Looking for some good land... - Page 2

[Ex Libris]

Earth Angel--I also heard that about Idaho, which has scratched the state off of our list. Too bad b/c it's really beautiful. We'll check out Whitefish--sounds really great! Taos does too, but we prefer non-desert ecosystem. Just personal preference.

ilikethedesert--where in the Northeast Kingdom is your brother-in-law? We looked up there briefly, but only found a bunch of spread out farms and cows. I'd be interested in hearing if your bil found a little town with some kind of community . . .

[Thomi'sMommy]

Maine (either western mountains or closer to the water) is my pick. Not disimilar from NH and Vermont, just with coast is the mix. There's a lot of cool stuff going on around here, it's just not heavily advertised.

[Earth Angel]

thomi'smommy.....can you list some names of towns?.....and elaborate on the goings on up there??? I've always had a special spot for wanting to live in maine, even though i've never been.....and finally dh was willing to put some thought into it!! i need some more ammo though

[Gunter]

Originally Posted by be11ydancer

DH and I would love to live in the country on 5+ acres in the next 10 years or so. We are looking for something with four seasons, a decent growing season, but also a town close enough by to run errands and hang out. Anything close to either coast or near the mountains is preferable. No plains. Lots of places to take the kids like lakes and such would be good. No freeways nearby. A nice health food store would be good too. Does such a place exist? Thanks.

I posted earlier about how the Chapel Hill/Durham/Raleigh area has these things. I live in suburbia now, though on about .14 acre not 5+ like you are looking for. But it is half way to the mountains or the beach with good outdoor stuff to do and health food stores.

Well, Dh and I are currently looking at about 7 acres within a mile walk to a lake/state park. We are so freakin' excited about it...a little scared at such a big change, too. It's about 12 miles to Whole Foods, a co-op and weekend Farmer's Market. But, it also used to be a tobacco/corn farm so we can grow food ourselves. It's within the same area we live now just further north, closer to work for DH and same distance for me. Plus, a lot cheaper than our current mortgage!

A little concerned about what it will take to grow organic after being a tobacco farm. Any advice? It's been years since then and small pines have grown up on the old fields. There's a small house that has gone through some renovations but originally is a log cabin. Should we go for it?

[Earth Angel]

I just had to reply when I read this......

Should we go for it?

I thought you already had ( did i read about your place in this thread or another one???) and was a bit jealous cause it sounds sooooo perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DEFINATELY GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It sounds beautiful


I think (no expert just what I think ) that it has been long enough that you wouldn't have to worry about the residual pesticides if any....seems that if you have trees growing up in the field it has been long enough right?? For some reason 10 yrs of pesticide free growing sticks in my head as what it takes for certified organic???? Not sure ???? How long ago was it that it was a working farm???

Hope it works out how you want it too......but if it were me I'd HAVE to go for it

[Gunter]

Thanks, Earth Angel. I feel your enthusiasm!!!

We have not put an offer on it, yet. We looked at it last week. We want to get the advice of a freind who buys fixer-uppers then re-sells them. And, we want the advice of a construction worker friend; he would help us with the fixing up of the place. He also grew up farming. So, right now we are trying to get them into town on the same day...maybe Saturday.

So, yeah, I am looking for advice on buying the place at 6 mo. preggo. Too much work to take on or soooo worth it?

Please give me all your opinions and wisdom and knowledge about organic farming, land stuff, being preggo and change, and a fiwer-upper house!!!

[Earth Angel]

Well, to me it would depend on the ammount of work the house would need for you to be comfortable in it with a newborn/baby.

We sold our house when I was 4-5 mo pregnant with #2. It was very exciting but a huge move while pregnant. We had a rental for Ds#2's birth, which was fine. During the end of my pregnancy we decided we wanted to explore building another house in the same town. We found some land that we both really liked and could actually afford....so......we went for it. I was the last hold out. Everyone else was saying go for it, it will be great etc. I felt like it was taking on a lot while having a newborn. We began construction when Ds was a month old.

It did end up being really difficult cause Dh built the whole thing himself. He also worked full time. He wasn't available much and so I was a suddenly single mamma, who also worked full time, with a newborn. Dh was so busy he didn't get as much time as he would have liked with his kids. Ds#1 went through the huge change of having a new baby in the house and having his very involved dad suddenly be super busy. Ds#2 missed out on really bonding with his dad.

BUT, in the end it is so great!!! We moved in last October after a super hellish 6 months. We all LOVE the house and the land and are so happy. Going through hell was so worth it. And, we all made it through without any major scars or traumas :LOL

To me, after all that, if it was a house that really fit, and I could see living safely in it by the time the baby came, I'd go for it. Or, maybe you can do the rental thing nearby while you work on fixing up the house??? Sounds like you have some good "experts" to consult and that will definately be helpful in making your decision. What I came to understand is that sometimes good things in life don't always come at the most opportune time

[srain]

Originally Posted by momandmore2

Hi be11ydancer,
We're also lookign for what you are. We're going to make a move in a year and a half. We looked around upstate NY and Vermont (including Northeast area) and couldn't find what we're looking for. The places in the mts and "crunchy" towns like Middlebury/Burlington were great but land prices too expensive.

Did you check out areas of the Adirondacks that aren't considered cool?

[Ex Libris]

I'm not sure, srain, since we don't live nearby and aren't aware of what's considered cool and what's not. We just spoke to several real estate agents in the area who quoted land prices out of our range. I guess that was for within the park boundaries, but we didn't really know where else to look. Can you recommend some towns?

[srain]

Originally Posted by momandmore2

I'm not sure, srain, since we don't live nearby and aren't aware of what's considered cool and what's not. We just spoke to several real estate agents in the area who quoted land prices out of our range.

Try looking at a map- the areas closest to major roads are more expensive, and if you're especially close to a lake or river or ski resort, it's more expensive. But for REALLY cheap land in NY, you'd probably be better off looking at the Southern Tier (west of Binghamton, along Route 17) and along the I-88 corridor between Cobleskill and Binghamton. All of these areas are economically depressed, hence the cheap land, but I don't know how you plan to support yourselves.