My folks moved to WV in the early 1970's from MD right after college. They had read a book called "5 Acres and Independence" and wanted to try their hand at homesteading. My parents found a place with 107 acres for a song and a dance and moved themselves and my two brothers to rural WV. The first two years were spent in a tent while my dad built our house. When it got really cold in the winter, the neighbor lady would come up and force my mom to let my two older brothers stay with her for the night.
My dad built our house completely by hand with a shovel, a chainsaw, a hammer, mortar, and bricks. He salvaged materials when he could, including some rounded windows and stone lintels that formed the basis of our iconic turret.
My mom found work as a teacher, but my dad had trouble putting his English major to work, so he got a job with one of our neighbors as a hand at a veal operation nearby. I think this job was a bit soul crushing for him and that is why he soon started a furniture workshop.
I was born in 1985, in the house my father had built. By then, my father and brothers had cleared out the pastures and established a small herd of cattle. A stand of pine trees they had planted was nearing maturity, and the apple orchard they had planted was producing bushels of apples. The furniture business did OK, but it was tough to sell a piece and get back the time invested.
Growing up, even though I was probably the only person actually BORN in my county, I was definitely an outsider. We didn't go to church, which was definitely weird, but I did attend vacation bible school in the summertime. Most of my friends were children of other hippies. Many other families had done what my parents did - find cheap land in the 1970's to live off the beaten path. We formed a tight knit group that forms the basis for most of my current friends.
As far as what my life is now... I definitely have a worldview more accepting of counterculture ideas - for better or worse. I grew up around bonfires more than around a TV which I think is great in a lot of ways. My wife has a lot to say about TV shows she watched when I was running around in the woods. These days though, I spend less time outside and more by my PC - something my parents do too (oddly enough).
TLDR - Homebirth, Composting toilet, pot