Quote Originally Posted by JaneV2.0 View Post
I don't deprive myself. I may cut back on things I don't feel are important (like heat) so I can spend freely on things I do (like shoes).

I wouldn't want a huge house because of upkeep, property taxes, etc. But I would want a smallish well-designed house in a good neighborhood.

I'm not into the hair shirt and flagellation lifestyle. I'm not interested in living like a penitent ,though I recognize that others might. My idea of simple living involves a minimum of obligations and entanglements; I don't travel in circles that require a lot of flash and ostentation.
You are so right, Jane, it depends on what you want. I have reading the forums over the past couple of weeks thinking about the posts about permaculture and farms and how that is a "simple" lifestyle. My husband's friend has one such farm, where he offers seminars, permaculture conferences, community gardens, etc. etc. But it's hardly a simple enterprise--it is his family's family farm, which his dad built up as an auctioneer, and he has converted into a 200 acre organic farm. But without all the work and the inheritance of the parents, my husband's friend would not have this resource and would not be able to share it with the community, to build the community in the way he so graciously does.