Seeking beautiful, wooded, newly developed land for new construction

[preshiesgirl]

Originally Posted by rainforest338

The farther away from the cities, it seems you get the better land deals but that is also where the crime seems to be increasing the most. The cities (speculation) were just getting too expensive for many of the criminals. They can get more drugs with the money saved on rent and the rural law enforcement tends to be friendlier to them. The junkies have really been hitting the small rural properties hard in WA lately, especially if the driveway isn't gated. Mostly just burglaries, but (here in the Port Angeles area and Olympic Peninsula) there have been a few armed robberies and home invasions. Mostly in places where it would take the police a while to respond. Some of the theft is kind of odd---one of the farms by PA had a few llamas stolen and in the national forest the junkies stole one of the bridges.
Also agree with NB, as I am in Sequim often and a good number of the S Cal transplants have been really unhappy lately. 2009 was the last year that had early/long/late summer and seasons; 2010 and 2011 were quite a bit rainier and colder. I talked to a few that were putting their dream homes back up for sale so they could move back to CA. The 9 months of being trapped in their homes finally broke them.

Well, this is certainly something to be concerned about, if in fact these wonderful islands with their small town living are being inundated and ruined by crime. I would have never guessed that this would be such a high concern. I suppose it would be silly to ask if any one particular island is or is not experiencing this very thing because I'm sure if any one of them is, the chances are the others are as well. Why would one be less susceptible than the others? Unless, like you said, the police response is much quicker (?). And I suppose there are no gated communities on these islands (I know, wishful thinking).

Well, this is all very disconcerting to say the least, but good to have a heads up so we know the right questions to ask allowing us to make wiser decisions on where to build.

Still not concerned about the weather. Thanks for your input rainforest338.

[NomadicBear]

Originally Posted by preshiesgirl

...And we were doing so well with no negative Nigels . Of course, we understand we need to come out, spend time there, most likely multiple times, to get a better feel for where we want to build. This is common sense. Something as important as this, one definitely needs to put a lot of thought/research into it. If you don't, we'll you're an idiot and simply welcoming disaster. Again, common sense (and I realize it's true, some people haven't any common sense, so there's always that need to want to point things out to that percentage of people who you know are out there). We are not only very thorough, but we are extremely meticulous people who know exactly what we want. We also realize that this will be a learning process as we go since this is our first time building. But we are wise individuals and would never go blindly into something as big as this.

Regarding the weather, as I mentioned in my initial post, I am originally from NW Indiana and so I know what extreme weather is – lived it my entire life up until 12 yrs. ago. Trust me, I can handle WA weather! So yes, we are aware of what Washington's weather has to offer us (again, after much thought), and are so looking forward to it. Plus (and this is a huge factor), since we work at home, we would not be commuting or venturing out when the weather is less favorable, as opposed to the peeps who have no choice and would be and might get tired of it. So see, we're not your average S. Californian.

We're also huge believers in positive thinking. As I mentioned before, we wholeheartedly believe that our perfect land in our perfect community is just waiting for us and because it is meant for us, everything else will just fall into place and it will be perfect for us in every way.

As far as the meth heads go, that is so unfortunate and extremely disheartening that that even has to be a concern for such a beautiful area. But yes, for sure we would research the safety logs for a particular area before making our final decision and talk with many of the locals to get any details that we can. That's a given!

Thanks so much for your input and the heads up on potential land differences between summer and winter. Great advice!

"Negative Nigel?" Surely you must be joking. But, after reading this: "As far as the meth heads go, that is so unfortunate and extremely disheartening that that even has to be a concern for such a beautiful area," I realize how impressionable you are. Good luck.

[StealthRabbit]

I recommend staying on paved roads and within 20 min of towns. I have a very remote / quiet place that is 5 min from a nice sized town. Paved road, EZ commute and only 20 mi to a GREAT international airport (with $39 flights to CA for sun )

BUT nearby there are plenty of meth-heads. The only 'crime' I've dealt with is when they took hundreds of # of iron antiques to scrap yard (I had brought from grandpa's farm in Nebraska for 'yard-art')... I was really upset, but such is life (and I am NOT AT ALL into the positive thinking thing...).

