[dejv]

I also taken up farming in 2013 after 10 years of working on startups (as founder and early engineer, with no success at all). I was about to move back to village I was born at and escaped as fast as I could at the age 15.

I started natural winery at the ripe time when it first started to be popular and managed to miss the wave. It was a great first year after many years of tech grind in big tech hubs. I was waking up late, went for walk where I probably met friend or two who had nothing much to do, so we drink a coffee and talked a bit. Waiting for summer heat to be over, then work in the vineyard till the sun went down and then go to the local pub for beer or four.

I guess it sounds like it was vacation or playing farmer. And that is what it was, really. I did that for couple of years and then moved back to the nearby city and rejoined the startup grind. What I got from this experience is that there are seasons in life and it is great to have an optionality to play with different modes of life. The tech industry will always be there.

I am in my 40s now. Found a wife, got a mortgage and couple of kids. I kept the farm and treated it as a weekend hobby, rented out most of the land and I am slowly building the infrastructure I missed when I started. One day the kids will be old enough and tech will no longer excite me. The season will change, I move back, wake up late, meet with local friends who have nothing much to do during summer heat, work the vineyards and then hit pub when the sun went down.

[baxtr]

>The tech industry will always be there.

Reminds me when I was a young consultant and couldn't decide whether to take the long planned vacations or start a new high-urgency project. One of my mentors wisely said to me: "Go, there will be always another exciting project." So I went.

Sometimes it's good to step out and see the bigger picture.

[theturtlemoves]

How can you afford playing farmer after "no success at all"? Asking for a friend

[dejv]

I lived for next to nothing and I had a gig maintaining a system that paid something like 1500 euros a month and it required few hours a month. Did that gig for 12 years, saved me many times when I tried to launch other projects.

[SSLy]

Ahoj! Also consider keeping a few chickens for fresh supply of eggs, and incredible soup base down the road. Avoid cattle, it's tedious.

[throw-the-towel]

Be careful with the chickens though. A guy I know just bought some chickens, he was so excited. Literally two days later, foxes broke into his henhouse and ate all his chickens. Invest in a dog if you're in fox country.

[modo_mario]

Have you had any experience with smaller animals similar to cattle? Sheep, goats and the like?