Tennessee Survival Retreats, Crash Steads, and Working Farms

The call usually starts something like this, " Hi Virginia, we are looking to buy a house with some acreage in Tennessee.  It needs to have a creek or spring, and we'd prefer it not be visible from the road".  This goes on for a few minutes before I finally say, "So, you are looking for a survival retreat". After a few seconds of stunned silence, we are off and running.

I think when people call looking for this type of property, they are afraid the Realtor® on the other end of the phone will think they are crazy.  Well, this one won't.  I get it.

I know the rest of the world thinks it's just crazy to be prepared to feed and take care of your family in hard times.  I think they are just as crazy for not being able to do so.  Here's the really funny part:  People in Tennessee have been doing this for over 200 years.  It's a normal way of life here. People put out big gardens, they can their food, and they raise livestock.  Here, we just call it a working farm.

I grew up on a working farm in Tennessee, raised by grandparents born in the Great Depression. My grandparents raised huge gardens and canned most of the produce.  I helped.  I helped milk cows and gather eggs every day.  I helped draw cold, fresh water from the well.  We picked blackberries and raspberries growing wild on the fence rows. The orchards produced bumper crops of apples and plums that grandpa sold at the farmers market, along with farm fresh eggs and garden produce.  In the fall, we gathered walnuts and hickory nuts to be stored for winter.  My grandparents slaughtered their own animals, and I helped with that too.  I also learned to fish, hunt, sew, and cook.  These weren't "survival skills", they were basic, every day country know-how.

It might sound like a lot of work, but I loved every minute of it.  I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. In truth, growing up on a farm is a beautiful thing for a child. It's a world of wonder and new experiences. It's healthy, and it's real.  I grew up eating fresh healthy food, and I knew where it came from. I know everything that's edible in the forests of Tennessee, and which things are poisonous. I know about all the wildlife living there too. I learned those things from grandparents who loved Mother Nature and instilled that same love in me. 

You might call it a survival retreat or a crash stead, but I just call it a working Tennessee farm. You might call the things I know survival skills. I'd call it good old fashioned country know-how.  Maybe you are preparing for the end of the world as we know it.  I'm prepared for every day life here in Tennessee farm country.  If schumar does hit the fan, I'm pretty sure that the country folks around here will do just fine.

Don't let my suit fool you. I'm a born and raised Tennessee farm girl.  If you want to buy a working Tennessee farm, a survival retreat, a self sufficient farm, or just an off grid location, I'll be proud to help you.