Hello Everyone,
This is gonna be a somewhat long post but I really would like some advice. So if you have the time, all responses would be much appreciated.
My name is Kent. I'm a single 28 year old male from Tobaccoville NC with no financial debt or criminal record to my name. I went to the Marine Corp at the ripe age of 18. I got out after just four years. After getting out I didn't understand my peers and was confused. So I began asking questions about the world and looked for the answers on the internet. To put it simply, I have lost faith in my fellow man, our country and humanity's future.
I fell in love with firearms during my time in the military and decided to pursue a carrier in machining, for the purposes of gunsmithing. I'm currently working as a machinist at an aerospace machine shop. I don't really care for machining. I find the work to be very boring and monotonous.
I have given up on the standard life of marriage, debt and children. I figure I live only one time, I should probably live a life of adventure and make it worthwhile.
If I could create a hypothetical life for myself it would be one where I have a small self-sustaining farm, meet and marry a good woman and raise a few children together. That would be ideal. While I would prefer to not get into it, I have found this dream to be unrealistic. I do not make enough money for this to be done correctly. I have thought this through many times and added up the numbers. Not only is the math discomforting, but the whole woman variable is even a bigger issue. So I have moved on and have come up with new goals.
I am currently entertaining the thought of being a ranch-hand somewhere out west. This isn't a thought that popped into my head today. It is a reoccurring thought for a few years now. The reasons why this sounds like a good idea to me are very simple. I want to live in a very remote area, ideally with climate extremes and very few people. I want to work outside. I find that hard physical labor is enjoyable, it makes me tired at the end of the day and I feel that I have actually done something. I'm missing that in my current line of work. I would imagine that working with animals would be good for my mental state. I also imagine that the overwhelming majority of ranchers are people who's world view aligns with mine in many ways.
I don't foresee beef going away anytime soon, so I would imagine that ranches will not be either. So the job security seems to be there. I have never worked on a ranch and know very little about raising cattle.
I have an uncle who raises black Angus to be sold as breeding cattle. He doesn't have anywhere near enough work for it to be a full time job, I think somewhere between 60-80 head and he is retired with nothing but time on his hands. If I decide to pursue this whole thing then my plan is this:
-Keep working and keep saving money.
-Explain to my uncle what I want to do and get him to show me the ropes of making hay, calving, etc on the weekends. (as much as he can show me)
-Then either attempt to find a rancher online who will give me a shot, or just move out west and attempt to find work in person.
I would imagine that there are many young men like myself who have such a dream. I imagine that many of them move out west and end up wasting a ranch owners time as they quickly find out its not for them. I'm okay with working for free for a few months in the beginning to make it more enticing for a rancher to give me a shot. I feel confident that I have a work ethic that most ranchers would see as more than satisfactory. I am an honest and trustworthy person. While I am not a religious man, in no way would there be any problems where someone finds me to be a moral unhinged person.
So, what I'm asking from you guys:
-Am I being a dreamy idiot?
-Does my basic plan seem unreasonable?
-How would you go about getting on at a ranch if you were me?
-Is living and working on a ranch out west as peaceful as I imagine?
I have no problems answering any questions. So if you need more information in order to help me out then ask away…
Thank you for your time...
Kent
P.S. after proof-reading this I felt my post could be misconstrued as implying that I and suffering from PTSD and some sort of war hero angle. I never got to shoot a round in-country. In no way whatsoever am I a war hero or anything of the sort. Mentioning the military is crucial in helping you understand how I got to this point, but it has nothing to do with me seeing war or anything like that. Its complicated I suppose...
This is gonna be a somewhat long post but I really would like some advice. So if you have the time, all responses would be much appreciated.
My name is Kent. I'm a single 28 year old male from Tobaccoville NC with no financial debt or criminal record to my name. I went to the Marine Corp at the ripe age of 18. I got out after just four years. After getting out I didn't understand my peers and was confused. So I began asking questions about the world and looked for the answers on the internet. To put it simply, I have lost faith in my fellow man, our country and humanity's future.
I fell in love with firearms during my time in the military and decided to pursue a carrier in machining, for the purposes of gunsmithing. I'm currently working as a machinist at an aerospace machine shop. I don't really care for machining. I find the work to be very boring and monotonous.
I have given up on the standard life of marriage, debt and children. I figure I live only one time, I should probably live a life of adventure and make it worthwhile.
If I could create a hypothetical life for myself it would be one where I have a small self-sustaining farm, meet and marry a good woman and raise a few children together. That would be ideal. While I would prefer to not get into it, I have found this dream to be unrealistic. I do not make enough money for this to be done correctly. I have thought this through many times and added up the numbers. Not only is the math discomforting, but the whole woman variable is even a bigger issue. So I have moved on and have come up with new goals.
I am currently entertaining the thought of being a ranch-hand somewhere out west. This isn't a thought that popped into my head today. It is a reoccurring thought for a few years now. The reasons why this sounds like a good idea to me are very simple. I want to live in a very remote area, ideally with climate extremes and very few people. I want to work outside. I find that hard physical labor is enjoyable, it makes me tired at the end of the day and I feel that I have actually done something. I'm missing that in my current line of work. I would imagine that working with animals would be good for my mental state. I also imagine that the overwhelming majority of ranchers are people who's world view aligns with mine in many ways.
I don't foresee beef going away anytime soon, so I would imagine that ranches will not be either. So the job security seems to be there. I have never worked on a ranch and know very little about raising cattle.
I have an uncle who raises black Angus to be sold as breeding cattle. He doesn't have anywhere near enough work for it to be a full time job, I think somewhere between 60-80 head and he is retired with nothing but time on his hands. If I decide to pursue this whole thing then my plan is this:
-Keep working and keep saving money.
-Explain to my uncle what I want to do and get him to show me the ropes of making hay, calving, etc on the weekends. (as much as he can show me)
-Then either attempt to find a rancher online who will give me a shot, or just move out west and attempt to find work in person.
I would imagine that there are many young men like myself who have such a dream. I imagine that many of them move out west and end up wasting a ranch owners time as they quickly find out its not for them. I'm okay with working for free for a few months in the beginning to make it more enticing for a rancher to give me a shot. I feel confident that I have a work ethic that most ranchers would see as more than satisfactory. I am an honest and trustworthy person. While I am not a religious man, in no way would there be any problems where someone finds me to be a moral unhinged person.
So, what I'm asking from you guys:
-Am I being a dreamy idiot?
-Does my basic plan seem unreasonable?
-How would you go about getting on at a ranch if you were me?
-Is living and working on a ranch out west as peaceful as I imagine?
I have no problems answering any questions. So if you need more information in order to help me out then ask away…
Thank you for your time...
Kent
P.S. after proof-reading this I felt my post could be misconstrued as implying that I and suffering from PTSD and some sort of war hero angle. I never got to shoot a round in-country. In no way whatsoever am I a war hero or anything of the sort. Mentioning the military is crucial in helping you understand how I got to this point, but it has nothing to do with me seeing war or anything like that. Its complicated I suppose...