Mortgages have always scared me, but that’s not the main reason I made a decision that changed the trajectory of my life while riding on the fender of a farm tractor at the end of a sunny August day in 1981. I was 18 years old at the time, and a friend and I worked for a wonderful man who farmed several thousand acres where the northern edge of suburban Toronto abruptly changed to the century-old rural landscape. Tired and tanned, suburban development whizzed past us on the left side of the road as we rode in the open air with fields of wheat and corn and hay on the right, I decided in a moment that I would leave my city upbringing and live rurally. Or at least try to.

Fast-forward 31 years, and I’m still happily following that decision. In the process I’ve also discovered an overlooked lifestyle that some people were made for, yet too few ever find. Read my article “Another Way to Live” to learn more about my journey. Perhaps it’s one fit for you too, and my success story could provide the confidence you need to go for it.