Where to Mini Farm in Western Washington (Seattle, Bellevue: crime, neighborhoods)

[Inkpoe]

My husband's good friend got herself ~8 acres mini farm where she now raises chicken, sheeps, goats, has a garden and a creek that goes by her property. Her house is a fixer, but she's been working on it slowly. Lovely place, in a small town called Yacolt which is a lovely small town. The only thing is same budget [155k]... but she brought it almost 8 years ago. There might still be some properties around for the amount.

Other friends have also brought (with the same idea) in Amboy, La Center, Woodland.

Land would be cheaper in SW Wa than up in the Peninsula and also more flat land. It's close to Portland/Vancouver, and 2hrs -ish to the coast. The coast that most people up in Seattle are likely to go visit and hang out (Long Beach, Wa area down to Cannon Beach in OR).

[Bluebarn]

We have been thinking about the Portland area as well, so that sounds like it could be a great possibility. I'll start looking into those other towns as well -- thank you both!

It's just my husband and me (unfortunately) so small is fine, as long as there's a shop or extra room that we can use to work in. Even a garage might be ok. And adding on would be something we could do later.

Since we're going to be first time buyers, I feel like there might be a lot of questions that I don't even know to ask. I'll be sure to ask about water access.

[DarkSideOfBlack]

I have a few friends who have small farms out in Snohomish. It's maybe a little far inland for what you're wanting, but it's fairly inexpensive compared to most of WA, and there's a lot of good land out there.

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

You can try the area around Sequim and Port Angeles, and in-between. Carlsborg, which borders Sequim on the west side, looks a little more affordable, and is more rural. You may like it. Also, for a tiny farm, try LaConner, up towards the Canadian border. Almost anywhere you buy in Western Washington, except somewhere remote like the west coast, if you want enough land for animals, at your price, you're looking to buy a mobile home. Some of them can be nice, btw. Or a small house in Carlsborg with a bit of land may be within your budget. It's scenic, that's for sure.

When people say the Sequim area gets less rain than Seattle, that is very relative. Noplace in Western Washington is "dry". "Dry" isn't in anyone's vocabulary, except on their wish list and in their dreams. You'll have plenty of moisture to grow food around Sequim. But you'll have less of the constant gloom and rain or drizzle or "heavy mist" that Seattle has.

Thisplacesucks suggestion to research the Sequim Irrigation Festival and the Dungeness Water Rule is right on. IMHO it should be your very first step in considering the Sequim and surrounding area because if you can't water your livestock/crops...the DWR regulates/limits new water uses (that would be yours) and the area can be dry enough in summer that non-irrigated lawns routinely turn brown for several weeks...you can't mini farm. There are stories of folks who bought land for that purpose and whose dreams were thwarted by the DWR.

We bought land in Sequim to build a residential only retirement home last summer and the DWR very much restricted what properties we viewed since in a few areas outdoor watering is not allowed at all and in most (all?) others all water use is restricted to pre-set amounts of varying levels with associated usage fees. How? The DWR requires a meter on your private well. Some properties have water rights to adjacent irrigation ditches and that would be a must for me if I was looking at mini farm properties. You have to pump water from the ditch to your water use location but at least you have water.

We chose to buy outside of the DWR area.

All that said, the Sequim area is known for healthy, locally grown food so it can be and is done although certainly more easily by established growers whose properties/uses don't qualify as new water uses.

Here is a link to a local realtor's website with some useful articles/links: Dungeness Watershed Management Rule

Here is a link to a map of the DWR area: http://www.clallam.net/Permits/docum..._11x17_000.pdf

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by Jumpindogs

Thisplacesucks suggestion to research the Sequim Irrigation Festival and the Dungeness Water Rule is right on. IMHO it should be your very first step in considering the Sequim and surrounding area because if you can't water your livestock/crops...the DWR regulates/limits new water uses (that would be yours) and the area can be dry enough in summer that non-irrigated lawns routinely turn brown for several weeks...you can't mini farm. There are stories of folks who bought land for that purpose and whose dreams were thwarted by the DWR.

