A healthy, stress-free lifestyle in the fresh air is encouraging more and more city dwellers to move to the countryside. Those who have the means have long ago acquired country houses and spend all their free time there. I want to follow their example and I’m itching to do so. How to earn money and what money to live on in the village? This is the main question for someone who has already decided to move, but is not yet ready to start realizing their dream.
For pensioners, moving is not so scary; after all, they have a stable minimum income. Those who have a large apartment in the city can rent it out profitably and rent a house in the village; the difference will allow them to live comfortably, enjoying nature and peace. How can the average migrant get his daily bread, without any lifesavers?
Let's consider the experience of those who moved to the Golden Antelope village near Perm, summarize and try to help with their advice to city residents who are ready to start country life.
Employee
In the village you can work, just like in the city, under an employment contract. Yes, there are fewer jobs, but nevertheless, they exist. These are administrative employees, teachers, doctors, hairdressers, and salespeople. In a more or less large village there is a job that you can go to five days a week just like in the city. If you have the appropriate education, you can get a place in a veterinary clinic, kindergarten or post office. Yes, there are fewer jobs here and salaries are more modest, but they still exist.
Some people from families who moved to the village are trying to keep their city jobs. Traveling to the city from the village every day is not fun for everyone. Too different states of mind are required for life here and there. However, this is a completely normal way to feed a family. If you manage to rearrange your schedule, for example, every other day, or work in the evenings or on weekends, then less time is spent on travel than in a regular five-day work week.
You can work in the leisure sector at a time when most city residents are relaxing and spending the money they earn on entertainment. And relax in your country house, when during rush hours everyone is driving to work and back in traffic jams. Or, for example, in a night taxi. The village of “Golden Antelope” is located not far from the airport, and at night planes fly in and out more often than during the day. The people flying are not poor, and public transport does not work at night. Therefore, several night taxi trips bring more income to the driver than a whole day of working behind the wheel at an enterprise.
Residents of the village also find jobs on the railway: assistant driver, conductor - these professions both bring good income and provide an opportunity for respite between trips in their favorite village house.
Natalya: “We recently decided to move out of town, just three months. Yes, and I am inclined to think that I will still have to work in the city for some time. But an excellent solution was found; my husband and I work in the same position in turns: I work for two days, rest for five, that is, I establish village life. The husband is the same - he works for three days and does housework for four. So, you see, we’ll completely quit this unloved (to say the least!) work. You can live in a village without working on the land at all, and at the same time work primitively in the city, for example, as a security guard - that is, in fact, relax at work, solve crosswords or sleep at night. At the same time, receive all the benefits of civilization. Or it can be done differently. As our neighbor, an electrician on duty at a large power plant, says, “I work at home in the garden, and go to work to relax.”
Having a profession such as designer, journalist, layout designer, accountant, and the like, when you can work anywhere where there is Internet, it is as easy to make money in the village as in the city. Moreover, there are no seasonal restrictions for such work: there is something to do both in winter and summer. The farther away, the less important is the physical location of a freelancer, that is, a freelancer performing specific tasks remotely.
Personal subsidiary plot
You can earn money in the village by having your own small farm. Farming is becoming a promising business again. Foreign-produced meat and fish no longer inspire confidence in consumers. There is demand for fresh meat and milk in any season. And vegetarianism, which has recently become fashionable, implies a demand for crop products and forest products - mushrooms, berries, nuts. In winter, such products are more expensive, so it’s worth thinking about a reliable storage method.
What you definitely shouldn’t do is jump straight into the agricultural business, take on apiaries, greenhouses and vegetable gardens. Also, you don’t need to start right away with repurchasing the goods. All this work, simple at first glance, requires experience, and losses are almost guaranteed. Urban residents, as a rule, lack skills in agricultural production. Therefore, for starters, it’s worth learning from local producers. Get a subsistence farm for yourself - if you have savings, then it’s better to just live for a year, watch, listen to how and what local farmers earn.
If you need money immediately upon resettlement, then there are few guaranteed options: get a cow or two, goats, laying hens. There will be our own milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, eggs, and meat. The surplus can be sold on the market or handed over to resellers. And with this money it is quite possible to live as a family. Rabbit meat is very popular in the market of goods and services. Since they reproduce well, you can get good income with minimal investment. Even a schoolchild can cope with this, so the business is good for the whole family.
Gradually increasing production volume, it is good to find regular customers in the city via the Internet or by placing advertisements in newspapers. It is not difficult to organize targeted delivery once or twice a week. Prices need to be set higher than in stores, since everyone understands that the same eggs from a poultry farm cannot be compared with eggs from domestic chickens in taste and health.
Alexander: “My father and I tried to take care of rabbits. I can’t say that this is such a profitable business as it is described as. There are a lot of nuances. But it is guaranteed that you can provide meat for a large family. Of course, if there is an opportunity for large volumes, then this will already be a business. But you have to work hard. The main problem is feed, and you need to try hard to prepare it. If you feed your rabbits well, they will quickly gain weight. But after you keep rabbits for a couple of years, the period of prosperity can end in a couple of days. If some kind of infection occurs, and no preventive vaccinations or disinfections will help. Be mentally prepared for the fact that the mortality of rabbits, especially young animals, will be significant. Now we have come to the conclusion that we need to combine our farming with receiving guests, we want to build a stable with a small guest complex and start developing agritourism. After all, only the lazy live poorly on their land. Start small, and you will gradually succeed. Step by step. You will acquire a decent household of your own and will not need anything. Only faith and work! No matter how banal it may sound, this is a law that has been tested for centuries, and it is not for us to change it.”
How to become a farmer, live on the land and not “plow” from morning to night without bending your back? It is necessary to actively study and apply a reasonable combination of accumulated experience and maximum adherence to natural models! For example, the principles of permaculture, where methods of spot planting cultivated and wild plants into the existing ecosystem are used without the use of heavy equipment with minimal disturbance of the surface layer of soil. Or Riphean (Ural) technology, which fits into the environment with significantly less labor costs. Its meaning is that the land is not processed instrumentally at all, and the yield is many times higher.
