Still Not Having Much Luck Finding Place To Live/Move

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Twice I have put questions here (to the forum) asking about good places to move or "bargains" for a homesteader-wanta-be (hubby and I) and while I have gotten answers to each (THANK YOU ALL WHO REPLIED) the answers I received haven't helped much.

I looked at the websites I was told about . . . realtors mostly . . . and not much listed in the way of what I am looking for.

I guess I am just not phrasing my request correctly . . . actually I have gleaned more from other questions asked here concerning homesteading and get started and needing help etc. than with my own postings.

Basically I guess I am just looking for ideas on where to search for a place that might have what we are looking for. I want/need the NAMES of small towns, the names of newspapers I can look in for "sale parcels" etc.

Thanks all for anything that might help me. (And again to those who answered my first two postings!!!!)

BUT I AM STILL LOOKING for info on other areas to try!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

-- wolfie (wolfiequinn@hotmail.com), December 20, 2001

Answers

A bargain is kind of in the eye of the beholder. There are lots of things to consider, like whether you make enough money to pay state taxes or not (some states do not have state income taxes). I know of people who pay $1000+ rent for a small apartment in San Francisco and still wouldn't dream of living anywhere else because they love the city and all it offers.

Do you want to be within x hours of (the beach, snow (you go to the snow in many places, it doesn't come to you, lol), big town, cultural events, national parks, work, and so on?

If you are car-dependent, some states have higher insurance premiums than others, same for volunteer fire districts with water trucks instead of places where you have a hydrant, you may pay more for house insurance.

I would try looking at big towns in the state you like and then working out from there. Every so often AARP and the financial magazines will print out "Best Places for people with Kids" or "Best Places to Retire" where they evaluate a number of different factors which may or may not apply to your situation, but it's a start.

I hope this helps.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), December 20, 2001.


Are you interested in any of the 50 states? Any particular climate?

-- Rick (Rick_122@hotmail.com), December 20, 2001.

Hi Wolfie, I think it would help us all if you gave us more info such as, rather you are retired or work, and if you work what occupation you would be looking for. How much land you need, how close to city/town, topography, population, seasons, income,activities, do you want just land or land and buildings, property taxes. I live in a southern New Hampshire along the Connecticut River it is beautiful here with lots of great property but it is very exspensive and taxes are high. There are some good jobs in the area right now but more and more lay-offs happening. There are some great towns around and only a couple hours to Boston, Hartford, Springfield Mass. Lots of outdoor activities year round. The winters are not that bad.The people are a little stand offish at first but if they like you you're in.

-- george (bngcrview@aol.com), December 20, 2001.

You are right all . . . I am NOT providing enough info . . . let's see if this helps.

Hubby works (I do not). Although I would not be above work-at-home typing for attorneys, etc. Hubby can and has done several different types of jobs. . . ie. security guard for many years, diesel mechanic, did upholstery for several years, drove truck (with Class B CDL) for awhile, worked in construction for awhile, and is now working in/learning AC & refrigeration at current place of employment.

So . . . we are basically looking for a SMALL town within say an hour (or less) of a larger town with more amenities for shopping, etc. We would like the climate to be not desert and not 6 feet of snow for months on end. We prefer trees, hills, (mountain??), where we could have some land (one acre and up) but nothing tooooo big as we don't need a huge place. We simply want a place where we can build or renovate an older home that is already there, . . . with electric, water, and telephone accessible preferably.

A place where we could have a garden (again not huge but large enough for our needs); have a few animals (both as pets and for food); etc.

Where the cost of living is not unbelievably high, where taxes are low as well, where utilities and groceries are low cost (or reasonable . . . . . .and yes I know that the term "reasonable" is relative). Where the cost of living is low.

Basically a place where we can be semi-self-sufficient but still have shopping close at hand, as well as medical facilities if the need arises, and so on.

I KNOW these places must exist somewhere!?!?!?! LOL

Thanks for all the help so far!!!!

-- wolfie (wolfiequinn@hotmail.com), December 20, 2001.


http://www.refdesk.com/paper.html

Newspapers from U.S. and around the world.

Dark

-- Dark (darkdakota@aol.com), December 20, 2001.



Wolfie, you mentioned medical facilities. If you need (or think you will need) any specialized treatment (dialysis for an example) you may be tied to a relatively larger city. I only say that because those facilities are not to be found in smaller areas, as they can't break even, much less turn a small profit, and you don't want to drive four hours one way for treatment. Small towns as a rule tend not to have very good medical care--probably the reason being is that there is no competition. You also may be tied to certain places due to health insurance considerations--a lot of people are tied to one state because their health insurance is with state government or one employer and is not transferable.

