I'm an old "homesteader" who now lives in the city. I return to my little island paradise every summer to visit my friends and family. We are very close because we helped each other and raised our kids together. Now that we are all nearing the 60's mark, I can answer a few questions about growing old when you are isolated from the mainland (cities) and the work gets to be too much like work.

For one thing the gardens become more simplified. You no longer need to grow as much because you don't have all those hungry mouths to feed. Besides that, the soil has been cultivated for so long, its not such hard work.

Work hard when you are young so that when you are older you just have to maintain what you have built. Keep it simple.

Do yoga so that you remain limber. Its the best way to prevent injury and also helps you to remain young and flexible.

Practice preventative medicine. Take care of your teeth.

Raise rabbits for meat.

Some people are selling the big homestead and downsizing to small cabins with great views.

Cluster housing is being developed so that people can share trucks, tools, and gardens.

Last but not least - hope that you have at least one child that wants to stay close and continue with the lifestyle. That child will be a big help as you get older. (I'm not sure about this because it almost seems as if some people almost nurture this co-dependence as they are raising their children. They seem to have this decided long before the children can decide for themselves, ie: This community is too small for Larry but Moe seems to like it just fine or Mary would never be happy with anyone other than an island boy.)

Good luck to you. There is nothing like taking care of yourselves and breaking your dependence on a life of material gain.