Here you need more eyes and head than hands and brute force, which means that these systems are more accessible to everyone: not only for the indigenous peasant who has been digging in the ground all his life, but also for a pensioner, and for a mother with three children in her arms. After all, the earth itself will give birth to everything; you just don’t need to interfere with it. And the cattle themselves feed on what nature provides. You just need to create appropriate conditions for the animals, close to natural ones - like wild animals. And labor on earth is not exhausting, but brings joy and abundance.
Small business
Not all traditional agricultural sectors are thriving and profitable today. Therefore, village entrepreneurs come up with various forms of work and find other options for earning money.
The most common is construction and renovation. Making houses, greenhouses and similar structures is a good way to make money in the village. Any finisher, tiler, welder or mason will always have orders and money. Many earn as well as city workers.
The population in rural areas, as well as in the city, needs various goods. There are only one or two shops in the villages for the entire district, and the choice of goods is not large. If there is an opportunity to open your own store or grocery store, then it will be quite profitable to take advantage of it.
Cultural recreation in the village can also generate income. Local clubs are popular among young people. Children's development centers, entertainment shows and attractions should be opened in a large village. In warm weather, you can install summer cafes on the street, and in winter, rental of skates and skis will bring good income.
Hand-made production and crafts, organizing recreation and agricultural tours, drilling water wells, and storing hay and firewood are developing in rural areas.
Nowhere in the village and without basic household services - a studio, a canteen, a taxi. Even zoos in rural areas have become a common occurrence. Here, customers will be offered not only to look at animals, but also to ride a camel, try scrambled eggs from an ostrich egg, or take peacock feathers as a souvenir.
In the village they grow oyster mushrooms and worms for fishing, produce fertilizers, spin wool and knit warm and fashionable things from it.
These types of earning money in the village require small investments and pay off in a year or more. Almost every able-bodied resident has the opportunity to earn money in the village. Among the non-trivial options for your business, you can highlight such as a farm for toads, which are used for cosmetic and medical purposes, a turtle nursery for supplies to restaurants, making souvenirs and other interesting ways to earn income in the province.
The methods listed are just a small part. There are plenty of options. Having a minimum of funds and at least some skills, rural residents are able to provide their families with everything they need without going to the city to work.
Pavel: “An acquaintance of mine, a father of many children from a neighboring village, also a former city office worker, built himself a carpentry workshop and makes furniture. There is enough money for a horde of children, and for construction, and for updating the family’s car fleet, and for a passion for thoroughbred horses. The furniture business is doing so well that in that village every second person who resettled works as a carpenter. Others have united and are bending iron fences from rods. Still others bought a vibrating machine and are little by little making paving slabs and building blocks.”
When starting your own rural enterprise - the basis of family independence, you cannot thoughtlessly “throw yourself into the pool headlong.” It is very important to take into account the experience of failure and study examples of successful entrepreneurs.
To succeed in your business, the entrepreneurial spirit is first and foremost important. It will also require perseverance in achieving the goal in order to move forward despite difficulties.
State subsidies
It's no secret that the main reason why you can't open your own business is the lack of initial start-up capital.
In this case, the best investor will be the state, which can provide free and non-repayable cash subsidies for the development of agricultural production and entrepreneurship in rural areas. You will only need to report for it. Subsidies can be very small from the Employment Center, essentially representing an annual payment of unemployment benefits in a lump sum. There are also larger, and therefore worthy of closer attention, subsidies to small and medium-sized businesses, the so-called grants.
Applicants for a grant must not have debts on taxes and fees, and also have previously received government subsidies. There are restrictions on types of activities. Receiving a subsidy from the state is usually carried out in three stages:
Formation and submission of an application. To submit an application, you must collect a complete package of documents (the list is available on the website of the relevant government agency). The general package of documents also includes a business plan.
Review of the application. The first step will be to consider the compliance of the documents with the requirements of the Program Regulations. If the project has passed these two stages, and usually no more than half of the applications reach the third stage, the entrepreneur is invited to a public defense, where he has the chance to personally present his project. And if the commission approves the application, the subsidy will be transferred to the grant winner within a month.
Report on the intended use of the grant. Spending of grant funds must be targeted according to the expense items specified in the business plan. Copies of accounting, payment and financial documents will need to be attached to the annual report. If the indicators for the number of jobs, the volume of finished products, and taxes are not achieved, the state has the right to withdraw the grant.
Denis: “I defended a business plan for opening a children’s center for preschoolers in the village. I have a pedagogical education - I worked as a teacher in the city, but I was disappointed in both the students and the parents. Little respect, a lot of ambition... I decided to go to the village. My wife is a doctor and found a job in her profession right away. I assembled a construction team and, having earned enough money to open my own business, decided to return to my profession, but in a slightly different capacity. I received a subsidy of 200,000 rubles for the purchase of equipment quite quickly. Now I buy everything, collect checks and receipts, I think I will report on expenses as required. Now I do what I love with pleasure. And our little daughter constantly walks in the fresh air and gets sick much less often, compared to life in the city.”
To summarize, we can say that getting a subsidy is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. But, if you set this goal for yourself and go towards it, then it will definitely be achieved.
Urban and rural life: advantages and disadvantages
Some people prefer hustle and bustle of big cities, while others prefer peaceful lifestyle of rural areas. Tastes differ. There is no definite answer which lifestyle is better. In my opinion, everything depends on personality. Let us examine more thoroughly some advantages and disadvantages of both rural and urban life.
Living in a city can be very convenient. There are a lot of opportunities of education, career and social life. If you live in a big city, you have many education options to choose from. You can graduate from the most renowned and reputed universities or educational institutions, find a well-paid job and have more opportunities for personal development. Besides, the social life is so diverse. There are lots of theatres, museums, cinemas, exhibitions and art galleries. Urban life will definitely suit an individual who prefers to lead an active lifestyle and who think that there are too few hours in a day.