Cost of living varies widely from place to place, especially for local food (the fruit you took for granted in your old place is a gourmet delicacy in the new one).

Even high cost states like CA have lower cost areas, and that is true of all states. Another thing you might consider is going on an extended road trip with a AAA book and checking out the different places.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), December 20, 2001.


if you don't mind colder weather(60mi north of Bismark, ND), another poster listed this on the forum the other day. Looks like a great place for someone who wants to get started with little initial outlay.

Santa has arrived early. Check my place out:

http://landonthenet.hypermart.net/www/

-- bruce (rural@inebraska.com), December 18, 2001

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), December 20, 2001.


Hello Wolfie, Your description sounds a lot like where I live! I live in the Missouri Ozarks. You can check out the land for sale (and there is quite a bit. The nearest little town is Gainesville, Mo. They have a newspaper called The Ozark Times. I think their online newspaper is: www.theozarktimes.com. You can check it if you like.

We have mountains, trees, cities further away than 3 hours, low taxes, no restrictions on building, mild winters, and more. Land depending on the quality runs from $750 on up. Most of it is around $1000-$1500 per acre.

Since you both have marketable skills, one of you could commute to one of the cities....West Plains is about an hour, Springfield is about 2 1/2 hours, St. Louis is 5 hours. The other one can stay at home an create a job via internet. There is not much work nearby.

Hope that helps!

Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), December 20, 2001.


Wolfie..

I don't know where you are presently located. But, I will give you a snippet of my experience.

I bought a place 2 1/2 hours away from my home about 15 years ago. I spent every weekend, vacation, etc. rebuilding it from foundation up. Every spare ounce of energy and pocket change went into the place.

I thought I knew the area. But, I've been here 5 years fulltime now. And, I know SO much more now about my hometown area than I did back then. I made a good choice with my previous purchase and build. I've since sold and am starting up with my new, and final, glorious hovel. But, I would never have found this parcel had I not been a 'local'.

If you like many things about the area you are in, I'd suggest you stick with the area. If you want to move somewhere, I'd suggest you really take stock of what you want and need.

I don't mean to come off as a doomsdayer..but the grass really is not greener. Just different.

-- pc (jasper2@doglover.com), December 20, 2001.


Hmm...check out Douglas County, Missouri. Prices are probably about to plummet here, 2 factories have closed and rumours say the steel plant is next....makes for great prices on land if you don't need the local job.

-- CJ (cjtinkle@getgoin.net), December 20, 2001.


Hi Wolfie, if you like the four seasons, with 9 months of very moderate weather the rule, and never more than a few inches of snow except for very rare occasions, and mountains and rural solitude are a must, as well as cheap, productive land with plenty of water and no air pollution, then you need to look here in Monroe county in SE Ohio. Here are the realtors again, www.swisslands.com , www.fleihmanrealty.com , www.unitedcountry.com (Woodsfield), www.brunerland.com and the name of our local newspaper, The Monroe Beacon 740-472-0734 ,there are always several farms for sale by owner in the area.

Here folks still wave at you both on the street and as you pass each other in your vehicles on the road, and are quick to help you without being asked. The county is a large one, but has only 20,000 people, many, many small oldtime type towns where everyone knows everybody else, much like "Mayberry RFD". We are within a half hour of major industry for jobs, an hour of a major shopping mall and top of the line hospital facilities, and there is a big need for qualified truck drivers in the area, both bulk hauling and dump bucket operation, as well as heavy machinery and steel hauling.

You don't mention your price range, but if you don't mind being in a small (under 400 people) town, you can buy a decent house and an acre or two for under 40,000, out in the real boondocks, you can get 50 to 75 acres with a decent house for under 75,000, and there is everything in between. Mobile home on a few acres, under 25,000. We have absolutley no zoning, so you can have an outhouse if you want, and bury your own dead with no restrictions.

The best part of SE Ohio? The unmatched beauty and abundance of our native wildlife, deer, turkey, quail, squirrel, a few black bear and bobcat, and NO mosquitoes or black flies ever!!! Very few parts of the country can make that claim.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), December 20, 2001.


Try NC.. We are "God's Country"! We have mountians, beaches, sandhills and claylands! Lots of small towns that are with 1hr. of larger cities. We live in the "Sandhills".We are 3 hrs. from wonderful beaches/ 3 hrs. from the mountains. 1 hr from Raleigh & Fayetteville--2 hrs. From Greeensboro and Charlotte. Pinehurst is where all the golfers are and Seagrove is where all the pottery places are. Each has small town America surrounding them. We have four seasons but our summers are hot and humid. We do have sales taxes, county taxes, city taxes, fed. taxes. Before I got married I traveled a lot(army brat) I have lived here for 30 years and would not want to go anywhere else. Our local hosp. is one of the fastest growing ones in the Southeast. The drs. come for the golf.

