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Old 06-10-2020, 09:05 AM
 
Location: Summerfield FL
514 posts, read 856,294 times
Reputation: 704

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Quote:
Originally Posted by 08grad View Post
Interesting how liberals always try to tell others how they should think.
What a dumb response, troll
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Old 06-10-2020, 12:29 PM
 
927 posts, read 875,191 times
Reputation: 1269
Quote:
Originally Posted by DTWflyer View Post
I just wanted to provide a common sense response to think through all the pros and cons and not to suddenly make a rash impulsive decision based on recent events without thinking through the long-term consequences.
... keeps doing it. Hilarious.
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Old 06-10-2020, 03:52 PM
 
7,072 posts, read 9,533,770 times
Reputation: 4531
My ex-neighbors retired to the Black Lake area near Cheboygan from the Detroit area and never looked back.
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Old 06-10-2020, 04:17 PM
 
1,317 posts, read 1,916,867 times
Reputation: 1925
I'm going to ignore the random troll from above, but there is a big difference between moving up north to live on a lake versus living on acreage out in the middle of nowhere.

Lots of people in Michigan have lake properties, lots of being move up north and retire on a lake. By and large, most lake properties either are not large tracts of acreage and/or are not used for agricultural/farming purposes.

Except for very remote lakes, typically in the UP, most lake properties have other properties and homeowners on the lake. You have some neighbors typically. Lake property with any significant amount of land tends to be very expense and/or rare.
So you tend to not have the issues associated with maintaining 40-80-200+ acres of land.

My wife has a coworker who did the same thing and bought a large piece of land up north to retire. Its interesting to see the stuff that people don't realize when they move "up north" to retire at a rural property that they didnt' have to deal with when living in the city/suburbs. I'm fascinated these otherwise smart people didn't know these things going into it.
I'm talking things like:
"Oh, my driveway is 1/4 mile long, I can't just plow it with my little Toro snowblower. I need hire a plow service, and its kinda expensive"
"Oh what is this water softener thing, I have to put salt in it?"
"Oh church and the grocery store are 20 minutes away. The grocery store closes at 6pm and everything is really expensive"
"Amazon doesn't deliver to my house, I had to get a PO Box. Now I have to go to the post office, its 20 minutes away"
"I don't have any neighbors. I don't know anyone up here yet. I like it when my adult children come up to visit (twice a year)"

Don't get me wrong. Lots of pro's to rural living. Its a lifestyle. TV shows tend to romanticize the positive aspects and ignore the downsides and considerations.
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Old 06-15-2020, 07:52 PM
 
Location: West Michigan
3,119 posts, read 6,561,116 times
Reputation: 4543
You don’t have to move way up north and away from civilization to live the rural life. There is something to be said for the semi-rural and rural areas within a half hour of Grand Rapids, Lansing, Kalamazoo, etc. It’s a nice combination of living rural and having amenities within a reasonable drive. In a lot of ways, those areas provide a better quality of life than rural areas Up North.
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Old 06-15-2020, 09:08 PM
 
4,464 posts, read 5,010,639 times
Reputation: 4717
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave w View Post
What a dumb response, troll
I second this.
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Old 06-16-2020, 11:44 AM
 
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan
30,701 posts, read 79,330,237 times
Reputation: 39408
Quote:
Originally Posted by michigan83 View Post
You don’t have to move way up north and away from civilization to live the rural life. There is something to be said for the semi-rural and rural areas within a half hour of Grand Rapids, Lansing, Kalamazoo, etc. It’s a nice combination of living rural and having amenities within a reasonable drive. In a lot of ways, those areas provide a better quality of life than rural areas Up North.
There are rural areas in Romulus and in Lyon Township, Flat rock, Anna rbor Township., some areas of Detroit also might be described as rural (hundreds of acres of empty land). You can find them all over if you just want a mile or five of rural.
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Old 06-18-2020, 07:59 AM
 
1,149 posts, read 1,579,061 times
Reputation: 1398
Quote:
Originally Posted by DTWflyer View Post
I mean we all think the "grass is always greener" but I would really consider the pros and cons before making such a big decision.

The reasons you say for wanting to flee Metro Detroit aren't really good reasons in the sense that they are pretty brief duration events. The whole country had to deal with covid & lockdowns. Northern Michigan had the same restrictions, grocery store stock-outs, everything closed. People were scared up there too.

We didn't have riots in Detroit. Yes we had protesters but that didn't really impact anyone negatively and everything has been mostly peaceful. No one eliminating police departments. Again, you really need to think why do you want to go move to a rural area and just homestead?

