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You've just described my dream place...  I purposely banned TVs from my house. The Internet while being on optical fibre is mostly used for non essential things. Yet we live in a very densely populated area near Amsterdam. The air traffic over the house is horrible, the air stinks and the supermarket food tastes like cardboard most of the time. Even the organically grown food is horrible. And expensive. The organic red bell peppers for instance are packaged individually in plastic and sold for around 1.5 EUR each. You'd think they're gold plated. My car is a 18 years old Volvo which I bought last year. I mostly travel by motorcycle and bicycle. All these while my parents somewhere in Eastern Europe grow a lot of their own food, chop wood for heating and make their own wine. Needless to say they are in better shape than me.
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If you are serious, I suggest looking into buying farmland or ranchland here in the United States. By European standards, American farmland is relatively inexpensive to purchase. Think about what you would like to raise, pick an appropriate climate zone and talk to a real estate agent.
You will need to talk to an immigration lawyer about moving to the US. Since Donald Trump became President, the rules have changed only slightly but the interpretation of those rules is very different.
The hardest part of the transition is living with Americans. We tend to be independent, ornery and self-reliant. Think John Wayne. The days of the "wild west" may be over, but the attitudes that settled the West remain. Many of us, especially rural residents, want as little government in our lives as possible.
As a farmer or rancher, you will need to thrive in isolation. My nearest neighbor lives one tenth of a mile away as the crow flies, but three tenths of a mile away, if you take the road. My wife and I feel that he lives too close to us for our comfort.
Farming or ranching is a lifestyle commitment. It is hard work. It is not for everyone. If you are up to the challenge, welcome to our party! It is a lifestyle with its own rewards.
__________________
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that there are some things I just can’t keep up with, the determination to keep up with the things I must keep up with, and the wisdom to find a good RSS feed from someone who keeps up with what I’d like to, but just don’t have the damn bandwidth to handle right now.
© 2009, Rex Hammock
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That would be a very bold move on my side. Got a wife and two small kids. Probably it would be hard to get them to the US. I hold a Canadian passport, but they don't. I have traveled in many places in the US and I have a few friends and a cousin living there. I even drove my car from the west to the east coast and California from San Francisco to San Diego. Beautiful country you have. And the few people I met were quite helpful and open.
I am aware of the wild west attitude and I personally don't mind it since I'm likely built the same way. The main issue, immigration aside, is that I don't have any farming experience and I don't have the money to support my family until I can make a farm profitable (if a small farm can be profitable in this day). Now, I'm not one to back down from a challenge, but this might prove to be a bite bigger than I can chew. I'm pretty good with mechanical stuff, so I can probably fix an old tractor, but I never grew anything except my house plants. One of them was a hot pepper plant, so that's how close I ever came to farming. 
But you did get me thinking... thanks.
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I always liked working with computers, that's why. Started as student, programmed mathematical models for my Doktor-Ingenieur. In Turbo Pascal. Then an Israeli guy wanted to make a start-up in Sofia and invited me to join. Learned for 2 years from the best hackers in town and then moved to Canada. Nobody ever asked me to do anything related to my Mechanical Engineering degree
modified 20-Oct-19 21:02pm.
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Good question.
My first career was programming.
So is my third (and current).
But for 12 years I was in animation and visual effects for film/TV/advertising. My desire to become a filmmaker drove me first. My slightly painful insight of my artistic shortcomings drove me back... 
"If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going"
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I was in Sales and got way too burn out, sacked it in and went back to University to learn about computers, and sort of got the bug for programming!!!
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How many People have changed careers to a second career in I.T.?
It feels like I do that every time I change jobs. Within I.T.!!! 
Explanation (a sample of jobs):
Learn about IT in voter registration and ballot counting.
Learn about IT in satellite design.
Learn about IT in boatyard management.
Learn about IT in gentlemen clubs.
Learn about IT in casinos.
Learn about IT in the insurance business.
Every one of those IT "experiences" was a whole different ball of wax -- different information, different tech, different processes and workflows, etc.
Latest Article - A Concise Overview of Threads
Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
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Marc Clifton wrote: Learn about IT in gentlemen clubs.
Tell me something... How would you go about learning IT in gentlemen's clubs?
Asking for a friend.
I'm retired. There's a nap for that...
- Harvey
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It is all about creating fake meetings in calenders and clearing browser history automatically.
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H.Brydon wrote: Asking for a friend.
Sure you are!
Latest Article - A Concise Overview of Threads
Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
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He is. I'm that friend. 
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You're all pussies, some of the jobs I have had before I started programming.
Milkmans offsider
Type Fitter
Bowser Boy
Truck Driver
Jackaroo
Surveyors Offsider
Factory drone (not the flying ones)
Then I tried Sales
Encyclopedias
Computer timesheet plans
Roof Tiles
PC (286-486)
Software
That is when found out I was better at coding than selling
Excel Macros (from Lotus 123)
Superbase - Consultant
Access (1st contract)
SQL Server
VB5-6
VB.Net - Winforms
C# winforms
C# Silverlight - I am still pissed it was canned
C# WPF
and now
C# Xamarin Forms - just like WPF but for mobiles
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity -
RAH
I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
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Dropped out of studying law
Admin clerk at medical aid
Secretary
Shop assistant
Secretary/personal assistant
Project administrator
Personal assistant
Embedded C developer on PIC and AVG (no one saw that coming, not even me!  )
Project administrator
Embedded C developer (upgrade to embedded Linux OS)
iOS developer (still)
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I was a professional chef for over 20 years. unfortunately my knees gave up. 
