[snarf21]

I live in Lancaster PA and most Amish can't afford the farm land here anymore (its become housing and malls) and have moved west. Lots of Amish now work in the trades (construction/electrical/roofing/etc.) Someone picks them up and takes them to their job sites. Their general low standard of living (no car payments or electronics budgets) allow for that to be a very solid income for most.

[QuarterReptile]

Minor point, but you meant 'cost of living', I believe.

[astrodust]

It's inter-related. If you don't have a lot of needs you don't have a lot of expenses.

If you're prepared to live in a cardboard box you can save a fortune on rent. It's also a deliberately low standard of living.

[kibwen]

By "moved west" I presume you just mean farther west into the state, rather than the west coast? I'm from near Mercer, PA and I haven't noticed any decline in the number of buggies on the roads near there.

[snarf21]

A lot have moved west of the mountains but they have also pushed into Ohio, Indiana and Iowa. There are still plenty around but the model of buying a farm for each new couple to run and start their own family isn't tenable with the real estate prices around here and the declining number of farms period.

It is quite a shame as Lancaster County is some of the world's best farmland/top soil and we've paved it all. :(

[ams6110]

> no car payments

The article quotes ~$8,000 for a new buggy, plus a horse which although they produce themselves has to be fed and cared for. That to me sounds in the ballpark of the cost of owning a decent used car.

[snarf21]

"A lot of people will get 20 or 30 years out of a buggy before they do any major rebuilding of it." They tend to get a lot more use out of them and even then, they are rebuilt and given to their kids for far less than another new buggy.

Obviously, there will be some who buy new more frequently, but that goes directly against their way of life (to not seek the material things of this world) and is not that common.