How can i find a small town or rural town area to live in

[eccotecc]

Originally Posted by Mr5150

Prescott is a small city of 40,000 people and is three times as expensive as the town of 5000 that I live near in CA. It is. Not a small town as the Op asked about. We live in a desirable area, just not an urban area.

Stereotypes and misinformation seem to abound. Only 3% of CA is expensive compared to the places you suggest. My brother in law lives in the Prescott Valley and his place ain't cheap.

We live in the best kept secret in California, and I hope it stays that way.

[skelaki]

Originally Posted by Bergovoy

Im done with city life.. Im done with so california...

I want small town, rural town, cabin, something... anything... I would love moderate climate, but will consider almost anything...

But, not sure how to find the area, or contact people in the areas or know who i would contact, i.e. realator, city center, etc...

thanks for any tips and suggestions...

bill

There are small towns every where, even in So. Cal. But what do you consider "small"? Some people consider 20k population to be small. Others would say less than 1,000 (or even smaller) is the criteria.

//www.city-data.com/city/California3.html

California CA - Smaller Cities and Towns Directory Listing

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by skelaki

There are small towns every where, even in So. Cal. But what do you consider "small"? Some people consider 20k population to be small. Others would say less than 1,000 (or even smaller) is the criteria.

//www.city-data.com/city/California3.html

California CA - Smaller Cities and Towns Directory Listing

Thanks for the heads-up about www.hanoo.com/city/ but they list even fewer small towns than City-data lists.

[NyWriterdude]

Originally Posted by Bergovoy

Im done with city life.. Im done with so california...

I want small town, rural town, cabin, something... anything... I would love moderate climate, but will consider almost anything...

But, not sure how to find the area, or contact people in the areas or know who i would contact, i.e. realator, city center, etc...

thanks for any tips and suggestions...

bill

California has rural areas.

Not saying you should stay there but you should decide what type of environment do you like. What climate/weather? Do you like forests, plains, desert, etc. Do you like warm weather year around or do you like change in the seasons?

With that said I don't know that it will work out well for you. If you don't even KNOW someone in any rural area or have any connections to a place, moving to a place where you have no support network, no familiarity and nothing lined up like a job sounds like a recipe for disaster/homelessness. It sounds like you're going through a lot of problems where you are but moving to a new place won't necessarily solve them.

Not having even a friend in the town who can tell you the best places to look for work, medical care, or other things you need doesn't sound like such a great idea. Whatever kind of work you do, you would also need to know if that type of work exists in the town you're moving to.

[Cleo555]

Originally Posted by Submariner

Hmm, so often you seem antagonistic. However in the chance that this is being presented as an honest question, ....

It has been my experience that rural areas tend to have lower prices in general. Away from tourist hot spots, away from Universities and hospitals, shopping centers and housing developments.

Any area where the population density is 10 people per square mile or less, the prices of homes and/or land drops a great deal.

We bought one parcel of forested land with riverfrontage for $900 a acre. Another parcel without riverfrontage for $300 an acre.

They are both forested in a relatively rural township with fairly low taxes.



When I was shopping in 2004 and 2005 I looked at many such properties. We have an adjoining property that is currently up for sale at these prices.

Most people seem to want homes clustered together in neighborhoods rather than rural, so those homes packed in tight clusters with very little land tend to be more desirable and they hold higher prices.

Whereas 100-acre forested parcels appear to be less desirable and market for much less. They provide the residents with the opportunity to have large gardens, a few livestock, orchards, etc. We have even been exploring the possibility of operating a fish hatchery.

The topic of this thread brings up rural, so rural should be on topic here.

They have land that cheap up there? Can you buy a few acres up to 5 maybe?
I've been looking for pretty much the same thing. Only not with universities. Rent or properties tend to be a bit more high. What area are you in?
My one thing is it needs to have good medical facilities there, especially for diabetics. My daughter is a type 1.
The cheaper, the better. I don't have a lot of money to work with. But i can pay payments on a steady monthly income.
I just want away from crazy cities....to where it is peaceful and quiet.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Cleo555

They have land that cheap up there? Can you buy a few acres up to 5 maybe?

We know a few people who bought 400-500 acre parcels, then they sub-divided small lots alongside the pavement. Each small lot will market for the same price as what they paid on the large parcel. Sell one lot and it pays the entire debt. Sell two lots and they are showing a profit. These people will sell all of the pavement access land and keep a narrow easement so they can retain access to their large property behind them.

The land adjacent to me on the South side was like that, the owners sub-divided a long row of 50'X50' lots along the road in the 1950s. Then the larger parcel went on the market in Spring of 2016. A poster on a forum contacted me about that parcel being on the market. He bought it and he is in the process of building a cabin there now.

This past summer another poster contacted me. He had found a 455 acre parcel in my town that was on the market. He thought I was the seller But that is his intention. He can divide out 1 acre parcels along the pavement, and sell each of them for the price of the 455 acre parcel.

We know a couple locals here who have told us stories, that their grandparents had owned hundreds of acres. When times were tough, they would subdivide and sell a roadside lot, to make enough scratch to carry them a few years. Decades later and talking to grandchildren [who are elderly now] the only thing left of their families holdings is just a small parcel.

You may be able to find a 50'X50' lot for $15k.
I have seen a number of 1 acre lots selling for $20k - $30k.
If you had $30k you could just as easily buy 100 acres.
With $60k buy 200 acres, etc.

There is a parcel adjacent to me on the West that is 350 acres, it has been on the market since before I move here, he has been asking $105K for it.

... I've been looking for pretty much the same thing. Only not with universities. Rent or properties tend to be a bit more high. What area are you in?

I am in Maine. Geographically I am in the Southern half of Maine, about 20 miles North of Bangor.

... My one thing is it needs to have good medical facilities there, especially for diabetics. My daughter is a type 1. The cheaper, the better. I don't have a lot of money to work with. But i can pay payments on a steady monthly income. I just want away from crazy cities....to where it is peaceful and quiet.

Within 30-minutes we have 2 hospitals, a wide array of healthcare services and medical offices that provide care to about 2/3 of the state. Plus an international airport, a shopping mall with all the big box chain outlets, a half-dozen colleges, etc.

If you need medical specialists, you may need to look further South. Augusta, Waterville, Rockland have medical centers that focus on things like joint replacement, organ transplants, and all the cool things you can do with the new DaVinci robotic operating system.