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Hi, WouldLoveTo ,
If the land your buying has forests, grass, hay, meadows, etc, anything flammable Don't shoot off any Fireworks, Please. They are very Dangerous, anywhere a Wildfire can start up. There can be loss of life for humans & animals.
Teach your family how to identify Poison Oak & Poison Ivy. You don't want to be rolling around in it, or fondling it.
Enjoy the Adventures & beautiful scenery, you will have living out in the country.
WE don't do fireworks, some current neighbors do.
And you forgot sumac. We are both highly allergic, always surprised how much I can find around here!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts
Why couldn't someone put a septic system in northern New England? Many people in New England have septic systems. They're not rare. Some states that's your only option outside of the city.
It was something with the particular property, not a restriction in the town or anything. But he hadn't looked into it until he was ready to build.
Your rural neighbors will probably have dogs. Plural. The male dogs are probably not neutered. Or fenced in. They will roam your neighborhood. The female dogs may be spayed. Or not.
Ditto for the cats. Which may or may not have been vaccinated for rabies.
Your rural neighbors may live on farms. They may have horses, cows, goats, chickens, or all of the above. Chances are these neighbors and their ancestors have lived on these farms for generations. You will be the newcomer.
Farm animals can be noisy. They can be "smelly." They will be fenced in, most likely, but fences can be broken down and and the livestock may get out. And wander. And eat your lawn, your flowers, the leaves (and maybe bark) on your trees.
Ditto the deer.
Bears may come to your house. Maybe after dark, but they may come.
Hopefully your local hardware store/Walmart/Tractor Supply will carry bear-proof garbage cans.
You will have squirrels. If you don't have a garage, these may get up under your car, into the engine, chew the wires; or get into your car and chew more things.
You will probably have snakes. Learn which ones are venomous and which are "harmless" to humans.
And cats and small dogs.
You may have eagles and hawks. These too can attack cats and small dogs.
If you have a well, do you share it with any neighbors? Is there a written agreement about use of its water? Does it have an electric pump? What will you do when the electricity goes out?
Do your new rural neighbors live in their houses year round? Or do they have second houses in another climate and rent their rural houses out as AirBNBs? Is there a noise ordinance in your new rural neighborhood? Parking ordinances?
Your new rural neighbors' farms are not petting zoos. Their property is private, just like yours, including the pastures their farm animals live in. The animals are not there to be petted, fed over the fence (which may be electric, and turned on), ridden, or milked.
There's more, but that's enough to be going on with.
If you're considering a move to a mountainous area...people don't realize how much living in the shadow of a mountain or mountains can affect your effective length of day. It's always a surprise for new arrivals in my area.
Your rural neighbors will probably have dogs. Plural. The male dogs are probably not neutered. Or fenced in. They will roam your neighborhood. The female dogs may be spayed. Or not.
Ditto for the cats. Which may or may not have been vaccinated for rabies.
Your rural neighbors may live on farms. They may have horses, cows, goats, chickens, or all of the above. Chances are these neighbors and their ancestors have lived on these farms for generations. You will be the newcomer.
Farm animals can be noisy. They can be "smelly." They will be fenced in, most likely, but fences can be broken down and and the livestock may get out. And wander. And eat your lawn, your flowers, the leaves (and maybe bark) on your trees.
Ditto the deer.
Bears may come to your house. Maybe after dark, but they may come.
Hopefully your local hardware store/Walmart/Tractor Supply will carry bear-proof garbage cans.
You will have squirrels. If you don't have a garage, these may get up under your car, into the engine, chew the wires; or get into your car and chew more things.
You will probably have snakes. Learn which ones are venomous and which are "harmless" to humans.
And cats and small dogs.
You may have eagles and hawks. These too can attack cats and small dogs.
If you have a well, do you share it with any neighbors? Is there a written agreement about use of its water? Does it have an electric pump? What will you do when the electricity goes out?
Do your new rural neighbors live in their houses year round? Or do they have second houses in another climate and rent their rural houses out as AirBNBs? Is there a noise ordinance in your new rural neighborhood? Parking ordinances?
Your new rural neighbors' farms are not petting zoos. Their property is private, just like yours, including the pastures their farm animals live in. The animals are not there to be petted, fed over the fence (which may be electric, and turned on), ridden, or milked.
There's more, but that's enough to be going on with.
Good stuff here! The stories I hear from my horse friends and "visitors"
I've seen a number of - I guess I would call them garbage cages, wooden and chain link and padlocked.
Are there really parking ordinances on acreage out of town? (10+ acres) I never would have thought that!
Yes, there is a race track a few miles from here, and every Saturday night, the sound carries just fine. The people across the field do a lot of target practice, but gunshots aren’t nearly as bad as hearing the target practice from nearby JBLM. The base is an hour north, but a portion of their land is only a few miles away. Those weapons they use are louder than any gun. A base or airport close by can get noisy, so check maps and get an idea of your topography. This is something I’ve regretted not doing.
One more thing to add, prisons and undesirable people often end up in the country. They have to go somewhere and they’re usually tucked away in the boonies. They recently put a level 3 sex offender house nearby. It was done quietly and quickly, and people weren’t happy when they found out. They likely chose this area because of the sparse population and keeping them away from the city. Most areas around here have alarms, dogs and cameras. Checking property crime in areas you like, is worth taking the time to do.
What would you check for topography? That they are over the mountain range? I ended up on a small airport flight path in 1990 and it's miserable - we're on the runway approach path so they are pretty low. Small planes but still loud.