However, there are lots of disadvantages of urban life. One of the most burning problems a city dweller faces every day is heavy traffic. People who stuck in traffic jams have to delay their plans or even miss important meetings. People are always in a hurry and pressed for time. Besides, big cities are overcrowded and their population is growing with every passing day. Another problem of big cities is air and water pollution caused by industrial plants, domestic heating and traffic. It is generally agreed that air pollution as well as could have harmful impacts on health. Thus, in recent years people are getting more and more concerned about environmental problems. I am sure all people must unite efforts to save our Planet. Moreover, urban poverty can be the reason of many crimes, such as burglary, pickpocketing and robbery. The last but not the least, gambling, drug addiction, unemployment are just the few biggest problems that have become acute in almost all big cities.
There are a lot of advantages of rural life. The rural areas are not as crowded as urban ones. People live in harmony with nature.
Just imagine, how awesome is to wake up with birds singing and the first rays of sunlight and go fishing. You can walk barefoot or sleep in a hammock. Village people keep the livestock and do gardening. Undoubtedly, all homemade products, like sour cream or cottage cheese, do taste better. Moreover, people who live in the country are more open, friendly and warm-hearted. They are one big family. The last but not the least, living in a country is good for health. People eat fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy products and meat. The air is fresh and less polluted. The roads are less dangerous and you can safely ride a bike.
However, there are also some disadvantages of living in the village. First of all, it is a commuting problem. There is a lack of public transport in the country and that can be a great problem for people who need emergency assistance. Besides, if you want to make a career or get a higher education, you"ll have to commute between your home in the country and your office in the city.
Taking into consideration all mentioned above, I think that people should choose where to live, in or out of town, according to their preferences, lifestyle and vocation.
Life in the city and in the countryside: advantages and disadvantages
Some people prefer the hustle and bustle of big cities, while others love the peace and quiet of country life. Tastes differ. There is no exact answer to the question of where to live better: in the city or in the countryside. I think it all depends on the personality type. Let's take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of urban and rural life.
Life in the city is convenient because it provides many opportunities for education, career and social life. If you live in a big city, you can choose any education that suits your requirements. You can graduate from a prestigious university or other educational institution, find a well-paid job, and have plenty of opportunities for personal growth. In addition, social life is very diverse. There are many theatres, museums, cinemas and art exhibitions. Life in a big city is definitely suitable for those who prefer an active lifestyle and who do not have enough twenty-four hours in a day.
However, living in a big city also has its downsides. One of the most pressing problems that city dwellers face every day is heavy traffic. Those stuck in traffic jams have to postpone their plans or even miss important meetings. People always don't have enough time, and everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere. In addition, another problem in large cities is overcrowding, while the population continues to grow. In addition, the main sources of water and air pollution are industrial enterprises, home heating and transport. But it is generally known that polluted air, just like smog, has a detrimental effect on the human body as a whole. However, recently people have become more and more interested in environmental issues. I am sure that if all people join forces, we will be able to save the planet. In addition, the urban poor can cause crimes such as burglary, pickpocketing, and robbery. Last but not least, gambling, drug addiction, unemployment are just a few of the pressing issues that city dwellers have to face.
Living in the village has its advantages. Rural areas are not as populated as urban areas. People live in harmony with nature. Just imagine how nice it is to wake up at the first rays of the sun to the singing of birds and go fishing. You can walk barefoot and sleep in a hammock. The villagers keep livestock and do gardening. Without a doubt, all homemade products, such as sour cream or cottage cheese, are much tastier. Moreover, villagers are usually more open, friendly and good-natured. They all live as one big family. Last but not least, living in the countryside is good for your health. After all, people eat fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meat. The air is also fresh and less polluted. The roads are not so dangerous and you can ride a bicycle safely.
However, life in the village also has its drawbacks. First of all, there is a problem with transport. Due to the lack of public transport, this problem can be especially acute for people with urgent medical needs. In addition, if you want to build a career or get a higher education, you will have to travel from the suburbs to the city and back every day.
Taking into account all the above, I believe that people should choose between urban and rural life based on their preferences, lifestyle and calling.
Vocabulary:
1) rural ["gshg(e)1] - rustic, rural
2) urban ["з:л(е)п] - urban
3) hustle and bustle of a big city - the bustle of a big city
4) convenient - convenient
5) to graduate from a university - graduate from university
6) renowned - famous, illustrious
7) reputed - having a good reputation; famous
8) educational institution - educational institution
9) personal development - personal growth
10) there are too few hours in a day - there are not enough 24 hours in a day
11) city dweller ["dwela] - city dweller, city dweller
12) heavy traffic - heavy traffic
13) traffic jam - traffic jam, traffic jam
14) to delay - postpone
15) to be in a hurry - hurry
16) to be pressed for time - to have absolutely no time; time is running out
17) overcrowded cities [.auvs"kraudid] - overpopulated cities
18) overpopulation [.auva.popju"leijl^n] - overpopulation
19) air / water pollution - air / water pollution
20) domestic heating - home heating
21) harmful - harmful
22) ecological problems - environmental problems
23) to unite efforts - join forces
24) urban poverty ["povati] - urban poverty
25) crime - crime
26) burglary ["b3:gtan] - illegal entry into premises (for criminal purposes); burglary
27) burglar - burglar, burglar
28) pickpocketing - pickpocketing
29) pickpocket ["pik, pokit] - pickpocket
30) robbery [!geb(e)p] - robbery, robbery, robbery (using violence)
31) robber [teeb] - robber, thief
32) gambling ["gamblin] - game of chance
33) drug addiction - drug addiction
34) unemployment [.lsht"рьппппг] - unemployment
35) barefoot ["beafut] - barefoot
36) hammock [Yetek] - hammock
37) livestock - livestock
38) sour cream ["saua kri:m] - sour cream
39) cottage cheese - cottage cheese
40) dairy products - dairy products
41) commuting - daily trips to work (from the suburbs to the city and back)
42) to commute - commute to work in the city (about a suburban resident)
43) emergency assistance - emergency assistance
Life in the village. What is this life like? There is a lot written on the Internet about the pros and cons of rural life. It is very difficult for an ordinary city dweller to understand what life really is like in modern Russian village. What's going on there? How and what do ordinary people live? villagers? Is life hard for them or very easy? What do they care about? The site continues to talk about the realities of today's village and the life of its inhabitants.
