15 Mar Finding the homestead
We had just bought a house in the Netherlands, a cozy farmhouse in a small village in the countryside. This was the place where we would really start the homestead life. Be more outside and live with the seasons. Have a big vegetable garden and try to eat from this the whole year round. We would have our own chickens and lots of fruit trees. A woodstove to heat the house with and, if possible, to cook our food. We were full of dreams and ideas.
Still in the midst of our excitement, Hendrik and I took our first walk through our large garden (i.e., 2300 m²). When we got to the end of it, we gazed out over the acres behind our property, and it was Hendrik who said: “Where are the barns? And where is the rest of the land?”
This was not out of ungratefulness, for we were so happy with this new place. But I could see it too. I could see this beautiful house and garden filled with wonderful liveliness, but I could also see something more than this. As if this would be the breeding nest, the place where it would all start… and more would come to follow.
And so it happened. Five amazing years of building up the homestead life. Many chickens, and even more eggs… A big vegetable garden and an oversized greenhouse (built by Hendrik and his dad). Many, many fruit and nut trees… we got ourselves a ‘farm dog’… and even the funniest and most adorable runner ducks made their way to us. We had so many great people around us who shared at least a part of our lifestyle, and we exchanged a lot with each other.
We could have stayed. But we didn’t. We left the homestead after these five beautiful years. We didn’t just leave the homestead, we left the whole country. There were many reasons why we did this, which I won’t get into right now. The thing is… we had been to Sweden on vacation. And we just could not let this go. This was our next step.
So we left the homestead, but we didn’t at the same time. For a homestead is not just a place. It’s a way of life… and this we took with us. We went on a journey together, looking for the right spot to land again… and to start building it all up again… and beyond that. We had a new vision… and big part of that was the future of our boys. We wanted to find a place where we could build our homestead again, and it would be a place with enough space for our boys… even when they grow older and want or need a place to go to. Everyone knows the times we live in. Nothing is certain but the rise in prices…
So we looked for a place big enough to fit these dreams and be a home for all of us. This was quite a journey and certainly not as easy as it had seemed in the beginning. After a year of living in Sweden and looking for the spot we envisioned… after so many houses that just didn’t give a yes for both of us, even when we really, really tried to make us fit in it… or houses that could be it, but turned out to be unavailable…
Finally Neva came around.
The 10-hectare farm (about 25 acres) in the middle of the Swedish forests, on an open, elevated ridge with views over the treetops and the surrounding hills. It was the first house in a long time where all of our boys got out of the car. The place had several huge barns, and the eyes of our youngest sparkled when he excitedly asked, “Can I make a hut here? Can I just sleep here?? Can you buy this house?”
The house itself spoke to their imagination as well. In the second living room, which actually was the living room of the old part of the house, our youngest three sank into the big old lounge chairs, made themselves comfortable as if they owned the place, and said, “This is the Man Cave. This will be our room.” The rest of the viewing, we didn’t see them anymore.
There was a stirring in the air… could this be the place? This could be it. The place we had been looking for. The place that could fit all the plans we had… all the dreams we had been feeling… all the hopes that ached in our hearts. The place why we had left our first homestead in the first place…
I can imagine if you read this, you might think, well, that’s an easy decision. Yet it was not. Neva had a lot of what we had been looking for. Yet, in the year we had been living in Sweden, we had fallen into a warm community of loving people and inspiring activities… an area where we had tried hard to find a house, without result. This area was in a totally different place than where Neva lays. Neva on the other hand was situated really in the forests and quite far from civilization. So saying yes to Neva and these dreams we have felt exciting… yet also quite double and emotional for it was so far away from what we loved as well.
Sometimes in life, you come to a point where you have to make a decision… and then you can either choose with your head… your heart… or your gut feeling. The evening after we met Neva together, Hendrik and I sat down and talked… and it was clear. Our heads and hearts said all sorts of things, like they had done the whole year and could be so confusing. But this time, both of our gut feelings were super strong and on the same page: Do it!
And we decided to follow that. We did it. We contacted the sellers and agreed on the price and terms. Two days later, the contract was signed. Two weeks later, it was ours. It was ours!!
And so our Neva story began…
A story of an enthusiastic family of six, finding our way on a road that is anything but smooth. It’s a bumpy, sometimes chaotic journey, full of unexpected turns—but along the way, we stumble upon our dreams and plans, shaping our path as we go… and we learn to love all the parts of it.
We don’t know where the path will lead us. But one thing is sure: we are here now!
Välkommen to Neva Gård… we are happy to share our adventures with you!
Much love,