In a Steemit Exclusive! Jaimie and I answer questions about why we chose the area we did for homesteading? You won't find this video on YouTube as we've labeled it "unlisted".
The Ozarks covers a sizable area over southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas. It's a region covered in small hills and mountains with a variety of cultures and people groups scattered within. You could almost describe it as a state unto itself just known as "The Ozarks".
Believe it or not, the rural area of the Ozarks has lost population as people raise their families and move into the cities. The draw of technology, convenience and internet service has pulled many people from the Ozarks. Left behind are aging land owners with no children to pass the land down to and so it goes up for sale. That's where the homesteaders come in!
There is a small group of people who have decided to leave the cities for various reasons. Our reasons included;
- eventual financial collapse
- no healthy food in stores
- zoning and regulations
- high property taxes
Some folks are wanting to buy up this land that is going up for sale and begin building on it and enjoy some of the freedom that comes with it. They are frogs deciding to jump from pot that is ever increasing in temperature.
But the Ozarks is divided into two states and like it or not, those state laws effect our lives and the way we want to live. Which state is better? Which provides more freedom for Homeschooling, Gun laws, Raw milk and government regulations like building codes and zoning?
ENJOY THE VIDEO!
Visit Us Online: http://AnAmericanHomestead.com
EVERYTHING IN THIS POST POWERED BY SOLAR 
Thank you so much that video was so packed with information. I live in NJ and they regulate us to death. Working towards leaving. Keep up the great videos.
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Wow, yeah, NEW JERSEY, Get out when you can. Wishing you the best!
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I was in NJ and left many years ago to VA. Best move I ever made. NJ is not a good place to be right now.
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Sharing this to get folks woke up!
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THANKS WEETREE!
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In case you haven't seen this. http://www.magnetmail.net/actions/email_mobile_web_version.cfm?recipient_id=2707378088&message_id=14467944&user_id=HSLDA&jobid=37995352
New rules this year in our favor. ☺️
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Very good format of the video, liked the interaction, I hope you do more! Also enjoyed the fact that you didn't make this available on Youtube!!! I bet you can't wait for SteamQ??
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Yeah, we are going to do more like this. Not all but some.
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I am jealous of your location to say the least. Such a beautiful area!
I follow your youtube channel and have learned so much to add to my own #homestead adventures #thl
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THanks for watching! It means a lot!
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This was one of my favorite videos by you both :)
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Thanks!
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Also, the more junk in a yard, the lower the property values making it easier to buy land, which is fine by me also. Goodbye to Illinois, and hello to where the Ozarks meet the Ouachitas, looking forward to the freedom. Great video for homesteaders considering their options.
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The Quachitas...another good place to live with very low government interference. GREAT CHOICE!
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Thank both of you very much. This gives me a new direction to look in. Keep steeming ahead!
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THANKS FOR WATCHING!
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You should start your own reality show about what life is like in the Ozarks. There are actually people who are looking for people like you to film and make shows out of. Think about it, you could make some easy money while representing the life you've chose to live. Nice post!
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We've been interviewed by lots of those networks and entertainment companies...the problem is they all want to create fake drama or take over your brand. NOPE. Sorry, not for sale.
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Calm down, you are on the verge of creating a mass influx of people to the Ozarks. Lol. The wife and I and kids spend a lot of time in the ozarks and are in the process of shopping for land now with intentions of buying mid 2018 (paying cash so need to save a little more). I'm am frequently asked why the Ozarks. I reply with; I want to be far away from the city, live a simple life full of hard honest work, live the good life cause it's the only life I have.
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Good information thanks
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Love you channel and thanks for the knowledge. More of us need to work harder to get these laws changed in our states and do what we can to get our freedoms back!
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Great video glad I found steamit !
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We haven't looked at the Ozarks but we've looked at rural areas in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. There are regulations saying that we can't put more then one house on a property.
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What is the reason behind that regulation?
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They want a certain amount of space between houses is what I was told. They couldn't give me any more than that. It's just what the regulations stated. I'm looking for homestead land for myself but my mom might retire to the property and my sister wants to go in on it with me so she can have a vacation. Basically, it'll be a family compound. But the east coast in general is way too regulated.
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the area of maryland I grew up in is very particular about how everything looks. I imagine that is part of it. They probably don't want to deal with any legal issues that might arise from multiple people living on one property
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if only more people thought this way! resteemed! ☺
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yup , Ozarks are nice , inland but not elevated . I'm here in the High Sierra Desert . Looking myself for a small piece in N. Nevada S. Washington'ish . Until then I'm building Aquaponic system to bug in so to speak . Thanks again , yo guy's rock !! upped and resteemed
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This post has been ranked within the top 50 most undervalued posts in the second half of Jul 19. We estimate that this post is undervalued by $16.59 as compared to a scenario in which every voter had an equal say.
See the full rankings and details in The Daily Tribune: Jul 19 - Part II. You can also read about some of our methodology, data analysis and technical details in our initial post.
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Great video! Very informative. My wife and I have been fans of your youtube channel for a while now. I came to the steemit community because I heard you talking about it. You are an encouragement to us. We hope to have a homestead of our own someday for our family. God Bless!
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It would be nice to live in a place where anything goes on your own property.
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We have home schooled in Arkansas for 23 years and we are so thankful for the changes in the law over the years.
You are correct about filing a Notice of Intent to home school each year. However, you mentioned not taking children out during the school year. You can do that by filing a notice of intent and then wait a 2 week waiting period before keeping them home. The local superintendent may waive the waiting period if they choose.
