$300 K in hand, where should we move?

[Guest]

Well, not actually in hand but in equity. We have a nice 8 acre piece of semi rural land and a portable biz in the Puget Sound. - we could move it anywhere the UPS and frieght trucks go. The area is getting built up and I have always wanted more land.

 Our immediate enviroment is great, and it will stay that way due to the terrain- there is a very steep unbuildable ravine behind us that acts like a natural barrior- no houses in view, and  we work at home, BUT as soon as we leave it is developments and box stores.

 My dream place would have a 60 to 100 acres of hardwoods and softwoods, rolling hills, a bit of good farmland, and some rocky outcropping. A stream is nice. In short, very similar in landscape to where I grew up in central Connecticut, but with out the subdevelopments and multimillion dollar homes.  Not to high on the heat and humidity please. A political climate where people have some independence, I hate dogma.  Nieghbors who like to garden, shoot , fly small airplanes ride motorcycles and drink good beer would be great.  Anywhere near a golf course is probably too suburban for me. A small college town within a couple hours drive might be nice for some artsy craftsy stuff.
 
 My definition of rural is a place you walk down the road with a rifle in hand, not in hunting season, and you don't get the police called on you. Or a place you can put an ultra light strip on the back 40 without having to fight the county. Maybe a place you could build a small dam for power and fish without a jillion enviromental wacko's opposing every move. (I am not talking boulder dam here, maybe a 5 foot high structure for a pond. Around here, that would take an act of Divine Intervention.)
 
 Places I would NOT consider- Cal., NY, NJ, IL., Fl, LOU.,MISS., AK., TX ,ND,MIN.,, some for political reasons and some for climate. (guess which!) Do not get offended if your state is in the list, some of them are bueatifull places but I just can't take the heat!

 Some places I have thought about - The northern New Engand states- Vermont, NH, Maine.-- Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas.-- Virginia, Tenn., KT.-- Nothern AZ or NM. -- Eastern WA. or Ore. (altho I hate being lorded over by the Masters in Olympia or Salem.)
 
Your thought's, please. Thank you!

[mtnbkr]

Far Southwestern Virginia, maybe an hour or so from Roanoke.

Chris

[Brad Johnson]

Your thought's, please. Thank you!

I think you're nuts for wanting to leave a place that sounds so serene and peaceful, even given the encroachment of modern man.

I'd be tempted to stay as long as the neighbors are... well... neighborly. The land value will only keep going up, and someday a business busybody may well be tempted to offer you much more than residential market value. Then you can cash in on the temporary artificially inflated value and bail.

Just my $0.02.

Brad

[K Frame]

Juniata or Mifflin counties, Pennsylvania.

Close enough to Harrisburg and State College to have some contact with humanity, but still low property prices.

[Ben]

Try browsing here:

http://www.landandfarm.com/lf/

Then check here for local conditions:

http://www.city-data.com/

[grampster]

U.P. Michigan meets all of your criteria plus you get to snowmobile and ski in the winter.

[charby]

Sounds like you would love Northeast Iowa.

100 or so acres that are wooded and tillable will set you back as high as -$400k. Iowa also has a forest reserve program that you can put the timber into and not have to pay property tax or income tax on the timber you sell from it. There are guidelines but they are easy to follow.

NE IA was missed by the last two glaciers and is very similar to the drift-less zone of Wisconsin. Wooded stands of oak, walnut, maple, white pine, poplar and aspen. Doesn't look anything like what people think Iowa looks like. Its within a few hours drive of a lot of Big Ten schools, smaller universities and a ton of private colleges. People there are good people. Lots of streams filled with trout.

It is where I am going to live in the future.

C

[Stand_watie]

Central Connecticut, huh? How about Kentucky or Southern Indiana? If I ever decided to move back up north that's where I'd look at first. Northern New England, Pennsylvania,  both Virgianias, would be great if it weren't for the proximity to the Northeastern megalopolis and the associated urban and uber-liberal transplants.

