Off to a Terrific Start: Our First Days on the Idaho Homestead After Seven Years of Preparation

Boy oh boy, were we off to a great start.

That's what I wrote in my blog in those first weeks on our Filer property. I hadn't posted much because I was too busy doing what we'd spent seven years training to do.

Seven years. That's how long we'd been studying and preparing for the homesteading life before we landed on those three acres in southern Idaho. We started back in Mesa, Arizona — a cookie-cutter house on 0.17 acres, crammed between two other homes in a subdivision, dreaming about something different.

We weren't happy with city life. The smog, the traffic, the crime, the feeling that life was happening to us rather than being built by us. We started reading SurvivalBlog, Rural-Revolution, watching YouTube channels from people who were actually doing what we wanted to do. We planted gardens on our tiny Mesa lot. We started learning.

Most people sit with a dream like that and say "we don't know how" or "we don't have time" and never start. We made a conscious decision: start anyway, even imperfectly, even slowly. Build the skills before you have the land to use them on.

By the time the headhunter called and Idaho came into focus, we were ready.

The First Batch of Chickens

The first photo I took on the homestead that I'm proud of is of our first batch of chicks — mostly Americaunas, huddled together in their brooder box in the early weeks of spring.

Americaunas lay blue and green eggs. The kids were fascinated. I was fascinated. After years of reading about backyard chickens and planning for them, here were actual chickens on actual land that we actually owned.

That gap — between knowing about something and doing it — is one of the most significant feelings I remember from that first year. We knew what we were doing. We'd studied it. And it was still so much more real, more demanding, more rewarding than the studying had prepared us for.

What the Magic Valley Delivered

If I'm being honest, southern Idaho exceeded what we'd hoped for.

We'd hoped for space. We got three acres and a sky that went to every horizon.

We'd hoped for a community that shared our values. We found neighbors who helped without being asked, a church community that showed up with casseroles and labor, and a 4-H organization that gave our daughters experiences that will shape who they are for the rest of their lives.

We'd hoped for outdoor access. We got the Snake River Canyon ten minutes away, the county fair every September, hunting and fishing seasons that lasted most of the year, and sunsets that still stop me cold after all these years.

Idaho and the American Redoubt had been very good to us. I wrote that then and I believe it more now.

From Homesteader to Real Estate Agent

Something interesting happened over the years of living this life in Magic Valley: I became someone who could help other families find it.

I understand what acreage buyers are looking for because I was one. I understand the learning curve because I climbed it. I understand the soil and the water rights and the canal system and the 4-H program and the hunting seasons because they've been part of my daily life.

That's what I bring to the table as a real estate agent in this region. Not just market knowledge — lived experience.

📞 Dr. Ron Jones | 208-712-8386 — Seven years of preparation led me to southern Idaho. Let me help your family get here faster.

Photo taken by Dr. Ron Jones of the first batch of Americauna chicks on the Filer, Idaho homestead, spring 2015.

Dr. Ron Jones | Rim & River Real Estate | rimandriver.com | 208-712-8386