I would stick to decent access areas NOT on dead end roads. There are plenty of problems in the woods, including drunks with BIG guns, and a pretty good crop of illegal growers from across the MEX border. They clear out areas hidden from view (EZ when blackberry bushes are 20' tall) and they set booby traps (trip wire shotguns) and such, Gotta be SMART about it (living in paradise...).

Some of my friends have had to flee due to crazy neighbors (wives / kids don't feel safe at home) BEST not to be tucked into the woods. I rarely have bullets zooming by, but it happens occasionally. (Less after I started trap shooting around my house and property). Popping off a few shots in the late of night seem to keep the neighbors from becoming too big of bully. It is healthy to establish some SPACE. Sheriff? Mine is usually well over an hour away (in the 'troublesome' part of the county). My area is very well mannered compared to many. There are plenty of Wackos everywhere. Don't invite trouble by moving in next to them. (hence the GREAT idea to buy a BIG parcel and CHOOSE your own neighbors buy selling lots / houses to the right folks).

Ask around, get to know the locals, BE SMART.

[preshiesgirl]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

I recommend staying on paved roads and within 20 min of towns. I have a very remote / quiet place that is 5 min from a nice sized town. Paved road, EZ commute and only 20 mi to a GREAT international airport (with $39 flights to CA for sun )

BUT nearby there are plenty of meth-heads. The only 'crime' I've dealt with is when they took hundreds of # of iron antiques to scrap yard (I had brought from grandpa's farm in Nebraska for 'yard-art')... I was really upset, but such is life (and I am NOT AT ALL into the positive thinking thing...).

I would stick to decent access areas NOT on dead end roads. There are plenty of problems in the woods, including drunks with BIG guns, and a pretty good crop of illegal growers from across the MEX border. They clear out areas hidden from view (EZ when blackberry bushes are 20' tall) and they set booby traps (trip wire shotguns) and such, Gotta be SMART about it (living in paradise...).

Some of my friends have had to flee due to crazy neighbors (wives / kids don't feel safe at home) BEST not to be tucked into the woods. I rarely have bullets zooming by, but it happens occasionally. (Less after I started trap shooting around my house and property). Popping off a few shots in the late of night seem to keep the neighbors from becoming too big of bully. It is healthy to establish some SPACE. Sheriff? Mine is usually well over an hour away (in the 'troublesome' part of the county). My area is very well mannered compared to many. There are plenty of Wackos everywhere. Don't invite trouble by moving in next to them. (hence the GREAT idea to buy a BIG parcel and CHOOSE your own neighbors buy selling lots / houses to the right folks).

Ask around, get to know the locals, BE SMART.

Well, all I can say is, it's good to find out about these details in advance (hence researching and having productive conversations on this forum). I also have to say that the concept of what we thought was a very attractive and serene island life on Puget Sound is suddenly becoming quite unappealing and seemingly risky. But I also understand "location" is key. And yes, being smart through the entire process is also key. We really do appreciate ALL you've shared with us! Thanks again StealthRabbit (and that's really sad about your iron antiques/yard art).

[shovelbum15]

preshiesgirl,

Just stumbled across your thread...I'm curious if you ended up moving to WA and if you've built your home? If you have, how was the whole process? From the posts that StealthRabbit wrote, it seems like it would be quite a hassle building from the ground up. I'm hoping to move to WA in the next couple of years (also telecommuting) and would like to build a new home as well. Just wanted to get your perspective...

Thanks in advance!

[windrunner4484]

Hi, preshiesgirl, we are also looking to move there. We will rent for a year and then decide where to buy or build. How did your build go? Where did you end up? We are looking at the Sequim area for now. Maybe Bellingham but thought that was too far north. Was looking in the Port Orchard area until we saw a post about people riding atv's and having drunken bonfires. Hmm. loved reading about all the advice you got. I wrote alot down to reference later. Hope everything went well.