We bought land in Sequim to build a residential only retirement home last summer and the DWR very much restricted what properties we viewed since in a few areas outdoor watering is not allowed at all and in most (all?) others all water use is restricted to pre-set amounts of varying levels with associated usage fees. How? The DWR requires a meter on your private well. Some properties have water rights to adjacent irrigation ditches and that would be a must for me if I was looking at mini farm properties. You have to pump water from the ditch to your water use location but at least you have water.

We chose to buy outside of the DWR area.

All that said, the Sequim area is known for healthy, locally grown food so it can be and is done although certainly more easily by established growers whose properties/uses don't qualify as new water uses.

Here is a link to a local realtor's website with some useful articles/links: Dungeness Watershed Management Rule

Here is a link to a map of the DWR area: http://www.clallam.net/Permits/docum..._11x17_000.pdf

Here is a link to a map of Sequim irrigation ditches/pipelines: http://sequim-real-estate-blog.com/i...irrigation.png

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Bluebarn

We have been thinking about the Portland area as well, ...
Since we're going to be first time buyers, I feel like there might be a lot of questions that I don't even know to ask. I'll be sure to ask about water access.

Oregon has some extreme land use issues / restrictions to avoid small farms / splitting up acreages.

SW WA has a lot of pressure on growth (subdivisions) . Stick with counties north of Woodland, WA and south of Olympia, I think you will find equivalent pricing on peninsula as well. South of there, Montesano, WA area has been somewhat ag centric and quite affordable / depressed economy (from timber / Port issues).

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by Jumpindogs

Here is a link to a map of Sequim irrigation ditches/pipelines: http://sequim-real-estate-blog.com/i...irrigation.png

Another consideration for the Sequim area...and I hope someone corrects me if I am mistaken...I remember reading somewhere that the irrigation ditches hold water during the summer (from snow melt) but can be dry during other months so should not be relied upon as a year round water supply.

[CrazyDonkey]

Areas to look:

* North and northeast of Bellingham.

* Granite Falls and Concrete area.

* Chehalis River valley.

* Cowlitz River valley.

[MamaRed]

We moved to Monroe, Wa 2 years ago and LOVE it. Neighboring towns are Snohomish, Duvall, and Carnation. Lots of farm land, small communities, nice people. We moved from the desert, where growing a garden was impossible. Last year, we had a garden with enough vegetables to share with my daughter's family and friends, and can and freeze to get us through winter. We also have chickens, ducks and 2 alpacas. (I'm also a spinner) We set up 2 55 gallon water barrels last year, with water draining from out animal shelter roof, which is only 11' x 15'. Long-term residents commented about the "drought" last summer because it went 2 weeks straight with no rain. With those 2 barrels, and the dry summer, I only had to use the garden hose once to fill up the alpaca and chicken waterers. All the rest was provided by rain.

The area has small farmers markets, as well as lots of craft/gift boutiques around the holidays. There are a few local alpaca and sheep farms, a local fiber mill, and a spinners guild that meets in Snohomish once a month.

We are 45 minutes from Sea-Tac airport, 45 minutes from Mukilteo, which is a coastal town that I love, and we have to cross 2 rivers to get into town. We got 60" of rain last year, but we don't get the gray drizzles that are common closer to the coast. We also have a few Facebook pages, covering community involvement, homesteading, and chickens. Check out the area. It sounds like it has everything you're looking for.

[perigee]

Monroe and the surrounding towns are where I am looking to move to, but I doubt the OP can find anything in their budget of $150K. Though, MamaRed, if you wouldn't mind sharing anything else about the area, I would love to hear about any traffic issues, I am assuming the closest Costco is the one off hwy 522 and I believe that area is still in Woodinville. Monroe is also the town with the speedway is, right? Any issues with that? Land prices aren't cheap, so I doubt there is a big drug issue, but meth is everywhere, any areas to avoid when looking to buy? Oh and what about flooding, have any insights on that?