There is a whole genre of internet content devoted to the concept of “homesteading.” On TikTok and Instagram, you can scroll through pages of videos explaining how to buy farmland, preserve food, and turn gardens into DIY pastoral wonderlands.

Ten years ago, Laura Griggs and her husband, Sam Griggs, bought an old farmhouse in rural Missouri and began homesteading in an attempt to gain financial stability. 

“We really were struggling to find jobs that paid well,” said Laura Griggs. “The solution seemed to be to change up our lifestyle, to live ultra frugally, to do as much as we could for ourselves.” 

The Griggses raised chickens, goats, and sheep and kept themselves warm with a wood stove, but couldn’t entirely leave their jobs in town behind.

Click the audio player above to hear about the Griggs’ path to selling their homestead and moving to Jefferson City, Missouri.