# Roommate- my latest prep



## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

I decided that it was in the best interest of myself and my children to take in a roommate. We need help around the house/property as well as protection.

He is a nice man, few years older than me, friend of a friend, and willing to trade labor for a place to live since he was just divorced and sold his family home.

We have to work on the details, but so far we have discussed him building a chicken coop with run, fencing my pasture, digging holes for my fruit trees, and using his tractor to plow out a large fenced area for my garden.

He also comes with several guns and trunks of ammo. Yes, he is a prep-minded individual as well.

His living space is separate so the house lends itself to a living situation like this.

I am just feeling a little overwhelmed with a 2,800 sq ft house that needs some work on 5 acres in a remote location. Things go bump in the night and I find myself not getting much sleep. 

I am hoping that with his help I can more forward with doing the things I want to do but haven't been able to do on my own (my list of things to do prep-wise is just growing and growing.)


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

Well....is he interesting to talk to?? Handsome in a rugged kind of way??


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

beaglebiz said:


> Well....is he interesting to talk to?? Handsome in a rugged kind of way??


This is strickly a business arrangement....but yes and yes!:whistlin:


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## kimmom2five (Apr 19, 2009)

shanzone2001 said:


> This is strickly a business arrangement....but yes and yes!:whistlin:


Hey that's the stuff decades of Harlequin romance are built on. Just sayin...


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## celticfalcon (Jan 7, 2005)

pick me pick me lol
tom


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## naturelover (Jun 6, 2006)

shanzone2001 said:


> ........ He is a nice man, few years older than me, *friend of a friend*, and willing to trade labor for a place to live since he was *just divorced* and sold his family home....... His living space is separate so the house lends itself to a living situation like this.


Ok Shan, sounds like a good idea to have a handy fellow living on the property - and it's good if his living space is separate, but you know what I'm like so I just have to ask if you're clear on a few things since you don't know him very well. 

Why did he get a divorce? Is he a drinker? Does he have a job? Do you know if there's any history of domestic abuse in his ex-marriage? Have you set boundaries with him about whether or not he'll be having his buddies hanging around with him on the property?

.


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## debbiekatiesmom (Feb 24, 2009)

hey shan! hope it works out for you. i met a prepper "friend" on craigslist a few weeks back. we've been thick as thieves since then-lol. just taking it slow and seeing where it goes. if nothing else, having a prepper friend is always good. they are someone that truly understands you and your compulsions.


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

naturelover said:


> Ok Shan, sounds like a good idea to have a handy fellow living on the property - and it's good if his living space is separate, but you know what I'm like so I just have to ask if you're clear on a few things since you don't know him very well.
> 
> Why did he get a divorce? Is he a drinker? Does he have a job? Do you know if there's any history of domestic abuse in his ex-marriage? Have you set boundaries with him about whether or not he'll be having his buddies hanging around with him on the property?
> 
> .


According to mutual friends, his wife left him for a man she met at a bar. She regrets it but he won't have her back.
Not a drinker. Smoker but will only smoke outside.
I said no other adults around my kids unless I know them. My kids go to their dad's most weekends for at least one night unless they have an event at home.
He is a contractor. I checked his license and it has been valid for 20 years...no complaints.
According to mutual friends, he keeps busy and has a lot of work because they have a hard time getting him to find time to help them with projects they want to hire him for.
His space has its own kitchen and bathroom.

He has a large supply of preps that seem to compliment what I have. That gives me peace of mind...right now my primary concern is creating a safe, well-supplied place for my kids and myself. I am not a doomsdayer, but I am very concerned about what is going on around me.

Yes, he is handsome, but considering I am pretty much disillusioned with men, I am looking forward to having a like-minded friend right now.


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

debbiekatiesmom said:


> hey shan! hope it works out for you. i met a prepper "friend" on craigslist a few weeks back. we've been thick as thieves since then-lol. just taking it slow and seeing where it goes. if nothing else, *having a prepper friend is always good. they are someone that truly understands you and your compulsions*.


Exactly!:thumb:


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

shanzone2001 said:


> This is strickly a business arrangement....but yes and yes!:whistlin:


call it what you like :kiss::hammer::stars::yuck:

just teasing,

but seems to me, when ever its to opposite sex folks, unless one or both are but ugly (not always), some how that aspect of humanity rears its head.


