Converting to rural life how-to (cow, horses, sunset, America)

[Three Wolves In Snow]

Having lived in both rural and packed cities, I can say this: If you are incapable of entertaining yourself, you’re not going to like rural.

Grew up in both, teen years were rural, went overseas, lived in cities for many years, now I want rural. I don’t mean “small town”, I mean rural. No neighbors near me, nothing but trees and land. Had enough of the noise, traffic, strip malls, boutiques, posh places...or pretend posh places, nosy people, gossips, and all around stupidity. You can find all of those in cities and small towns.

At this point, I’d take a cabin in the woods just to get some peace.

[Nonesuch]

Originally Posted by Three Wolves In Snow

...now I want rural. I don’t mean “small town”, I mean rural. No neighbors near me, nothing but trees and land. Had enough of the noise, traffic, strip malls, boutiques, posh places...or pretend posh places, nosy people, gossips, and all around stupidity. You can find all of those in cities and small towns.
At this point, I’d take a cabin in the woods just to get some peace.

Worth noting that "rural" and "small town" are not mutually exclusive. In many parts of the country, it is common for nearly all the land to be incorporated into a town or other entity, even areas with very low population density and mostly scattered farms and the like.

For example, New Hampshire is about 85% wooded land, +80% categorized as "rural", but less than 20% of the state is "unincorporated", and that mostly in our northernmost county.

That part of the state is what many refer to as "scary rural", as in, call for police or medical assistance and help could get to you anywhere from an hour later to "sometime tomorrow morning, assuming the snowplow can make it through".

Originally Posted by lookingaround12345

Avoid buying too much land just because you can. Unless you are going to farm or harvest timber or whatever you get taxed on it. If you are just into wilderness living and want privacy you are better off looking for a small piece surrounding on all side by federal forest or public land of some type.

OTOH, can also err on the side of buying too little land, and not having the option to, say, clear a couple of acres of trees so you have enough sunny space to do a good size vegetable farm. In my state, if you have at least 10 acres of unimproved land or working farmland you get a significant tax discount, so +11 acre lots are popular and have a lower tax bill than a 9.9 acre lot.

Originally Posted by lookingaround12345

Many pieces of land don’t have a proper survey or the markers are no longer there. Make sure where you want to build is well with the borders if this is the case. In valleys be aware of flood plains.

I got lucky, was able to find most of the boundary markers called out in the deed (there are some "iron rod" points which I'd need to borrow a metal detector if I wanted to locate them exactly).

Then a few years ago two abutting property owners sold/donated conservation easements to the town so the town surveyor came out and nailed f town markers on the trees just on the neighbors side of the property line, so basically I got a survey at no additional cost to me.

Originally Posted by lookingaround12345

Rent big machines don’t buy them. Owning a bobcat is great but you will soon finish your projects. Buying one is I don’t know but a lot.

I really should have just bought myself a Bobcat (toolcat multi-attachment model, around $20k used) when I first moved in, then rented attachments for the one-off projects.

Instead I started out paying to have land cleared and brush-hogged and for plowing the snow, then bought a small snow plow, then bought a UTV with a much bigger plow and 60" snowblower, and now I'm just going to buy the Toolcat anyway...

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Three Wolves In Snow

Having lived in both rural and packed cities, I can say this: If you are incapable of entertaining yourself, you’re not going to like rural.

Grew up in both, teen years were rural, went overseas, lived in cities for many years, now I want rural. I don’t mean “small town”, I mean rural. No neighbors near me, nothing but trees and land. Had enough of the noise, traffic, strip malls, boutiques, posh places...or pretend posh places, nosy people, gossips, and all around stupidity. You can find all of those in cities and small towns.

At this point, I’d take a cabin in the woods just to get some peace.

Fortunately there are rural areas available to you.

A common issue with rural areas is the lack of jobs.

Even if you settle somewhere that is extremely rural, live in a yurt and raise a herd of goats, you will still need a source of income. Even if only to cover property taxes and healthcare.

I live in a region where we have come to know a lot of folks living off-grid. Most are trying to support themselves by having a huge garden and selling produce at a roadside farmers market.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Nonesuch

Worth noting that "rural" and "small town" are not mutually exclusive. In many parts of the country, it is common for nearly all the land to be incorporated into a town or other entity, even areas with very low population density and mostly scattered farms and the like.

For example, New Hampshire is about 85% wooded land, +80% categorized as "rural", but less than 20% of the state is "unincorporated", and that mostly in our northernmost county.

That part of the state is what many refer to as "scary rural", as in, call for police or medical assistance and help could get to you anywhere from an hour later to "sometime tomorrow morning, assuming the snowplow can make it through".
.

The entire state of Maine was drawn a checker-board type map of 'townships'. Every square foot of land in within some township. There are 986 of these townships. A minority of them have become populated and have incorporated or 'organized' themselves into towns/cities.

Most of these townships are 'unorganized' so they have no local government and no tax assessor. Population density is often less than 10 people per square mile.



Over 92% of Maine is forest.

[Mikala43]

We moved to a rural type area, about 30 minutes from a small town, and 45 to the small state capitol.

