Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Offgrid Newbie on May 2, 2012 at 1:10pm

I am in the same boat as you, Roger.  I am currently in So. Cal.  Not sure where I want to relocate to.  I do know it's not going to be in California!  I just want a little "Hobby Farm" thing so looking for 2 - 20 acres (depending on price).

Permalink Reply by Jeanne Dufort on May 2, 2012 at 1:28pm

Hi Rog

I'm in GA, and my passion is helping people find their own piece of the rural landscape.  If you could tell us more about the land requirements you've already identified, that would help the conversation.

I'll tell you about my journey towards farm ownership - about 14 years ago, I set out in search of a second home on water for me, and land for my daughters horses - not even remotely sure that I could satisfy both needs with one purchase.  After 2+ years of searching, I found 75ac on the quiet north end of Lake Oconee, just 10 minutes east of Madison.  No pasture, but the right topo to convert forested land, and the bonus was an older cabin that could be fixed up - it came free with my land!  Daughter has since married and relocated to her own farm in Paris, KY, and last year we put in 200+ blueberry plants on the land as a start towards creating long term farm income.  I would say that you begin with a list, but keep an open mind because living with land tends to take on a life of its own.  Pay at least as much attention to the place - because living among people who value sustainable farming really matters, IMHO.

Permalink Reply by Jim Mitchell on May 2, 2012 at 2:44pm

This is an exciting journey that you are starting.  Those who have already started are usually very helpful and their experiences, both positve and negative can help along the way.  Like Jeanne, i have a passion of helping folks make the "transition" from urban to a rural environment.  You are so doing the right thing by starting your planning now.  Especially determining what is important to you. 

The question of where to go is one that takes some time and effort.  I have written a series of articles (email if you want a copy) regarding this entire transition.  In a nut shell, i've encouraged the following:

1.  Put together your 10 year plan.  What will you be doing, not just initially, but in the forseeable future.  You want to be able to have a clear standard to compare each potential homestead with.  What do you want to do. 

2.  Determine Where you want to live.  Sounds like this is where you are at.  This is the time to consider EVERYWHERE.  Indeed, i would stay away from California.  Find the Region you want to live in, then narrow it down to the state and ultimately county.  

3.  Determine if an existing homestead farm or ranch is what you want, or raw land.   No right answer, but there are plusses and minuses of each.  You just need to know what they are so you can do what is right for you and your family.

4.  Once focused, you look at individual homesteads, again with your list of what your plan is to ensure it can be met.   As you look, you want to make sure you have considered everything important to you and your family to ensure that you end up with a great homestead and not the "nightmare" homestead. 

 

My best as you continue along!

 

Jim

www.rurallivingtoday.com

 

Permalink Reply by rog rod on May 2, 2012 at 4:59pm

Thanks for the valuable insight Jim & Jeanne.  As for the land requirements; so far there are 3 musts. 1.  The property must be raw, undeveloped land.  2. there must be live water and available ground water for a well. 3. Elevation difference, hill or slope of some kind.

As part of my five year plan I am continuing garden, raise chickens, rabbits and keep bees in order to learn some valuable skills.  I hope to build a self-sustaining, thriving, multi-generational extended family homestead.   

Permalink Reply by Karla Upton on June 30, 2012 at 12:48pm

Greetings ~ Here are some comments based on my personal experience.  Not saying that it is the end-all, be-all way to do things... but maybe it will give you some ideas.

We have been living on nearly 5 acres for 6 years and are moving this year.  I can tell you something about raw, undeveloped land: it takes a LOT to start at the very, very, very beginning.  True, with something that has been somewhat developed, you run the risk of someone else's mistakes; however, you also benefit from not having to do a lot of things yourself.  And, since we are 20 miles from the nearest small town and an hour from the nearest town with over 50,000 people, getting things done can be a chore. 