Now I can look at that on an app, it wasn't that way 30+ years ago
In a lot of rural areas, you can't get cable or an OTC signal, and sat dish may be your only option for television.
You may or may not get a decent cell signal to make a phone call. Landlines are still popular out here.
High speed internet may or may not exist. Many people are stuck with DSL at 3.5 mbps. The fortunate can pay their cable company through the nose. The rare really fortunate have fiberoptic. The really desperate try satellite internet.
All these things depend not only on the geographic location but the immediate surrounding topography. Do NOT rely on a utility company's coverage map or assurances they can provide service. ASK the current residents what they can actually get.
Climate...make sure you factor in your new climate, not just the location. You mentioned you'd only visited the new location April - October. If it's a place that actually has winter, you'd dang well better make a visit in January or February before you move there.
I've got a good idea on cell coverage from visits but of course that will depend on exactly where we end up.
A winter visit is in the works. Winter *should* be less than what we have now. I have a few towns loaded into my weather app but that doesn't tell the whole story.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frostnip
If you're considering a move to a mountainous area...people don't realize how much living in the shadow of a mountain or mountains can affect your effective length of day. It's always a surprise for new arrivals in my area.
Something I always forget! That always bothered me about camping in VT, I'd been in the woods on a mountain and always thought it was gloomy until I headed out.
If you've never lived in a rural area (however you define that), rent first. It isn't for everybody.
I could write a book on pitfalls of the naive rural home buyer. But mainly, without many -- or sometimes, any -- urban services, you must be far more ready to solve any and all the problems yourself. If you are not handy, you will be in for a frustrating time. You rarely will be able to just pick up a phone and pay money and easily get something done. You will be leaning on your neighbors for all kinds of stuff that in a city you would hire some professional for, and you bet they will hope to do the same.
Amen, amen, amen. Except for the leaning on your neighbors part. Not happening where I live because nearly everyone has livestock and acreage that keeps us busy. Yes we come to help if the jugular is cut and it’s an emergency but, if your pipes burst you’re on your own.
We don’t even have winter maintenance on our road so we are not on a school bus route. When this road ices over, one had better know how to drive or stay in town a few days. Internet & cell service are sketchy. We do not have garbage pick up but garbage disposal is free for the residents of my county as long as we do our own hauling of everything to the compactor. Since a county deputy built a home on this road, the township keeps the trees cut back and our road now only partially resembles something out of Deliverance
My husband fixes 99% of everything that goes wrong around here. I am also handy with a wrench if something “outpatient “ happens before he gets home from work; if something Simple comes loose on one of the tractors while I’m in the middle of something, I know where the tools are and how to use them
I was raised on a small dairy farm in the Toolies, so this way of life suits me just fine but it is not for the feint of heart female who must have quick access to quality shopping, and salons of all sorts. Walking out the door and seeing a big chicken snake basking on the garage apron can make anyone suck their breath in, including me, lollollol.
I do have one tip, if you do choose to live a rural life (suburbs with cul-de-sacs don’t count as rural) —- please leave your city ways and mentality in the city. No we don’t want street lights, no we don’t want sidewalks, no we don’t want the road widened so your kids have a berm to illegally ride their brand new dirt bikes Mach 80 up and down the road
If you're considering a move to a mountainous area...people don't realize how much living in the shadow of a mountain or mountains can affect your effective length of day. It's always a surprise for new arrivals in my area.
And never buy a house on the north side of a hill. It will be darker, colder, and snowier all winter than a place on the other side of the hill.
What would you check for topography? That they are over the mountain range? I ended up on a small airport flight path in 1990 and it's miserable - we're on the runway approach path so they are pretty low. Small planes but still loud.
Now I can look at that on an app, it wasn't that way 30+ years ago
Sorry for your bad luck, it happens. Wish I’d know that JBLM has such loud booms from the land nearby, I would have done a lot more screening. People don’t realize how noisy small planes and helicopters can be, until they’re right overhead. Lesson learned for the future.
Apps aren’t the best way to check, neither is a map. For the best idea of the location and what’s behind those trees, walking and driving the neighborhood are the way to go. When we first moved here, I drove up to say to our neighbor on the hill, and found his yard covered in various items, including a mattress. His yard was hidden by trees, but seeing that kind of takes the fun out of dropping by to introduce yourself.
Roosters crowing. At 4am, just outside the bedroom window.
Loose dogs roaming, knocking over trash and barking.
Wild pigs eating your plants and knocking over trash. At least they're quiet.
Research other annoying critters. Fire ants and coqui frogs are a bummer. Rattlesnakes and scorpions are creepy. I like coyotes and tarantulas, though.
Neighbors who play really loud music because they are out in the country (but not far enough out).
Tour helicopters
Hunters shooting at all hours
Lack of police response. An hour (or never) is a long wait.
Ditto EMTs. 40 minutes the one time I called; patient was DOA. She may have been dead when I called, but...
Lack of non-emergency medical care. I had to get on a plane for every CT scan, colonoscopy, surgery...it sounded like fun when we were healthy, but got old fast when I got sick.
Long drive for any kind of supplies. You might want to learn to bake bread, and you definitely want a big pantry and a chest freezer.
Power outages lasting longer than in the city. Keep jugs of drinking water in the bottom of the chest freezer. They'll keep things cold, and you can drink them if your water depends on a pump.
Difficulty getting packages delivered if you have a PO box; if you use your POB, UPS etc won't deliver, while if you use your physical address and the shipper uses PO, you don't get your order.
Work-around: List your physical address first, then the PO box as a second line on everything you order.
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We are both highly allergic, always surprised how much I can find around here!
