Dayum I've lost track of the conversation about rural living so I
thought I'd stick my experiences in a new post.

We only shop monthly which we find not only reduces fuel needed but also
as neither of us like shopping ...also reduces stress. It's a 100 klm
round trip to the nearest cheapo (Woollies) supermarket and we use that
shopping trip for anything we need to buy at nearby towns/stores too ...
car spares etc.

The car is on LPG (40 - 50c/litre) although gas has risen in price
pretty steeply the last few years is still a great saving for us, The
ute is Diesel and at $1.10 - $1.15/ litre is only used for fetching
animal feed again monthly, a round trip of about 20 klms ... I find that
a full tank lasts me around 300 klms (fuel gauge busted so I fill up
again at 300 klms) so unless I use the ute for dragging stuff around the
block I can last quite a while between fills.

Our land rates are reasonably cheap compared to town rates and we have a
great local veggie growing community nearby which makes most of the in
season stuff very reasonable, but of course the best stuff is from our
own garden (still a bit sparse yet).

Water storage and pumping is pretty much like others have said, our
mains pressure is pretty pathetic so we have to store water in a tank
and pump every drop to the house (oh for a decent hill)We use water to
flush the toilet but because of the Envirocycle septic system it gets
reused for the salt bush and ground cover vegetation, so I don't feel
too guilty there because every drop we use gets reused on our block and
the poor drainage/ high water table in our soil made a normal septic
soak impossible, and no I didnt want a composting toilet I wanted the
water to re use, I couldnt quite see the logic in saving water in the
toilet to have to water shrubs with mains (clean) water when the "magic"
water works so well.

Electricity is our biggest running cost, because we shop monthly we
freeze quite a bit of stuff, (our own as well as bought) and I have a
small freezer for fishing bait/burley/dog meat ... the pumps, water and
septic are running on and off all day of course, then we have a mains
powered elec fence unit running continuously and I have my "studio"
which (when I'm feeling creative) uses a fair bit of juice depending on
what I'm doing. ...

Phone calls are all STD so even though most calls are made on "plans"
cheap evening rates etc they amount to a fair bit more than any town
bill would be.

Vehicle rego's are another big cost, with a car, the ute, a trailer, a
horse float, boat (essential item) and a "highrise" for boat towing, all
needing rego, tho these are slightly cheaper for country.

Fuel costs I've touched on but what I save using LPG I probably spend on
boat fuel and petrol for the highrise but then again that provides us
with fresh fish and crabs (my excuse).

A couple of examples of our shopping habits is to buy a Kilo of top side
roast at $9.50/kilo and I slice it to provide us with enough meat for
about 5 meals, sometimes there are scrappy bits left over which I cut
into strips for stir fry's, A kilo of chicken breast costs around $10
and if I slice it lengthways (half as thin) can also provide around 5 -
6 meals with enough to dice for sweet and sour again or strips for
curries etc. ...the same goes for a pork shoulder which is cheap, I save
enough scrappy bits to mince for pork pies, curries etc.

We eat fresh fish and crabs probably about twice a week on average and
the rest is frozen to eat as is or to make fishcakes, pickled crab or
some other wonderful concoction depending on what pops into me head at
any given time.

I smoke, we drink at Christmas or special occasions and sometimes buy a
box of Chateau de cardboard and/or a carton of beers as the fancy takes us.

A fixed income yes .... but not a fixed way of thinking, if we dont have
something it's usually because we dont want it or I havent got me bum
into gear and made it/grown it/caught it yet.

I'm from the country and I'm bloody well staying there. :-)

Pete

sunrise farm wrote:

I don't know if this would be of interest but I saw this device this morning
on Today called an 'Engin' (could be 'Engen' - it was early, i was 1/2
asleep) that uses the internet to make phone calls. Apparently theres no
quality issue - lines are as clear as Telstra/Optus lines but no flag falls,
tarrifs etc... local calls are 10c, STD are 10c and OS calls are a couple of
cents a minute. The box costs about $149 which is quite an outlay I guess,
but I think if you make lots of long distance calls (which we do at our
place) that it would probably pay for itself in fairly short order...
I don't work for them or anything (or I'd know how to spell it, lol :0p ), I
thought it was quite interesting and anything that cuts down the cost of STD
phone calls when you've just left the city and moved interstate is a good
thing...

Hi Andi
Certainly worth keeping in mind, I've seen some of these internet phones
before and most of em rely on both parties having the device/service
....which is very limiting.
Telstra do a Wide area network which means that you can call exchanges
upto 50 kms away for 25c untimed, this is helpful to us but it still
doesnt get us into the city for any necessary calls that need to be made
during business hours, luckily most government departments or large orgs
have a 1300 number which is local call price or an 1800 freecall number.



