The West

What to do for work when I move west

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One question that is on my mind when I move out west, eventually is what I will do for work. While I plan within maybe a year of moving to have my own land in the clear and live a simple off-grid homestead, I will probably still need some work for health insurance and to cover incidentals without bleeding down my savings until well into retirement.

My parents are quite dismissive of any future move, noting that I’ll probably not be able to find another job in government and politics. Not that I want another job in this field – truth be told I only work in this industry now because it’s a leading field in the greater Albany area and it pays well with good benefits. It’s allowing me to save a lot towards a better future for sure.

That said, I think my job nowadays in research, communications and middle management actually is helping me to develop skills that could be useful in a wide variety of industries where people have to be managed, papers written, demographic analysis done and communications a key. I also think my growing experience at map making – especially high quality maps for presentations and analysis of GIS data is an asset. While I don’t have any formal training in GIS, my ability to develop good maps entirely using free software and open data is an asset.

But all opportunities need not be white collar too. If I have enough money saved and cut my expenses enough I can probably live on much less income as I won’t need to be saving so much money, and I won’t have rent to pay, utility bills, cheaper gas prices and cheaper items in places with a lower cost of business. I am certainly able to do any kind of secretary work or even maybe work in social services like I did with the disabled years ago. I could even do something like work in a grocery store if that helps cover the bills and pays for health insurance. I could certainly do political communications or run campaigns but it’s not something that I want to do when I move west. Being a long haul trucker might be a good job for seeing the country. I briefly dated a girl that was doing that on the side while going to community college.

I don’t know, I have options. By no means am I tied to Albany for the rest of my life but I’ll probably stay local while I have family nearby and I’m making good money to save for tomorrow. It’s been a great few years in the stock market and I’ve been making enough money to invest and save a fair bit so when I make the leap, I can do it and make a smooth transition. It’s not going to be tomorrow but I do want to have enough time remaining in my life to enjoy some fun things, be able to own my own land and live the life I actually want to live.

Move In Day At The Cabin!

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Colorado Offgrid Adventures: "I'm so excited to spend the next 3 months in this off grid cabin located in the Colorado Rockies! No running water or electricity, just a big ole wood stove and tons of inspiration in the form of immediate access to the San Isabel National Forest just outside the front door. I'll be doing a video diary so check back for regular updates!"

Moving cattle to winter permit: Vlog #14

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Mule Ranching Vlog #14: In this episode we move the remaining cattle off the ranch an onto the winter range.

Modern-day cowboys moving cattle on horseback on the open range. Good to watch while listening to some John Denver.

Tall in the saddle we spend Christmas Day
Driving the cattle over snow covered plains
All of the good gifts given today
Ours is the sky and the wide open range

A trip into a dark and scary land? 👨‍🌾

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I’m tired of people telling me that as soon as you leave the borders of New York State that you literally fall off the edge of the earth – descending into a deep, darkish hell of religious cults, perfectly flat and boring land where you can see curvature of the earth, dark and dingy cities under clouds of black smoke from outdated factories where everybody lives short and brutish lives.

Somehow I just don’t think that’s true from the various trips I’ve taken in Central and Western Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia. Places where you tell about and you get a blank expression on people’s faces. There are likely many fascinating and delightful places in America that aren’t the tourist books, that are charming and unique. Maybe the reason it’s a blank space on the map is not because there is nothing of value there but because the map maker left it off the map intentionally or otherwise.

I should explore some of these places. I feel like my world is too small and the Midwest and Rockies offers a lot too see. I’m tired of everything being just one big suburban subdivision, always hearing just one right view on everything, with everything else being dangerous and wrong. Upstate New York really is very crowded, and while you can get some rural deep country it’s often still tied back into the urban zeitgeist of New York City Metro Area that represents 70% of the state.

Maybe it’s time to board a plane, head for one of the big cities along the Missouri River, rent a car and drive west to the Rockies, heading through Nebraska and South Dakota, taking two lane highways except to bypass the cities. Drive as much as possible each day with a careful eye on the landscape. Visit some parks and national forests, but not make that the sole part of the trip but as an aside. Maybe occasionally stay in motels but also hammock camp or get some shut eye along the road. Maybe find a city of 20,000 to 40,000 that I like the countryside around that is affordable and has low unemployment that I like the vibe. Not for next week but to keep in the back pocket for my future.

Council Bluffs Lake – Mark Twain National Forest

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Over the next few days, we are going to go little farther away from home on the blog and explore some other national forests in other parts of country on the blog. Today, the Ozarks and the Mark Twain National Forest.