One example, no one wanted to deliver driveway rock out to us.  Here in the desert, that meant we couldn't drive anywhere on the property without 4wd until the driveway was in.  Including from the gate to the house. I called literally every rock company in a 100 mile radius and paid an extra delivery fee to get them to come out.  I also had to buy a minimum amount (which was more than I needed) before they would deliver.

Another issue we had, of course, is that the well cost us several thousand dollars more than the estimate, because there are some things you just can't really know ahead of time.  Ditto with getting hooked up to the power grid.  And we waited 6 months to get a land-line telephone line put in (which we ended up cancelling).

Although our land was undeveloped, one good thing about it was that the perimeter was fully fenced.  Besides costing over $10,000 to do ourselves, it kept our dogs in and other people's dogs out both during and after construction.

BTW, I am not sure where I originally read it, but I read that it takes 4 - 5 years before the soil in a garden reaches peak productivity.  This is in keeping with my experience.  Being in the high desert, we started with pure sand.  6 years later, with both purchased compost, purchased dirt and 3 years of composted chickie-poo pine shavings, the garden is actually quite productive now.  I had a similar experience with the hard-rock clay in California, although I didn't have chickie-poo compost in those days, and had a much smaller garden.

I agree that water is a key point.  Make sure that your "live water" doesn't dry up and die in the summer and look for flood signs for when it rains in the spring.  As for available ground water, even if there is water under your property, you might want to talk to a well-digger now to find out how expensive it is to drill through different types of substrate.  That way, when you are considering a piece of property, you can ask a well digger about the geology before you buy.  Although we are sand for at least 20 feet down, somewhere under us was some rock that was not so easy to drill.  Also, sand comes with its own headaches - needing additional shoring up. Even if you later put in another well later on (and keep or cap off the old one), having running water to start could be a real boon.

We are moving for a number of reasons.  One being that both my husband and I are Southerners, and the lack of trees and green in the high desert is not working for us.  Also, while I am good with living in the boonies, my husband has discovered that he is really a "small town boy."  In addition, we are getting older now, and wish to be nearer to hospitals and doctors and such.  Although we learned a lot and enjoyed our time here, here are some lesson's learned:

• If you need off-farm employment in the beginning, is it nearby? I have a 124 mile round trip commute to work 5 days a week.  I happen to make enough money to make it worth it, and I can work from home when it snows, but at current rates, that is nearly $500 a month in fuel plus an oil change every 6 weeks. More than $s, though, this means I lose 5-10 hours a week on the property due to driving.  There is SO much to do in the beginning that those 5-10 hours are incredibly valuable - either for working on the land or sleeping!
• Is there a market for your goods near by?  I started out by wanting to homestead, and ended up wanting to farm, and, both climate wise and market wise, where we are is not the place to do it for us.  There is actually a thriving CSA within 7 miles of us, but I don't have the time or money to be able to fight mother nature that diligently.  Their 5 acres IS a beautiful green gem in the desert, though.
• Is the road to your home and the driveway passable in all seasons?  True, you may not need to bring product to customers or have them come to you in all seasons, but if you are getting older or if you have children or animals, being able to get to help or have help get to you may be more or less important, depending on your situation (vets, trips to the emergency room, etc.)
• The orientation of the hill/slope may either help or hinder you as far as orchards and gardens are concerned.

Sorry for being so long-winded!  Good luck on your journey!

Permalink Reply by Ann on August 20, 2012 at 12:21pm

I am in the same boat, nice to meet you.  I am considering either buying land here in Kentucky or I want to move to Florida.  The reason why we are eye balling Florida right now is because you can grow vegetables and fruits all year round.  It would also be beneficial for my sons allergies to live there.  I am looking for about 5 acres and I want a farm, a pond, a orchard, a house (at least 3 bedrooms, but need 4 bedrooms), and a place for a garden.  I know that is a big list, but I think if I can find the right land with the proper drainage and without restrictions, then that would be a great place to start.  If you spot anything, let me know.  It might be a year or two before we can move.  I am dreaming of a farm for sure.  We want to sustain ourselves and I want to eventually retire on a farm.  I am a nurse and I am in school as well furthering my education.  Nice to be able to see others with the same interests.