On the notice, I list subjects we will cover and I list a few curriculum choices we will use but I also say "and various other curriculum as needed" and I've never had a question in all the years we've done this.
Also on the notice of intent, they ask for a schedule of when you will school. We always say "180 days per year, 3-5 hours per day using a flexible schedule" and again, no problems.
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Thank you for the great info, once again.
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I looove this exclusive! Thank you for sharing this fireeee of information! @mericanhomestead :)
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I grew up in the Ozarks, in Missouri. I live in KC now but visit as often as I can. My heart will always live in the hills. Interesting info about homeschooling. I did not know that!
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funny you guys would mention the shed your neighbor got to live in. I'm part of a fb group called Shed to House where TONS of people are doing just that, in order to get debt free and begin homesteading. My husband & I are fixing up our home to sell and plan on buying one ourselves, that actually has more square footage than our current bungalow house. We've found several that are built to the same codes or better than traditional houses, have warranties on the roofs, etc as well as low-cost payment plans that require no credit to do. The options are endless IF you can find an area with little to no regulations. Around here, despite some of those sheds being built to codes, our regulations won't allow them. We are actually considering land down your way too now bc of that. Thank you for sharing your info on the area. We greatly appreciate it. Oh...btw.. HSLDA keeps an up to date record of all the state homeschool laws and and any pending changes to them, including the forms needed and links to state sites for them. You can get a yearly membership at a discount or pay by the month for as little as $11 and have a lawyer for assistance, should you ever need it. Your channel's a great blessing. Keep up the great vids! Shalom!
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As Jeff Foxworthy said, "If you can mow your lawn and find a used car lot, you might be a redneck. " LOL Reminds me of visiting family in KY. :D
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My husband and I have lived out in the "boonies" in northeast Kansas for 6 years now and we love it. I heard someone call a bunch of broken cars and junk in the yard "collectibles." That made me smile because it told me that there is much more freedom from offending neighbors and regulators.
I loved this video very much. It is nice to see others wanting to live off the land and homeschool their children. I look forward to watching more, since I have only been on Steemit for a couple of weeks now.
Thank you!
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Love this! Georgia is also a pretty easy state for homeschooling but is pretty populated and it can be hard to find unrestricted land. Shalom!
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Remember, freedom can be messy!
LOL It's true, more regulations produce more of the same, clones if you will. Society trumpets diversity but hardly ever practices it when it comes to one's own castle.
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I'd like to say ive been following your YouTube channel for a while, saw almost every video you uploaded there and it was very fun and informative to watch. Yet i had a lot of questions that you replied in this vid. I'd like to know where did you get all the information on how to be a homesteader and as an offgrid ? I also understand your sons are homeschooling, dose it effect the social skils? Are they interacting with other kids as well? Sorry if im out of line with my questions but i live in a part of the world that don't have this way of living as a good thing and you will be an odd chicken if you live like this . But i love the idea and i am very curious about it. Thank you so much for sharing. I am also joined steemit because of you . Didn't want to miss anything from you and im glad i made the right decision.
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if you go to youtube and search for homesteaders you will find a lot of people who homestead! There is no 'right' way to do it. I've seen things from an american homestead and thought that is amazing! And then other things that I don't care for and wouldn't spend my time doing, like milling lumber. Just depends on your property, what you like and what you want to do, but watching others homestead is how we came up with our plans!
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Hello Zac and Jamie,
Great info on the Ozarks. My wife and I live in Western New York down by the PA border. Regulations up to my eyeballs. I have a small conntracting business and work for the Feds and these state and local goverment guys are reel bad and I cannot stand the oversight they do to land owners. We are looking to buy a Class A motor home 40 foot and live in that on the homestead. I still want electrical. But,we can do everything else on the property we buy. Hey how is the Dozer doing? Trackloader LOL
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Excellent info, Thanks for sharing exclusively on steemit. Resteemed
I asked my wife the other day, well same day you left a reply to one of my other comments. about why we were stuck were we are. Anyway she has agreed to move again as long as it is an acreage. so now we just have to figure financing.
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I really enjoyed this video. I was even fascinated by the homeschool discussion and I don't have kids. Thx.
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Loved this video. We're in Texas and, are working on moving further out into the country. Hopefully towards East Texas. We live in a neighborhood and, even though each house is on at least an acre of property outside of town we have struggled with some of our neighbors and, their need to control how everyone else's property looks. Did y'all ever consider going just over the border of Texas and Arkansas?
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Great info! Thank you for sharing!
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This video was so informative. Thank you so much for sharing!
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Nice vid, would love to move out to your neck of the ..err mountains, but wife won't move that far! But we will be moving out towards New Hampshire, towards the white mountains within the next 2 years. I currently live in Rhode Island, land of the ignorant! So damn tired of it. I'm willing to live in a trailer for a while to make it happen too, which is part of the financial plan, Wish us luck. I'm gonna upvote and resteem this for you. great vid, Shalom
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https://dese.mo.gov/governmental-affairs/home-schooling
this is the laws according to missouri. Basically, keep a record in case they want to check in. I'm so glad to have grown up in the ozarks. Love following you guys and your family! fellow MOT here!! Shalom
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Very good info guys, I am glad that you took the initiative and are living in nature, more independently with less interference from the government.
Raw milk is so yummy I didn't drink it since I was a teenager, but I remember how much I liked it.
I hope one day I will be moving somewhere out in nature as well, out of the city.
Thank you for you inspiring post!
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