If you wanted to live rural in Kentucky where would you live and how would you live?

[Deadbolts' Probie]

The sooner the better..... after the snow is gone! lol. Most likely a year. We just had to put my mom in a nursing home so now it's a wait and see. She was planning on coming with us. She fell and broke her arm and at 80 she is getting weaker and weaker. Anyway, I'm with ya on Gamebirds. I have some California valley quail that I let roam around the yard. The hawks chase them around quite a bit tho. They are really fun birds to raise. As far as killing the chickens, It's easier than "I" thought it would be. I regularly put our old chickens down when they no longer can lay eggs. I have discovered using a pellet gun to do the deed and it's much cleaner and quicker. But enough on the depressing stuff....
We are looking at about an 1800-2000 sq ft home. We are quite impressed with the concrete wall construction instead of 2x4s. Seems stronger and more energy efficient. But I think that is dreaming! We looked at the Old Kentucky Logs in Corbin and those are super cool. We want those bad. They are concrete logs for siding instead of brick. The people there were super nice too. Then we think wow.... That's alot of concrete!! I know I want a lot of windows so I can watch the wildlife! My husband is drawing up the plans so it will be custom built. We do a ton of cooking and canning so our kitchen will be nice sized. AND so goes our dreaming and planning and dreaming... !!!!

[Juxtaposition109]

I would go with western Ky also. Its more rural. You mentoned farming. I would guess the soil is more fertile due to runoff via the Ohio, Cumberland, and Mississippi rivers

[EricOldTime]

Originally Posted by Deadbolts' Probie

The sooner the better..... after the snow is gone! lol. Most likely a year. We just had to put my mom in a nursing home so now it's a wait and see. She was planning on coming with us. She fell and broke her arm and at 80 she is getting weaker and weaker. Anyway, I'm with ya on Gamebirds. I have some California valley quail that I let roam around the yard. The hawks chase them around quite a bit tho. They are really fun birds to raise. As far as killing the chickens, It's easier than "I" thought it would be. I regularly put our old chickens down when they no longer can lay eggs. I have discovered using a pellet gun to do the deed and it's much cleaner and quicker. But enough on the depressing stuff....
We are looking at about an 1800-2000 sq ft home. We are quite impressed with the concrete wall construction instead of 2x4s. Seems stronger and more energy efficient. But I think that is dreaming! We looked at the Old Kentucky Logs in Corbin and those are super cool. We want those bad. They are concrete logs for siding instead of brick. The people there were super nice too. Then we think wow.... That's alot of concrete!! I know I want a lot of windows so I can watch the wildlife! My husband is drawing up the plans so it will be custom built. We do a ton of cooking and canning so our kitchen will be nice sized. AND so goes our dreaming and planning and dreaming... !!!!

Well, I think you'll like that area of McCreary county, it's super beautiful down there. However, if I'm not mistaken, that SE corner of Kentucky is one of the most remotest regions in the state, pretty much wilderness in most places broken up by little towns along roads down in the hollers. Even so, I thought I heard mentioned once in the past that McCreary county is WAAAAAAAAY back in the mountains.

The ground there is probably pretty rocky as well, even so, lot's of folks grow corn and tobacco down there. Clearning out timber might be an issue. Almost that whole county is federally owned timber land as part of the Daniel Boone Nat'l forest and I'd imagine that are pretty strict about cutting timber and even firewood so I'd look into that. Plus, they may have alot of zoning restrictions regarding what you can build down there etc.

Have you looked at some of those "kit homes" where they build them offsite in like 2 different sections and then basically join them on site? I've heard of folks in Kentucky building those types of homes.

Here's a map I added, it shows Ky's population distribution map. I marked out McCreary county for you on the map

[tamaralj]

Probie, sounds pretty nice. So are the concrete logs then stained to look like wood? I haven't seen it before. When you mentioned concrete I kept thinking berm home construction where they have a concrete base and walls built into a hill.

It does sound like a great dream indeed. I'm sure you will love living there. Keep us posted!!


