land for as long as I can remember, and I have wanted to keep bees again and have chickens. We quickly realized that all of these dreams add up to…a homestead!

Yep, we want a homestead. Let me be very clear, our homestead will NOT be a commercial farm. That’s too much pressure and too volatile a market for us. We want a peaceful space where we can live at our own pace and support ourselves by growing/raising/hunting our own food, generating income with byproducts (lotions, cheeses, pelts, etc.), and other fun stuff! 

How We’re Getting There

As far as income, I enjoy my job and plan to keep it. Additionally, in our current home, we host Airbnb guests out of one of our spare bedrooms and that has worked out well for us so we’ll probably continue that as a source of passive income on our future homestead. In the distant future, I’d love to start a farmstand and/or hire some local high schoolers to run a market booth where we sell our excess product. Again, that’s pretty far down the road–we haven’t even moved out of our house yet! 

So there you have it–we’re ditching the suburbs and moving to the country! It’s not quite that simple, though. We’ve put together an exciting 6-month(ish) plan to help us get from where we are to where we’re going. More on that plan in the next post!

Until next time,

Charli

3 thoughts on “Change is on the Horizon!”

  1. So excited for you! There’s nothing like reinventing yourself. Keep on keeping on. I’ll keep following to see where the journey takes you!

  2. So excited to go on this adventure with you both! You will be in my thoughts and prayers!!Just to refresh your memories I am Stacey’s mother in law and Garrett’s stepmom?

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