How did you find it? (wild, cost of living, friendly, gardening)
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We moved to a rural area shortly after we were married (I wasn't keen on it, but willing to try)
37 years of rural life and we moved back to town. I LOVE BEING IN TOWN! I'd NEVER move back to the boonies.
I'd be willing to bet that rural wives suffer depression far more than wives who live in cities. The isolation gets to you, especially during the winter. The long drive to town once/twice weekly to do errands and groceries is a big PIA@!
We both came from Brooklyn, NY, lived in apartments in Brooklyn for 10 years and bought a home in Staten Island, NY and stayed there for 22 years. Staten Island is a borough of NYC that was less crowded than Brooklyn, but as the years went by started to be as crowded and noisy as Brooklyn had been 20 years earlier. When we retired we moved 50 miles south to suburban NJ. We picked our town because one of our children lived there. Also, because as you moved south toward the edges of Monmouth and Ocean counties the houses were more affordable with larger plots. We sold our Staten Island house and got a smaller ranch style house on 1/3 of an acre. We have good privacy from the neighbors, but enjoy city water and sewers, and found all new doctors and dentists, beauty shop, places to shop and eat, etc. within a half hour or less drive from our house. We have been here 11 years. I can say it's very pleasant living here. The last time I was in NYC was the day I handed in my retirement papers. We searched for a house in this town for about 2 years and didn't find anything we liked and gave up. One day I was looking online at houses in the area and spotted this one. It had some unflattering photos and hadn't been getting any responses for several months. I called the realtor and she said she would look at it for us and save us a trip if it wasn't any good. She called us back and said we should see it. It was a bit smaller than my wife liked, but was still a single story 3br/ 2ba house with a garage and an open concept living/dining/kitchen room. I offered $40K less than asking and it was accepted. I thought I got a great deal but the seller got a better one as it was just before the housing bubble burst and this house eventually went down in value about $80K.
To find my land, I did what I did when I was looking for a house. I just looked at every piece of land available in my price range. I didn't go far afield when I was looking for a house, but this time around I looked at everything that was available between this side of the Cascades and from the Canadian border to down past Portland a ways. I also checked out Spokane, St. Louis, and a lot of the East Coast as well. The only requirement was the land had to have water on it or have water available for hook up.
I ended up pretty much around the corner from where I'd bought my house in 2003. It's not exactly isolated, but I am surrounded by one other house and 6 (unsold so far and since taken off the market) 1+ acre lots. If you have a weak stomach, don't drive to where I am. It's all curvy road for the mile or so from my lot to the main road, and a curvy road for the next 12 miles into the town. After that, it's another 8 miles or so into the city where I can take an hour long ferry ride to Seattle, or I can just drive around starting from the town and cutting across to Gig Harbor, which involves more and longer curvy roads and a lot of time and patience.
But for the drive to my house to the nearest grocery stores in town that are 13 miles from where I'll be living, I follow along the Hood Canal and on days when the sun is shining, it's a beautiful drive.
To find my land, I did what I did when I was looking for a house. I just looked at every piece of land available in my price range. I didn't go far afield when I was looking for a house, but this time around I looked at everything that was available between this side of the Cascades and from the Canadian border to down past Portland a ways. I also checked out Spokane, St. Louis, and a lot of the East Coast as well. The only requirement was the land had to have water on it or have water available for hook up.
I ended up pretty much around the corner from where I'd bought my house in 2003. It's not exactly isolated, but I am surrounded by one other house and 6 (unsold so far and since taken off the market) 1+ acre lots. If you have a weak stomach, don't drive to where I am. It's all curvy road for the mile or so from my lot to the main road, and a curvy road for the next 12 miles into the town. After that, it's another 8 miles or so into the city where I can take an hour long ferry ride to Seattle, or I can just drive around starting from the town and cutting across to Gig Harbor, which involves more and longer curvy roads and a lot of time and patience.
But for the drive to my house to the nearest grocery stores in town that are 13 miles from where I'll be living, I follow along the Hood Canal and on days when the sun is shining, it's a beautiful drive.
Do you know, rodentraiser, that you have quite a way with words?
Found a house via Internet I liked in a rural area....no real reason for the decision other than that. It's 20min from the nearest town so it's a bit far out but no problems because of that. Just coordinate errands, shopping...buying for several weeks instead of one. Wanted peace, quiet and natural beauty with creatures that go along with living in the mountains...got all that here.
I dig the "peace and quiet" thing but every time I see one of those places makes me wonder what if someone meant us harm in the middle of the night, or anytime for that matter. You feel so exposed and helpless.
Do you know, rodentraiser, that you have quite a way with words?
Your place sounds wonderful....
Thank you. I read a lot, so my posting tends to be a reflection of all the different styles of writing I've seen. Only problem is, I get way too wordy.
With the exception of two years of college, I have never lived where I could not walk out and hunt. I never will. I'm sitting here 22 feet from the lake. I cannot see a light in any direction. This is about as low hassle as it gets.
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