I agree that realitors are out to sell the big houses/ lots of land and you need to know some one who is local to help you out.

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), December 20, 2001.


I live in Sullivan, Mo. about 75 miles west of St.Louis and I consider this close to heaven. There is a town called Owensville that is not far from me that if I moved that is where I would go. It is also about the same distance from St.Louis. It is in Gasconade County which I think has the most beautiful scenery you can ever see. Land is anywhere from $800-1500 and a nice house with a few acres is always available.You could get a trailer,liveable for $1000 or more. cabins on the rivers in this area are cheap.There are so many things to do all the time around here as fairs,thresher shows, auctions,etc. If you want a job there here.I of course have never had to worry about one since I am a nurse but I see job ads in the paper all the time.Hermann,Mo.(known for its fine wines)is also in this county and its German history is so interesting.The Gasconade County Republic is the main newspaper in that area.I am not saying that everything is cheap in this area but good deals come around if you shop around. Terry

-- Terry Lipe (elipe@fidnet.com), December 21, 2001.

Finding a place to move to is quite easy, it is finding a place to live and put down roots is what is hard. The qualifiers of your parameters abound in thousands of places, it is up to you to decide which one you would be most compatible with.

When the region of my childhood started to sour, I started traveling. I found a spouse who was traveling, too. 25 years later we are settling in to our first permanent homestead.

Between the 2 of us, we've lived in 15 states and been through all 50 of them plus a few foreign countries, too. We literally could choose any where in the world we wanted to live and we chose here. For now, this is the perfect location for us. This place does not meet any of the qualifications on your list.

What you need to do is decide what climate you would like to live in, pick a region and get subscriptions of the Sunday papers of the cities in your chosen region. You will learn alot about job market, real estate market, cost of living, crime, politics and the flavor of the outlying towns.

After you decide on what city you want to be near, take a trip and drive around all the small towns. Do the Main Street local thing. If you find the town you like, start looking for a rental. Live in an area for at least a year before buying property.

-- Just Duckie (Duck@spazmail.com), December 21, 2001.


Wolfie, I think I know just the place, I live about 45 minutes from Dallas, Tex. If you will go to www.bonsalrealestate.com they have a 10 acre parsal with a house that needs lots of work. They are easy people to deal with. We bought our place from them. They even finance. The weather here is mild in winter, hot in summer, but there is a huge lake in the area. Good shopping close. Like I said about 45mn. to Dallas and an hour to Tyler. Exlent Dr.'s in both places. There is a big demand for air cond. work in the summer here. Long growing season. There are rolling hills, no mountains. Grocries are about as reasonable here as any where. No State Income Tax. We do have sales tax. About 8% but I find you can control that part of tax by not spending so much. State Income Tax you have no control over. Feel free to e'mail me and I'll try to answer any questions.

-- Ruby (mcfays451@aol.com), December 21, 2001.


Buckingham County VA sounds like the place you described just across the James River from the small but very nice town of Scottsville and 25 miles south of Charlottesville which is about 100,000 pop.Taxes are are reasonable,I have a shop on 10 acres there and the taxes are about $100 a year.Land can be had for under $1000 an acre some snow in winter but not alot most years,minium zoning laws so "unique" homesteads aren't a problem.If you're interested give me an email and I'll try to help with any information you might want.Also there is an excellent major medical center at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

-- Gary (burnett_gary@msn.com), December 21, 2001.

Wolfie, Sounds like you need to pack your bags and head for the Ozarks it has all of your requirements even the inexpensive houseing thing.

See you there. Sally

-- (mallardhen67@hotmail.com), December 21, 2001.


West Virginia and Missouri are two of the cheapest decent places to live in the U.S. that fit your criteria. In particular, I would suggest looking into the area around Spencer, West Virginia. It's a lovely small town with everything that you could need (a super wal- mart, for one). Very cheap land and cost of living. Beautiful mountainous terrain.

-- chuck in md (woah@mission4me.com), December 21, 2001.

I have said it before and I will say it again 'COUNTRYSIDE READERS ARE THE VERY BEST PEOPLE'.

It's true. . . as a rule the readers of Countryside Magazine are very helpful, and go out of their ways at some points, to be so.

I thank everyone for all this information and I will be doing some "research" on the sites ya'll mentioned as well as the newspapers mentioned.

THANKS AGAIN and have a wonderful holiday season!!!!

-- wolfie (wolfiequinn@hotmail.com), December 21, 2001.


I don't know if you got my e-mail,butI have a 30acre farm in East Tennessee.The house is 6yrs. old and is 24x44 with a 12x44 covered porch and full basement.If this sounds like something you might interested in,please contact me by e mail.Don donschwartz@yahoo.com

-- Don Schwartz (donschwartz2002@yahoo.com), December 21, 2001.