We present to your attention the second part of the conversation with Svetlana Lukina, a resident of a modern Russian village (read the beginning of the article).
I. How are things going with you now? How is your life in the village? I personally see in my village that every year it becomes worse and harder to live. Are you going back to the city? If not, why not?
Svetlana. At first it was not so much business as training. How to properly maintain, feed, milk (a diploma in animal science did not really help - in practice everything is different). Where, what and how much to buy. Where, what and how much to sell. Although there were no special problems with sales. More often than not there was nothing to sell.
We wanted milk and cottage cheese ourselves. And it was inconvenient to refuse milk to the neighbor grandmother at the standard village price of 50 rubles for three liters. In winter, local cows do not produce more than 6 liters per day, gradually reducing this milk yield. For two months there is no milk production at all (start before calving). After calving, the calf needs 6-9 liters of milk daily for at least two months. But if you want to get a good animal for your tribe, it’s better to water longer.
That’s how we watered them, because we only had heifers. She left and raised everyone, no matter how much money was needed. Why? Don't know. There’s just some kind of stupor in my head: grow it at any cost. I raised a second cow, and it became much easier: that year I had to earn money on the side only in the winter. This year, part-time jobs are no longer needed. Two dairy cows feed themselves, two heifers and us. Profitability!
But we achieved this not only by increasing milk yield. I had to limit myself in consuming dairy products. I had to learn to say no to those who wanted to buy milk at a bargain village price. Another important point: after moving to the village, we smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day between us. An evening without a bottle of beer was considered a waste for me. The husband also drank stronger drinks. Getting rid of this infection turned out to be almost more difficult than creating a profitable rural economy. But when they got rid of it, it turned out that this is where almost all the money was spent.
There is prospect ahead! Unmet demand for dairy products and 2 adult heifers. However, everything has its price. When I was raising my second cow, I couldn’t inseminate her for almost a year. Happened with different bulls: to no avail. Everyone said: “Cut it, it won’t inseminate. You walk around hungry, but you feed this useless beast.” One kind person said: “Try it with an inseminator.” After sitting without cash for three months, I, without hesitation, gave the first two thousand rubles I earned for the services of an inseminator, without any guarantees. But it worked. The “useless brute” has long ago paid off the interest on the funds invested in it.
Inseminator is a specialist in artificial insemination of farm animals.
In the summer it was possible to inseminate another heifer. But there's another problem: she's not in heat. They injected him with hormones, spent money on an inseminator, but it didn’t work the first time. However, sexual function has been restored, which means we can inseminate. Although everyone around is already teaching: “Nothing will work out, why are you feeding in vain?”
Yes, you can’t tell about rural life in a few words. Back to town? NEVER!!!
So, about the city...
Let's rely on logic. A person is, first of all, an organism whose normal functioning requires oxygen, water, food, and physical activity. Breathing exhaust fumes, drinking chlorine with rust, eating carageenan and sodium nitrate with pleasure, while depriving yourself of movement - the shortest path to the grave. From this point of view, the city is, in principle, a place unsuitable for life.
The next thing is living space. Equipping a village house with several rooms with amenities or purchasing a house with amenities will cost hundreds of thousands of rubles. Buying a one-room apartment in the city will cost millions of rubles. Question: why buy a smaller living space for more money?
Especially considering that a house in a village will come with its own plot and green spaces around, and a city apartment will have a dirty stairwell, traffic flow and crowds of angry passers-by.
I don’t consider rented housing as housing at all. Figuratively speaking, there I don’t even have the desire to hammer a nail into the wall. My time spent on this, my work and my nail will eventually go to someone unknown.
In addition to all of the above, a person also needs cultural values. Previously, I was embarrassed that while I was in the provinces, I lost access to the books, music, and movies that interested me. Now there is the Internet.
A person also needs a job. This is perhaps the key problem. You can earn money in the countryside, although here it is really much more difficult than in the city. But when work is just a way to make money, does it even make sense to do such work? Life is short and spending most of it doing something that is not interesting and does not bring satisfaction: in my opinion, this is too cruel to oneself. When the only thing you love can only be done in the city, that means you will have to live in the city.
As for me, breeding cows is my only favorite activity, without which life loses its taste. And what makes me stay, no matter what, in the village is not so much the above logical arguments as the feeling of delight and happiness from every moment spent here, from everything around me, from everything I do. And if there is no such feeling, then you shouldn’t stay. Neither in the village nor anywhere was it beaten.
I. Agree.
Svetlana. These discussions about the city and the countryside will remain incomplete without talking about the changes in my health associated with moving first to the city and then back to the village. When I left the countryside, I didn’t know about any health problems. She didn’t know what fatigue was, even if she spent half a day carrying water and another half a day chopping wood. A year after moving to the city, I learned what a cold was (which had not happened to me since childhood). Then I started catching colds several times a year. There were problems with digestion. Then there are problems with blood pressure, frequent dizziness and even fainting. After spending half the day on my feet, I was so tired that I couldn’t do anything else. And she took it completely calmly: the years go by.
When I got back to the village, it turned out that dragging one bucket of water from the well was almost backbreaking work. And the most modest log categorically refused to split under my ax. But gradually I got involved. All the pain has gone away. The fatigue was completely gone. Health has been completely restored. Sometimes I seem to feel even better than in my youth. I don’t notice two buckets of water in my hands. Splitting a cart of wood is a matter of a few days. Although it seems to me that this was influenced not only by moving to the village, but also by giving up bad habits.
I. How did the local population treat and treat you? Were there any problems? Do they consider you one of their own - a local villager or is it too early?
Svetlana. How were we received by the local population? Yes, in general, there were no problems. The appearance of new people in the emptying village was rather positive. Basically everyone tried to help. Although in the village, as in the city, people are different. There are good ones and there are bad ones. We made close friends and enemies here. In general, I find it easy and good with these people. How to be friends and fight. It's more difficult for my husband. He is a purely urban man. I see that sometimes he doesn’t know how to behave. Are we already considered locals? Well, it’s not me you need to ask.
