Copeland, KS - Sublette, KS

kerosene · 04-13-2005, 07:20 PM

My BF and I have decided to get out of the city and go live in his family's farm house in Kansas. It is somewhat close to both Sublette and Copeland. When we go to this area, I realize once again how enormous the sky is, and appreciate the magnificent beauty of the Earth.

Copeland has the population of about 400. Sublette is about 1200. That counts all the college students that come back to see their families there in the summer. We are planning to add another 1% to Copeland's population. My BF knows everyone in this town, as he grew up here, and left at 18. Much of this town is centered around agriculture. Most jobs in the area are having to do with agriculture. The people are kind and unassuming. The kids have a swimming pool in town, where swimming lessons are taught. The adults have one bar in town (owned and operated by a couple who also own the small liquor store). At the bar, there are 2 drinks served: Bud Light and Coors light. This is the only place to go hang out in Copeland and it is open until 2 am. The bar walls and ceiling are lined with a multitude of beer posters, featuring airbrushed almost-naked women. I have heard countless stories from my BF about the different people he has known in the area and every story is interesting in some way. If it isn't a story of someone finding happiness in their individuality, it is a story about some obscure trajedy or a story about someone who just lost their way and either went to jail or left and made an interesting story for some other town. Everyone is different in these places. Most of them live in farm houses, dwarfed by neighboring feedlots and fields of corn or wheat. Some live in small houses with carefully manicured lawns in town, down the street from the small market or the restaurant. There is a person known locally for his exceptional dedication to his job as a postman and his kindness. There is another known for his ability to create tools out of stone. There is yet another known for her constant attention to your beer mug. All of them have an interesting story and each individual is different. Nobody cares what kind of car you drive or whether you went to church on Sunday. Nobody minds if you decide to have a campfire in your backyard, if they even know about it. The newspapers are covered in stories about someone making a difference in the community. The streets are not all paved. It is a peaceful community and I look forward to our life out there.

Clodfobble · 04-13-2005, 08:47 PM

Is this an indirect way of saying you won't have internet access anymore?

kerosene · 04-13-2005, 08:50 PM

nope. I will.

Clodfobble · 04-13-2005, 08:51 PM

Well then it can't be too bad there.

But what's the employment situation like?

kerosene · 04-13-2005, 09:08 PM

Employment isn't super, but it isn't terrible, either. If you don't mind working in a stinky feedmill or for a farmer, you have a ton of opportunities. If you don't mind driving a semi, you are also in for a lot of opportunities. Generally, those jobs pay pretty well for the area, depending on who you work for. If you don't like any of those things, there isn't much else to do, but after a while, positions do open up with the school or at the market, and without many people in the area, these jobs may stay open for months. There's also stuff like road crew and landscaping, as well as opportunities for small businesses. BF and I are looking at what is missing in the area...there are no computer resellers or repair people. There are no Italian restaurants for miles and miles. There are a lot of holes, but who knows if they would work, or someone might have tried it by now...? The upside is, living there is super cheap. You can buy a decent house in town for under 30,000 and cheaper, if you know enough people in the area. We want to eventually buy a few acres outside of town and build our own house with the help of friends and local businesses. If you are close to the community, many folks trade service for service, or goods, (like I may give someone some tomatoes and corn if they help BF fix the vehicle, etc.)

Undertoad · 04-13-2005, 10:16 PM

What do you trade when it's not harvest time?

wolf · 04-14-2005, 12:56 AM

Have you gotten the custody issues resolved that this point? And will they interfere with your ability to move?

perth · 04-14-2005, 09:32 AM

Custody never was much of an issue. We both recognise each other's importance in the Jamey's life. The hard part was coming up with an agreement to minimise the travel and upheaval in his life. I'm thoroughly pleased to say we came up with a great agreement. I understand that the Summer is the best time to live on a farm when you're a kid, so he's getting that. And I would never interfere with her ability to move. :P

wolf · 04-14-2005, 09:56 AM

I wasn't talking about you, actually (although I was curious). I was thinking about case's BF's psycho-ex story.

perth · 04-14-2005, 10:15 AM

Oops. I was having a "the world revolves around me" moment. It's been on my mind because I've spent so much time thinking about it lately. My bad.

wolf · 04-14-2005, 12:01 PM

No, that's okay, I WAS concerned about you too, but I figured that you and case negotiated something to your mutual benefit, or rather, to Jamey's benefit.

Elspode · 04-14-2005, 12:08 PM

Well...this is going to be a serious example of environmental shock, idnit? Going from incredibly gorgeous Boulder to incredibly flat and rural Sublette...

Good luck, Case. Post photos!

LabRat · 04-14-2005, 12:52 PM

Sounds like a great place to let your creative juices flow...hope it works out!

kerosene · 04-14-2005, 04:38 PM

whew, yes. This is going to be a little different from what I am use to, but I am truly excited about it.

As far as custody goes, it was pretty much all figured out, and since the judge allowed her to move to Texas (see that thread I blathered on about this) we thought this would be a good way to move a little closer to them and make their time with us as comfortable and healthy as possible.

Perth threw a huge tantrum and told me that I would have to move over his dead body. I figure it's harder to find a shallow grave out there where there are thousands of square miles of farmland. :P

kerosene · 04-14-2005, 04:42 PM

that part about perth was a joke, as I am sure most people figured out. Sorry, perth, just putting up my disclaimer in the case of any hurt feelers.