Now, if you want the lifestyle than my all means and again know the good and bad aspects of it.
I would also caution about the job situation. Is your remote/WFH job rock-solid? Or is it at risk of elimination? What if you need to find another job, options in rural areas can be far more limited. Just something to consider.

There are tons of areas out state that have land and acreage available. You'll need to be more specific on what region, and towns you might want to be near, you want/mind being in lake effect snowbelt areas, lake/woods/farm, etc. Dp you want to be near any towns with amenities and the ability to meet others, or are you just a home body? Do mind being near some of the more touristy areas along near Lake Michigan, or want to be on the quieter east side of the state?

A lot to consider.
Not to mention that a lot of rural areas don't have police departments, or maybe one guy, and rural areas in some areas have crime rates on par with Detroit for areas of their population.
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Old 06-20-2020, 10:01 PM
 
214 posts, read 282,166 times
Reputation: 365
My niece lives in a rural area in Gladwin County. Much of what has been said above has been her reality:

Power outages last much longer than in the metro area
The local grocery store went out of business (pre covid) and now she has to drive to Bay City to get to a Meijer
Getting good cell service and internet requires doing some homework
Land has to be maintained - she is a gardner at heart so she loves it, and aims for self sufficiency where she can
She's also had chickens - but does not have an outside job so the garden, chickens etc. do not compete with work obligations
Taxes in her area are not too bad
Neighbors keep to themselves but she knows who they are
Taking a bike ride means riding on a 2 lane road
Medical care is a challenge - she has children with disabilities and has regular appointments in Ann Arbor so it's a hike
The nearest ER is over 30 minutes away, in Midland
Yes to a generator
If you are looking for property that will appreciate, a lot of rural Michigan would not readily fall into that category

If your parents are already living rural in northern Michigan, I would suggest you seek their input about the experience and what it would be like for you. I'd also suggest that you look at properties not too far from them.

And in general, be sure to get a good house inspection including the well and septic. (Well and septic. That's another thing.)
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Old 06-21-2020, 10:17 AM
 
Location: Meridian Township, MI
262 posts, read 160,865 times
Reputation: 621
This was a fun post to read. I too love land, but for a single person, I would never recommend living on rural land and managing by yourself. It is not safe or feasible. Really requires a large team, and comfort using a lot of different kinds of machinery and equipment, from chain saws, to propane tanks, to tractors, septic fields and septic tanks, wells, water softeners, and a snow plow. Be prepared for paying fees for septic field and well inspections, that are in the thousands of dollars, both for installation and occasional maintenance. Gravel road maintenance is another challenge

You may look into a double wide lot with a home in a smaller village type community, maybe near a river or lake. That way you can be out of the city, but still be part of a smaller community and have more space.

I have a husband and two teen kids. We have 200 vacant acres behind us, and 100 acres protected wooded wetlands on the other side. Neighbors help out some with ride on mowers, we have 3 weed hogs, a commercial brush clearer hired the other day. I go out on occasion with my mask, and spray for mosquitoes with a commercial sprayer, going through many 1.3 gallons of the stuff. Yesterday, on another tract of land we have, we geared up in full face shields, leather gloves, rubber boots, and took out our weed hogging machines for combat through the overgrown grass that shot up in a weeks time to clear the long driveway all the way out to a swale that runs 500ft - in 90 degree heat. We had to clear a path for an inspector coming out next week.

The grass is greener on the other side, but just too much for one person.

I would never try to do this alone. Rural land requires a team of hardworking people. I grew up in hobby ranching in Texas, but Michigan I find is more challenging due to the water runoff in spring that causes a lot of floodiness and mud, and the abundance of overgrowth that occurs in early summer. I find the winters easiest to deal with, as Michigan doesn’t get the heavy deep snowfall like the northeast does. The fall is also tough mulching tons of leaves, and that is when the trees have to be cut down that are dead or leaning 45 degrees, and chain sawed into firewood. Do not forget also, people trespass on land too - hunters in Nov, people dumping garbage on your land, and anyone else if not fully fenced with non-climbing wire fencing. My sister and I once ran into a homeless guy who picked up a huge rock and told us to get off his land. It was our land, but we did not dare argue. You must have good liability insurance.

If you do decide to buy land, remember to check to make sure perc test done by seller within the last year, and approved for well install, and is not located in a restricted Wetland ravine. Most acreage available being sold is scrap backlands full of water bogs. The prime cuts of land are the little residential lots on the road frontage either sold off to buyers to build houses, or retained by the farmer who gave up on the farming operation. Electrical is usually available, but make sure. Ask neighbors if the access road floods on occasion leaving you stranded. If so, make sure you have a kayak or canoe available to get out if need be.

Last edited by PacificaViews; 06-21-2020 at 10:50 AM..
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