I live in Oregon City - right by Portland Oregon -- I have 1 1/2 acres and am Just outside the city... I think it's probably a bit pricey compared to what others have mentioned and maybe what you are thinking of - but the weather, the terrain etc, is quite a fit. If you wanted to live in Vancouver Washington - that would probably fit the bill to the "T"... cost of living is less there and it is still very close to the big city...

I would advise searching around St. Helens, Washougal and Vancouver WA.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas!

Thedbor (thedbor@hotmail.com)

-- Thedbor (thedbor@hotmail.com), December 21, 2001.


Hi wolfie,

I like Ernest live near the ozarks, but in westcentral Arkansas. Land, cost of living and taxes are all cheap here. I have a home on 47 acres within 35 minute drive of Fort Smith and only five - ten minutes to local grocery, doctor, feed and Pharmacy. Taxes last year on our place was <$300. I noticed your significant other was a security guard, there is a nice facility near us, that I work for that always can use another good security person. If this sound like something your interested in drop me a message to sstips@yahoo.com. Happy Holidays!

-- stephanie (sstips@yahoo.com), December 22, 2001.


In WV the newspapers on-line are (not limited to but include): Dominion Post (Morgantown-WVU located there), Times West Virginian (Fairmont), and the Charleston Gazette. Pick up a copy of your local Homes and Land magazine. Dial the 800 # and request copies of sale books from the cities you are interested in.

-- Anne (Healthytouch101@wildmail.com), December 22, 2001.

One other thing I forgot to mention. My relatives live in a small town, and they mentioned the "casual" attitude of businesspeople (or those who say they are running a business) there.

What I mean is, even though there are posted hours, the business is often closed during those hours, because they just feel like taking off for the day. It is quite frustrating if you are not as laid back as they are. I am not talking about a small business having a family emergency, because they always post when that is the reason. I had tried to visit one business (antique/quilt shop) on four different occasions and it was closed every time. They eventually closed for good.

Also, tradespeople can be quite casual as well, not showing up on time and so forth. Also, if they are coming from the "big city" you are likely to incur huge trip charges, even if nothing is wrong. Just another thing to be mindful of.

One thing about living in WA and working in OR, you will be paying OR state income tax, even though you live in WA. Friends of ours have this problem--so you might want to cost out your commute (time as well as money), and you might find you are better off living in OR.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), December 22, 2001.


Hi wolfie! Looks like you have gotten some good responses.......but just to give you another option..... I too am a stay at home mom. We are in the first stages of selling our home. It is a very secluded hobby farm on 7.5 acres in west central Minnesota. 4 bedrooms, the whole house has been remodeled in the last 4 years. Lots of out buildings, barn, 2 nice sheds,& GREAT GARDEN SPOT. Very small town, less than 600, but a great school district and a brand new clinic! 35 miles from shopping, target, walmart, etc. Taxes are very low. The cost of living is low, but jobs don't pay as well, although constuction and nursing are always in demand. We do however get the occasional 3 ft of snow, but I don't know any kid that wouldn't think that is the coolest thing ever. The house is cozy and with the snow you don't feel as guilty curling up on the couch with a good book! I can send you pics on request, let me know! CJ

-- CJ (bigdrew_2@hotmail.com), March 13, 2002.

I would like to go ahead and invite you to Stratford Oklahoma. Stratford is a fine small town with a nice selection of businesses. You can grab a few groceries and a nice dinner. Stratford is smack dab between two larger towns where you can obtain medical services. There are nice places here for reasonable prices. It is beautiful!!! We are also between Dallas and Oklahoma city for mall shopping(if that is your thing).

We bought our 4 acre, 4 bedroom 1 1/2 ba., 15x15 greenhouse w/attached office, 30x50 insulated shop, 40x60 stalled metal barn, Chicken motel, production age fruit trees, and fenced pastures and grounds for $86,000.00.

We love our new place, but there were other older properties with more land for a lot less than we paid. We chose here because it was completely outfitted for what we wanted to do and it was on a nicely traveled highway. Our property backs up to an open 90 acre parcel we hope to buy someday. We also had to buy newer construction to fit our loan.

There is a wonderful 40 acre ranch down the road being sold by a couple where the husband is terminally ill. The price on that is in the 90's. The place has a lovely totally remodeled older home with a beautiful huge stone barn. The man is running some really nice black angus cattle that could probably be purchased with the house. The property is almost all pastureland with a wonderful large pond. There are also corrals, a few fruit trees, and lots of good fencing. I mention this here, because I looked at it and these people need to move. The husband is very ill.

Little Bit Farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@farm.com), March 13, 2002.


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