I. What is your village business like?
Svetlana. What is our village business like? 2 cows, 2 heifers. Milk milk is gradually fermented. The husband cooks cottage cheese, packages it in 0.5 kg bags and carries it in a bag by train to the city along with the milk of the last milking in half a container of mineral water (supplied by the local population). Milk – 50 rubles per liter. Cottage cheese – 270 rubles per kilogram. Travels from one to three times a week depending on milk yield. Maximum load - how much it can carry. Usually they take everything apart. If sometimes there is something left over, we eat it ourselves with pleasure. This way you don’t have to store anything...
I. What is the distance to the city? Is it profitable to go there? After all, a ticket costs money and there are also expenses around the city.
Svetlana. The city is 40 km away. The ticket costs 70 rubles. There and back it turns out to be 140 rubles. But I don’t consider this an expense.
A loaf of bread in the village costs about 30 rubles, and in the city - 20. A bottle of vegetable oil in the village costs 90 rubles, and in the city - 60 rubles. This is how travel expenses are compensated (we take 3-4 loaves of bread at once). There are usually no costs in the city. Maybe a couple of whites and coffee if you didn’t have time to have breakfast at home.
When the bull is born, we sell it to a reseller at the age of 1.5-2 months. He comes, kills it right in the yard and takes it away. Now he pays 260 rubles per 1 kilogram of carcass.
This year, they received 15,500 rubles for a 1.5-month-old bull. Not profitable, considering that he drank about 10 liters of milk every day, thus consuming 22,500 rubles worth of milk in 45 days of his life. This is if milk is calculated at our selling price - 50 rubles per liter. And if you consider milk at 18 rubles per liter, as resellers accept it, then it’s very profitable. It is also beneficial that you do not have to spend money and time on slaughtering, storing and transporting meat.
Then the arithmetic goes like this: 1 ton of hay costs 3,750 rubles. With the money received for the bull, you can buy 4 tons of hay, which is more than enough to feed his mother during the winter. It turns out that the annual maintenance of a cow is fully paid for by the sale of its calf. And the money from the sale of milk is already your net profit. This is the case if the calf is sold. But sometimes a heifer is born from which you want to raise a cow. It happens that no one is born, the cow remains barren.
I. How often does it happen that a cow never gives birth? After all, many people think that if there is a cow, then it will bring 1 or 2 calves every year and they consider profit and benefit from this. Not taking into account the fact that a cow carries a calf for 9 months, and milk will not always be for sale...
Is it really so profitable to sell a 1.5 month old calf for meat? After all, it weighs 30 kilograms, and even with bones and skin. There is very little meat. In our country, these calves are sold for 7-10 thousand. People take them to feed.
Svetlana. A cow MUST produce a calf a year. And only one or two calvings out of a hundred are twins. True, there are triplets and more, but this is extremely rare. If no one is born, it is usually the person’s fault.
Once upon a time in our village there was a herd in which private cows grazed, and with them bulls. Everything happened there naturally. Well, if for some reason it didn’t happen, then an inseminator and veterinarians worked on the state farm. Then the people left, there were almost no cows, and there was no herd.
The owners began to graze the remaining cows, tying them to pegs. And the owners had the difficult responsibility of determining the only day in the month (the day of heat) when the cow can be taken to the bull or to the inseminator. And determining this day is not always easy.
Then there were no more veterinarians in the village, no more inseminators, no more private bulls. They are not always allowed to see the state farm bull. That's why no one is born. That's why the last cows are slaughtered. Especially when something goes wrong with a cow: there is no one to diagnose it or treat it.
We transport the inseminator from afar. It costs 2,000 rubles, of which 1,000 rubles to the inseminator for work and 1,000 rubles for delivery. No guarantees. In extreme cases, we also take a veterinarian: the same 1000 rubles for delivery.
A newborn calf usually weighs 30 kilograms. At 1.5 months, with good feeding, he already weighs 70 kilograms. Our last one was born very large. When slaughtered, the carcass came out weighing approximately 60 kilograms. Prices are high specifically for dairy calves: up to 2 months. It is beneficial for us to quickly get rid of the devourer of expensive and scarce milk. It is profitable to raise a calf where milk is cheap and where there are some other cheap feeds.
A few words should also be said about food. When we moved to the village, the state farm was still able to prepare enough feed for its own needs and for sale. The first couple of years we bought food (sometimes borrowed it) from the state farm. We bought them, and the state farm workers got them practically for free: raise some cattle and don’t worry about anything.
Then there was no feed for sale. We started transporting from afar (additional costs). Now the state farm does not produce enough feed even for its own needs (tractors are falling apart, tractor drivers are retiring). And local residents, faced with this feed problem, get rid of their livestock. You can, of course, take up the braid. But we have absolutely no time left for this. Some people no longer have any strength left. Some people simply don’t need such headaches.
It also affects the fact that they now have to graze while tying them to pegs. In hot weather, such tethered animals are surrounded and eaten by clouds of gadflies. We have to drive it into the barn, mow it and bring the grass there. There is no time for making hay here anymore.
Regarding regular customers, my husband says that there are some. But how much is difficult to say. In general, in the system of active sales, hope for a regular client is considered rather an evil, forcing you to relax and not allowing you to improve your art of persuasion.
I. What is an active sales system? How does it work?
Svetlana. Active selling is one of the technologies for selling goods to a client, in which the initiator of contact is the seller, not the buyer. At the same time, the potential buyer may not have previously shown interest in the product that is being sold to him. Out of 100 people who were brought into dialogue, 20 are ready to buy if they are motivated to do so according to a certain formula. You just need to talk to these people, no matter where. The first transactions take place on the train on the way to the city. Then you acquire regular customers, and it becomes quite simple.
Until recently, we didn’t sell anything else except milk and cottage cheese. There was a separator, but the cream, sour cream and homemade butter all went into our stomachs without a trace. The separator recently broke down and I have no desire to repair it yet. Resting. Because after each use, washing all its components stained with milk fat is a really long and tedious task.