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

I must have missed something Shan , I thought you got married a little while ago ?


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

Vickie44 said:


> I must have missed something Shan , I thought you got married a little while ago ?


You have already asked me this in Singletree...my response is the same as last time. I am sure you can find it if you look for it.


Back to the topic and relation to S&EP...I wonder how many people will be sharing rooms/space and moving with other like-minded folks as the economy continues to fail and SHTF is looming?


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I think there will be more of the roommate sharing, even if only family with family more - or having "rooming houses" as in older days.

Economy and abilities will drive these things.


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## Fowler (Jul 8, 2008)

shanzone2001 said:


> You have already asked me this in Singletree...my response is the same as last time. I am sure you can find it if you look for it.
> 
> 
> Back to the topic and relation to S&EP...I wonder how many people will be sharing rooms/space and moving with other like-minded folks as the economy continues to fail and SHTF is looming?


Who cares? :grin: So when is the girl's nite party at your house so we can watch him work?:heh: Hey I'm married but not dead :shrug:


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

You are funny!!!


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

It sounds like you are doing what you need to do. I'm glad you have found someone that can help out and is of the same mindset. Don't get too comfortable....keep your eyes open. Even really good people can make a bad decision here or there, so keep your backside covered.


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

happy for ya Shan! wish i could find me a prepper friend. i'm lucky if i know anyone who even puts by a few cans of beans. ~Georgia.


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

shanzone2001 said:


> According to mutual friends, his wife left him for a man she met at a bar. She regrets it but he won't have her back.
> .


This happened to my brother, AND my brother in law..both awesome guys...what the heck is going on in the world??


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

Ohio dreamer said:


> keep your backside covered.


YES!! Definately keep it covered!! 

(just teasing Jen, I know what you meant)


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## sidepasser (May 10, 2002)

Glad you found someone to help out around there, it is a very nice place you have and no reason to not exchange room and board for help!


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## Red Elm (Sep 29, 2011)

shanzone2001 said:


> Back to the topic and relation to S&EP...I wonder how many people will be sharing rooms/space and moving with other like-minded folks as the economy continues to fail and SHTF is looming?


I believe that you will see a lot more familys staying together instead of kids moving on after college, and more older parents moving in with their kids instead of nursing homes. 

There will probably be more situations like yours as well. As unemployment stays high and jobs scarce people with hands on skills will be trading them for room and board. Everyone needs help from time to time. 

I hope it all works out for you and the kids.


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## stamphappy (Jul 29, 2010)

Fowler said:


> Who cares? :grin: So when is the girl's nite party at your house so we can watch him work?:heh: Hey I'm married but not dead :shrug:


HAHAHAHA. When we were having the back yard dug out by a landscaping company, in the heat of the summer, my girlfriends would come over to watch the handsome, sweaty, shirtless young men working. 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with looking as long as you're not leering (well, as long as they can't see you leer...)!

Good luck with your living arrangement and I hope you and he can work out an equitable-for-both arrangement.


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

> This happened to my brother, AND my brother in law..both awesome guys...what the heck is going on in the world??


This happened to 3 of my brothers. What has happened?? People living just for the moment. Hard to find anyone that thinks it is necessary to keep plenty on hand & be prepared for disasters. Most are too busy trying to be prepared for a night on the town. 
I am glad you found a like-minded person. He may just come in handy!


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

Wendy said:


> I am glad you found a like-minded person. He may just come in handy!


He comes home from work and then does stuff around the house...he seems to really enjoy it. In 2 days he has re-wired the garage so there are lights out front (it used to be pitch black at night!), painted some trim, caulked windows, fixed the fence in the horse pen, repaired the deck on the gate, and fixed the leak in the faucet.
Sweet!!!!!


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## Forest (Oct 14, 2010)

Sounds like he really likes you...


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## sidepasser (May 10, 2002)

No, sounds like he wants to keep up his end of the deal to me. I would have loved to have that type of arrangement on my farm when I was raising three kids and had no help (their daddy died). I had to hire any help I could find or learn how to do for myself which I did. I learned a lot, but it sure would have been easier to have someone on the place to help a bit in exchange for rent.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

this is great- I am glad you can now not worry about those "bump in the night noises" ... a Mom who is homesteading needs sleep! 
Glad that you found someone like minded.. and sounds like he is willing to be a worker and do what you both expected so far!


