Dreaming of living in the hill country

[Trainwreck20]

Huh! Did not know you moved to Stonewall.....must drive past you every now and then....are you N. of 290 or S.?

[TexasNick]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Huh! Did not know you moved to Stonewall.....must drive past you every now and then....are you N. of 290 or S.?

Hi Trainwreck,
No, I haven't moved there yet. Will know tomorrow. Wish I could say more but don't wanna jinx it, ya know?

Will keep you posted.

[Jezer]

Just found this thread and love it- all the best TexasNick and I too would love to hear how things go- great photos BTW.

[TexianPatriot]

this thread is sweet. It's cool to know that there are people out there that share my ambitions. Personally, I'd like to end up with a ranch on the banks of the Llano river. City and suburban life make me cringe. I'm going to school for a degree in range management. Hopefully, I'll be working in the Texas Hill country the rest of my life as a consultant for farmers, ranchers, and hunting enthusiasts. Talk about a dream job.

Ulimately, I'd like a place close to the the highland lakes (further out than lake travis). Lake buchanon perhaps? Llano, Marble Falls, and Mason are all areas I'd like to be. Any land available for a decent price on either branch of the Llano river would be a dream come true. Heck, any piece of land with a year round river or stream would be perfect. My Grandma and her second husband of 25 years have a couple acres on the perdenales river in stonewall. Hilton, (I call him grandpa even though he technically isn't) is 100% German. I have no idea how long he's been in Central Texas, he's definetly a product of simple conservative Hill country raising. He's got a ranch 5 miles away from Becker Vineyards which is between stonewall and fredricksburg. It's a tad less than 200 acres and I took a really nice buck off the place last year. He's also purchased a ranch in Rocksprings, but it's too close to the border (aliens have broken into the ranch cabin on more than one occasion now) for me personally to live out there. Plus, the terrain isn't the same as the true hill country. I'm afraid I'm probably going to have to settle for land in Val Verde county (too close to the border) by the time I get enough money saved to actually purchase some land (since I refuse to finance in our unstable economy).

I just hope I'll be able to get some property in the heart of the Hill country before it all gets developed. Suburban sprawl coming out of Austin (especially on hwy. 71 west of Austin) is taking over my beloved hill country. If the Texas Hill country isn't God's country, I don't know what is. Anyone who has been blessed enough to have seen what I've seen out there knows what the Israelites must have felt when they entered the land of milk and honey.

[TexasNick]

Texian,
Nice post. You're lucky to have roots in the hill country. I wouldn't worry too much about not being able to afford land out there. If you're going into ranch management, then you'll be in touch with potential sellers when you meet with them. I also recommend a short stint as a rural mail carrier, everyone loves the mailman!. It's a great way of getting to know people. I had the idea to buy a small town newspaper and then go straight to the classifieds section and look for land. No, i'm not looking for land for sale here, I'm looking for garage sales. Why? Because that's where you'd get to talk to rancher/farmer Joe Q Citizen up close and personal (if they are helpful, you better buy something they are selling!). You'd strike a conversation with him/her and then you'd gently pop the question, "know anyone selling land in the area?" You see, the best sales are going to be the ones that never hit the market.

Once you become a ranch manager, it just gets much easier. You can get to the point where you can barter services and get some land in return. For example, I've always wanted to fly...but I just dont' have the money right now to pay for 8,000 worth of flight lessons. I was able to offer computer support to some old folks at the local airport and I've been taking free lessons ever since. If you don't have the money for your goals, you just have to be creative.