I can't wait until we're eating fresh fish and prawns a couple of times a
week *sigh* might have to relent and let the hubby get a boat after all...

Every Australian boy needs a boat ...ok and a shed :-)

Pete

"pete" wrote in message
...
sunrise farm wrote:

snip my free advert for engen

Hi Andi
Certainly worth keeping in mind, I've seen some of these internet phones
before and most of em rely on both parties having the device/service
...which is very limiting.
Telstra do a Wide area network which means that you can call exchanges
upto 50 kms away for 25c untimed, this is helpful to us but it still
doesnt get us into the city for any necessary calls that need to be made
during business hours, luckily most government departments or large orgs
have a 1300 number which is local call price or an 1800 freecall number.



I can't wait until we're eating fresh fish and prawns a couple of times
a
week *sigh* might have to relent and let the hubby get a boat after
all...

Every Australian boy needs a boat ...ok and a shed :-)

Pete

Hi again :0)
I really do not work for them, but after I posted I found their web site,
wasn't quite as wonderful as I might have conveyed, but still not a *bad*
idea :0)
http://www.engin.com.au/public/engin.asp

He's got a shed... er... well, we're living in the shed, but one day he'll
have a really big shed to play in, and he thinks you should run for PM and
use 'every Australian boy needs a boat' as your slogan, lol. He is a pommy
ring in tho, that's my anti-boat argument atm...

Anyway, I don't want to hijack the thread with telephone stuff, I was
wondering though, to anyone who has moved from the city to the country, what
were the biggest shocks/surprises you got?

sunrise farm wrote:

He's got a shed... er... well, we're living in the shed, but one day he'll
have a really big shed to play in, and he thinks you should run for PM and
use 'every Australian boy needs a boat' as your slogan, lol. He is a pommy
ring in tho, that's my anti-boat argument atm...

Ex Derbyshire lad here myself ...thats all the more reason for him to
have a boat .... It's like having a barbie (yes the grill not the
doll)he NEEDS a boat to become more Australian.

Anyway, I don't want to hijack the thread with telephone stuff, I was
wondering though, to anyone who has moved from the city to the country, what
were the biggest shocks/surprises you got?
Definitely the weather, even before our latest big storm, in the burbs
the weather is nothing more than a conversation topic or annoyance when
ya want a barbie, out here its probably the most important topic it
basically rules most peoples lives in the country and on the water.

"sunrise farm" wrote in

I was
wondering though, to anyone who has moved from the city to the country,
what
were the biggest shocks/surprises you got?

I think city people have REAL problems with coping with snakes.

I had some people here just before Xmas and my daughter saw a Tiger Snake
heading across the lawn through one set of French Doors. She just yelled
out: "Hey Mum, there's a tiger snake out here!" and then proceeded to go out
and do whatever she was doing. (And she is not at all good with snakes!)

Guests rushed to look but woudn't go outside. Later in the day, one of the
guests wanted to see something in my veggie garden (around the corner and
about 50 ft from where the previous sighting was) and so we were proceeding
down a gravel pathway which runs beside a long bed under the sun room
windows - me in front, guest behind me. This bed just has a few shrubs in
it and is topped with tan bark and is pretty sparse and dead boring.

As I walked, I noted out of the corner of my eye that something was 'wrong'
with the bed so I actually turned to look and noticed a Tiger Snake moving
along under the windows, up against the concrete base. I just remarked that
there was a Tiger snake and my guest was back inside so fast that she nearly
knocked me flat on my face with the resulting tail wind.

We figure that we've had a tiger snake living somewhere aroudn the back door
for about 5 years now and a Brown snkae soemwhere near the front door for
about the same time. Either that or we keep seeing the same sized snakes
each year.

The other thing I think city people are shocked/surprised by is how smart
country people actually are. For some reason they think that people who
drive ropey old bangers, or talk with an appalling accent, or wear shocking
old clothes are thick/poor/or ill informed/ill educated.

"sunrise farm" wrote in message news:ns4Hd.123062

we're living in the shed,

So tell us a bit about it please. I'm sorry, but although I recognise your
name I can't dredge anything else up about you other than knowing that I
have seen your posts here some time ago.

he thinks you should run for PM

Don't let him do that. He'll turn into a lying mongrel who thinks that
people will believe any old lie they are told - oops I forgot, they do
believe any old lie they are told!

Fran wrote:
He'll turn into a lying mongrel who thinks that
people will believe any old lie they are told - oops I forgot, they do
believe any old lie they are told!