[Guest]

Hillsdale, Michigan is a nice place. We have the United States most conservative college and lots of cows. And you can park your truck in your yard, if you want.

For 300k, you could buy a good share of the county.

[Otherguy Overby]

For rolling country, few property restrictions and gun friendly areas you might also consider Northern Arkansas (Ozarks), southern Missouri (Ozarks) and south eastern Oklahoma.

Missouri doesn't allow suppressors, though.

Where I am in Arkansas the only rural restrictions are:  If a proposed building has plumbing the land has to perc for septic and wells have to be approved by the county health department (and 100 or more feet from septic).  That's it, no zoning, building codes or anything.  My neighbor dozed off about 40 acres of trees to make a personal ultralight airport so he could crash his ultralight...

[Antibubba]

If you shop wisely around here, you can get a condemned crackhouse for 200K.  If you shop more wisely, you'll look elsewhere.

[Art Eatman]

For all that you think TExas is all that hot, I suggest  you check out Fort Davis, Texas.  Summertime highs around 80 to 85, but low humidity.  20 to 40 percent is typical.  Wintertime is generally mild; although it can get cold, it doesn't stay cold all day.  Small town, but with the McDonald observatory of the Univ. of TX just outside of town there's an above averag itellectual population.  Somewhat artsy-craftsy, but in the middle of big ranches.  About 25 miles to Alpine with Sul Ross Univ.  Not all that far from Odessa and major shopping.

In the CenTex hill country, generally north of Fredericksburg, the humidity is low in summer.  Daytime highs will hit 90 to 95, sure, but nights are cool.  

Lemme put it this way:  90 degrees and 30% beats hell out of 80 degrees and 80%.

, Art

[doczinn]

Re: landandfarm.com

You just put that there to make me cry, didn't you?

[Jamisjockey]

Check Utah.  
I'll bet you can find all your qualifications here, except your neighbors probably won't drink beer.

[Guest]

I guess i'd better circle all these places on a big map and take a long driving holiday!  Thanks for all the input!

[Ben]

You just put that there to make me cry, didn't you?

You don't know how many times I've opened that link up to the 32,000 acres in Oregon and just daydreamed.

[mfree]

Oh my. You've enticed me to make plans. My plans typically get accomplished...

[doczinn]

We're talking 5+ acre spreads with 3 bedroom houses for what a 1-bedroom condo csts here.

[Jamisjockey]

http://www.landandfarm.com/lf/s/63/77194.asp

[gunsmith]

Try northern NV , gun friendly not too many hardwoods though

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

I've lived in several places on your short list, including KY, SW VA, and TN.  There are various stretches of land between Crossville, TN and Jackson, TN which would probably be highest on the list of what you're looking for, based on your stated priorities.  Franklin county TN (south central TN) comes to mind.  Temperate, still 4 seasons (though mild in winter), and close (as in an hour or so) to both Nashville, and Huntsville, AL.  Amazing deer, turkey, and upland game hunting, the rolling hills, soft and hardwood forests, amazingly cheap land and real estate prices.

[Guest]

Check out central WV. If you'd like I'll e-mail some pics and contacts as time permits.
Bob

[bg]

Too bad you don't have Wyoming in the list, but it DOES get cold
there once in a while...

http://www.sheridanwyoming.org/

[elkhunter]

You don't know how many times I've opened that link up to the 32,000 acres in Oregon and just daydreamed.

I know the general area where that piece of land is located, and hopefully i'll win the lottery someday.

That is an awsome piece of land, doubt you could actually get it to pay off in any amount of time, though.

[Ben]

That is an awsome piece of land, doubt you could actually get it to pay off in any amount of time, though.

Yeah, for the price I figured it is somewhat too good to be true, at least from an income generation perspective in anything but the very long term, but for someone with the discretionary funds who likes solitude, awesome retirement property.