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i'm looking to buy 20+ acres of property (the more the better) and permanently relocate to either rural pnw (washington state) or rural colorado and wanted to know what areas would be best suited for my needs, any help would be great!
I'm ~30 years old, and the area must be projected to be livable in the next 50 years, according to climate change predictions. So far i've been looking into sequim/san juan islands/possibly bellingham in wa but land costs seem a little prohibative. I'm becoming more interested in colorado but don't know a lot about co. I'll be building my own house myself with either cob, cordword, "earthship" or timber framing construction and i'll be growing my own food in greenhouses. I'll be location siting based on winter azimuth sun angles, to maximize passive heating and cooling and using runoff water catchment, greywater, and composting toilet systems (not interested in septic). The idea is to create a "luxury" eco-village bed and breakfast/event hosting "camp" type place to host weddings and/or corporate retreats that can then in turn fund an artist residency. Must have fairly easy all-season road accessibility and ideally within half a day's train/bus/drive to a major airport. Must be very "scenic" and located in a progressive state.
I'm moving from chicago, il, mainly because it's much too gray/brown here in the winter and i'm no longer interested in living in cities. Having two week spans of complete overcast is not uncommon here in the winter, and i've been suffering from sadd and vitamin d deficiency since i've lived here (~6 years). I'm very sensitive to sun/clouds/light - i love a cozy cloudy rainy day peppered here and there (too much sun every day makes me a little too wired for my liking), but i can't live in a predominantly overcast area, even if it's for one-season (i.e., one season very grey with the rest being sunny). I'd like to be closer to hiking/canoeing/outdoor adventures as well. National parks are a must. Also, i have endometriosis so i need to be within 2-3 hours from a major hospital with high rankings for gynecological departments. Also, while i enjoy snow and generally don't mind the cold, i'm not interested in having freezing winds/rain/sleet/-30 to 15 degree f days anymore. I enjoy 4 seasons and ideally winters would be green, a little snowy and stay in the 20-40 degree range, summers preferably mild, low-ish humidity (not muggy) and green. No scrub brush for me! Many trees/lakes/waterfalls please.
So, to recap, here's what i'm looking for:
- lush green forest (preferably year round), mountain views, sunny-partly cloudy 280+ days a year, access to lakes/rivers/national parks
- not humid/muggy in summer or clammy in winter
- four seasons, but none of them "extreme," i like snow but not the freezing cold!
- projected to have stable drinkable fresh water sources for next 50 years
- terrain relatively inoculated against increases in wild fires, drought, landslides, flooding
- no or very minimal misquitoes/ticks (they love me)
- 20+ acres for under 200k (the more the better)
- area hospitable to off grid living
- secluded but within 30 mins of small town and 2-4 hours of a major city with highly ranked gynecological/reproductive hospital departments.
**lgbtq state protections, legal recreational marijuana use a must** progressive tax structure a plus.
I'm also open to hearing about other states but i'm pretty set on pnw and co as possibilities, *not* interested in northeastern/southern/midwest (already lived there both rurally and city wise - they're great, but not for me!.
In southeast, Boone NC would offer most of what you want. Not hot in summer but wet, sorta muggy and certainly bug friendly. NC is a battleground state between progressive and conservative (& regressive) forces. Asheville area more known as having substantial progressive presence but also still has conservative core and is more crowded, expensive and competitive for retreat centers.
Near Blacksburg VA is another better than average possibility. (Or maybe around Waynesboro VA. Close to a lot of potential guests.)
I hadn't thought to look into VA - I'll check out Blacksburg and Waynesboro - thank you!
We're leaving CO after almost 12 years to move to WA. I'm originally from MI, until I moved out here when I was 22. My husband is from MA. We miss the water and GREEN. CO is amazing, don't get me wrong....but it is just brown. Even all of the evergreens are turning brown due to beetle kill. You will not find much green here and I've traveled around this state quite a bit. Durango is probably the greenest area I've seen, but maybe someone else could chime in with some other areas. It is also through the roof pricey but then I'm not sure what price point you're after. I saw someone mentioned thunderstorms....if you even have thoughts of a garden, forget it. Our hail dents cars. Seriously. It is not unusual to see a hail damaged car in every parking lot while running errands on a Saturday afternoon. Your garden (unless you build a greenhouse) will be wiped out. If the gray skies don't bother you in Chicago, I'd say your preferences point to WA. I went to WMU and traveled quite often to Chicago. Almost identical weather. Good luck. Keep us posted.
I'm looking to buy 20+ Acres of property (the more the better) and permanently relocate to either rural PNW (Washington state) or rural Colorado and wanted to know what areas would be best suited for my needs, any help would be great!