Nobody believes anything I say, which is very much to their credit :-)

Fran wrote:
For some reason they think that people who
drive ropey old bangers, or talk with an appalling accent, or wear shocking
old clothes are thick/poor/or ill informed/ill educated.
This coming from someone with the most beautiful and proper speaking
voices I've heard, .... spare a thought for how a rough arsed, gravel
voiced old codger like meself gets treated then missus :-)

pete wrote:

.... proper speaking
voices
?? Thank you spell checker, you did me proud once again

"pete" wrote in message
Fran wrote:
For some reason they think that people who
drive ropey old bangers, or talk with an appalling accent, or wear
shocking
old clothes are thick/poor/or ill informed/ill educated.
This coming from someone with the most beautiful and proper speaking
voices I've heard, .... spare a thought for how a rough arsed, gravel
voiced old codger like meself gets treated then missus :-)

There you go again, saying things that are not believeable! However it is
very sweet of you to tell such porkies and make me sound good, but I have
the most woeful Aussie accent.

If you want to hear "proper and beautiful then you should hear my mate
Judith, now SHE has the most gorgeous, well modulated and dead Posh speaking
voices I've ever heard, but then she is also very well bred ;-)))

"Fran" wrote in message
...
"sunrise farm" wrote in message
news:ns4Hd.123062

we're living in the shed,

So tell us a bit about it please.

We have 50 acres of land (20 acres of paddocks and 30 of bush) on the mid
north coast of NSW that came with a one room shack and some fruit trees.
As there are 6 of us the shack isn't big enough so we've put up a 12 x 12
colourbond shed next to the shack. We think it's going to take about a year
to build a house, so this is home until then.


I'm sorry, but although I recognise your
name I can't dredge anything else up about you other than knowing that I
have seen your posts here some time ago.

We were in Melbourne in the Dandenong Ranges when i used to post ages ago,
i've changed email a couple of times and my id too, though not for any
sinister reason :0).

he thinks you should run for PM

Don't let him do that. He'll turn into a lying mongrel who thinks that
people will believe any old lie they are told - oops I forgot, they do
believe any old lie they are told!

But they conveniently forget they were ever lied to apparently and just vote
the buggers in again *sigh*
Maybe Pete could start a new trend in politicians? Say he's out fishing and
bloody well mean it! lol
Andi

"sunrise farm" wrote in message
news:FhMHd.125958$

We have 50 acres of land (20 acres of paddocks and 30 of bush) on the mid
north coast of NSW that came with a one room shack and some fruit trees.
As there are 6 of us the shack isn't big enough so we've put up a 12 x 12
colourbond shed next to the shack. We think it's going to take about a
year
to build a house, so this is home until then.

Wow, 6 of you! That is a big tribe these days. More willing workers
hopefully :-))

So what do you plan to do with your land? And what sort of plans do you
have for the house?

Don't let him do that. He'll turn into a lying mongrel who thinks that
people will believe any old lie they are told - oops I forgot, they do
believe any old lie they are told!

But they conveniently forget they were ever lied to apparently and just
vote
the buggers in again *sigh*

Yes, sad ain't it.

Maybe Pete could start a new trend in politicians? Say he's out fishing
and
bloody well mean it! lol

Nah Pete is too honest to take it on. He has some principles.

In article ,
Janet Baraclough wrote:

I was
wondering though, to anyone who has moved from the city to the country, what
were the biggest shocks/surprises you got

Finding out that rural GP (General Practitioner) doctors and their
nursing/health-care support teams are far more skilled, highly trained
and up to date in both conventional and complementary medicine than
their urban counterparts.

I'm glad for you! Unfortunately, it's not universal. In particular, rural
cancer sufferers are at a decided disadvantage in Australia:

http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/...n10626_fm.html

But here in Western Sydney (the less prestigious area, shall we say?) the
health services are more up-to-date than in the more prestigious areas of
Sydney.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Life is like a cigarette -- smoke it to the butt." -- Harvie Krumpet

Farm1 wrote:


Nah Pete is too honest to take it on. He has some principles.


Absolutely ..and just to prove it I'll let you buy into my scheme for a
Ski Resort in Alice Springs, central location, many visitors each year,
abundant wildife.
Looking for 10 investors with a million each howya fixed? :-)

"pete" wrote in message
Farm1 wrote:


Nah Pete is too honest to take it on. He has some principles.


Absolutely ..and just to prove it I'll let you buy into my scheme for a
Ski Resort in Alice Springs, central location, many visitors each year,
abundant wildife.
Looking for 10 investors with a million each howya fixed? :-)

Not at that price! Wadda ya take me for, a fool?

10 cents and I'm in, but not a penny more!