I have been told that by a lot of people. It's really comforting as most of my neighbors don't have a clue what I am doing, although a few are realizing that I'm not the eco-rapist they thought I was at first. I guess it's because these days I plant as much as I chop.
It's also tempting because I could do it with cash and own it free and clear, but there's one thing about it that I know in my heart: There is no coming back. Land prices here will continue to go out of sight as they always have, until it all collapses. All that love and time and care, down the tubes. Four generations of history, down the tubes, and the liberal fascism will follow me anyway in just a few years.
If it does collapse, it will do so everywhere, not just in California. That's one thing many FReepers don't understand when they bash us or advise us to cut and run. So I guess it's best that I stay and fight, and be the public example of what I espouse in stewardship and research.
I couldn't find any work building power plants there, or in NV / AZ either. I got my contractor's licence and tried building houses instead, but stumbled into the no-growth tar pit called the SLO Building Department.
There comes a time when you must ask yourself what you would do if you were Atlas under these circumstances.