IS IT TIME TO MOVE TO THE COUNTRY?

I can remember all the discussion about what to do about Y2K. I was already living in the country, living on a farm, so all the suggestions about getting out of the city and living in the country did not speak to me. I was getting e-mail after e-mail about food storage. We had our own garden and either canned or froze what we grew. We had cows, goats and chickens (and deer) for our meat supply, so food storage was not a hot button for me. Admittedly, we did order extra grain, rice, salt, sugar, etc.

All of that was over eleven years ago. But what about today? Is it time to move to the country? What is different today from eleven years ago? Did we have unemployment bumping 10% ( and some say the real figure is closer to 15%)? Did we have real inflation in double digit? ( Have you bought any coffee, sugar or grains lately?).  The average price of gas was $1.51 a gallon for unleaded compared to $3.65 today and is on the way up.

Our government is on  a spending binge, mainly to buy votes. The current administration has accumulated more debt in the last two and a half that all previous administrations cumulative. And the debate now is about raising the debt ceiling so Congress can spend more money and buy more votes. And may I add, who is going to pay all this back? You children and mine and their children and theirs and so on.

If the local food store shelves became bare, how will you survive?  Do you have enough land to grow your own food? Can you gut and skin a deer? Got toilet paper?

Many people will steal from their neighbor? Almost every week I read about a group of teenagers going in mass into malls or local stores, taking what they want and walking out. Is this the beginning of anarchy?

Never in my 65 years on this earth, would I have believed that our country would be in the state it is in now. America is no longer the America I grew up knowing. There is no faith in our government. We no longer have statesmen, but professional politicians. Just recently, President Obama said, "... 'professional politicians' know more than the average American," meaning we as voters are stupid.

Is it time to move to the country? Only you can decide that. As a real estate broker and auctioneer, it seems the time is ripe to sell land, outside the city and in the country.

Ron Taylor, AARE
Auctioneer/Broker
Ron Taylor and Sons Real Estate and Auctioneers
252-257-4822
www.cansellnow.com