I actually already have a lot of what y'all want here. I own that prized small homestead on a few acres in the country with a smattering of species. From cattle to an equine, to pigs and a pack of dogs, I've raised a little of it all. Financial independence is easy when you're a frugal minimalist with zero debt, and I busted my ass at 2-3 jobs throughout my 20s to put myself here. Now I only have to work a paid job <=6 months, because there's nothing to pay off. I live far, far below my means. I find new ways to wean myself off the system, paring down and getting things leaner each year, learning how to make do with less. This so that the rest of my labor goes not into working for the man, but for myself, back into the property as time spent building and fixing, making improvements, doing chores, raising new animals etc. I am an embodiment of what the dream looks like. Handy, know how to do just about anything myself, land-rich, cash-poor, semi-retired, and I made it here just shy of 40. I'm zooromantic-exclusive but bisexual, so for a few years I even had a human female fwb or three who, while not zoos themselves, knew that I am and were tolerant of it. Likewise I'm out and proud to all and sundry, no closet case here. Friends, family, past human lovers, a few employers, and one set of neighbors. Yep, all of them know I'm a zoo and its been fine. So here I stand. The self-made man who's feet are planted atop land I own outright, surrounded by animals, looking at his tree lines and fence lines, and things he's built or still building. I've reinvented myself, made it here by myself, had every kind of sex you could want along the way, and I owe nothing to anyone. As Faulkner had written, "I am beholden to no man." I must be living the dream.
... So what's missing? Well, same thing that always has been elusive for all of us: the kindred. The one who goes along with on the journey. Or failing that, just a second pair of competent hands. A live-in helper! Damn it, my kingdom for a second "me"! What I find myself needing now that I have all this, is someone of like mind and equal capability to share it. Someone who wants the same things, is going in the same direction, and knows how to do the work it takes to have them. I am the lonest of the lone wolves in the lone star state. I've built all of this as an army of one -- and my oversight will be that it is unsustainable 100% alone. If I want to see this place grow and thrive, reach its potential, I need another "me" out here. So I caution anyone on threads like this who're thinking of jumping ship into the little country homestead scenario: don't make my mistake and go it alone. You need a second human to shoulder the load (or you need to get in touch with me, har har). Being exclusive is all fine and good, but understand what it means in long-term implications. You still need human help if you want more than a dog or two. The animals cannot help, they are dependents for life. They make the work; they cannot help with it. It comes from you, and you damn well oughta like doing that work, because there is no end.
But there's a flipside on that coin, too: its not drudgery if you like it already. That same work becomes the reward in itself, much the same way as virtue is its own reward. Homesteading can be a beautiful life -- for the right person. You've got to actually enjoy the time spent being outdoors, not hiding inside from it. Being out there gittin' dirty, working with your hands, fixing, building, and raising animals. It feels good when you repair something that broke, or finish a build. This stuff can't be viewed as onerous toil; it must instead be your hobby, your leisure activity, your source of pride and joy. Think more of the guys in the Toxic Masculinity thread, and you'll be in the ballpark. To have that country life so many people are dreaming of, you need to be the renaissance man, the jack of all trades, the one who loves fixing, building, and time spent doing the chores at home. Your hobbies become the ranch's chores. Your 'leisure' activity lines up with the projects that need doing. Your pride and satisfaction is found in what you accomplish, fix, or raise. Because sitting inside playing video games or grazing on social media doesn't get shit done. Ditto, driving back to the city for days and nights on the town with friends, also doesn't get shit done. Folks never realize how much work and personal sacrifice it takes to get here. You give yourself over to that land and those animals.
So be the humble, simple man. Be the self-reliant country redneck. Git comfy livin' third-world in a first-world country, everything old and shitty and secondhand, buying used this and salvaged that, learning how to make it work again or learning how to make do another way, because your money goes into the property and its animals, not social life and having nice new shiny things. Learn the satisfaction that can only come from being able to proudly say "I fixed this, and I built that, and I raised her and him from cradle to grave." It takes being a homebody, a tradesman, and a workaholic in equal measure. And that's paradise -- for some of us. I'll close with the opening: its not drudgery if you like it already.