Many people who live in the city or suburbs have had the somewhat romantic notion of giving up the rat race and buying a place in the country... maybe getting some chickens, growing some of your own food. It's tempting, especially after you've sat in rush hour traffic for a while.
But what does it really take to make that pipe dream a viable option? Former Midwesterner Kristy Athens and her husband thought they'd give rural life a try. They moved from Portland, Oregon, to the Columbia River Gorge, a few years ago. It turned out to be a challenging, but rewarding period in their lives. And while they're back in the big city now, Athens has turned the experience into a recent book, called Get Your Pitchfork On: The Real Dirt on Country Living.
Athens, who is a former Minnesotan with Wisconsin roots, was in Milwaukee last fall, and our interview first aired then.