Affordable Places to Homestead in California (Fresno, Palmdale: for sale, real estate, apartments)

[hpygirl40]

Hi everyone!
I am seeking some information from anyone who might know of some affordable places to homestead in California. Some back story. My husband is native to the Napa Valley, I moved out from Oklahoma to be with him 7 years ago. Where we live is terribly expensive, and does not embrace the "hippie, earthy, self-sustaining" values that we have. The expense and entitlement of the wealthy area we live is a complete turn off, and it is so hard to make it, and though geographically it is a beautiful area, living paycheck to paycheck is horrible. We are searching for a place we can get a small plot of land, ( would love a few acres) and a house where we can live the way we long to. We were considering a move to Oregon, but having just returned from a scouting trip there, I can honestly say I don't think I can handle the ever present rain and grey skies during most of the year.

We would love to stay in California. Would love a place that is affordable, the location does not matter so much,(though it DOES need to be in Northern, not Southern California) would like to live rurally but be able to have employment in a nearby town, ( my husband is an arborist, I work in the legal field, but both of us are open to other jobs), very interested in being self sufficient with a community of like minded people, but we are also both loners so community is not the be all end all, weather is important as far as being able to grow food. Do not mind the cold or snow during winter.

Desperate to hear of a few places that fit the bill, even though I guess we are asking for Utopia!

Thanks!

[nightlysparrow]

Hippie-friendly areas like Humboldt County and Mt. Shasta come first to mind.

[OwlKaMyst]

You are not too far from Mendocino and Lake counties. Similar weather and landscape as Napa. Not as expencive. Not sure what you can afford, but land is still pretty expencive.
But the attitudes are a lot different.

[NinaN]

What do you consider affordable?

[hpygirl40]

I guess I would consider affordable a house and a few acres for under 250k, would be great to pay less than that. Being from the middle of the country, I am amazed at how much housing costs here, though I do realize that the location is more desirable.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by hpygirl40

I guess I would consider affordable a house and a few acres for under 250k, would be great to pay less than that. Being from the middle of the country, I am amazed at how much housing costs here, though I do realize that the location is more desirable.

This is unrealistic. Maybe if you went out toward Fresno, but even then, I don't think you could get a few acres plus a house at that price. I was going to suggest Lake County, but that won't work if you want acreage. You could try over towards Lassen and the counties around it. There are some lakes over there, in the mountains. Even so, you wouldn't be able to get more than one acre, if that. You have to go to the midwest or parts of the south or Appalachia for serious acreage at that price.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

You can find a house with acreage in Shasta County in your price range. Lots of pot growers/smokers here mixed in with rednecks and yuppies. I find the people around here pretty live and let live.

I did a search for you on realtor.com for single family homes or manufactured/mobile homes max $250,000 on 1+ acre lots in Shasta County and got a list of 56 properties:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...-250000/ofbm-4

You can change the parameters to be closer to Redding, if you want. You may be able to find employment in Redding.

Here's the Redding Craigslist for you to peruse for jobs, etc. I personally love the farming/ranching section. I wish I could still have farm animals myself. I think it's fun to read the ads for goats and horses, etc.:

http://redding.craigslist.org/

Here's the local paper:

http://www.redding.com/

[SHABAZZ310]

Originally Posted by hpygirl40

Hi everyone!
I am seeking some information from anyone who might know of some affordable places to homestead in California. Some back story. My husband is native to the Napa Valley, I moved out from Oklahoma to be with him 7 years ago. Where we live is terribly expensive, and does not embrace the "hippie, earthy, self-sustaining" values that we have. The expense and entitlement of the wealthy area we live is a complete turn off, and it is so hard to make it, and though geographically it is a beautiful area, living paycheck to paycheck is horrible. We are searching for a place we can get a small plot of land, ( would love a few acres) and a house where we can live the way we long to. We were considering a move to Oregon, but having just returned from a scouting trip there, I can honestly say I don't think I can handle the ever present rain and grey skies during most of the year.

We would love to stay in California. Would love a place that is affordable, the location does not matter so much,(though it DOES need to be in Northern, not Southern California) would like to live rurally but be able to have employment in a nearby town, ( my husband is an arborist, I work in the legal field, but both of us are open to other jobs), very interested in being self sufficient with a community of like minded people, but we are also both loners so community is not the be all end all, weather is important as far as being able to grow food. Do not mind the cold or snow during winter.

Desperate to hear of a few places that fit the bill, even though I guess we are asking for Utopia!

Thanks!

Palmdale...

[chuckmann]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

You can find a house with acreage in Shasta County in your price range. Lots of pot growers/smokers here mixed in with rednecks and yuppies. I find the people around here pretty live and let live.

I did a search for you on realtor.com for single family homes or manufactured/mobile homes max $250,000 on 1+ acre lots in Shasta County and got a list of 56 properties:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...-250000/ofbm-4

You can change the parameters to be closer to Redding, if you want. You may be able to find employment in Redding.

Here's the Redding Craigslist for you to peruse for jobs, etc. I personally love the farming/ranching section. I wish I could still have farm animals myself. I think it's fun to read the ads for goats and horses, etc.:

craigslist: redding jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events

Here's the local paper:

Redding Record Searchlight: Local Redding, California News Delivered Throughout the Day.

Nice helpful post, Snow. I'm sure the OP will appreciate it.

When I first saw this thread I did a little digging and found 1) I dont know jack about homesteading and 2) there seem to be a number of real estate sites and faux homesteading sites that seem to nothing more than pay for click fronts.Oh how the internet has changed since this monetization thing has taken root.

What little I could gather is that homesteading is a matter of what appears on the title deed plus a certain manner of tax filing.

I wish the OP good luck. It is nice to see folks on this thread stepping up with helpful advice.

[rzzzz]

Trinity County