Hi, I'm Mike from Texas. 49/m/s. Sometimes I think how nice it would be to just go get some land, and a few amenities and go all in to try and live off it. As a society we're all so dependent on each other though, but that doesn't diminish the dream. I just wonder if any fixed income people come here to dream. I've had this strange idea to buy 40+ acres of land, put a house on it, and then what could best be described as a five room mini-motel type place, where I'd rent the rooms monthly on the cheap side. Let everyone work together on the land (if they wanted), etc. I don't know. It's much more detailed in my mind than I can put in a few sentences, but. Well, that's what keeps me going.
Any fixed income people (retired / SS / independent) come here to dream?
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Welcome Mike. Stop by the introduction thread and say hello
Frankly, at 40 I had a dream, some acres, a farm, a nice little house. When 50 hit, my dreams downsized. When 55 hit, they got smaller. I retired, then my wife retired.
Still living the dream, but it downsized to match my abilities.
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Welcome Mike. My wife and I bought a few hundred acres about 12 years ago. I "retired" at 57, started SS at 64 and Medicare at 65. We built a house, barn, a couple shops, chicken coops, well, garden/orchard, solar system, and built miles of fencing and bought a herd of registered cattle. The wife retired a few years later. She gets a couple pensions from former employers, but she's still a few years away from SS. Everything we have is paid for, no debts. Good luck with your dreams. We owned some apartment units and extra houses years ago. I don't like being a landlord. Maybe you'll be better cut out for it than I was.
A warm welcome from Alaska.
Not "ALL", and welcome to this forum from Alaska.
I gave up on the dream to own any sizeable acreage around here. Too close to retirement to quit and move. All the land is crisscrossed with pipelines and oil/gas wells to keep the rest of the country in energy so the land is eat up with right-a-ways Its a prosperous area but the buildable site land is ruined for houses. Plenty of bottom land and owners still want way more than it's worth. They say "yOu kAn STilL rUN cOWs oN iT". I can retire anytime after two years from now and I think I'd like to live in a place that has seasons. East Texas has Spring (5 weeks), Summer (10 months), Fall (3 weeks), Winter (3 days every 5-10 years). I'm tired of the heat/humidity. It saps all your energy. On the upside, I got some tractor seat time today and was able to mow my FILs place. He got a nice big place and a mess of kids to fight over it later on. At least I get to mow it for free.
Welcome Mike. I believe lots of folks come in here to dream, get ideas, and become friends.
That's the plan there! Hoping to make it happen!
welcome from north of the border
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the way the financial system is going and dying dollar, if you can buy some land now its probably better to do it now rather than on some later date.
always, always research the water table, acqufier, and do a search for any toxic dumps, accidents, etc within 2-300 miles. learn the history of the area yure interested in.
whatever you get,make sure its livable then use every dollar to pay off loan asap.
hope your dreams come true
always, always research the water table, acqufier, and do a search for any toxic dumps, accidents, etc within 2-300 miles. learn the history of the area yure interested in.
whatever you get,make sure its livable then use every dollar to pay off loan asap.
hope your dreams come true
Welcome from rural NE Florida.
30 years ago my company was closing the warehouse where I worked and offered me a promotion and moving expenses if I would relocate to a brand new facility 300 miles away.
It's been a hard slog making everything come together on my salary alone (wife is disabled) but we did.
It's only 5 acres but it's 6 miles outside a one stop light town of less than 2,000. Past the end of the black top - dead end dirt road.
At first we only had one neighbor, but not any more.
House, barn, horse stables, feed shed, work shop, shed for the wife, chicken coops, fenced and cross fenced. Everything done by me, while working 50 to 60 hours a week with a one hour commute into the city each way.
The land was originally part of a pine tree pulp wood farm - thousands of acres of pines planted 12 X 6.
Like corn in rows 12 feet apart, trees every 6 feet. Good thing I was only 47 years old when i started clearing. It took 10 years to get it all done, but we don't have to sweat any wildfires - 2.5 acres around the house are tree free.
