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I'm trying to do a little future planning and I wanted to start getting realistic ideas in my head about what will be possible. Your knowledge and advice would be greatly appreciated.
I'm currently a single college student working toward a bachelor's degree in computer science / software engineering. As a result, I envision being employed in a sizable town/city. However, what I ideally want in a living situation (once I've secured steady income) is a semi-rural property that has some privacy and land for a couple of horses, while being close enough to town to make commuting to work reasonable.
I think it would be easiest for me to just list out things I would require or prefer in a rural home. From there, I'd enjoy hearing advice from folks like you who know what it's like and what kind of properties would be realistically obtainable.
Required:
- Electricity (less downtime the better)
- Decent cell coverage (at least calls, data not required)
- Under 30 miles 1-way commute to work/shopping/medical services, etc
- 3-10 acres for the house, yard, and horse pasture area
- Fenced area with plant-life suitable for horses to graze on
- Paved road access, less than a half mile of dirt/gravel between property and the paved roadway, (preferably none)
Highly Preferred:
- Improved Internet Service (cable, fiber, or DSL, non-satellite)
- Trash disposal service of some kind
- City water/sewage (as opposed to wells and septic systems)
- 2 car garage
- Place to safely ride a horse recreationally, be it trails, secluded side roads, etc.
- City/County/State workers plow the road if area receives much snow
- UPS/Fedex, etc willing to deliver to the property
Optional Pluses:
- Small pond
- A space out back where it's safe and courteous to discharge firearms (target practice)
- Tree belt
- Modest pre-existing horse shelter
Those are the foremost considerations that come to mind. I figure that my upper budget for the property would be $300k - $350k absolute maximum if property were pristine and highly maintained. Prefer $200-$250k.
Knowing what you know about living rurally, can anyone give me some advice and gauge how feasible it would be to find a property roughly along these guidelines within that price range and city proximity? I know this isn't a realtor site, but any speculation is helpful. I saw a couple properties for sale fitting this description and price range, but they were too far from a place to work. I'd probably be seeking this near Austin, Texas, or Kansas City, or some other Midwest area with good employment opportunities.
What do you say, could I make this a reality someday, or should I re-evaluate my future plans? Thank you very much for reading.
I was raised in the vast northeast megalopolis. When I went to college in flyover country, I quickly realized something which fascinated me.
In that vast flyover country, there are many many towns and small cities near which you can have a rural lifestyle in close proximity to larger places with more urban amenities.
It was a weird culture shock, my first weekend there I turned on the evening news and first thing I see is a commercial showing a farm and tractor. I followed that up with a hayride and discovered that once you got five miles from campus, you were in the middle of nowhere.
After that I sold cable TV (early days of cable) in a small town (2K) nearby, so these places certainly have cable and internet today.
If you're willing to commute a bit further, my husband is in the same field as you. We are moving to Henniker, NH (about an hour from his job right outside of Boston). Town has less than 5k, but we are going to be able to get fiber internet. NH has a lot of little towns like this, and a lot of people just commute into Boston.
Central Kentucky around Lexington. It has many small towns that are rural and inexpensive yet a relatively short drive to the "big" city. It's definitely horse and farm country.
... Required: - Electricity (less downtime the better)
- Decent cell coverage (at least calls, data not required)
- Under 30 miles 1-way commute to work/shopping/medical services, etc
- 3-10 acres for the house, yard, and horse pasture area
- Fenced area with plant-life suitable for horses to graze on
- Paved road access, less than a half mile of dirt/gravel between property and the paved roadway, (preferably none)
Highly Preferred: - Improved Internet Service (cable, fiber, or DSL, non-satellite)
- Trash disposal service of some kind
- City water/sewage (as opposed to wells and septic systems)
- 2 car garage
- Place to safely ride a horse recreationally, be it trails, secluded side roads, etc.
- City/County/State workers plow the road if area receives much snow
- UPS/Fedex, etc willing to deliver to the property
Optional Pluses: - Small pond
- A space out back where it's safe and courteous to discharge firearms (target practice)
- Tree belt
- Modest pre-existing horse shelter
Those are the foremost considerations that come to mind. I figure that my upper budget for the property would be $300k - $350k absolute maximum if property were pristine and highly maintained. Prefer $200-$250k.
If you do not mind a few months of cold weather each year, you could easily do that complete list near our closest city, which is Bangor Maine. Only real difference is that you may need to cut your budget in half.
There are homes marketed for wealthy tourists in your price range, though more so along the coast.
If you only had $100-150k you could do all of that in a non-tourist town around Bangor.
You can find that within 30 miles of Redmond, WA (Microsoft) but not for anywhere near the price you want. You'd need at least double that. For $600,000+ and 30 miles away you can get what you want here. If you can't afford that, most can't, then you can cross off the entire Seattle area. Sadly here $250k buys a condo, not a ranch.
If you do not mind a few months of cold weather each year, you could easily do that complete list near our closest city, which is Bangor Maine. Only real difference is that you may need to cut your budget in half.
There are homes marketed for wealthy tourists in your price range, though more so along the coast.
If you only had $100-150k you could do all of that in a non-tourist town around Bangor.
Interesting info. I never really gave much thought to the NE states, but so far a few people have mentioned it. I honestly had no idea the real estate was so low in Maine. If I ever notice any tempting jobs up there after graduation I'll definitely keep it in mind. The northern climate might be a challenge, though.
You can find that within 30 miles of Redmond, WA (Microsoft) but not for anywhere near the price you want. You'd need at least double that. For $600,000+ and 30 miles away you can get what you want here. If you can't afford that, most can't, then you can cross off the entire Seattle area. Sadly here $250k buys a condo, not a ranch.
Yeah, unfortunately that's way outside my price range. That's the main reason I have no intention of seeking work in CA or WA type areas. It's just way too expensive, especially if you're single. I want to be able to afford my plans on my own, in case it's necessary. $600k is just about impossible by myself. Those higher salaries don't mean much when a decent house costs 2-3x more than the Midwest states.
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