Urban knitter?

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So, I seem to be having a bit of an identity crisis this past year. See, when I’ve thought of my life, I’ve always imagined myself in an urban life. In a city somewhere, dressed in fantastic outfits with great shoes, living a glamourous life. Sounds great, right?

Except, as it turns out, I suck at it.

No, seriously. I’m far too lazy for fanatastic outfits, great shoes make my feet hurt, and I’d muc rather watch a DVD and knit or spin than go out and get wasted at some club with a bunch of strangers. And the longer I live in the city, the more I wonder why exactly my commute is so long and crowded, and why I can’t get any peace and quiet because I can hear all of my neighbors (in my building AND the building next door). I wonder why I don’t have grass or room to grow anything.

I find myself thinking that I kinda want to go live on a ranch in Wyoming or something. The first time I went to Wyoming, I hated it. Mostly because I was 15 and my mother didn’t warn me that there would be SNOW in JULY. And then she made me go STAND IN THE SNOW IN MY SHORTS AND TEE SHIRT! Because she is a cruel woman obsessed with photography.

Anyway. The second time I was in Wyoming was when I drove out to California and…I kinda liked it. A lot. I liked the scenery, which was gorgeously unfamiliar and that perfect place between mountains (boring, I grew up in the mountains) and endless flat praries (which kinda freak me the hell out). And it was windy and the air was crisp and it was just really, really awesome. And this year, I find myself thinking, wouldn’t it be nice? To live in Wyoming on a ranch and raise sheep and angora bunnies? And maybe some chickens and bees and goats, and hell, why not throw a few pigs and cows in there while we’re at it.

There are problems with this, of course. Namely that I am an urban/suburban girl and I would have no idea  how to raise any animals other than cats and dogs. Well, okay, I think I could figure out bunnies fairly easily, but actual livestock? Not something I have experience with. Not to mention I am extremely single, and ranching strikes me as one of those enterprises that requires multiple people. So I’d have to find other people to drag along in my insanity. But you know what? I can still dream. Someday, I’ll have my fiber ranch.

Tarot Card of the Day: The World

  • Rowan

    Sounds like you may be a good candidate for the future CAYA commune….(evil plotting laugh). No seriously, several of us have been talking about a kind of communal ranch/homestead, but probably more likely in the North Bay than Wyoming.

  • http://sorcha-sidhe.blogspot.com xo.sorcha.ox

    About 6 months ago I made the move from the city to the middle of somewhere. I decided to do it because after ten years living in the city I was so tired of the consistent business that city-life entails. Between commuting from home to work and then back again there just wasnt any time to do anything else. If I wanted to go anywhere I had to factor in traffic and the liklihood of delays. I had to get up at a ridiculous hour in the morning to be at work on time (three hours later). These days life is far more simple: I get a “sleep-in” every day. It only takes me 5 minutes to get to work, to the supermarket, to *anything*. I actually have time to keep on top of all the non-work responsibilities, as well as HAVE HOBBIES and the time to do them! I have time to visit people on weekends, time for my doggie, and time to do so many more things. It’s been great so far! I think you should do it: MAKE THE MOVE! If you dont like it you can always move back to the city. :)
    Best of Luck!
    ~S.

  • http://betterthanyarn.blogspot.com Jasmin

    Ahem, one word:

    Suburbs.

    Why? Rural enough to not be too “in the middle of things”, but within a few minutes drive of conveniences.

  • seanalyn

    Haha the story about your mom is amazing.

    Jasmin’s got it right though…theres plenty of places within the bay that you can live that are a little more rural. Maybe Marin?

  • Thora

    i am a country girl living in the city out of necessity. i am simply biding my time until i can move out to the middle of nowhere again. k and i hope to become telecommuters and move to southern utah or northern arizona. i love love love it there.
    the problem (well, the biggest one anyway) with living in the middle of nowhere is that you have to be able to support yourself either by working from home or taking some sort of local job (gas station, restaurant, whatever). otherwise, it’s very hard. the self-supporting farmer is really a myth. there’s a lot you can do to self-support, but homegrown yams do not a medical insurance bill pay. sigh.
    so, i would say, try it and see what you think. take a summer job in wyoming, or do an internship in alaska, and see how you really feel about being that alone, and how other people make it work.