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Are there others doing this? What do you think of the idea? We have a small farm in middle TN now that is a VERY rural area. We prefer that. Had planned to put up a summer home in Maine on the coast to escape the heat here, but found out tonight that gun laws there are horrible, so that takes them off the table totally. So we're thinking of trying to go further north where the summers won't be so rough and the winters will be real winters.
While we'd love to be true homesteaders, I'm not sure we'll get to that point, but we'd like to be as close to it as possible. Plans would be for a farm of about 100 acres. We'd keep cattle, hogs, turkey and chickens. Have a very large garden. A second home would on the land and used as an exchange for a land manager, ie., they'd have a free 3 bedroom 2 bath 2 car garage mini farm on five fenced acres for free in exchange for helping with mending fences, tending garden, caring for livestock, etc. Might include a small income and free vehicle usage as well. Is it something that would be welcomed in the area? Where we are here we donated and give back to the community a great deal. All eggs and excess process chickens are donated to the local church and we'd plan on doing that, as well as donating some of the land for a community garden if anyone was interested.
If you think there are some areas that would welcome it while others would not, please feel free to share that info as well.
Kids are grown and moved out and married and most have kids, so schools aren't a problem.
If I decide to work it is in the nursing field and we do need doctors / hospitals within an hour's drive. Other than that, give me a WalMart and a Home Depot or Lowe's and I'm a happy girl.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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It's not exactly the same but there are "intentional communities" across the state where people do things like live off the grid and grow their own food. They're scattered all over the place.
Not sure what your concerns are but if it involves zoning and codes the more rural the better. I have a cousin in Southern KY who lives off the grid and has no water hookup and that county doesn't care, in more suburban counties there can be a ton of regulations to negotiate
It's not exactly the same but there are "intentional communities" across the state where people do things like live off the grid and grow their own food. They're scattered all over the place.
Not sure what your concerns are but if it involves zoning and codes the more rural the better. I have a cousin in Southern KY who lives off the grid and has no water hookup and that county doesn't care, in more suburban counties there can be a ton of regulations to negotiate
That was one of the concerns, yes, thank you!! Also just wondering if it's something the communities in the area would welcome I suppose. Don't know how open they are to 'outsiders'. People here have been very welcoming and friendly, but we're definitely still held at arm's length. Jobs only go to people who were born and raised here, which has been frustrating. I want to be a part of a community when we move. We definitely like our privacy and don't want to live on Main Street and have people popping in constantly, but do still want to be a part of the community, if that makes sense.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,480,204 times
Reputation: 12187
Laws regarding zoning, etc vary a lot county to county... and Kentucky has a ton of counties. I just took one class on that and it was focused on Madison Co in Central KY. In general the more rural the county the less regulations (some counties may not have any zoning laws). In the horse farm counties outside Lexington you have to have as much as 70 acres to build a new house. Other places you can have any size lot you want.
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