I'm ~30 years old, and the area must be projected to be livable in the next 50 years, according to climate change predictions. So far I've been looking into Sequim/San Juan Islands/possibly Bellingham in WA but land costs seem a little prohibative. I'm becoming more interested in Colorado but don't know a lot about CO. I'll be building my own house myself with either cob, cordword, "earthship" or timber framing construction and I'll be growing my own food in greenhouses. I'll be location siting based on winter azimuth sun angles, to maximize passive heating and cooling and using runoff water catchment, greywater, and composting toilet systems (not interested in septic). The idea is to create a "luxury" eco-village bed and breakfast/event hosting "camp" type place to host weddings and/or corporate retreats that can then in turn fund an artist residency. Must have fairly easy all-season road accessibility and ideally within half a day's train/bus/drive to a major airport. Must be very "scenic" and located in a progressive state.
I'm moving from Chicago, IL, mainly because it's much too gray/brown here in the winter and I'm no longer interested in living in cities. Having two week spans of complete overcast is not uncommon here in the winter, and I've been suffering from SADD and Vitamin D deficiency since I've lived here (~6 years). I'm very sensitive to sun/clouds/light - I love a cozy cloudy rainy day peppered here and there (too much sun every day makes me a little too wired for my liking), but I can't live in a predominantly overcast area, even if it's for one-season (i.e., one season very grey with the rest being sunny). I'd like to be closer to hiking/canoeing/outdoor adventures as well. National parks are a must. Also, I have Endometriosis so I need to be within 2-3 hours from a major hospital with high rankings for gynecological departments. Also, while I enjoy snow and generally don't mind the cold, I'm not interested in having freezing winds/rain/sleet/-30 to 15 degree F days anymore. I enjoy 4 seasons and ideally winters would be green, a little snowy and stay in the 20-40 degree range, summers preferably mild, low-ish humidity (not muggy) and green. No scrub brush for me! Many trees/lakes/waterfalls please.
So, to recap, here's what I'm looking for:
- Lush GREEN Forest (preferably year round), Mountain views, Sunny-Partly Cloudy 280+ days a year, access to lakes/rivers/national parks
- Not humid/muggy in summer or clammy in winter
- Four seasons, but none of them "extreme," I like snow but not the freezing cold!
- Projected to have stable drinkable fresh water sources for next 50 years
- Terrain relatively inoculated against increases in wild fires, drought, landslides, flooding
- No or very minimal misquitoes/ticks (they love me)
- 20+ Acres for under 200k (the more the better)
- Area hospitable to off grid living
- Secluded but within 30 mins of small town and 2-4 hours of a major city with highly ranked gynecological/reproductive hospital departments.
**LGBTQ State Protections, Legal Recreational Marijuana Use A Must** Progressive tax structure a plus.
I'm also open to hearing about other states but I'm pretty set on PNW and CO as possibilities, *not* interested in Northeastern/Southern/Midwest (already lived there both rurally and city wise - they're great, but not for me!.
Thank you so much!
As others have stated, some of your criteria can be found in CO but others cannot:
- Lush GREEN Forest (preferably year round), Mountain views, Sunny-Partly Cloudy 280+ days a year, access to lakes/rivers/national parks
-Most of Colorado is not 'lush' at all. You can find high mountain areas, where the moisture falls and allows the vegetation to be dense, but those areas are few.
- Not humid/muggy in summer or clammy in winter
-Colorado is very dry, often with daytime humidity levels in the single digits.
- Four seasons, but none of them "extreme," I like snow but not the freezing cold!
-You would get your four seasons, with fewer extremes than Chicago, but it will get cold. The cold here and much of the arid west is much, much more tolerable than the Midwest and personally, as long as it's sunny, and it is most of the time, even 20 degree weather feels comfortable given you have the appropriate layers on.
- Projected to have stable drinkable fresh water sources for next 50 years
-I don't know much about this, but we are very dry, getting most of our water from the Western Slope via irrigation projects.
- Terrain relatively inoculated against increases in wild fires, drought, landslides, flooding
-You would have to deal with these here.
- No or very minimal misquitoes/ticks (they love me)
-Many fewer mosquitoes and ticks here compared to other areas. Very few bugs in general.
- 20+ Acres for under 200k (the more the better)
-There are areas, where you can find this. Do a Zillow search and look at the entire state, but specifically, look at Southern Colorado.
- Area hospitable to off grid living
-Again, Southern Colorado.
- Secluded but within 30 mins of small town and 2-4 hours of a major city with highly ranked gynecological/reproductive hospital departments.
-The secluded but within 30 mins of a small town can be done in most areas. No idea about the hospitals.
**LGBTQ State Protections, Legal Recreational Marijuana Use A Must** Progressive tax structure a plus.
-We are a gay couple and have never had any issues here, or anywhere for that matter, so the protections portion isn't something we think about and I don't think people really care. Obviously marijuana is legal. State income tax is a flat 4.63%.