1. Getting trades out for repairs is hard, we had to learn how to do a lot ourselves
2. We came from a high traffic area, so driving to town takes about the same amount of time despite the increases difference.
3. You do not run to the store because you are missing an ingredient
4. I have learned how to extend the life of my fresh produce, freezing things, powdered back ups to essentials and such.
5. Access to ethnic foods and ingredients is less
6. Before we moved I confirmed that we can still get Amazon deliveries.
7. People ARE nosy, or to be more polite.... curious.
8. We hold different political views, so we have to stop our neighbors from going down that road, but we DO maintain good relations with neighbors. It's important, and we all look out for each other.
9. We had to learn about septic systems and wells.
10. We have few power outages, but because of the well we do have a back up generator.
11. Our well water is good. Seems to be because our well is deep, some of our immediate neighbors have water problems (smells like sulfur and such), so make sure to get it tested before buying.
12. Key skill is keeping extensive lists and organization for shopping trips.
13. Have at least 2 vehicles. Our elderly neighbors car went out, and he is stuck in the middle of nowhere until he can buy a new car. We all help him out in the mean time.
14. Nearest hospital is 30 minutes away, and I'm not sure about ambulances. We pay a yearly fee in case we need to be medivaced by helicopter
15. Do to distance to vet, we had our dog do snake aversion training.
16. Sometimes appointments with medical specialists are an hour away
17. If you are married, make sure you are both on board. If you want to take classes, find a gym, go to meetups, or any of that, it's a pain. I DO miss some of that interaction, but we visit family often.

[Taz22]

Rural living means different things to everyone. Some like a rugged lifestyle and others just want a few acres away from noise. The important thing is to make what you want and the place you choose mesh together.

Drive time is one, do you want to spend a few hours running simple errands, or will twenty minutes each way do it. Another biggie is the amount of work a country place takes. Those big grassy lawns take a lot of work to keep up. Another is wood pasture fences in a rainy climate. Recently, several more pasture boards fell off that were rotted, it’s a constant battle to keep replacing rain soaked wood. Another is the odd collection of neighbors you get in a rural area. Recently, my spouse said a nearby neighbor had at least a hundred chickens running around his yard. Instead of saying omg, I grabbed my phone to get a picture. Went by his house and it’s just a small house on small acreage, no big chicken farm, although at least a hundred chickens were running around, the sight made me giggle. Getting people to come out is another problem. My equine vet even said that I wouldn’t find any help with some barn repairs and cleaning, because ‘no one out here does that’, and he’s a local. So the more rural you go, the more you’ll find yourself doing most of the maintenance.

The main thing is keeping it simple. Too much work and upkeep can take the fun out of country living.

[Three Wolves In Snow]

Originally Posted by Submariner

Fortunately there are rural areas available to you.

A common issue with rural areas is the lack of jobs.

Even if you settle somewhere that is extremely rural, live in a yurt and raise a herd of goats, you will still need a source of income. Even if only to cover property taxes and healthcare.

I live in a region where we have come to know a lot of folks living off-grid. Most are trying to support themselves by having a huge garden and selling produce at a roadside farmers market.

Yeah, you have to have money to be able to be left alone.

[Nonesuch]

Originally Posted by Three Wolves In Snow

Yeah, you have to have money to be able to be left alone.

Once Starlink exits beta, there's going to be a huge jump in work-from-home folk moving out to the truly rural areas where previously broadband speed was unobtainable.

All we need now is a revolution in reliable off-grid power (the dish alone consumes ~100W) and people with remote jobs will no longer be constrained to any particular location. Total insolation up here is not good enough to depend on solar year round, but I have high hopes for fuel cell technology and am keeping an eye on developments in Vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) tech.

Originally Posted by Mikala43

Before we moved I confirmed that we can still get Amazon deliveries.
. . .
Do to distance to vet, we had our dog do snake aversion training.

Along with checking maps for broadband and flood plains, I also included delivery costs in my selection of location (this was before Amazon Prime). And I picked New Hampshire over TX or NM in part because we have almost zero venomous snakes.

Porcupines, however, can be an issue here (not as urgent as a rattlesnake bite).

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Nonesuch

Once Starlink exits beta, there's going to be a huge jump in work-from-home folk moving out to the truly rural areas where previously broadband speed was unobtainable.

All we need now is a revolution in reliable off-grid power (the dish alone consumes ~100W) and people with remote jobs will no longer be constrained to any particular location. Total insolation up here is not good enough to depend on solar year round, but I have high hopes for fuel cell technology and am keeping an eye on developments in Vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) tech.

Along with checking maps for broadband and flood plains, I also included delivery costs in my selection of location (this was before Amazon Prime). And I picked New Hampshire over TX or NM in part because we have almost zero venomous snakes.

Porcupines, however, can be an issue here (not as urgent as a rattlesnake bite).

Maine is near ideal for solar power.

Though one of my neighbors is doing really well with a windmill.



When we have looked into satellite internet services, they were fairly pricey. Anyone growing turnips for a living will never go hungry, but they will also never have enough spare cash to get satellite internet.

You need to live in a big city with a high-paying job before you migrate rural.

I have seen two families who have moved into my township. Coming from Los Angelos. They held $100k+ jobs and were able to keep their jobs even after their move rural.

Homesteading somewhere rural is a lot easier if you still have the big city income.

[Mikala43]

Originally Posted by Nonesuch

Along with checking maps for broadband and flood plains, I also included delivery costs in my selection of location (this was before Amazon Prime). And I picked New Hampshire over TX or NM in part because we have almost zero venomous snakes.

Porcupines, however, can be an issue here (not as urgent as a rattlesnake bite).

Great points! I think everyone buying a house should check flood plains.

We almost messed up on internet. I asked someone in the neighborhood how it was and they said "great! no problems!!"

Well, definitely not what we were used to, and it was satellite. After a year we did find out we can, and did, get broadband. We really messed up on due diligence, but lucked out.