The other day I noticed that winter garlic had begun to sprout. So as not to lose it, she suggested to her husband that she try to sell it. 10 rubles for 1 piece. 20 heads went off with a bang. They asked for more, but I didn’t have any more winter food. Only spring. Then we learned that no one had spring garlic. Its price is 500 rubles per kilogram, and there are people who are ready to buy in any quantity at this price. Only 1 kilogram of garlic is a lot. I allocated a braid weighing 1 kilogram for sale. I think I'll highlight one more. But no more. You need it for yourself too.
I. I also like selling garlic. For some reason, not everyone can grow it. And in the store the price has already started to go through the roof. You have to do it yourself. This is more profitable than growing cabbage, which in our village store sells for 14 rubles per kilogram.
Svetlana. In general, I don’t even know what to say about the prices for village products. Milk, when we arrived here, cost 50 rubles for 3 liters for everyone. Now who has it? 60-100 rubles for 3 liters. That is if you find someone to sell it. In winter, most likely no one.
0.5 liters of cream or 0.5 liters of pork fat 5 years ago also cost 50 rubles. Now it’s simply impossible to find such prices. If someone’s dog runs over someone else’s chicken, the dog’s owner is charged 200 rubles. And to sell eggs, chicken or other meat, they usually buy it all in a store. Nobody really knows the prices for their homemade goods. Now you can also go to the store for dairy products. Potatoes – 100-200 rubles/bucket (depending on their size). For other vegetables, go to the store too. We have people who don’t even plant a vegetable garden. They bring cabbage, carrots, and even radishes from the store. I once read the label on a package of these radishes: it turned out they were brought from Israel.
But we change products often. We don’t even change, we treat them, give them away when there is too much, or if they ask for something, we try not to refuse. They treat us the same way. That’s why we don’t have anyone except cows for now. The whey from the cottage cheese remains in buckets. We treat the neighbor's pigs to her. We are then treated to lard or eggs.
We dream of raising all kinds of birds. But first you need to build a room for it, and most importantly, properly fence the beds. Perhaps this year it will work out. With pigs it’s more difficult. The area is not free from African swine fever. Having these animals here is a big risk. Although people take risks, they get started.
We had experience with rabbits, although it was negative. One day my husband saw baby rabbits being sold at the market, and he could no longer move away from the cages. I had to buy a couple of kids. Although at that moment I had no time for rabbits.
I explained to him how to keep these animals and did not interfere with anything else. Everything seemed to be going well. By the right time, the long-eared animals had gained the required weight and were ready for mating. But in the fall the problem is myxomatosis.
First, the boy fell ill and, on the advice of one of the locals, his husband immediately killed him. Then the girl fell ill. I began to nurse her and went out. In general, this is not supposed to be done: the animal recovers on its own, but remains a source of infection for others of its own kind. But there were no other rabbits in the area for a long time.
When the rabbit fully recovered, we decided to find her a vaccinated groom. We just didn’t have time. In the evening, walking past the cage, I noticed that the little animal had somehow suddenly lost weight and become haggard, despite the fact that everything seemed to be fine. The next day the rabbit was dead. It's hard to say what happened. Possibly VGBK.
Since then we have not kept rabbits. I don’t yet have the extra time or extra funds to transport vaccine from somewhere twice a year, which is not always available at the local veterinary pharmacy. Maybe we'll try again in the future.
I. What mistakes did you make when moving to the village? Did you, a person who lived in the village for 5 years, have any difficulties? What advice can you give to those who dream and write: “I want to live in the countryside?”
Svetlana. Mistakes when moving to the countryside and advice for those who dream of moving? Having already purchased a house in the village, but just getting ready to move there, I tried to plan everything very carefully in advance. But real life made serious adjustments to these plans. Practice has shown that many things need to be done completely differently. So, it’s difficult to make abstract plans here.
I. You need to dream, but in moderation.
Svetlana. Those who dream of moving to the village, it seems to me, must first of all decide on their desires and their capabilities (availability of material resources, health, knowledge and experience). After all, it’s one thing to move to the suburbs to breathe fresh air, admire the scenery, living in a comfortable house and buying organic products from fellow villagers with money received, say, from renting out a Moscow apartment. And it’s a completely different matter to move to an empty place in complete isolation from civilization in order to organize agricultural production there.
For example, we immediately had to devote all our efforts to organizing production. There was no thought about everyday amenities. They just patched up the roof of the house so it wouldn’t rot. We carried out electrical wiring (the house was without electricity). They caulked the cracks so that it wouldn't blow. They also made a serious mistake - they completely ruined one of the stoves (there are two of them in the house): the metal structural elements in it began to leak, and cracks appeared in the walls. As they explained to us, this is due to the fact that it was overheated. I didn’t know how to properly heat with wood. The stove that we had to heat in childhood was completely different and was heated with coal, firewood was used only for kindling.
We're not in a hurry to renovate the house yet. In general, repairs here are customary like this: beautiful expensive wallpaper is glued to crooked walls, rotten frames are painted almost every six months... I don’t want to do such repairs. Although people are surprised, they say: “Why are there so many cows? Slaughter a heifer, buy wallpaper, paint.” No, I’d rather raise a cow from a heifer so that I can glue wallpaper on smooth walls and not spend money on paint for new plastic windows. I don’t understand the local population about this.
I still don’t understand when a person who receives 8 thousand rubles a month goes to a store and writes down a bottle of pomegranate juice, persimmon and that jar with a beautiful label. Although at home there is a garden, a vegetable garden, a cow, piglets, chickens. And then he says that he can’t get out of debt. Although, to whom does anything bring joy... I would be glad to have acquired a Dewar flask (this is so that I can inseminate the cows myself). Or purchasing at least some wrecked tractor. This is because the prospect of 100% profitability of a rural business is as dizzying as wine.
And more about mistakes. We bought a gentle cow that gives a lot of fatty milk. Later it turned out that this cow starts on its own not 2, but 3 months before calving (short milk, as they say here). If the calf is overbearing, then we are left without milk for almost 4 months.
Even later it turned out that we had acquired a stray cow. In the spring, she began to categorically refuse to graze on a leash. She ran away in every conceivable and inconceivable way. Local residents explained: this cow had never been tied before. The cattle of her former owners went where they wanted, no matter how much they were cursed at. Only last year they bought an electric shepherd. So, the cow, who has never known restrictions in freedom, is quite rightly indignant... We are still in conflict with her and with those in whose gardens she sometimes ends up...
