Trevelin is a beautiful place, but it has its challenges, like all places, I suppose. In Chubut, for example, there are a little more than 2 people per square kilometer, so the commercial movement, the access to things is compromised because -precisely- there are no people to sell a lot to.
The biggest challenge for us was access to transitional housing. For others it will be other things such as health, children’s education, work or a place where they can buy land at an affordable price.
But beyond these defining things, there are also other things that must be taken into account, not just because it is Trevelin, but because we are very far south of the world. The climate, the distances, the rural environment.
So, rather than to get cold feet, we have to be prepared:
- Smart warm clothes (those who live in the cold say that there is not really cold, what there is are people who are well or poorly dressed for the cold. So while a poncho is a beautiful thing to wear to watch a campfire or a gamulan to go out, there are clothes that keep us warm and allow us to move easily, they are light, comfortable and super warm. In general, they are of very good quality, so the investment will last several winters.)
- car, truck, van, truck (whatever but closed, only in summer you can go to places by bike/motorbike, besides the distances are measured in kilometers and not in blocks). Although I think that a 4×4 is not entirely necessary, what is important to keep in mind is that there is a lot of gravel and a lot of donkey hills that if you take good care of the car you can pass very slowly. Cars, I calculate, break much more easily than vans (or high mono vehicles such as the Spin, Suran, Ecosport, etc.) are useful and are not as expensive as vans. There are also the utilitaries or vans (used F100 type), they have less comfort but are more resistant than cars prepared for the city.
And then, as a challenge, there is also living without any public services, for example without gas or electricity from the street, and even more common without mains water or sewage.
For those of us who like renewable energies, permaculture and do-it-yourself, more than a challenge these things are a great opportunity to put into practice all those reels you saw on instagram and you wanted to do it one day 🙂