Are they rural liberal areas in Washington? (Seattle, Vancouver: home, buying)

[TrueTimbers]

Originally Posted by SwssMiss

Again, thanks for the feedback. This forum rocks. CrazyDonkey you did it again! Thanks for the listings.

TrueTimbers, your mention of raising chickens and using the spend ones for sausages is EXACTLY one of the projects we have! More precisely in addition to heritage hens, regular layers, I want to rehab some layers from commercial operations to give them a chance at a good life before they get their bad day. What made you abandon the project?

I have started to look at commercial kitchens and farmers' markets locations. Also easy access to urban areas is a must of course. After all we need to sell the stuff ! The West side of WA seems more suited, as you mentioned, for our kind of lifestyle. However this mean higher RE and therefore less land. Do you know by any chance if they are county health regulations in addition to state and federal ones?

It seems that your philosophy and new chosen lifestyle align with ours in general terms. Would you care to give us some specific advices as to areas of relocation based on your experience?

This forum gave us a lot of very good inputs which we are all going to explore. Maybe we can take the snow out of the equation and settle for a few inches and distant views (don't want to make it too hard on you all). Besides the idea of dredging in 2-3 feet of snow early morning to take care of the livestock will get less and and less appealing as the years go by probably.

Most grateful to all for your time and input.

I have not totally abandoned the chicken idea, just doing what I know can make a modest income first, I market farmed vegtables where I came from.

Anyway, it is hard to give you specifics.
For simplicity, let's stick with the PNW and west of the cascades. Where are the commercial chicken farms? How much land do you need? 10/acres would pasture 400/chickens, plus grow supplemental food for them,, but would not be enough to raise grains on any scale. So then I think of buying grains. What valleys are big enough to support grain production and livestock based AG? Do those big industrial valleys give off the progressive vibe you seek though? Where are the nearest direct markets? Are those markets saturated, because it is easy to do what you do.!?

Enough to drive you nuts. Hey? It is a complex puzzle of compromise.

So.... I would pick a community on vibe and a property that has good soil sun and water. (Market with eggs and frozen meat, heck a once a week delivery route to metro area would work.) So what if you drive a few hours and or take a $15 or even $30/ferry delivering your goods, or attending an urban market, like the legendary Ballard market.

Us, we had two regions that were neck and neck, (Mendocino coast and eastern Jefferson county WA)/so we hung out and watched realestate in both. Slowly the right choice for us became clear.

Remember, farmers put their money in land.. NOT houses. So look for good land with run down farmhouse, or a manufactured or mobile home. Bet you can afford anywhere If you are willing to forgo the gold plated toilets in the Mc mansion's.

[SwssMiss]

CrazyDonkey thank you for taking the time to look up these properties. I have been spending so much time doing just that. What I have been looking at lately is mostly acreage with a barn, or just acreage. The old farmhouse would be wonderful, but it's very had to find a home cheap enough and not a total tear down. The land is the expensive part so most of our $ are going to go for that.

TrueTimbers talking like a pro, there are so many variables..my head is hurting! I am new at this with no prior experience except for the 3 hens I kept in my backyard (they went to a good home as we had to list our home, I had to "fix" my backyard prior to the sale. Plus it's not legal where I live yet, so not a selling point). There is so much to learn. I am reading about permaculture and hollistic practices for farming and raising my livestock. It is all so exciting and confusing. For one thing I grab I have 10 more questions popping up. And I have to figure out how to make money too...

I had read that the ratio is 1 animal unit/2 acres. So about 400 chickens (at roughly 5 lbs/chicken). I also read that you cannot expect to lower your grain consumption (or theirs more accurately) by more than 25-30% for pasture raised birds. Apparently they need the commercially prepared stuff for optimum production. Now when you mention 10 acres/400 birds, you mean that they are fully pasture raised, correct?

This is the rub...all my (very limited and newly acquired) knowledge is theoretical so I apologize if I am jumping at what you said like a starving tick

I agree about the vibes. I have been looking for that perfect, affordable, piece of land for a while now, but only trips to the area give you the full picture. Good land, yep, south facing, you bet, 10 acres, I hope! Golden toilets..not my thing.

[SwssMiss]

Correction on my fancy theory it's 200 chickens/2 acres as 1 animal unit is 1,000 pounds...oops!

