My reasons are many. Mainly, I got tired of "keeping up with the Joneses". Paying more and more for food and clothing, etc. We almost never eat at restaurants. When we do go someplace "nice" and get a steak, I usually leave thinking how much better it would've tasted at home from my grill. I haven't mastered homesteading or hobby farming or gardening, but I learn constantly. My grandfather was a farmer who I barely knew (after he retired) and sometimes I think the thing is in my blood. Maybe some of us just have it in our nature as human beings. But I don't care much what people think about how I don't follow fashion and technology. Personally it amazes me when my coworkers are so timid and distrusting when they try fresh cow's milk I buy from the Amish. It's like they don't trust nature unless it has been destroyed first. As for disease and disaster, well, I'm a paramedic. These things happen to people all the time. It doesn't have to be the whole country. If it happens to your family it is catastrophic. Other than that, it is so peaceful sitting on my back porch right now. The sun is setting, the night bugs are humming, my 3 year old is playing fetch with the dog. What's not to love about country life?