There's a lot of sweat equity involved in rural living.
30 years ago my company was closing the warehouse where I worked and offered me a promotion and moving expenses if I would relocate to a brand new facility 300 miles away.
It's been a hard slog making everything come together on my salary alone (wife is disabled) but we did.
It's only 5 acres but it's 6 miles outside a one stop light town of less than 2,000. Past the end of the black top - dead end dirt road.
At first we only had one neighbor, but not any more.
House, barn, horse stables, feed shed, work shop, shed for the wife, chicken coops, fenced and cross fenced. Everything done by me, while working 50 to 60 hours a week with a one hour commute into the city each way.
The land was originally part of a pine tree pulp wood farm - thousands of acres of pines planted 12 X 6.
Like corn in rows 12 feet apart, trees every 6 feet. Good thing I was only 47 years old when i started clearing. It took 10 years to get it all done, but we don't have to sweat any wildfires - 2.5 acres around the house are tree free.
There's a lot of sweat equity involved in rural living.
Having a lot to keep up is not a dream when you are 80 even with a lot of money.
I am 72 and wish all I had to do was play with the kid like I was one again, every time on says "I love you papaw' it makes the world glow with golden light.
You spend time you need to with the kids in the family doing chores.
Welcome to a good home from the corner of Northeast Mississippi, South Central Tennessee, Northwest Alabama.
Where the Natchez Trace crosses into and out of all three within 35 miles and the Tennessee River turns north to Kentucky Lake.
I am 72 and wish all I had to do was play with the kid like I was one again, every time on says "I love you papaw' it makes the world glow with golden light.
You spend time you need to with the kids in the family doing chores.
Welcome to a good home from the corner of Northeast Mississippi, South Central Tennessee, Northwest Alabama.
Where the Natchez Trace crosses into and out of all three within 35 miles and the Tennessee River turns north to Kentucky Lake.
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Welcome Mike!! I'm in North Central Texas! Jump in, look around! A lot of good people with great information here!!
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Welcome!
I have had a similar idea, but have never quite figured out how to work it out. My idea is to buy land, 40 acres, maybe more, and to work with a bunch of like minded people to develop a self sufficient community. I think that in my idea, the land needs to be held in a trust. I like your idea of a small motel. I have often thought of having a shared building with a well developed kitchen, large room that could be for dining, socializing, schooling, etc. while people live in small cabins. A shared building, like a motel, could have heating and cooling shared. But in my experiences, there is usually someone who tries to be a jerk and ruin things for everyone else.
Part of what I have thought about is how the Hutterites live. They grow huge gardens, cook and eat together. They usually have some sort of industrial business that they work together on.
Greetings from just west of Lake Superior..
Go for it... I did the small farm, hobby farm thing after retirement until health and stamina dictated other life style changes..
I'm not sure I would rent rooms as that involves other people.. Getting away from other people is why I moved to the bush..
Go for it... I did the small farm, hobby farm thing after retirement until health and stamina dictated other life style changes..
I'm not sure I would rent rooms as that involves other people.. Getting away from other people is why I moved to the bush..
Welcome from Alaska!
Welcome from Eastern Missouri. We are retired and on a fixed income, but we never had the desire to Homestead, Farm, or Ranch. I guess you could call us city kids born and raised. At this point in our lives we are looking to do less work, not more. I would agree with what has been said here. If it is your dream, go for it. To quote John Greenleaf Whittier " Of all sad words of tongue and pen the saddest are these ' what might have been'"
Hope it all works out for you. Regardless, this is a great place with great people and a wealth of knowledge all willing to share. Good to have you with us.
Hope it all works out for you. Regardless, this is a great place with great people and a wealth of knowledge all willing to share. Good to have you with us.
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Someone did that at https://permies.com.
Paul has land & a community of like minded people, kind like the Mother Earth News when it was in N.C., before they sold it to NY company for big bucks.
Some say good things about Paul, other say he does not believe in free speech.
About me, well I have ten acres & the wife has 9.5, we have two children. I love my little farm which is part of the thirty acres I was raised on.
