Have you ever visited an Amish community?  

3 years ago my Husband met an Amish Pastor online, one of the funniest guys you would ever meet.
Never seen an Amish community, apart from that film with Harrison Ford in it, The Witness or something like that
It doesnt sound like a bad life to me, our grandparents, well maybe great grand parents would have lived similar lives, but I would miss electricity and all it does for us,

I have never personally been to an Amish community, but there is one around where I live. I have heard many of my friends talk about visiting them before. My father has actually befriended an Amish man. When he comes up to visit me, he always likes to go visit this man. He says he is a joy to talk with and my father is always full of questions for the man. My sister and my 2 year old son went with my dad one day and she said the man's children swarmed her and my son. She said she had jawbreakers and the children kept asking for them. She said they loved the candy. My parents are visiting this weekend and I'm sure my father will be going to visit his friend. If I am able to go with him I just might because I have never been before and the Amish have always amazed me.

I grew up in Ohio and their was a big Amish community close by. They are very religious, and they stick to their beliefs. and they have some of the best food you will ever eat, it is all made from scratch.

I've never actually visited an Amish community, but I've seen them scattered around Lancaster, PA and have even volunteered with Amish women making quilts for Mennonite Central Comittee (I'm a Mennonite, and a fellow Anabaptist, btw).

There is a lot more to Amish life than living like people did in the past - that's not why they live that way. They live they way they do because they are modeling their communities off of the early Shalom community in Israel and the early Christian church in Acts. They don't want to conform to the modern world's ways of doing things because they would rather live simply and make their living through honest work. They for the most part seperate themselves from government because they are pacifists and don't support the use of force under any circumstances.

One of the most touching stories about the Amish that I've heard... a mentally ill man went into a one room Amish schoolhouse, took the children hostage, killed five little girls, wounded five others, and then comitted suicide. What did the Amish community do? They refused to speak a bad word about the man, and expressed their forgiveness toward him. They said that he was standing before a just God to be judged. They went to visit the gunman's house and conforted his family so that they would be able to move on in peace.

Now, obviously I'm not Amish, and I don't think I would want to be. I think that they are too closed off from the world, and they close the world off from themselves. I can understand living simply, but living in complete rejection of modern society seems to negate the point of living simply. But overall I have a deep respect and admiration of someone who chooses to live that lifestyle.

Yes I have been to Amish "country". We have a community only 20 minutes away from where I live and they are the best people to go to for fresh vegetables and fruit. We know it is organic because they do not believe in using chemicals, they have honest prices and are always nice and polite. They use only what has become a necessity to due business and are proud people. There children are well behaved and their families are almost always very close knit. Of coarse there are the few who do not fit the bill but that is the same in any community.

actually we went to pa just to see them we drove about 2:30 hours after we retched pa and we saw them and we saw the caregis ,the horse that drive the carige..they got their own cloth for me and women and we saw their houses and their farms .. and they are really stricked about taking a pictuer.. they don't want to.
we were so happy about getting to know new culture.. and we took a tour in a house was owned by Amish people and we saw what house appliances they use ..it was very educating ..

My ex was raised in Maryland just over the border from a Pennsylvania Amish community. I never visited there, but his Mom & Dad used to buy some of the absolute best foods from there. I despise bologna, but the Amish made some I just couldn't stop eating. It was NOTHING like Oscar Mayer. My Mother-in-law used to buy one just for me. I could sit down with the bologna, a block of cheese & some crackers & pig out!!! She bought a good portion of her gifts from there too. She gave us a beautiful handmade quilt when we got married. So, if you have the chance to visit one of their communities, I'd suggest you go!!!

The town next to mine is the second largest Amish community in Ohio. My eldest daughter is a veterinarian in the largest Amish settlement in Ohio, about 2 hours south of here. I see Amish all the time. When we still had a dairy farm here we used to deal with them a lot, many continue to be good friends:) You are correct in that many of them have their own farms. Most of the Amish men I know personally not only have their farms, but work a regular job to boot. Lots of them work at the local cheese factory, and at a plastics extrusion plant. Many of them own their own businesses making furniture, and selling other needs.

While they don't have their own electricity, phones, or our modern conveniences, quite a few of the areas have a 'public phone' within walking distance, like for emergencies and stuff. While they don't drive cars, many of them do know how to drive and drive tractors for other farms. Us 'non-Amish' are referred to as 'yanks', and they know how to operate our farm equipment even if they don't own their own of that type (motorized.) I love living in this kind of atmosphere! While our farm has modern conveniences like tractors, cars, etc, it is wonderful to watch them work their farms with horse drawn equipment.

The community that is in our area still has neighborhood schools, one room type, that the children walk to each day. Us yanks have one central school all our kids go to, but they have many schools (small) that are close for them to walk. Ours use no conveniences in clothing, like zippers, buttons, etc. Clothes are hand-sewn and I've often seen nursing mothers unpin their bodice because their little baby needed fed. If you ever get to north east Ohio, shoot me a line and I'll give you places to see, eat, etc. If you're a quilt lover, you'd be amazed at their work!!

This is a good discussion and I am sure that a lot of people have different ideas when it comes to the Amish country,and whether they have visited or plan on visiting,and I personally have never been to the Amish country,but my mother and my grandparents have visited the Amish communities in both Penslyvannia and Ohio and they said they were a lot of fun,and a big difference,and my mother always brought me back a something from their trip and I think it might be nice to visit one of the Amish communities for myself one day to see what it is like,have a great day,good luck with your life,and all of your mylotting goals,and Happy Posting.

I have wanted to go! Especially if they are holding a sale of the items they make.

And honestly if you think about it sometimes I would like to go back to simpler times. When we could live off the land and raise a family on meager earnings. Now days you need atleast 2 jobs to even pay the bills and technology changes as fast as we bat an eyelash nowdays who can afford to keep up with it all? I know I can't. I'd love to if I had the cash to spare but keeping our fridge full is a bigger priority for me over any new gadget.