Land for a farm? (Seattle, Redmond: for sale, renting, coop)

[RWentlent]

I am planning to move to the Seattle area sometime next year. We will be renting for awhile to check out the area but we would like to someday buy some property. My fiance and I both want to have big gardens... maybe an orchard and some chickens. Is there anywhere within commute to Seattle where we could do this? I don't mind a 'long' commute (I am from New York and am used to them!). We would like somewhere around 5-10 acres. Any suggestions?

[bloom]

Yes. What would be your one-way commute maximum limit?

[flyingsaucermom]

Oh definitely... how much money you got?

Last week I was driving around Novelty Hill Rd out near Redmond Ridge and was impressed by the large lots with horses... not too far away, but I imagine it's going to be pricey.

[Hemlock140]

You can be within a reasonable commute if you can spend about 1 million, in Sammamish, Redmond, Kirkland or Issaquah. Otherwise look north to Snohomish/Monroe or east to Maple Valley/Auburn and you will drive over an hour in the morning, most likely 20 minutes longer in the evenings.

[RWentlent]

By long commute I mean about an hour to an hour and a half. I definitely don't want to spend 1 million. Somewhere less than 400,000 would be ideal.

What are the Snohomish/Monroe and Maple Valley/Auburn areas like?

[es_em]

Are you looking for a place to farm, or more of a hobby garden where you grow food for yourselves and maybe share with friends/neighbors? Looking for a place to farm is very different than a place to garden, and you don't nearly need as much land to do the latter. You can very successfully garden on an acre, even a 1/2 acre if you're very good. During the growing season, farming on 5-10 acres would be a full time job for one of you and a 2nd - nearly full time - job for the other person. Are you really looking to harvest 50 pounds of squash and 70 pounds of apples every couple of days?

That said, Snohomish County and S King County are going to be the places that have more affordable land - though not exactly cheap.

[VeronikaW]

Come to Duvall. It's a relatively easy commute into Seattle. There's a 140 acre farm for sale here right now!

[CrazyDonkey]

If working in downtown Seattle, you could look at Vashon Island, which is connected to Seattle via ferry (car and passenger-only). Zillow shows houses listed for $400,000 down to $259,000, many on acreage. That there is no bridge to the island helps to preserve its rural character. There is transit service (part of King County Metro Transit).

Vashon, Washington - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There's even a Vashon Island Chicken Coop Tour (Mother's Day Weekend):

Birds and Bees Vashon

[Hemlock140]

A friend sold a 25 acre property with nice house in unincorporated Port Angeles a few months ago for just under $300k. Unfortunately that's almost 3 hours commute. I have relatives that have had property with acreage in Monroe, Snohomish, and Marysville that were 200-$300k then, but are now worth closer to $500k. Less than that it's going to be limited to a double-wide mobile, smaller lot, or have poorer performing schools. In your case, perhaps schools don't matter yet, and you could always move should you have kids since it would be 5 years before they start school.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by VeronikaW

Come to Duvall. It's a relatively easy commute into Seattle. There's a 140 acre farm for sale here right now!

I've heard good things about Duvall. Good idea.