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## Pelenaka (Jul 27, 2007)

Congrats on the arrangement !

I remember several of my patients tell me about how they grew up with boarders in the home. More than one who's father had died said their mother took in wash & boarders.

One woman Mrs Kelly said that her father always built his houses with an extra bedroom to rent out. She was the wife of Roy Kelly, together the founded the Outrigger Hotel chain in Hawaii. She said that they started with just a few rooms.


~~ pelenaka ~~


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## westbrook (May 10, 2002)

can I have him when you're done? :shrug:


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## HilltopDaisy (Feb 26, 2003)

beaglebiz said:


> This happened to my brother, AND my brother in law..both awesome guys...what the heck is going on in the world??


So are either of them looking for a roommate living situation?


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## Jolly (Jan 8, 2004)

So I went back and read...if I read correctly, the original poster is married. 

Maybe I'm just wrong, but in a SHTF situation, I don't want think I want to throw another problem onto the stack.


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## farmhome5 (Dec 20, 2005)

Please be careful of someone you don't know very well around your young children.

I am glad you found someone that works hard to help you out.


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## JustMe2 (Mar 8, 2011)

shanzone2001 said:


> Back to the topic and relation to S&EP...I wonder how many people will be sharing rooms/space and moving with other like-minded folks as the economy continues to fail and SHTF is looming?


My husbands cousin is moving in with us. She owned her own business for almost 10 years,and thanks to the economy it went under. Now she's having trouble finding a job, like me. We were a family of 5 living in a three bedroom house...each daughter has her own room and hubby and I are making our basement into a "bedroom". With his cousin moving in we're now making what used to be our dining room into a bedroom for her. She also thinks like me when it comes to stocking food, wanting our own little "compound", and being more self reliant. Plus we're both not right in the head!  So we get along great! Lol!


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## bluemoonluck (Oct 28, 2008)

Make sure you have a "plan b" in case the work he does around your house diminishes with time... you'd have to legally evict him and that could get messy.

I had a roommate a few years back... I was going thru a rough time in my life and my friends were worried about me. One of my friend's BIL's had just gotten a divorce and was living with his parents in their (very small) house, so I rented him a room in my basement.

He paid rent as agreed for a few months, then "lost" his job. But he promised instead of rent that he would do chores around the house....which he did, for a while. Then he stopped doing things altogether :shrug:. He eventually moved out of his own accord, when he saw the writing on the wall (mainly that I wasn't going to put up with a free-loader any longer), but if he had dug in his heels things could have gotten very ugly.

I'll cross my fingers for you, that this handsome new border works out well for you


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## kacey (Dec 8, 2011)

Shanzone's prepper roommate is now available. He comes with a tractor


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## kacey (Dec 8, 2011)

hello


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## kacey (Dec 8, 2011)

westbrook said:


> can I have him when you're done? :shrug:


Perhaps:bouncy:


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## GammyAnnie (Jun 2, 2011)

kacey said:


> Shanzone's prepper roommate is now available. He comes with a tractor


Don't guess you want to come help out an old woman in Illinois??


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## EasyDay (Aug 28, 2004)

Why available after only a few months?
Kacey, are you him?
Perhaps Shanzone can fill us in?


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I'd like to know also. About Kacey.


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

Maybe the guy works fast and fixed everything already??? I mean look at the list he fixed in just 2 days???


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

WOW! on the local news a woman in her 60's rented her 2 spare rooms to a couple of men in there 40's only to discover they were cooking meth in the basement

http://www.ktvu.com/ap/ap/crime/meth-lab-broken-up-in-s-maine/nGNLS/

be careful people are not often as they appear....


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

This could get interesting


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

This already is interesting. *lol*

On the OP - I have discussed this with several of my friends. We just aren't alike enough to be able to make it work (or should I say - I just can't trust them to be reliable enough). 

I know many, many people who have told me that if I ever get my dream farm, they'd love to trade room for work, but I can't see any of them actually doing what needs to be done! :S


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

I think it's foolish to expect much from a live-in situation if you don't have a written and signed/notarized contract. Even then it'd be stupid to take in a boarder. There's too many psychopaths running around to trust anyone you don't already know very well. I have some family that wouldn't be allowed here on a live-in basis due to their own lifestyle choices that would be counterproductive to my own.


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