I’d like you to meet a fictional young woman named Pepper. She’s 18 years old and reads Mother Earth News cover to cover. She wants to make the world a better, healthier place. She dreams of having a garden, five ducks, and a cozy cabin in the country, and to accomplish it all herself. She just has a few problems to overcome.
Homesteads cost money, and the price of land just keeps increasing. Pepper will have to work a long time to be able to afford her own place. She sees a couple of routes to earn money for her future property, but they aren’t great. She could get a job she’s passionate about, but positions in her areas of interest probably wouldn’t pay much. Or, she could get a higher-paying job, but she may be miserable the whole time. Both of those options might include a hefty college price tag. Regardless of the route, it’ll probably take 10 to 20 years before
