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Hello everybody! I am new to the site. I am a single male subsisting on disability. I currently reside in Northern Utah, and wish desperately to relocate out of Utah. I grew up here from 9 yrs through 23 yrs. I am not LDS., and have always been ostracized and treated as less-than. There is but one "club" in Utah, the Mormon church, and if you are not in, your out, and if your out, your a heathen, and not allowed to be a member of the society here. My income is limited to 1191.00 dollars a month (min. 213 for Medicaid) (Yes, the poverty level.) My goal at this time is to build a Tiny Texas home, go completely off the grid, and start a business. (get off disability) I am looking for suggestion's and or advice with regards to a location to relocate which would (A)-Have cheap affordable land, (B)-Be more culturally compatible, (live and let live), and (C)- Economically viable. (given my financial limitations) If you want to know a little more about me, my profile is public, and my email address available. I welcome any and all suggestions that will help me to further these goals. For those of you who like myself, are seeking to simplify your lives (cast off the chains of consumerism, and learn to want what you need, not need what you want). I strongly urge you to Google- Tiny Texas House movement. Note: I am also exploring the possibility of finding a group of individuals to discuss the possibility of going in together on a peace of land somewhere to create an off the grid village of tiny Texas houses. (would be great for example to have a mixed bag of skills within such a group, (carpenter, organic gardener, solar technician electrician, homeopathy/nutritionist, a mechanic, etc.) Think about it. You no longer have a mortgage. You no longer have utility bills. You grow most of your own food. You compost your waste. You capture rainwater and or have your own well. Think about it. What have you always wanted to do? but you had neither the time or the money, or both. Think of the positive change you could bring about in your life. How much better might you sleep at night if you were no longer a part of the problem, but part of the solution, your no longer killing our planet or ruining the lives of our next generation. Your no longer a slave to consumerism or lining the pockets of greedy corporations. Sounds really good to me.........
What you're describing so far is probably available in every state, although Alaska might have the most freedom, cheapest land, best natural resources. advice: budget and save ($5k? $10k?), research, learn survival skills, reduce belongings to a single car trunk or duffle bag. when all that is achieved (or approximated), you're ready. Or just flee Utah, land on your feet, and start over.
p.s. Texas is a baptist stronghold, although a few others are grudgingly tolerated
Last edited by highplainsrus; 06-09-2013 at 10:22 AM..
Hello everybody! I am new to the site. I am a single male subsisting on disability. I currently reside in Northern Utah, and wish desperately to relocate out of Utah. I grew up here from 9 yrs through 23 yrs. I am not LDS., and have always been ostracized and treated as less-than. There is but one "club" in Utah, the Mormon church, and if you are not in, your out, and if your out, your a heathen, and not allowed to be a member of the society here.
Come on. Life is what you make it. You mention a "live and let live" philosophy. I live in Utah and that is exactly what I've experienced for the many, many years I've lived here. The "Mormon's" have never bothered me. No pitch forks and torches. I, in fact, get exactly what I want... to be left alone. One of their number one teachings is free agency. Now, I will grant you that they can get a bit too enthusiastic with legislation. Oddly, that is NOT part of their scripture. That's just zealots doing their thing. But then, there are zealots in every walk of life, no?
Now, having said that, I do understand you wanting to move away from Utah. I do to. But not because of the culture. It's because there are WAY too many people here (of whatever culture). I feel like I'm living in LA. But as far as the "Mormons," I wouldn't mind being right smack dab in the middle of ONLY "Mormons" wherever I go. When I say that, I mean those who are truly living their religion and are not mormons only in name. There are a lot of those around Utah as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by glidingmoose
My income is limited to 1191.00 dollars a month (min. 213 for Medicaid) (Yes, the poverty level.) My goal at this time is to build a Tiny Texas home, go completely off the grid, and start a business. (get off disability) I am looking for suggestion's and or advice with regards to a location to relocate which would (A)-Have cheap affordable land, (B)-Be more culturally compatible, (live and let live), and (C)- Economically viable. (given my financial limitations) If you want to know a little more about me, my profile is public, and my email address available. I welcome any and all suggestions that will help me to further these goals. For those of you who like myself, are seeking to simplify your lives (cast off the chains of consumerism, and learn to want what you need, not need what you want). I strongly urge you to Google- Tiny Texas House movement. Note: I am also exploring the possibility of finding a group of individuals to discuss the possibility of going in together on a peace of land somewhere to create an off the grid village of tiny Texas houses. (would be great for example to have a mixed bag of skills within such a group, (carpenter, organic gardener, solar technician electrician, homeopathy/nutritionist, a mechanic, etc.) Think about it. You no longer have a mortgage. You no longer have utility bills. You grow most of your own food. You compost your waste. You capture rainwater and or have your own well. Think about it. What have you always wanted to do? but you had neither the time or the money, or both. Think of the positive change you could bring about in your life. How much better might you sleep at night if you were no longer a part of the problem, but part of the solution, your no longer killing our planet or ruining the lives of our next generation. Your no longer a slave to consumerism or lining the pockets of greedy corporations. Sounds really good to me.........