This reason alone is why I would personally choose Denver over WA. Two of my best friends have lived there for decades and have tried to get me to move to Seattle.
Was there for several months in the late 90's trying it out ; couldn't wait to get back to Colorado.WA is gorgeous though, but if you have Saad, forget it.
Last edited by Scott5280; 02-05-2018 at 10:26 AM..
I'm looking to buy 20+ Acres of property (the more the better) and permanently relocate to either rural PNW (Washington state) or rural Colorado and wanted to know what areas would be best suited for my needs, any help would be great!
I'm ~30 years old, and the area must be projected to be livable in the next 50 years, according to climate change predictions. So far I've been looking into Sequim/San Juan Islands/possibly Bellingham in WA but land costs seem a little prohibative. I'm becoming more interested in Colorado but don't know a lot about CO. I'll be building my own house myself with either cob, cordword, "earthship" or timber framing construction and I'll be growing my own food in greenhouses. I'll be location siting based on winter azimuth sun angles, to maximize passive heating and cooling and using runoff water catchment, greywater, and composting toilet systems (not interested in septic). The idea is to create a "luxury" eco-village bed and breakfast/event hosting "camp" type place to host weddings and/or corporate retreats that can then in turn fund an artist residency. Must have fairly easy all-season road accessibility and ideally within half a day's train/bus/drive to a major airport. Must be very "scenic" and located in a progressive state.
I'm moving from Chicago, IL, mainly because it's much too gray/brown here in the winter and I'm no longer interested in living in cities. Having two week spans of complete overcast is not uncommon here in the winter, and I've been suffering from SADD and Vitamin D deficiency since I've lived here (~6 years). I'm very sensitive to sun/clouds/light - I love a cozy cloudy rainy day peppered here and there (too much sun every day makes me a little too wired for my liking), but I can't live in a predominantly overcast area, even if it's for one-season (i.e., one season very grey with the rest being sunny). I'd like to be closer to hiking/canoeing/outdoor adventures as well. National parks are a must. Also, I have Endometriosis so I need to be within 2-3 hours from a major hospital with high rankings for gynecological departments. Also, while I enjoy snow and generally don't mind the cold, I'm not interested in having freezing winds/rain/sleet/-30 to 15 degree F days anymore. I enjoy 4 seasons and ideally winters would be green, a little snowy and stay in the 20-40 degree range, summers preferably mild, low-ish humidity (not muggy) and green. No scrub brush for me! Many trees/lakes/waterfalls please.
So, to recap, here's what I'm looking for:
- Lush GREEN Forest (preferably year round), Mountain views, Sunny-Partly Cloudy 280+ days a year, access to lakes/rivers/national parks
- Not humid/muggy in summer or clammy in winter
- Four seasons, but none of them "extreme," I like snow but not the freezing cold!
- Projected to have stable drinkable fresh water sources for next 50 years
- Terrain relatively inoculated against increases in wild fires, drought, landslides, flooding
- No or very minimal misquitoes/ticks (they love me)
- 20+ Acres for under 200k (the more the better)
- Area hospitable to off grid living
- Secluded but within 30 mins of small town and 2-4 hours of a major city with highly ranked gynecological/reproductive hospital departments.
**LGBTQ State Protections, Legal Recreational Marijuana Use A Must** Progressive tax structure a plus.
I'm also open to hearing about other states but I'm pretty set on PNW and CO as possibilities, *not* interested in Northeastern/Southern/Midwest (already lived there both rurally and city wise - they're great, but not for me!.
Thank you so much!
One more thing. For what you mentioned about what you want to build, I would look at the San Luis Valley. It will get very cold in the winter, but again, it's dry cold. There is a lot of that sort of development there. There is a huge spiritual and artist community in Crestone, right up against the Sangre de Cristos, so you might check into that, and then on the valley floor itself you will find pretty cheap land.
Also, you can look over the mountains in the Westcliffe area. My spouse and I just bought a place there and love it. There are no building codes in the county-Custer County, so you can pretty much do what you want as far as the county is concerned with the buildings (you only need to get a well and septic permit). The only limitations are covenants if the property happens to be within an HOA.
I also believe Delta County in western CO has no building codes, unless that has changed.
One thing to remember in Colorado with land, is that if you want to use water on your land, you generally must have 35 acres or more. Thirty-five acres is the cutoff by state law, which allows one to irrigate up to one acre (this type of well is called a domestic well). Otherwise, you generally cannot use water much on the land if it's less than 35 acres. There are exceptions, such as if a well is older and grandfathered in or if a particular development has a water augmentation plan.
Wants lush GREEN forest. Does not want humidity, clamminess, or mosquitoes.
Hmmm.
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