Finding the Perfect Homestead: One Family’s Land Search Success

It was the Summer of 2017 when I began to recognize the beauty of intentional living. I mean, I had been working towards a curated life for years, but that was when I could clearly see where I wanted my life to go. We had just returned from Indonesia and I had been on a spiritual quest the year before. I was hungry for nature and the draw of returning to my roots beckoned the country life. 

There was a lot of reading, writing and planning that summer. I created a vision board that perfectly illustrated my dream and before we knew it, my little beach bungalow was transformed into a “Homestead”. 

My days were consumed with making bread & pasta, canning and preserving food. I learned to make my own cleaning products and create a zero waste environment. My backyard was turned into a small vegetable garden and the kitchen transformed into a work station. But something was missing. I yearned for wide open spaces and the smell of a working farm. I dreamt of horses and goats grazing in the backyard and collecting eggs from the chicken coop. 

By 2018, it was on. I was an official “Urban Homesteader”.

I wasn’t an expert at it by any means. I’m still not. There were full months that I walked away from it to pursue other endeavors, but it still drew me in further. I ordered Heirloom Seeds that sat in my closet for years. I lived in the city and did city things, wearing my city clothes, but there was always something missing.

By 2019, Tony was fully on board with this dream. We rented an AirBnB on a Ranch out in the Ojai Valley for a very expensive “dry run”. There, we pretended to live the life picking lettuce in the greenhouse, gathering freshly laid eggs and feeding the horses. It was very dirty, but it felt amazing! The entire year of 2019 was spent searching for farm property.

Of course, we began our search in Southern California which was very short-lived. It became very clear that if we were going to do what we desired most, it would have to be in another state. Our endless search made us experts in land search. I developed a spreadsheet of our “must-haves” and our “absolute not’s”. We had it down to a science, scouring town-by-town until all of the boxes could be checked. It was a difficult time because many people were snatching up the best properties, so we had to change our criteria quite a bit, but by March of 2020 we found it. The land and home that was to become “Magnolia Hill Homestead”. 

Never in my life would I have believed I’d be moving across the country to Kentucky, especially at my age. But it felt right and as though the universe was aligning this sacred property just for us. Maybe you could say we had “20-20 vision” for this dream. It felt absolutely divinely guided. 

So here we are four years later. I have so much more that I’d love to share with you, if you’re interested. I share a lot on my Instagram and TikTok pages, but I will also write more when asked for it. I have dozens of friends, family and viewers who have reached out to me advice and also have made the leap themselves after watching our journey unfold on social media. If I have helped even one person reach for their dreams as we have, it will all be worth it to me. 

I am still learning and failing most days here on our little farm. But if it weren’t for the failures, there would be no successes. 

I will be adding a service here on our website that will help others who are dreaming the Homestead life. It will feature all of our criteria for this land, the spreadsheet and tips on what to look for, but most importantly what NOT to look for. If this is something that interests you, please reach out. I am more than happy to assist you on your journey.

Much love,

XOXO - Renee W.