There are a huge number of such shortcomings that are almost impossible to detect when purchasing an animal. For example, our second cow does not tolerate pain at all, which makes it difficult even to inject vitamins and is not impregnated by the bull, only by the inseminator.
The following mistake also happened: one winter we unloaded hay to the place where we plant a vegetable garden in the summer. Weeding after that was incredibly difficult. Clover and timothy seeds fell into the garden beds, and the garden turned into a meadow.
There were also mistakes with the preparation of firewood. When we bought them just before winter, they did not have time to dry and provided little heat. When we bought it in the summer and didn’t have time to split it, it became very difficult to chop the firewood that dried out quickly in warm weather. Therefore, now we try to buy and chop in winter, leave chopped for the summer, and heat only next winter.
And, probably, the most important thing that a person planning to live in a village must learn: in the village there is always NO ENOUGH TIME for anything!!! Especially if you live in a poorly equipped house. Every day you have to fetch water from the well into the house. Warm it up to wash dishes and laundry. It’s all in a basin with your hands, and you run around emptying the basin into the yard. You need to bring firewood, heat the stove (pre-split the wood, maybe even saw it). Serve the cattle three times a day: clean, feed, water, milk. In the summer, a vegetable garden and mowing are added (even if you don’t make hay, the surrounding area needs to be mowed several times a season).
And the dream that, having moved to live in the village, we would spend as much time as we wanted in the forest and on the river, remained a dream. Moreover, living in the village, we began to go out much less often to pick mushrooms or go fishing than when we lived in the city.
I. I had a similar situation this year. Around us, at a distance of 30-80 kilometers, there are huge, gorgeous salt lakes. In the summer, people come from cities to relax and get medical treatment. But I didn’t succeed, I had a lot to do. Vegetable garden, firewood, hay and so on ad infinitum.
Should city residents move to a village like yours or not? Why?
Svetlana. Is it worth it for city residents to move to a village like ours? Why not. Ecology. Excellent infrastructure. You can inexpensively buy a house with outdoor amenities and gradually invest in its improvement. You can also buy a house where everything is already furnished, although it will be more expensive. You just need to think carefully about what to live on in such a village. There is no work either in the village itself or in nearby settlements. But organizing a business, especially an agricultural one, will indeed not be easy.
I. In your opinion, is it realistic for a single city woman to cope with rural life on her own? This question is often asked to me by site readers. What is your opinion?
Svetlana. I’ll say right away that the arrival of a lonely city dweller will provoke a lot of conversations with this same city dweller. Most likely, you will have to withstand annoying attentions from almost the entire male population of the village, including married men and men of deep retirement age.
As for everyday issues, everything again depends on how comfortable the purchased housing is, how much money is available to attract hired labor in certain cases (if there is still a sober workforce left in the area) and what the city dweller herself can do.
For several years I managed virtually alone. My husband had to work in the city, and sometimes he didn’t show up in the village for months.
And also, Vlad, there is such a wonderful writer - Anatoly Onegov, who writes about nature, about the countryside and about the return of modern man to life on earth. In one of his works: “Return to Earth,” he cites my impressions of the first year of life in the village. It's here: www.onegov.ru/rus/page/earth_lessons/earth_lessons6. This article is five years old.
I recently re-read this article and compared the numbers. Over the past five years, the population of our village has halved! Sadly.
I. I read with great pleasure Anatoly Onegov’s articles; he writes very wonderfully and truthfully. I advise everyone to read it.
Svetlana. At the end of our conversation, tell the readers of the site where they can buy your dairy products? Give the coordinates so that everyone can remember the taste of real village milk, cottage cheese and sour cream.
Svetlana. Regarding the purchase of our products: for now we sell only in the city of Spas-Demensk, Kaluga region, where demand still exceeds supply. But we will increase production volumes, which means that the geography and range will expand over time. If you wish to purchase, please write here:
plotnikk VOriginal taken from a_forester in Prospects for city residents moving to rural areas
Original taken from sterligov in New arrivals - Trud Newspaper
Almost a third of city residents dream of moving to the countryside if there is a school for children, a store, the Internet and a decent salary
Sociologists have discovered what motivates fugitives from cities and towns. And they were very surprised that none of those who “came in large numbers to the village” regretted the step they had taken.
In the common consciousness, those who left the city for the countryside are perceived as losers or eccentrics. Like the flamboyant German Sterligov, a former multimillionaire who moved his family to the Istrinsky district, bought land with a farm and, they say, sells milk and organic buns to the inhabitants of Rublyovka.
Meanwhile, leaving the city is no longer exotic. According to a sociological study by experts from the Higher School of Economics, almost 25 million city residents (29%) are ready to follow his example and move to the countryside. But under certain conditions. Most of all, people want a decent salary, benefits for purchasing housing and land, social infrastructure in the form of a kindergarten, school and hospital, as well as help in modernizing farming. All the conditions were not taken out of thin air - they were suggested by settlers who, without waiting for the connection between the city and the countryside promised by the state, are establishing life in a new place with their own hands.
What prompted them to take this step, what difficulties they encountered—the settlers openly told sociologists about this.
Sergey Soldatov, 43 years old, former officer and businessman, now a farmer, Vladimir region. — In civilian life, I was the director of a commercial organization, my wife worked in a bank. The work is not dusty, the earnings are decent. But when the fourth child was born in the family, we thought about a house in the village. At first we simply lived in the summer, like in a dacha, until we realized that this was real life. We bought the premises of a ruined collective farm and purchased agricultural equipment. Now we plow the land, raise livestock, and make feed for sale. My wife does the accounting. The children go to school, but at the same time they help with the housework and know all the equipment. And I am very glad that they live a real life, and not the one they show on TV. When they grow up, they will be able to build a house, plow the land and raise their children. Even for this it was worth leaving.
Yes, in Murom I drove a cool jeep and wore expensive suits. Now I make do with a modest Ford and simple clothes. But I am responsible for myself and for my business. This is more important than a bank account.