Sorry to hear about your mom. It's hard to see our parents age and have problems. Prayers to you and your family. We are in that situation with my dad, but for now he has been able to stay at home and have home health care come in. (In Colorado. We go out several times per year)

[Deadbolts' Probie]

Eric, You are right, it is very remote. We even had a bear come up to our trailer when we were camping. Even tho we live in Utah we make several trips up there. We have checked with the county and forest service and we can clear trees as long as its within our boundaries. But trust me I LOVE TREES so each one we cut will be missed and used well! My husband calls me a literal tree hugger.

[Deadbolts' Probie]

Yes the concrete logs are stained to any color you like. Of coarse the more natural the better they look. They have a facebook page and website but pictures do not do them justice. They took 100 year old logs and made a form out of them and pour concrete in and there you go! Looks just like an old log cabin.

My dad isn't doing the greatest either. He can still take care of himself but needs someone there to watch over him. He's 84 and last stages of COPD. So walking from one room to the other is a chore. Thanks for your prayers and the same goes for your parents. It's just hard.

[hogsrus]

Originally Posted by Deadbolts' Probie

Yes the concrete logs are stained to any color you like. Of coarse the more natural the better they look. They have a facebook page and website but pictures do not do them justice. They took 100 year old logs and made a form out of them and pour concrete in and there you go! Looks just like an old log cabin.

My dad isn't doing the greatest either. He can still take care of himself but needs someone there to watch over him. He's 84 and last stages of COPD. So walking from one room to the other is a chore. Thanks for your prayers and the same goes for your parents. It's just hard.

I seen the logs also...not a bad idea and, probably not near as much maintenance as the real thing. And, they look like real logs.

I can relate to taking care of the elderly.

[EricOldTime]

Concrete logs.....never heard of that before today......

[tamaralj]

Concrete logs sounds pretty good, you don't have to stain them every year! Maybe you can blog your progress with pictures of your construction.


It's okay to be a tree hugger! I too appreciate them, and enjoy being in the woods. I think it would be nice to have a some what wooded lot. With some cleared area. I'd like to have a nice area for gardens. Being surrounded by wooded land gives you privacy which is very nice.

Yes, it is very hard to see our parents age. So many I know are in the same situation we are now. My dad is in late stage Parkinson. He seems to be holding steady. My husband's mother is in a nursing home, and she isn't doing well lately. She turned 87 this year. Prayers are always good and appreciated.

[EricOldTime]

I LOVE the timber in Kentucky. I love to climb the hillsides and see the Chinqapins and Black, Red and White Oaks and the Hickories at the summit, big Maples. Also to come back down along the edges of the hillsides along the bottoms and hollers and see the Sycamores, Beeches and Tulip trees, Sassafras along the fence rows.

The White Oak is absolutely my favorite tree native to Kentucky, and the Shaggybark Hickories are majestic as well

Kentucky is blessed with such an abundantly beautiful forest cover of deciduous timber....and good quality timber as well, no wonder my people came to this state two centuries ago.

When the state came out and drilled and took a core sample by the edge of the road at "the Old Homeplace" ...the farm my family owns in southern Hancock county they told my cousin the farm had a pretty good vein of coal down through there, estimated at some big bucks to be quite honest. However from the way an uncle explained it to me, there's a pretty penny in the logs as well...on the timber if they strip it.

It runs about a half mile and goes right under the house and up along the edge of the hillside in back, back there is alot of big trees, big ones all along the edge of that little ridge. We are kinda torn because they'll go in there and strip it, clear all the logs and alter the farm, we'd never get it back. So far my cousin ( who currently is the legal owner of the farm ) hasn't let them do it. I mean the house is old, it needs repairs ( its foundation has sunk down a bit in the back ) and it's virtually worthless and its being rented out to tenants, so no one in the family is currently living there anymore. However, we like to get together and have reunions and BBQ's there, it's nostalgic and no one wants to cut all of those woods out and those big trees back there.

They'll cut all of that timber down and then plant grass and that crappy, ugly yellow pine everywhere. It would be 100 years or more before you could get those Oaks and Hickories again back in there and none of us would live long enough to see it grow back LOL. I mean, mom was born there, bros and sis's my popaw and his daddy, built by my great great LOL.

Theyve stripped alot here and there all down through the country there where Ohio/Hancock county meet and there's still alot of woods but less than when I was a kid back just in the early 80's.

Am I digressing? LOL