Homesteading is a historical term that has once again become popular but has a number of nuances and meanings.
The Homestead Act was signed into law in eighteen sixty two by President Abra- ham Lincoln which gave United States citizens the right to settle on and claim one hundred and sixty acres of land owned by the government. In order to keep that claim, the individual has to be able to live off the land, grow crops and build a home. After five years of practicing homesteading the individual will be able to make an application for a deed or a title.
Nowadays the word has been modified to refer to individuals that own a bit of land and have made the option to go back to a more simplistic style of living, typically by planting crops…show more content… For the avid homesteader living off the grid it may not even be realized that a pow- er outage has taken place.
Apart from that by growing their own food, the homesteader is not that put out by rising food costs. As a homesteader you truly learn to make the differentiation be- tween necessity and luxury.
Independence
Homesteaders typically seek to break away from the mundane nine to five lifestyle.
Rearing livestock and growing one’s own food soon becomes the full time job and this takes the homesteader out of the rush hour commute and the daily office prac- tices. A homesteader basically gives up the office job and embraces the outdoors.
There are crops to plant, animals to feed and cows or goat to milk and eggs to col- lect. In spite of this a lot of the homesteaders might have to do a job from home to bring in the money necessary to purchase the items that cannot simply be grown by the homesteader.
Healthier Lifestyle
A number of homesteader state that it is the need for a greener lifestyle that prompted them to make the transition in the first place. They are not only reliant on other means of energy than the standard one available but are also fully aware