What it is?
A family settlement or estate is a kind of community where the owners of houses do not just coexist side by side, but also organize a common life together, hold cultural events, form the rules of internal order, receive guests, and, in the vast majority, adhere to the same way of life and worldview. As a rule, the houses in them are built by the hands of the owners, but the neighbors are always ready to help and take part in the construction of the estate.
Most often, the inhabitants of such settlements are engaged in subsistence farming, so they eat what they have planted and grown in their own garden. In the vast majority of cases, the movement of cars is prohibited in the common area, so cars are left in parking lots at the entrance – for many, this very fact becomes decisive when moving outside the city. Children are always safe here, they are as close to nature as possible and have the opportunity to completely immerse themselves in the feeling of childhood, which does not depend on gadgets and other benefits of civilization.
To date, according to the resource poselenia.ru, more than 6200 Russian families and about 12300 people are already building family estates away from big cities for permanent residence in them, while only in 5% of the settlements existing in our country, the acceptance of new participants is already closed. In the rest, open days are regularly held, where everyone can get acquainted with the life of the inhabitants, feel the atmosphere of a permanent stay “on the ground”, and also decide on the choice of a suitable area.
Advantages and disadvantages
Of course, in order to move to permanent residence in areas remote from large cities and regional centers, only desire is not enough. Those who are on the estates all year round have come a long way in reshaping their lives and work – building insulated houses, providing themselves with remote activities or organizing a business that does not require a permanent stay in the city, and much more. In addition, in almost all estates, potential new residents go through a rather strict selection process – people understand that they will have to be nearby 24/7, constantly contact, help each other, so it is not so easy to acquire a plot of land in such a territory. But, nevertheless, this type of suburban residence has both pros and cons:
Advantages living in family estate | Disadvantages living in family estate |
A healthy lifestyle is a necessary requirement for all participants in the settlement | Permanent work in the city becomes almost impossible, retraining or training in new activities is required, which can be carried out remotely or irregularly |
Safety for both children and adults – the territory is fenced, vehicles can only pass through certain areas away from residential areas | Remoteness from schools, kindergartens and medical institutions (however, for many, this disadvantage becomes an advantage, because today home education and constant care for immunity do not surprise anyone!) |
Residents of the settlement help each other in everything, constantly communicate and organize joint leisure | This type of residence is not suitable for closed and solitude-loving people – without constant interaction with new friends, neighbors, it is difficult to imagine a family estate |
Life in the bosom of nature is qualitatively different from life in a noisy city with polluted air. | Moving “to the ground” inevitably entails some kind of exclusion from the usual social life. |
Children are not limited in movement and communication, as they are in the safest possible environment | Self-construction of a house without the involvement of qualified teams is hard physical labor, requiring both time and material costs |
The family eats mainly healthy food grown by oneself and without chemical treatment. | Most settlements welcome those residents who plan to live permanently on the estate, so this option is not suitable only for weekend trips |
Of course, this selection of pros and cons is subjective and should be adjusted in each case, because one will like what the other considers a clear disadvantage, right?
Today, there are more and more people interested in moving to family homesteads, and among the regular authors of VEGETARIAN there are those who have already made their choice in favor of living in such a settlement!
FIRST PERSON
Nina Finaeva, chef, raw foodist, resident of the Milyonki family settlement (Kaluga region):
– Nina, is it easy to switch from city life to life in the settlement? Both you and the children?
– In general, switching is easy, although it requires some preparation of space. The more unorganized the estate, the way of life, the more difficult it is. And children are delighted with life in nature, they are usually not very eager to go to the city! Unfortunately, we are not in Milyonki all the time, we dangle back and forth while work keeps us in the city.
– What do the inhabitants of the settlement do?
– Many are engaged in construction, bodily practices (massage, dancing, breathing, and much more). Someone, like us, has a business in the city, which is why you have to live in two places or regularly travel to the city.
– What are the advantages of living in an ecovillage for you and your family?
– Of course, this is closeness to nature and a safe environment.
Are the residents friendly?
– Most of the settlers are friendly, open, always ready to help.
– What do you think, what opportunities can appear only in nature, away from the city?
– In nature, there is much more peace, faith in the forces of nature, and the connection with the family is increasing.
– What kind of people, in your opinion, can life in an ecovillage suit?
– For those who have a need for life in nature, for environmental friendliness, for communication with like-minded people.
– What is the most important thing to focus on when looking for a suitable place for a family estate?
– It is worth paying attention to the environment, social environment and transport accessibility.