Permalink Reply by Mr. Spedithakis on September 21, 2012 at 8:04pm

Hi, I have a house with 5 acres in north florida I am going to be looking to sell about the beginning of next year.  It's a small productive piece of land, getting better every year.  If you are still looking shoot me a message and we can discuss details.

Take care
Paul

Ann said:

I am in the same boat, nice to meet you.  I am considering either buying land here in Kentucky or I want to move to Florida.  The reason why we are eye balling Florida right now is because you can grow vegetables and fruits all year round.  It would also be beneficial for my sons allergies to live there.  I am looking for about 5 acres and I want a farm, a pond, a orchard, a house (at least 3 bedrooms, but need 4 bedrooms), and a place for a garden.  I know that is a big list, but I think if I can find the right land with the proper drainage and without restrictions, then that would be a great place to start.  If you spot anything, let me know.  It might be a year or two before we can move.  I am dreaming of a farm for sure.  We want to sustain ourselves and I want to eventually retire on a farm.  I am a nurse and I am in school as well furthering my education.  Nice to be able to see others with the same interests.

Permalink Reply by rufus cox on April 27, 2013 at 5:00pm

Hello all, first time here. Searching for land is something that i have done many times in my 55 years. I bought my "dream farm" in 1998 after a long, long search. We visited at least 100 properties before buying ours. We felt it was just what we were searching for. Many twists and turns have happened since that happy day, and now sadly, we have decided to give up our dream here in southern WV and try somewhere else. I would agree with Karla. Raw land is very attractive in price and your ability to mold it exactly as you wish, but it's also very nice to have a head start on things like utilities and roads which can be very expensive and labor intensive. Also, a place to camp out on your property, is worth everything. Our property had no house, so we bought a little house 20 miles away..close enough, we thought to be able to travel to, to build and garden etc. We've now been commuting to our farm 40 min. each way for 15 years. We also thought we had "plenty of time". Where did it go? We should have planted our orchard 15 years ago. We didn't and and we wish we had jumped right in and begun immediately building our homestead... we have to rethink our plan now and start again. We're thinking of selling. Our farm is gorgeous. 97 ac. Rich soil, tillable acreage, pasture, woods, water. No restrictions. It begs for a homesteading family. It has a rehabilitated barn, corncrib with electric and hydrant (well). Beautiful woods, enough firewood for a lifetime. We have started a little cabin, in case we can stay, but it's looking more like we need to make a move. We would Love for someone to have this property who would care for it and respect it the way it deserves to be cared for. It is well maintained. I cleared brush and cut dead trees this winter..always something to do. If you're looking or know of anyone who is please send them to our photo sharing site. The property is located in southern WV, Greenbrier county. It is very private and beautiful. We are 20 miles from Lewisburg, which has stores (Lowe's, grocery, Walmart), airport, hospital, schools, entertainment..everything. There are farmers markets and places to sell produce. The Greenbrier resort is 10 miles from Lewisburg and is a possible place to sell produce and farm products. The climate is wonderful here in the highlands; summers, not too hot. We're generally 10 degrees cooler than the low lands. We have peas and Broccoli until July. Winter is not that bad. We have salad all winter in our cold frame. Our neighbor at the farm plows the main drive in and the road to the driveway is state maintained. There are lots of neighbors who would be interested in haying your fields for you until you are ready. Come take a look. We're happy to show it. It is someone's "dream farm"! We just waited too long. Don't put it off. Live your dream now (if you can). That's my advice. Thanks, hope to see you at our farm. Rufus.   ....someone will love this farm like we do, it has a very wonderful vibe!!!  coldknobfarm.webs.com  for survey and aerial go to use.com/pinchcreek