04-13-2005, 07:20 PM	#1
kerosene Touring the facilities Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The plains of Colorado Posts: 3,476	Copeland, KS - Sublette, KS My BF and I have decided to get out of the city and go live in his family's farm house in Kansas. It is somewhat close to both Sublette and Copeland. When we go to this area, I realize once again how enormous the sky is, and appreciate the magnificent beauty of the Earth. Copeland has the population of about 400. Sublette is about 1200. That counts all the college students that come back to see their families there in the summer. We are planning to add another 1% to Copeland's population. My BF knows everyone in this town, as he grew up here, and left at 18. Much of this town is centered around agriculture. Most jobs in the area are having to do with agriculture. The people are kind and unassuming. The kids have a swimming pool in town, where swimming lessons are taught. The adults have one bar in town (owned and operated by a couple who also own the small liquor store). At the bar, there are 2 drinks served: Bud Light and Coors light. This is the only place to go hang out in Copeland and it is open until 2 am. The bar walls and ceiling are lined with a multitude of beer posters, featuring airbrushed almost-naked women. I have heard countless stories from my BF about the different people he has known in the area and every story is interesting in some way. If it isn't a story of someone finding happiness in their individuality, it is a story about some obscure trajedy or a story about someone who just lost their way and either went to jail or left and made an interesting story for some other town. Everyone is different in these places. Most of them live in farm houses, dwarfed by neighboring feedlots and fields of corn or wheat. Some live in small houses with carefully manicured lawns in town, down the street from the small market or the restaurant. There is a person known locally for his exceptional dedication to his job as a postman and his kindness. There is another known for his ability to create tools out of stone. There is yet another known for her constant attention to your beer mug. All of them have an interesting story and each individual is different. Nobody cares what kind of car you drive or whether you went to church on Sunday. Nobody minds if you decide to have a campfire in your backyard, if they even know about it. The newspapers are covered in stories about someone making a difference in the community. The streets are not all paved. It is a peaceful community and I look forward to our life out there.

04-14-2005, 12:56 AM	#7
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Have you gotten the custody issues resolved that this point? And will they interfere with your ability to move? __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

04-14-2005, 09:56 AM	#9
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I wasn't talking about you, actually (although I was curious). I was thinking about case's BF's psycho-ex story. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

04-14-2005, 12:01 PM	#11
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	No, that's okay, I WAS concerned about you too, but I figured that you and case negotiated something to your mutual benefit, or rather, to Jamey's benefit. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

04-14-2005, 12:08 PM	#12
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	Well...this is going to be a serious example of environmental shock, idnit? Going from incredibly gorgeous Boulder to incredibly flat and rural Sublette... Good luck, Case. Post photos! __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

04-13-2005, 08:47 PM	#2
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Is this an indirect way of saying you won't have internet access anymore?

04-13-2005, 08:50 PM	#3
kerosene Touring the facilities Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The plains of Colorado Posts: 3,476	nope. I will.

04-13-2005, 08:51 PM	#4
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Well then it can't be too bad there. But what's the employment situation like?

04-13-2005, 09:08 PM	#5
kerosene Touring the facilities Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The plains of Colorado Posts: 3,476	Employment isn't super, but it isn't terrible, either. If you don't mind working in a stinky feedmill or for a farmer, you have a ton of opportunities. If you don't mind driving a semi, you are also in for a lot of opportunities. Generally, those jobs pay pretty well for the area, depending on who you work for. If you don't like any of those things, there isn't much else to do, but after a while, positions do open up with the school or at the market, and without many people in the area, these jobs may stay open for months. There's also stuff like road crew and landscaping, as well as opportunities for small businesses. BF and I are looking at what is missing in the area...there are no computer resellers or repair people. There are no Italian restaurants for miles and miles. There are a lot of holes, but who knows if they would work, or someone might have tried it by now...? The upside is, living there is super cheap. You can buy a decent house in town for under 30,000 and cheaper, if you know enough people in the area. We want to eventually buy a few acres outside of town and build our own house with the help of friends and local businesses. If you are close to the community, many folks trade service for service, or goods, (like I may give someone some tomatoes and corn if they help BF fix the vehicle, etc.)

04-13-2005, 10:16 PM	#6
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	What do you trade when it's not harvest time?

04-14-2005, 09:32 AM	#8
perth Strong Silent Type Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 1,949	Custody never was much of an issue. We both recognise each other's importance in the Jamey's life. The hard part was coming up with an agreement to minimise the travel and upheaval in his life. I'm thoroughly pleased to say we came up with a great agreement. I understand that the Summer is the best time to live on a farm when you're a kid, so he's getting that. And I would never interfere with her ability to move. :P

04-14-2005, 10:15 AM	#10
perth Strong Silent Type Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 1,949	Oops. I was having a "the world revolves around me" moment. It's been on my mind because I've spent so much time thinking about it lately. My bad.

04-14-2005, 12:52 PM	#13
LabRat twatfaced two legged bumhole Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 3,143	Sounds like a great place to let your creative juices flow...hope it works out! __________________ Strength does not come from how much weight you can lift, or how many miles you can run. It comes from knowing that you set a goal, and rose to the challenge. Strength comes from within.

04-14-2005, 04:38 PM	#14
kerosene Touring the facilities Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The plains of Colorado Posts: 3,476	whew, yes. This is going to be a little different from what I am use to, but I am truly excited about it. As far as custody goes, it was pretty much all figured out, and since the judge allowed her to move to Texas (see that thread I blathered on about this) we thought this would be a good way to move a little closer to them and make their time with us as comfortable and healthy as possible. Perth threw a huge tantrum and told me that I would have to move over his dead body. I figure it's harder to find a shallow grave out there where there are thousands of square miles of farmland. :P

04-14-2005, 04:42 PM	#15
kerosene Touring the facilities Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The plains of Colorado Posts: 3,476	that part about perth was a joke, as I am sure most people figured out. Sorry, perth, just putting up my disclaimer in the case of any hurt feelers.

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