Life Hypothetical: A New Homestead Act - Page 4

**Rain Man** · 02:23 PM

Assume that the U.S. government starts a new Homestead Act in a foreign territory that is experiencing a void of power. The government formally makes the place a territory a la Puerto Rico or Guam, so there'll likely be a long-term American presence there.

With a goal of cementing American power in the region, the government offers homesteads to Americans such as yourself. The following conditions exist:

1. You will get an area large enough to support yourself via farming, with some income crops to let you acquire basic things you can't make yourself. Let's call it 640 acres.

2. You will get basic farming equipment to accomplish the above. It's not fully automated, but you're not out there with an oxen team. It's hard work, but not hardscrabble. You will receive some initial farming training if you need it, and a homestead extension officer will visit once a month to advise you as needed.

3. The government will provide a shipping container home for your use, along with four outbuildings along the same lines for equipment, storage, chickens, etc. You'll have to assemble everything.

4. You will get enough livestock to be self-sufficient per the above, and a seed stock and other stuff that you need to get started.

5. There are some native folks who are not happy at all about you being given their land. You don't really like their culture, and they don't like yours. They've been herded onto a territory a day's drive from your farm, but are mobile. They aren't violent, but they don't mind a fight at all and aren't above the occasional raid on one or two farms per year. However, the army will be running patrols that will include a welfare check on your property once per week.

6. There are enough Americans doing this that your farm will be surrounded by other farms of similar size. There will be 1,000 or so farms in your area.

7. There will be a town with a general store approximately one day's drive from your farm. It will have one cafe and a small hotel, and a small health clinic. The nearest big city with a hospital, college, movie theater, Long John Silver's, etc., is a four-day drive.

8. This area is isolated and a long way from the U.S. It'll cost you at least $10,000 to make a trip to the U.S., so you're not going to go back regularly at all.

9. You're on your own for schooling and child-raising and anything social.

10. You'll have solar power, access to a good well, and free satellite wifi.

11. You will own the land as long as you reside on the land. You can't get the land and then move back to the U.S. and lease it to the angry locals or some such thing. No loopholes.

Do you homestead, or do you keep your life the way it is now?

MTG#10 · 08-21-2013, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It's probably for the best.

I'd hate for the areas only dentist to not have any teeth left in his head...

This. No way in hell a dentist would ever **** me up unless I was sitting in his chair.

**Easy 6** · 08-21-2013, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seclark

can we grow weed, man? /bump

Speaking of Bump, haven't seen him around lately, maybe he's been popped for possession...

Chief Roundup · 08-21-2013, 04:05 PM

I believe I would stay.
Too far from medical facilities. No real formal education. Shipping container is not big enough to have a family with any children. No real protection. Too expensive to return home to visit. With Solar power there will be limited if any power after sundown.

**Rain Man** · 08-21-2013, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

I believe I would stay.
Too far from medical facilities. No real formal education. Shipping container is not big enough to have a family with any children. No real protection. Too expensive to return home to visit. With Solar power there will be limited if any power after sundown.

I was quite torn about it. As I get older, the thought of a nice, quiet existence without a lot of drama sounds quite appealing. However, in this scenario the biggest deal killer would be health care. I wouldn't want to be a day from a doctor and four days from a hospital, because those things could potentially shorten my life. I reluctantly voted that I would stay.

**DaneMcCloud** · 08-21-2013, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

There would be a small one-room schoolhouse in the town that's one day away, but most people home school. Maybe you could rotate classes with your neighbors and their kids, too.

I'm getting tired just thinking about homesteading and home schooling.

**DaneMcCloud** · 08-21-2013, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I was quite torn about it. As I get older, the thought of a nice, quiet existence without a lot of drama sounds quite appealing. However, in this scenario the biggest deal killer would be health care. I wouldn't want to be a day from a doctor and four days from a hospital, because those things could potentially shorten my life. I reluctantly voted that I would stay.

It'll just take a two bedroom house on the beach in Malibu or Orange County and call it a day.

MTG#10 · 08-21-2013, 04:12 PM

Would Dane be allowed to build a runway for his private jet or a helipad for his chopper? If so he could fly you to the hospital in an emergency.

Chief Roundup · 08-21-2013, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I was quite torn about it. As I get older, the thought of a nice, quiet existence without a lot of drama sounds quite appealing. However, in this scenario the biggest deal killer would be health care. I wouldn't want to be a day from a doctor and four days from a hospital, because those things could potentially shorten my life. I reluctantly voted that I would stay.

Yeah man the medical was the biggest thing. I am in my mid 40's. These are the years that I have always been warned about. Those years when things start failing to work correctly out of nowhere.
There are places still now today in the foothills of the ozarks where it can take the better part of a day to get to a small town in the car/truck. If you need to get away.

**Rain Man** · 08-21-2013, 05:05 PM

Fewer people are answering yes than I expected. This is a bit of a libertarian group all in all, so I figured more people would jump for the chance to get 640 acres and reduced societal and governmental interaction.

For those of you who voted no, what's the dealkiller? I've heard a couple of mentions of health care and one mention of education. What are the reasons among other stayers?

**alnorth** · 08-21-2013, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

For those of you who voted no, what's the dealkiller?

