Keep true to the dreams of thy youth

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Keep true to the dreams of thy youth

April 4, 2011 by morningaftershow

I get a pang from time-to-time where I think it would be good to create or make something tangible. Live in the tropics and grow stuff.

But sadly, I have no idea how to be a farmer or where I’d live.

I love coffee, so growing coffee might be fun. But how do you even begin to become a coffee farmer? Can I go to coffee farmer school, get a piece of paper that makes me legit then walk over to Coffee Farms R Us and use on-site financing to get a coffee farm? Nope.

It seems to be the domain of working poor people in third-world countries or retired wealthy folks in Hawaii.

If I had to pick to be one of the two, I’d saddle up to be and be wealthy retired folk.

A quick search on the internet found that coffee farms aren’t overly expensive all things considered (I thought they’d be way more). But still outta my price range. So maybe it’ll be my retirement goal.

But before I retire… I could take a holiday and be a coffee farmer. My interneting took me to a website for a group called World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, or WWOOF. You volunteer your labour on a farm, and the farmer provides a place to lay your head and some food.

AND they have a ton of WWOOF hosts on the Big Island of Hawaii. Maybe I don’t have to sell all my processions and move my little family to Hawaii… I can just take a couple weeks off around the harvest and be mercenary farmer!

I’ll just have to keep plugging my pennies in my RRSP fund and get a little more serious about retirement saving. Yeesh, is there anything worse than thinking about retirement? But if there is one thing I take away from Krystal’s blog, its that if you can take some abstract thoughts (like retirement) and apply practical steps today, things can happen for you. At least now the $000s taken from my pay-cheque every two-weeks that go to some faceless account now have a purpose.

I could get used to living like this:

There is even a University on the Big Island… maybe Madelyn will want to come live with her farmer dad…

Go with yourself.

Posted in life or something like it | Tagged coffee, Farming, Hawaii | 7 Comments

7 Responses

on April 4, 2011 at 4:03 pm | Reply Jen (Huckdoll)

What a retirement plan, I love it! You’re right … thinking about retirement sucks … but what a beautiful vision you have here.

And you should really do this organic farming thing. That’s such a cool idea. I bet you all could go for two weeks, you go into the mountain for one week — so you’d get a perfect Hawaiian family vacation plus an amazing individual experience.
- on April 4, 2011 at 4:27 pm | Reply morningaftershow
  
  yeah not bad eh?
  
  I think the key will be to actually book the holiday. I am bad at planning so far out. But if I say “on November 3rd, 2012 I will be in Hawaii” then make myself there… Actually Spring 2012 is better… November 2012 is too far away and November 2011 I have a wedding to go to!
on April 4, 2011 at 8:34 pm | Reply Carrie L

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a race car driver. However, I don’t think there are a lot of openings for 30 year old moms and their minivans in the NASCAR circuit.

I haven’t entirely given up the dream, though. I can’t bring myself to let my 4 year old daughter win when we play racing with Hot Wheels…..
- on April 5, 2011 at 10:25 am | Reply morningaftershow
  
  you can be a race car driver still Carrie!
on April 6, 2011 at 10:44 pm | Reply Focus. « Beauty in the Breakdown

[…] Jeremy talked about a retirement vision the other day that was actually pretty nice — and I realized that I can definitely get on board […]
on April 9, 2011 at 6:55 am | Reply vancityrockgirl

the big island of hawaii is my very favourite. you should go for a vacation and test it out. you’ll never want to return home. paradise.
on September 26, 2012 at 1:47 pm | Reply The Morning After

[…] I want to go to a coffee plantation and do a beach holiday so bad (or […]