Now I am a software developer for 24 years.
now I only cook for my wife, and she loves it.
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Money.
I started in mech/aero engineering, but there is sod all career in that in the UK really. So, list of jobs goes:
Buyer in company making ice cream making machines
Estimator/designer, steel work for stone cladding industry (some of my metal is in Canary Wharf, Stanstead airport...)
That company folded, so I ended up running my own garage and doing odd jobs, private investigator was an amusing one. Started scouting around for something more long term/better paid so...
Studied C language on a correspondence course so got a job as a welder, then in a company making turbine blades to tide me over.
Then first job in IT, correspondence courses from the OU in software design, and the career took off.
Second IT job was doing windows drivers for the military, worked mostly in the kernel since for companies around the world.
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You are justified and ancient (and driving an ice cream van) 
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I started studying Architecture. I left it after 2 years, because making buildings is not what I wanted. After that, in 1982, I began working for a company as a truck driver and spent 2 years doing that. On December 1984 the company bought a Commodore 64, and nobody knew a bit of how use it. I was young and decided to study it, and after a few months, one of the engineers talk to me for we, both of us, make a software for calculate steel structures. He did the civil engineering and I coded it.
After that I been working in IT for 33 years, passing through Amiga (using AmigaBasic and C), DOS (dBase III and IV, QuickBasic), Windows in the 90's (Visual Basic, C++, Visual FoxPro) and now Windows in 2000's (C++ and C#). Everything in the same company, and at this time I've developed all the software it is used inside (Except AutoCad, MS Office and Paint programs). I've never drove trucks again!
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I was a chemist by education and worked as a chemist from 91 to 99 before leaving for IT. I took a job as environmental database manager at an engineering firm. My family had relocated to the DC metro area for my wife's work and I had trouble finding a good job as an experienced BS level chemist. I have actually been a programmer \ developer now for most of my it career. Never looked back, never regretted move, and certainly making way more money than reasonably could expect to make as chemist.
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I flunked out of college during Vietnam "Police Action". Joined the Navy. Was sent to Tech school for Computer repair. Worked repairing weapons system on aircraft (controlled by a digital computer - very primitive), and left when my enlistment was up. Went back to college and got my degree in business. I had one course in programming. It was BASIC, and I discovered I was good at it, and that I enjoyed it. Worked as a computer operator/programmer to support myself and my new wife (she has put up with me for 45 years and deserves a medal). My goal was law school and I completed it, got my J.D. and practiced law for 2 years. Had to deal with too many lawyers, so I went back to programming and have never looked back.
Take responsibility for your actions and failure to act when you should have.
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Before I began my career in I.T., I was an electrical controls engineer specializing in production machinery startup/debug (i.e.: Allen Bradley programming). Around 2003, that field (in mid-Michigan where I lived at the time) went to crap. I figured that since I was already doing significant work with computers and had several years doing the work "unofficially", it should be an easy transition for me and it was.
Here I am going on 16 years later and while it has been a bumpy ride, I'm still going strong.
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Right out of college (Biology major, chemistry minor) I worked in a Clinical DNA diagnostics laboratory (hospital genetic testing lab). Really liked it. Saw a book that came with Microsoft office on the shelf one day "How to program with MS Excel" or some such name.
Hmmm, this could be useful as we used excel to hold data during various parts of sample processing, to feed to liquid handling robots to tell them what to do, calculate and graph data for genetic results that required any calculations, etc. Since genetics moved so fast and there was so much need that the hospital's IT department could NEVER (still can't) keep up with even 1/10 of the work just our lab had a need for, the boss man said yeah, see what you can do.
Soon I, as a lab technologist, was spending all my time building new and maintaining/enhancing "software" (vba based programs that ran within excel workbooks of course). I decided I ought to get a formal computer science degree, and did so while still working in the lab full time.
I moved eventually to the IT department and still work primarily for that same genetics lab, 27 years after I first started work there.
So the "what drove you to do so" was the interest/enjoyment of programming, making highly useful applications that were in need (creating something useful), and better salary.
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I'm kind of on the other side. Been developing for 30+ years. Still like the problem-solving bits of it, and it's fun to be shown and learn new technologies, but I no longer need the money and definitely not the stress which comes along with it.
Been thinking (not too seriously at this point) about if there is a more low-stress occupation where I could still get health benefits (lol USA) that I might enjoy for something new.
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Yes I am changing from a software developer to a computer security professional. I am also looking into device repair, let's see those overseas devs try to offer that kind of service
"Dreams really do come true."
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Ha ! as an overseas developer I say: leave that guy to his own devices
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Well played Rick... well played
"Dreams really do come true."
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