If this is permissable to enter; Wanted, property in the north florida, south georgia, or south alabama area.two to ten acres, zoned agricultural, with in 10 to 20 miles to modern stores, grocery, hardware, ect. Low cost or owner financeing for disabled viet vet on pension. Electricity and phone line need to be available, have motorcoach so house is not necessary. Pond, fencing, well, septic are all pluses, thanks....

-- mitch hearn (moopups1@aol.com), April 23, 2001

Answers

Yes, but bear in mind this forum reaches only a very small percentage of Countryside readers. You would be better off using a classified ad in the magazine itself.

Suggestion: Determine the county seat of the counties in which are are interested. Call the Chamber of Commerce there (I think if you go to AOL Research and Learn there is a listing of them there) and ask for a referral to a local real estate agency. Give them your specifications and let them do the searching for you.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), April 23, 2001.

Give Frank Pierce a call,he is in Chipley Florida. I don't have his number right now but information will get it for you. He also advertizes in the mother earth news. I bought my land from him 3 years ago,17 miles from town, dirt roads ,no restrictions,ten year land contracts. $200 down,friendly people. I love it here. Daryll

-- Daryll (twincrk@hotmail.com), April 23, 2001.

Also give a look around Jackson County, Florida. County seat is Marianna. Nice town, it is growing but the area is still very rural. As the privious post mentioned, also look west towards Chipley. FWIW, the town of Cottondale is a major north-south route with US 231 running through town. You may not want all that would bring...

You might also look into south Alabama around Enterprise, Elba, Opp, or Andalusia. These are about equi-distant from Dothan and maybe Pensacola. De Funiak Springs & Crestview are also nice.

Also, Alabama has a personal income tax and Florida does not (at least as long as those tourists keep coming... ).

Good luck in your search. You are looking in the right area for some space, decent weather, and friendly people.

j

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), April 23, 2001.

Hi J, you must be pretty close,Marianna is about as close to me as Chipley. I live in the southeast corner of Washinton county, Buckhorn Creek to be exact. I didn't think any countrysiders lived that close.Some of my freinds bought land here but none of them have made the move yet,it is a big change from living in the Florida Keys. Been here 3 years and never even thought of going back to the rat race. Daryll

-- Daryll (twincrk@hotmail.com), April 24, 2001.

Daryll -

Not any more. I grew up in Jackson county in the 70's and have since moved on. My parents still live there and my wife & I enjoy visiting. We now live in north Alabama. I think I enjoy living here now as much as I did growing up in Jackson county.

When retirement rolls around we're heading back to Florida, probably around Pensacola.

J

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), April 24, 2001.

Mitch, I'm a very happy resident of Gadsden County in the Florida Pandhandle, but I would advise you to not consider settling here. We are, I'm afraid, about to undergo a major period of political unrest. The only thing between us and chaos is our sheriff, who is older than dirt, and will probably retire after this term. The prospects for his replacement are primarily a bunch of crooked, small town PO-leece chiefs, who are involved in everything from drugs to gun theft and insurance fraud. I cannot, in good conscience, advise anyone to move here at this time. Your best bets seem to be a little to the west, in Jackson, Washington, Holmes, or Walton Counties. Good luck.

-- Dan G. (Stagecoach@hotmail.com), April 25, 2001.

Mitch, welcome to Florida! I live in a rural area north of Pensacola and it is becoming more and more city like. Any where in the panhandle is a good place to settle. All FL counties now have zoned so be sure and check the zone classification. There are some nice acreage in Santa Rosa County. Good luck.

-- Eve in FL (owenall@lwol.com), April 26, 2001.

Hi again, Mitch. Just a little further info on the panhandle in general. Though this is a narrow strip of land, running East-West, there is a lot of geological difference from North to South. The southern portion is coastal plain with very sandy soil and flat terrain. This comprises about 3/4 of the panhandle. The northern strip, near the Alabama border, consists of low hills, with rich soils, and jungle-like forests. Which part you would prefer would depend on what you want to do with your land. You can be much more isolated in the southern part as long as you don't get too close to the coast, but some parts of the northern part can get pretty lonely, too. I'd suggest you just come on down for a visit and see for yourself.

Darryl, shoot me an E-mail if you like. Maybe we could get together eyeball to eyeball sometimes soon. Dan (Chattahoochee)

-- Dan G. (stagecoach@hotmail.com), April 26, 2001.

I am dismayed that more people are not aware of what is going on with Florida's water supply and are not only not leaving as fast as they can, but are actually wanting to move here. Florida is running just about on empty as far as useable underground water is concerned and the State Legislature has decided to bow to the demands of developers and do something about it. That "something" is what is called "aquifer restoration". What it means is that we are going to collect UNTREATED SURFACE WATER (that's roads, ditches, rivers, etc.) and PUMP IT INTO THE AQUIFER! Dog poo, dead birds, transmission fluid, spit, etc. are all going to be pumped underground in a desperate and suicidal effort to raise the aquifer level. Don't believe me? Go to the Florida Government website, find the legislative agenda and look up SB854 and HB705. Both measures have been passed and all that remains is for the Florida Senate to figure out the final wording and pass it as a law. It's a done deal. Are you sure you want to come down here?

-- John James (jjames@n-jcenter.com), April 27, 2001.

I live in beautiful little Milton, Florida - East Milton to be exact. We are known as "the Greater Pensacola area" - I only live on an acre but I have a couple of chickens and a garden. I am also hooked to the "city" water. I am so concerned with our water supply that I recently ran for a position on the co-op water board - lost to the incumbent, but made my point, our water supply/treatment/everything involved - is undergoing a drastic and troublesome change - read the previous post to get an "inkling" of what the Panhandle is going through right now. Still, I moved here from many years in Miami and this is where I will always make my home.

-- Jerry Cummings (futures8@bellsouth.net), April 28, 2001.