[xboxmas]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Your wish for "more snow and sun" pretty much eliminates western Washington, but it does describe eastern Washington, which while it is conservative, is not as remorselessly so as, say, southern Idaho, Utah, or some areas in the mid-west. It also has a strong libertarian component, rather than largely being religious in character.

There are also pockets of liberality, in or around cities/towns with universities/colleges or associated with the wine industry: Spokane, Pullman, Cheney, Ellensburg, Tri-Cities, Walla Walla. Even Okanogan County has its fair share of "back to nature" liberals, if you will. See Winthrop and Twisp in the Methow Valley and Omak.

For instance, for the Walla Walla area:

2368 Heritage Rd, Walla Walla, WA 99362 is For Sale - Zillow

539 Yellowhawk St, Walla Walla, WA 99362 is For Sale - Zillow

415 Preston Ave, Waitsburg, WA 99361 is For Sale - Zillow

Wine industry doesn't equal liberal. Not by a long shot.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by SwssMiss

CrazyDonkey thank you for taking the time to look up these properties. I have been spending so much time doing just that. What I have been looking at lately is mostly acreage with a barn, or just acreage. The old farmhouse would be wonderful, but it's very had to find a home cheap enough and not a total tear down. The land is the expensive part so most of our $ are going to go for that.

More just trying to show where the values are (and satisfy my curiosity). The presence of a house, even a tear-down, is a sign that services are probably available (septic/sewer, water/well, electricity, etc.). Barns might be harder to find than houses. Land with a manufactured home (there are a lot of those) isn't likely to have a barn. Barns are more likely to be found in traditional farming/dairy areas, mostly river valleys. Here is one with land (5.71 acres), no house, a water hook-up, and a barn that is close to markets (Vancouver/Portland):

Stewart Rd 1 And # 4, Stevenson, WA 98648 is For Sale - Zillow

Here's another near the same area, a 20-acre property, no house, "100 year old barn preserved in very good condition":

Nna Snowden Sanborn Rds, White Salmon, WA 98672 is For Sale - Zillow

Another area you might look at (to cover the "east" direction) is the Yakima/Ellensburg area, which is east of the Cascades, but within reach of Seattle via I-90. Here are some with barns and acreage:

14025 Wide Hollow Rd, Yakima, WA 98908 is For Sale - Zillow

641 Borland Rd, Ellensburg, WA 98926 is For Sale - Zillow

8201 4th Parallel Rd, Ellensburg, WA 98926 is For Sale - Zillow

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by xboxmas

Wine industry doesn't equal liberal. Not by a long shot.

Said pockets. Has led to in-migration from more liberal areas, to Walla Walla, for instance.

[victorianpunk]

Almost all of Washington, and the North West for that matter, is socially liberal. Honesty, anywhere on the west side of the state will be pretty accepting of gays, different religions and races etc. It is just the economic issues that divide the state between the Marxists of Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham and Olympia and the Jeffersonians of the rest of the state, with a handful of social conservatives located mostly in the middle of the state.

[xboxmas]

Originally Posted by victorianpunk

Almost all of Washington, and the North West for that matter, is socially liberal. Honesty, anywhere on the west side of the state will be pretty accepting of gays, different religions and races etc. It is just the economic issues that divide the state between the Marxists of Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham and Olympia and the Jeffersonians of the rest of the state, with a handful of social conservatives located mostly in the middle of the state.

Not really. Look at this map for the gay marriage bill R74. The darker the pink, the more who voted against it.



It was only the Seattle area and random pockets here and there that voted for it with a majority.

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by xboxmas

Not really. Look at this map for the gay marriage bill R74. The darker the pink, the more who voted against it.

It was only the Seattle area and random pockets here and there that voted for it with a majority.

Thankfully, most of the Washington state population is in the blue areas.

[TrueTimbers]

Originally Posted by victorianpunk

Almost all of Washington, and the North West for that matter, is socially liberal. Honesty, anywhere on the west side of the state will be pretty accepting of gays, different religions and races etc. It is just the economic issues that divide the state between the Marxists of Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham and Olympia and the Jeffersonians of the rest of the state, with a handful of social conservatives located mostly in the middle of the state.

I would agree.. Can not look at the gay marriage thing as an indicator, some libertarians think government should not be involved. This is no indicator of view onn gay marriage. Bible thumpers in the minority in this state..

Anyway, off subject.. Back to swiss miss.