The only thing missing is government help. In terms of housing, amenities, organization. There is no need to offer loans, because this is a collar around the neck. Help is needed in obtaining land and developing a business plan. For example, determine what is best to do: grow cabbage or rabbits - what is more necessary for the region and region.
Well, friends, I think it's time to write this. Outside the window, light snow is falling, the ground is frozen, in some places the remaining green shoots are covered with a white blanket, so that with protection from frost they can go under the soft fur coat of snowdrifts.
Guys, to everyone who doesn’t know me yet: my name is Vadim, I am the author of this blog and the author video channel on YouTube - check out my channel, there are a lot of interesting things about life in the village!
Fifteen months have passed since my first night in my own home. During this time, a certain amount of experience, impressions and knowledge gained from the first two appeared. I do not undertake to write at all about the life of modern villages in their various manifestations: dying and turning into dacha settlements, I also will not touch on the fate of people. I will just write my own thoughts that are in my head today. And yes, I still mean a village, or a summer cottage village, but not a cottage community within the city with all the amenities of civilization.
By the way, here, if you are interested, are a couple of old videos - about the first night in the village in your house and about the first month of life in the village:
About impressions after the first year of life in the village I shared earlier.
It’s also probably worth keeping in mind the following fact: there are quite a few similar articles on the Internet, but they are somewhat different. Let me explain. Firstly, some articles were clearly written by people who have no experience at all in moving to permanent residence. out of town, they were simply asked to write an article and given money (this topic is in demand now). Secondly, the vast majority of other articles written by real immigrants are written on behalf of people living as families of several people. My article will be written on behalf of a person living alone. I think it will be useful to someone (my opinion about its usefulness is based on frequent discussions in personal messages on VKontakte with single people). Those advantages that may be advantages for a large family may turn out to be disadvantages for single migrants. There is also the fact that I work remotely and don’t go to work in the city. So let's start with the positives!
Old alley behind the village
Pros of living in the village
- No neighbors behind the wall, above the ceiling or under the floor. And as a result - predictable silence and calm. And also - you are close to the ground, you are not hanging 10 meters above it in one of the fastened reinforced concrete boxes;
- Fresh, healthy and fragrant air - without exhaust gases, dust from brake pads and other evil spirits;
- Greater autonomy and independence - you will definitely feed yourself in any crisis; There is land where something will grow;
- Heating whenever you want - there is no need to suffocate from the heat of the radiator and heat the air outside through an open window (while paying for all this mess), there is no need to freeze when, according to some schedule, it is not yet time to turn on the heat. No water outages due to pipe repairs in the yard;
- Always free parking - no one will take your place;
- You can alternate between working at home or in the yard - I like it. And there is always something to do in the yard;
- There is always something to do, as well as freedom of action and flight of thought with its subsequent translation into reality - opportunities for creativity or learning a craft. You can even open your own furniture workshop, or even a blacksmith shop;
- There is beauty all around! Nature, forests and fields, mushrooms and fish, as well as various running and flying goodies, if you allow yourself to get them; In general, if you wish, becoming a hunter or fisherman for your own benefit is much more interesting than living in the city;
- When you retire doesn't matter you will want to move to the ground))) so... this simply won’t be necessary anymore! Already done!
Disadvantages of living in the village
Although, to be honest, I would call many of these disadvantages rather some features, or maybe difficulties, but rather features than direct disadvantages.
- Get ready to work physically. And the point is not even that it will probably occur to you to build a chicken coop, a wood shed or a shed, but at least that you will have to chop and bring firewood in the winter, remove the falling snow (and it keeps falling on purpose)));
- To keep the house warm, you will still have to order firewood (or coal, or something else), all this stuff needs to be prepared for winter. Simply paying online for battery heating services will not work. Yes, you can, of course, heat with gas - but supplying it to you will be very expensive, despite the fact that it is “the property of the people.” I’m not talking about heating with electricity at all;
- You will have to carry water from the spring or order a well (in the first case - your strength and time, in the second - a one-time injection of funds within 100 thousand rubles);
- There is no store in my village. I have to go to the city for groceries. True, I bake the bread myself, but I rarely drink milk, which is why I don’t go for provisions often;
- You will probably have to maintain the road near your house on the street yourself - the municipality will do this Very rarely and unwillingly (and at the wrong time);
- All this that is listed above takes some time (and quite a lot). And if you decide to have chickens, turkeys, pigs, goats and dogs, then you will have to work most of the day (and you will probably live off the products produced). So you won’t have any more free time than if you work in an office or factory in the city;
- If you happen to get seriously ill, it will be difficult to get to the hospital (in case of high fever or something similar - poisoning, for example). But there is probably no hospital in the village, and if there is, it is unlikely that they will help you.;
- Well, yes. If you are alone, in old age it may become more and more difficult to maintain your household. However, here is one reliable fact: all the old people, having lived in the village until such times, do not refuse to move to the city to live with their children or to a boarding house. It's just something to keep in mind. I think that everyone can draw their own conclusions from this fact;
You need to understand that when moving to a village, you can buy such a house, and choose a village where some of the disadvantages described above are absent.
Afterword...
After re-reading the resulting material, I found most of the pros and cons to be weak and unconvincing). But I can say this: many people told me: you’ll run away in a week, you’ll run away in a month, you’ll run away in a year. And I, after a year and a half, clearly understand that it’s not that I don’t want to return to the city, but I wouldn’t mind having, in addition, an even more secluded place. Sometimes, when I find myself in the city on some business, I return home to the village and simply go crazy about it, sitting on the threshold in the entryway and talking to my Malamute. So, guys, it’s not a matter of pros and cons, and no reviews about moving to the village will help you make the right decision. It just has to be “yours” or “not yours.” You just have to try it if you feel like moving. Not everyone will decide to leave work and climb somewhere into the wilderness. Try buying plots for a collective garden! It is here that, spending your leisure time at any time of the year, you will be able to understand whether you need more or whether this is clearly not your thing. Why a gardening partnership? Because there is probably no gas, there are power outages, the roads are probably of mediocre quality and the roads are not cleared of snow every day; it is essentially a smaller village.
