Good places to homestead?

[nicky85]

Hi! My husband and I are saving up to homestead. We've been looking at Tennessee and are liking the prospects there a lot. We like the fact that in many areas you can build on your own property with little to no hassle from building codes and that there is land at pretty good prices. Also like that there is good rich soil. We are looking at the mid to eastern part of TN. We know it will be humid in the summer, but we'll adjust. We do want to explore our options, though, and are wondering what other places are homesteading-friendly. Any thoughts?

[Arduinna]

I think Idaho is pretty darned friendly to it, seems to be a lot folks doing it up there. I haven't checked building codes but have looked into Missouri as far as general needs. IE you can find land with a nice mix of hardwoods for fueling the wood stove and smoker LOL and open land for planting or grazing. Plus it doesn't get as cold as father North. TN is really nice, I have family there that built their own house back in the 70's.

[Adaline'sMama]

We are happily homesteading in Kentucky. Love it.

[bubbagirl]

We are in Ok. and love it. There are a lot of people at varying degrees of homesteading here.

[crazyms]

We're planning to set up our homestead in Arkansas. After research it suited our needs best. I did originally look into east TN though and absolutely love it there. There are a lot of options for places to homestead but it just depends on what you're looking for. Keep in mind when moving states though to check out the laws. Things like taxes, homebirth, and homeschool can vary a lot from state to state. Also I'm not sure where you're coming from but the humidity isn't too bad in TN. (Of course that's compared to MS)

[CrunchyJess]

We are I Arkansas as well. I lived in Knoxville TN for a couple of years and would have stayed there forever if my entire family wasn't here. There is a great network of holistic mothers and a nice farmers market there.

The only drawback I feel Arkansas has is the summer heat, I've kept small backyard gardens before and it takes a lot of effort to keep plants from scorching. We are just starting on buying a homestead, so I can't give a lot of personal experience in that.
TN and AR both have mild winters though, light dustings of snow and the occasional ice storm, but nothing serious. Here in Little Rock, we have a wonderful farmers market that stays open through the growing season.

To the poster above me (I'm sorry, in on my phone so I can't look to see your name), where in AR are you considering?

[NCognito]

I am transitioning to AL soon. I can not wait to get away from the rat race that I find myself in currently? I have been interested in homesteading for a while now but have been putting it off until I was more prepared? I have lots of stores now but nowhere to permanently keep them. This year is the year of transition for me! I feel there is no more time and I have to do it now or never?

I have been hoping to find a like-minded female to participate in this transition also? Although i have met many that were talking about it or liked the idea of being OTG? I can't seem to connect with the right person?

I am converting my home into as many acres as I can get my hands on. My career will continue for the time being and I plan on putting 50% of my resources into more land until i feel comfortable with its capability. There are so many things to get organized. Meeting among other homesteaders would always be helpful to those in transition.

North Carolina is a beautiful state to be in also. That said, land is not exactly cheap anymore? I can obtain 40+ acres in AL for what I can get 2 acres for in NC. I have seen some great parcels of land in the past 2 years in my searches but haven't quite decided they  were in the best locations? There is a balancing act between the lands elevations, soil, trees that populate the parcel, and of course access. I have read where some have joined their resources and purchased like 100-200 acres? Has that worked out for anyone in reality? I am afraid squabbles would ensue and lead to a fracturing of the people and land?