Any of this about tiny houses and simple lifestyle sound familiar, guys?
Let's just say that many of the things you stated in your paragraph match things I've said... well... many times here on this forum. We share many ideas (it sounds like). Especially the small houses mindset. Some of the other things, not so much. But it's good to see someone here that has a place in their heart for "tiny houses." Welcome!
You won't find much on tiny houses here, besides my occasional rantings. You can search for some of the past posts. My personal goal is more along the lines of traditional house (many of them were tiny by our standards--in fact most were) and a traditional lifestyle, as far as technology. Think "Amish" without the heavy religious requirement -- a much simpler lifestyle that is certainly not easier, but less cluttered with (what I consider) the unnecessary junk we have shackled around our ankles these days.
Okay... so... anyway, you will find that most everyone here is interested in some of the aspects you mention above, but not all of them. You'll enjoy the forum if you find some of that commonality and discuss those topics and ideas. You'll also get a lot of negativism with some of your ideals. Don't let it bother you. Everyone here gets flak for some things. As I said, find the common ground and have fun with it. I have some VERY wild opinions... but I seldom discuss them here anymore because I know what's going to happen! Sometimes I can't resist, though.
As for tiny houses, besides me, you won't find too many enthusiasts here. Have you seen any of these sorts of websites:
(sorry, can't seem to get the links working properly today, so just put the www in front)
tumbleweedhouses.com
fourlightshouses.com
I actually design small and tiny houses and have considered starting a similar website. But, I'm lazy and I've just been designing them for fun and for my own future home. I'm a bit more into traditional methods, though, such as timber framing and traditional masonry.
It also sounds like you might want to visit the green living forum and frugal living forum. I do, occasionally, but find that my sort of historic/simple living direction doesn't translate so well on those forums.
Welcome GlidingMoose! Many of our regular members have similar interests and several aren't strangers to fixed-incomes. I'm sure you'll get lots of ideas, information and advice (some good, some bad LOL) the longer you stay with us
The question of "the perfect place" is always very difficult to answer because we all have different priorities and preferences. What I would consider perfect (or close enough) might be entirely different that what you'd think is perfect.
It sounds like you've done a fair bit of thinking about what you do want; but a large portion of your post centers on what you don't want. Letting a negative drive your process will likely yield a less than satisfactory result. There are lots of places where the LDS isn't so widespread, but those places may not have the other things that are important to you. And Utah may have everything else you desire, and you simply need to find a place there (or nearby) that is "non-LDS friendly". Anyway, I would suggest you list the things you'd want in a perfect homestead and the things you'd be willing to tolerate less-than-perfect -- don't forget to include climate, environment, legalities, taxes, political atmosphere, religious atmosphere, costs of living, etc.
You can pretty much build a small house with a food garden in every state (but probably not every county and maybe not affordably!!), but you have to look at the whole picture since it's unlikely that you will find one place that has everything on your list exactly the way you'd prefer it. But you won't know that until you identify your goals, priorities and areas of compromise and then do your research. Then you'll be able to narrow your list of potential areas down to a handful and start researching deeper and looking for properties, etc.
