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... All north really seems to do is make the skeeter season shorter by making the winter season longer It does, however, seem to a significant reductive effect on 2-legged pests LOL
we have terrible mosquitoes here in the Oregon Cascades between about 3,000 and 6,000 ft. from when the snow melts, usually June, to about mid-Sept., so you have to go higher than that to escape 'skeeters. but almost no one lives above maybe 3,000 ft around here due to snow/access issues. the same would be true in a lot of the West. at least the livable parts - and if you do live real high, say in the Rockies maybe, you'd have to have a good 4wd for part of the year and maybe a snowcat or helicopter in the winter. what the previous poster said, about some place with long winters and short summers, might be the most practical. upper New England or the Upper Midwest maybe. in any case, you'll have to deal with them part of the year, and that is no small thing.
If You are interested in a real log home? Something you can build yourself or with help, google Log Home Building Association and take some time at this site. It has a wealth of info and friendly people, no con just info. You decide.
i don't think i said nice weather is required. i know that maine can get cold. the problem i have with cold/snow is that during the initial move i will have about 6 months to do any building. and i can't just plop an airstream there for the winter so i would have to rent a place when it gets too cold. so i would probably have to buy something with a cabin already in place if i go to maine. there are a lot of properties that fit this bill.
alternate choice right now would be eastern TN region for a longer growing season/less stress about cold weather.
the west would be my first choice. california is very expensive and the beaurocratic machine is out of control. oregon is very nice but also expensive.
washington gets as cold as maine and is more expensive. to me it is more beautiful than maine but they are somewhat similar. one of my concerns is just being left alone by inspectors, neighbors, beaurocrats. once i set down on the land i don't want any unexpected legal surprises for using a composting toilet, building my projects, etc. upstate new york and maine are basically the same terrain, but new york has higher taxes and higher likelihood of butting into my business.
as far as mid-atlantic, the weather can be almost as cold as maine until you start going south of virginia, which is why i am looking into north georgia, north florida, and east TN. the land prices are also much much steeper.
Last edited by francis_key; 01-15-2011 at 11:55 PM..
im personally looking at eatern tn to buy a couple acres and a little fixer home and have a little homestead on and from what im readong once you get into the more rural areas (not hard to do in tn) theres few restrictions in terms fo codes and such.
i also looked into maine but the short growing season has me prefering to head south (not to mention id prefer not having feet of snow every year especially if im going to have to dig livestock out on 5 acres lol)
i think given what your thinking of doing it might be worth buying a cheap fixer, or land with a cabin, there seems to be quite a few going CHEAP with a decent few acres and then fix up as you live in...
i don't think i said nice weather is required. i know that maine can get cold. the problem i have with cold/snow is that during the initial move i will have about 6 months to do any building. and i can't just plop an airstream there for the winter so i would have to rent a place when it gets too cold. so i would probably have to buy something with a cabin already in place if i go to maine. there are a lot of properties that fit this bill. ...
I bought bare land in 2005, came up here in an RV in April and began construction.
I hired the well drilling, a power pole, and a contractor to dig the trench and pour the foundation; and at one point I hired a guy with a crane for 3-hours to help me lift the archways of our house into place. Otherwise I did everything myself. In the fall my family moved up and went into a rented apartment. 2bdrm for $600 which included heat. The next spring we left the apartment and moved into the new house in 2006.
It can be done.
We like how rural most of Maine is, how cheap land prices are, and the really low taxes.
forest, i look at your pictures and your posts and it realy is making me re-consider heading to maine! lol.
I don't know if this is happening everywhere in the nation, but it seems to me that more folks are jumping onto the idea of road-side stands offering garden produce and community Farmer's Markets.
The sub-forum is 'green' after all.
I got into vending at an Organic Farmer's Market a couple years ago, and had tried to find other markets to get into. But I had a bad year, and decided to back out until I got our production up higher. Then last year, and again now this winter, I have been seeing notices for a lot more Farmer's Markets opening in communities, and even having newspaper ads for vendors.
It seems to me that small scale farmers are really taking off in this region.
Most families I know who earn a living from their farm produce do not own a tractor, they have 2 to 10 acres and have green houses.
I don't know what made me think of that. Off hand, I guess there is no real connection between 'foxywench' and farming. But it was on my mind to share, so I did.
lol, you must be reading me via interwebs, i grew up on a very small farm in the uk (its amazing what you can do with under an acre lol) and loved it...now im in ct in my parents house, were trying to do a little bit of backyard homesteading (and love our chickens) but theres so many restrictions around here and the parents are only willing to give me so much...
so when i get my own place im hoping for a minimum of 2, preferably 5+ acres with a little 2 bedroom house and a little barn and i want to produce enough to support myself and hopefully enough left over to produce some nice product (soaps, lotions and mabe a little road side farm)
im thinking if i were to head north instead of south id have to at tle least have a greenhouse to supliment the rabbits i plan on raising for meat...
im worried about the shorter growing season in maine, ive got no experience with the coolder climates, (pretty much anything would grow on my grandparents farm we were the equivalent of zone 7).
it looks stunning up there though.
what counties does the snow belt cover?
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It does, however, seem to a significant reductive effect on 2-legged pests LOL
weather
