I was surprised by how much stuff I needed to buy to strip down and live the “simple life.” Fact is, I really didn’t have much need for things like a generator or chainsaw in the city. And the $5 ball peen hammer I had, worked just fine for tapping in the odd nail to hang a picture. But if I was looking to have things that lasted and did the job, I was going to have to pay the price.
Or buy used. Which I did for my first chainsaw, which turned out to have been stolen. So having lost that, I paid full-price for a brand new saw. I also bought a pair of caulk boots, with Kevlar fronts, haggling with the second-hand storeowner to get two pairs, one for a friend and I, for little more than the price of one. I paid for that when I got back to my car to find parking enforcement writing me a ticket.
But it was still worth buying everything I could in town before heading on-island. Whatever I paid down south, I reasoned, had to be better than up here, if I could find it at all. So the buying rampage continued. Building tools, hunting and fishing equipment, canning supplies, a year’s worth of contact lenses, pounds of chocolate etc., etc.
A good many of my purchases were likely not necessary, as I have yet to use them here and could probably have lived without. Except for the heavy items and the obvious I should have waited, since I realize now that whatever I couldn’t find here, I could find online and Amazon, eBay, Cabellas, Lee Valley Tools, etc. all deliver.