The work. I work in an air-conditioned office with a decent job, and I live a few hours away from Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead. I should be on track for an OK-to-decent retirement, too. I don't need this homestead.

TEX · 08-21-2013, 05:24 PM

Bunch of lazy ass ****s on this board just like the country
..

Pablo · 08-21-2013, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEX

Bunch of lazy ass ****s on this board just like the country
..

No idea why people wouldn't want to abandon their first world lifestyle for a third world lifestyle.

But, but, but LAND! **** all that.

TEX · 08-21-2013, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alnorth

The work. I work in an air-conditioned office with a decent job, and I live a few hours away from Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead. I should be on track for an OK-to-decent retirement, too. I don't need this homestead.

What a pussy!

Brock · 08-21-2013, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEX

Bunch of lazy ass ****s on this board just like the country
..

I suppose you built everything you own yourself, right tough guy?

Psyko Tek · 08-21-2013, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

The satellite wife supports online gaming, but freezes up if you play more than two hours straight and requires a reboot.

tell me more about the satellite Wife?

does she just hang around and watch you?
is she receptive?

is this just a hologram thing beamed in?

is she pay-per-view?

can I get any other channels
like satellite mistress, or nasty skank 3 way type stuff?

How's the tech support ' cause I have had trouble with wives before...
I need all the help I can get

View Poll Results: Do you homestead or stay?
Homestead. That sounds like a pretty good life.	15	30.61%
Stay. I don't need the 640 acres and the peace and quiet that bad.	31	63.27%
I can't answer until I learn more about our local football franchise.	3	6.12%
Voters: 49. You may not vote on this poll

08-21-2013, 02:14 PM
Rain Man Seize life. Be an ermine. Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $-672449 VARSITY	Hypothetical: A New Homestead Act Assume that the U.S. government starts a new Homestead Act in a foreign territory that is experiencing a void of power. The government formally makes the place a territory a la Puerto Rico or Guam, so there'll likely be a long-term American presence there. With a goal of cementing American power in the region, the government offers homesteads to Americans such as yourself. The following conditions exist: 1. You will get an area large enough to support yourself via farming, with some income crops to let you acquire basic things you can't make yourself. Let's call it 640 acres. 2. You will get basic farming equipment to accomplish the above. It's not fully automated, but you're not out there with an oxen team. It's hard work, but not hardscrabble. You will receive some initial farming training if you need it, and a homestead extension officer will visit once a month to advise you as needed. 3. The government will provide a shipping container home for your use, along with four outbuildings along the same lines for equipment, storage, chickens, etc. You'll have to assemble everything. 4. You will get enough livestock to be self-sufficient per the above, and a seed stock and other stuff that you need to get started. 5. There are some native folks who are not happy at all about you being given their land. You don't really like their culture, and they don't like yours. They've been herded onto a territory a day's drive from your farm, but are mobile. They aren't violent, but they don't mind a fight at all and aren't above the occasional raid on one or two farms per year. However, the army will be running patrols that will include a welfare check on your property once per week. 6. There are enough Americans doing this that your farm will be surrounded by other farms of similar size. There will be 1,000 or so farms in your area. 7. There will be a town with a general store approximately one day's drive from your farm. It will have one cafe and a small hotel, and a small health clinic. The nearest big city with a hospital, college, movie theater, Long John Silver's, etc., is a four-day drive. 8. This area is isolated and a long way from the U.S. It'll cost you at least $10,000 to make a trip to the U.S., so you're not going to go back regularly at all. 9. You're on your own for schooling and child-raising and anything social. 10. You'll have solar power, access to a good well, and free satellite wifi. 11. You will own the land as long as you reside on the land. You can't get the land and then move back to the U.S. and lease it to the angry locals or some such thing. No loopholes. Do you homestead, or do you keep your life the way it is now? Last edited by Rain Man; 08-21-2013 at 02:23 PM..
Posts: 145,500

08-21-2013, 04:05 PM	#48
Chief Roundup Admitted Planet Junky Join Date: Oct 2000 Casino cash: $-1578373	I believe I would stay. Too far from medical facilities. No real formal education. Shipping container is not big enough to have a family with any children. No real protection. Too expensive to return home to visit. With Solar power there will be limited if any power after sundown. __________________ Fanaticism is nowhere. There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
Posts: 19,565

08-21-2013, 04:12 PM	#52
MTG#10 Mammoth penis Join Date: May 2006 Location: Springfield Casino cash: $7014386	Would Dane be allowed to build a runway for his private jet or a helipad for his chopper? If so he could fly you to the hospital in an emergency.
Posts: 11,437

08-21-2013, 05:05 PM	#54
Rain Man Seize life. Be an ermine. Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $-672449 VARSITY	Fewer people are answering yes than I expected. This is a bit of a libertarian group all in all, so I figured more people would jump for the chance to get 640 acres and reduced societal and governmental interaction. For those of you who voted no, what's the dealkiller? I've heard a couple of mentions of health care and one mention of education. What are the reasons among other stayers? __________________ Active fan of the greatest team in NFL history.
Posts: 145,500

08-21-2013, 05:24 PM	#56
TEX Out Gunning CP's Fandom Police Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Galveston, TX Casino cash: $-1436873	Bunch of lazy ass ****s on this board just like the country .. __________________ "Do we have time to run WASP?"
Posts: 37,103