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Permalink Reply by Jeff Hamons on March 26, 2012 at 9:45am

That looks fantastic.  I drove by your place recently -- Looked very nice.  I think a front yard lake bigger than the house is about PERFECT!

 

Synergistic Acres - Kansas City Natural Farm

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Hambley on March 26, 2012 at 8:19pm

Thanks Jeff. Hope to meet you and your family soon.

Jerry

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Permalink Reply by Mike Cranston on March 29, 2012 at 1:37pm

I love that house you built. My son moved to the North East Kansas (Wetmore) area back in 2003. I went to visit him in 2004 and imediately fell in the love with whole area. I am planning a move to that general area in the next 5 years. I dont really want to build but would rather find a smelly old house to live in with a couple of out buildings for critters and my rusty old trucks.

Looks like you have a wonderful house there. Any plans for more buildings in the future???

To me Kansas Missouri and Nebraska are the hidden gems of this great country. Lost of open spaces, clean air, and friendly people too. Affordable living too.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Hambley on March 29, 2012 at 6:10pm

Mike,

I do think this area of the country (midwest) is really special. Around my particular area there are good deals to be found if you are willing to put in some leg work. I'm not a big fan of remodeling old homes myself as my parents took on several of these projects when I was a kid with limited success. Remodels always seem to be more costly and complicated than originally thought and never as energy efficient. I've also found that people always tend to "over value" their homes when they sell their farm land. To me, the land is the real value proposition, not the farmhouse.

After we built our cottage, we also purchased another 80 acre farm 4 miles away. I think we’ll try to consolidate all our livestock and future homesteading adventures to that 80 acres. 

I know on the new farm we will be building several out buildings but I'm still trying to finalize the designs in my head. Since this most likely will be the last place I build in my lifetime, I want to use Universal Design principles so that we can live independently for as long as possible.

I'm also a fan of multi-generation housing and plan on my mother living with us in her own apartment. Funny that the zoning laws in my county allow for a detached servants house but I can't build a small detached home for my own mother. Just goes to show you how out of touch our elected official are when you can’t build two homes on 80 acres of ground. 

I also want to construct the new place using materials that will last beyond my lifetime. How many times have you seen an old broken down wooden farmhouse falling over next to a perfectly preserved stone or brick barn? Unlike Europe, where buildings are still standing after hundreds of years, we seem to settle for the “build and rebuild” model of construction on this side of the pond.

I wish you luck planning your move and thanks again for your kind words.

Jerry

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Permalink Reply by Mike Cranston on March 29, 2012 at 9:09pm

Hi Jerry

My son now lives in the Lawrence area of Kansas. A very nice city but just that a city. He has told me to look at the Oskloosa and the Perry Kansas areas for a possible place to settle when I retire. I have really enjoyed the smaller town of Holton Kansas (pop around 3,500). The town has a hardware store, an auto parts store and many other amenities that appeal to me.

Can you tell me of other areas I might want to look at for a possible place to settle? I currently work for the county I live in and I also work part time at the local Home Depot store. I am hoping to retire from the govt job and just work a couple three days a week at the Depot for extra spending money. the folks here have already told me I can transfer out to Kansas. Currently where my son lives there is one and in nearby Topeka there is another.

I dont really wanna work off of the Homestead but I think to be realistic I will have to just to stay afloat money wise.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Mike C

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Hambley on March 29, 2012 at 9:58pm

Mike,

Funny, I'll be driving to a meeting in Lawrence tomorrow :) Your situation is a tough one. The areas close to a Home Depot store are not in an area with reasonable land prices. I'm at least 45 minutes from a Home Depot but only about 20 minutes away from a Farm and Ranch and Walmart. I understand about needing to work off the homestead to pay the bills. I see a long line of headlights leaving each morning heading north to the city. I'm fortunate to own my own business and work mostly from home.

I'm really partial to east central Kansas. I live in Linn county. We have good rainfall, the land prices are reasonable, and the building/zoning restriction aren't too bad. 

Maybe Jeff Hamon, who posted above, will chime in as he lives in the same small town that I do.

Jerry

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