From what you've mentioned, it seems you're looking for areas that have low taxation, low cost of living, are "homesteader friendly", and have flexible zoning and regulations. That's a pretty tall order! You may wish to investigate the less populated states like Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Maine and the Dakotas if you don't mind the winter. If you want warmer, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennesee and Alabama may be a better fit climate-wise. Many of the states in the "Bible Belt" are fairly homesteader friendly and the cost of living and population is relatively low... but they tend to have a high concentration of religious people and religiously mptivated politics (which may or may not be acceptable to you). See? This is why it's hard to tell someone where to find Nirvana It's just too unique to the person!
Here's a neat place for indulging in the simple life.
Thee's plenty of space for survival supplies and a safe room with a hidden exit would be a snap. A bit of discreet work on the pond could produce a veritable cornucopia of fresh fish. The cellar would provide a quiet area for emergency generators as well as interrogation rooms.
Trustworthy servants or slaves in the high windows could take out lightly armed vehicles at two miles.
Seriously, you never have more than your dreams and usually much less. But without dreams there'll be nothing.
I don't have a place like that yet but I still have the dream. Perhaps with intelligence and drive I'll fulfill my dream; then I can begin on the next one.
"For those of you who like myself, are seeking to simplify your lives (cast off the chains of consumerism, and learn to want what you need, not need what you want..."
This sentiment alone puts you head and shoulders above most who post in the survivalist forum. (I look in occasionally for gloom & doom giggles.) And your emphasis on community and sharing skills sets you apart, also. Best of luck achieving your (very reasonable) goals!
Happy in Wyoming, you've really out-done yourself. I'm still chuckling. Someone posts about tiny houses, and you come up with that! Maybe you should change your status line to "Contrarian extraordinaire".
I tried getting others to chip in on lots of land....
Never could.
Ended up just going ahead and buying 80 acres for $65K.
I looked at tiny houses (I live in a <225 SqFt airstream) and quite honestly, a 40x40x14 Metal building is cheaper, part will be apartments, (For guests, or me if the airstream is elsewhere) and part will be a garage for the stream.
It depends on how they are built. Most of the "tiny houses" that websites offer plans for are designed for "style," and of course in many cases, efficient use of that small space. But, small homes can be designed for practicality in other regards as well. Of course, "practicality" depends on what sort of lifestyle you are seeking. If you are looking to a low-tech home, practical design consists (at least in a cold climate) of a small footprint home built tall around a central fireplace/stove/masonry heater/chimney. The bigger, more spread out the home gets, the less efficient and practical (and more expensive to heat) it becomes in that sense. And by definition, smaller spaces are going to take more BTUs to heat for a given geometry (all other things being equal). The moderately wealthy of a couple of centuries ago perfected the design because it was practical for them. Even the larger homes still stuck with a relatively small footprint built up two or three stories around a huge central chimney.
On the other hand, if you're looking to high-tech homes, size is less attached to practicality in that traditional sense. Then again, it depends what we're referring to when we say "practical." Practical for what? Practical for whom? Being alone, it's completely impractical for me to have a large home. But for a large family, it's impractical to live in the 12x16 cabin that would work for me just fine.
There are many aspects to "practicality." For someone like me, it makes much more sense to have a small home to heat and maintain and have unheated sheds/cellars for other necessities and storage. For others, not so much. Housing practicality is completely dependent on the inhabitants and the intent. We live in a society where practicality is built into modern homes assuming a modern, hi-tech, collectivist lifestyle. That practicality becomes impracticality if we assume some other types of lifestyle goals.
Happy in Wyoming, you've really out-done yourself. I'm still chuckling. Someone posts about tiny houses, and you come up with that! Maybe you should change your status line to "Contrarian extraordinaire".
Well, I guess it's all relative. If we compare HIW's ideal home to the Louvre...
... we could call it small and quaint.
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Life is what you make it. You mention a "live and let live" philosophy. I live in Utah and that is exactly what I've experienced for the many, many years I've lived here. The "Mormon's" have never bothered me. No pitch forks and torches. I, in fact, get exactly what I want... to be left alone. One of their number one teachings is free agency. Now, I will grant you that they can get a bit too enthusiastic with legislation. Oddly, that is NOT part of their scripture. That's just zealots doing their thing. But then, there are zealots in every walk of life, no?