Thirty acres is not a drop in the bucket when you talk about small farms which is about 250 acres, in today's market.
I grow fruit & garden on it & have plans to movie out there.
You know what John L. said "live is what happens while we are making plans".
I hope you get all you are dreaming of.
Paul has land & a community of like minded people, kind like the Mother Earth News when it was in N.C., before they sold it to NY company for big bucks.
Some say good things about Paul, other say he does not believe in free speech.
About me, well I have ten acres & the wife has 9.5, we have two children. I love my little farm which is part of the thirty acres I was raised on.
Thirty acres is not a drop in the bucket when you talk about small farms which is about 250 acres, in today's market.
I grow fruit & garden on it & have plans to movie out there.
You know what John L. said "live is what happens while we are making plans".
I hope you get all you are dreaming of.
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welcome from Virginia
we did it. We retired around 50 and quit our jobs in Florida , bought a farm in SW Virginia. My advice to everyone that wants to do that : forget about building a new house, buy an existing one if money is an issue ( which I assume it is for most). YOu have to decide what is more important to you: living your dream, or keeping your current standard of living. Living our dream was more important ot us but we are dirt poor now. We have no debt, but it is difficult paying for things like getting vehicles repaired. We have Medicaid for insurance , our house is very old. We do run a farm business ( sell livestock and sell at the farmers market). You have to be physically able to do a lot of labor. We are going on 60 now been doing it for over 8 years and it is causing some problems . Husband has an injured knee and my foot hurts. Price you pay getting old. So if you want to do it , do it now or it might be too late. There is a learning curve to do all these things also
Do I regret it ? Hell no! I have at least had 8 years of doing what I want, if I die tomorrow! I could still be stuck in Orlando, doing a job I ended up hating towards the end ( civil engineering project manager) being stuck in a place I hated living. So we had a nicer house and all the proper utilities there, but not worse it. I rather deal with carrying wood into the house to heat in winter, than pay $500 ( more now most likely) for electric to run the ac all year in Florida.
we did it. We retired around 50 and quit our jobs in Florida , bought a farm in SW Virginia. My advice to everyone that wants to do that : forget about building a new house, buy an existing one if money is an issue ( which I assume it is for most). YOu have to decide what is more important to you: living your dream, or keeping your current standard of living. Living our dream was more important ot us but we are dirt poor now. We have no debt, but it is difficult paying for things like getting vehicles repaired. We have Medicaid for insurance , our house is very old. We do run a farm business ( sell livestock and sell at the farmers market). You have to be physically able to do a lot of labor. We are going on 60 now been doing it for over 8 years and it is causing some problems . Husband has an injured knee and my foot hurts. Price you pay getting old. So if you want to do it , do it now or it might be too late. There is a learning curve to do all these things also
Do I regret it ? Hell no! I have at least had 8 years of doing what I want, if I die tomorrow! I could still be stuck in Orlando, doing a job I ended up hating towards the end ( civil engineering project manager) being stuck in a place I hated living. So we had a nicer house and all the proper utilities there, but not worse it. I rather deal with carrying wood into the house to heat in winter, than pay $500 ( more now most likely) for electric to run the ac all year in Florida.
Welcome
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There are lots of things to consider when buying land. Check to see if the mineral rights come with it. Many land owners sold the mineral rights generations ago. You don't want to be surprised to see a drill rig in your back yard some day. If there's water on the property check to see if there's any water rights that come with it. Just because the land has water, doesn't mean that you can use it. Thus may not be an issue in wetter climates, but water is a huge issue out west. If the property has a well, be aware that without water rights to it you can't use it for irrigation, just domestic purposes. If the land has timber, the seller will probably have a timber clause on the sale. That means that no timber can cut until the land is paid off. Check to see if there are any rights of way on the property. You could be surprised to find people driving across your property to access another property. Are there any utility right of ways. What size are the properties surrounding the place you're interested in? Every place will eventually be built on. If you're surrounded by timber land, eventually it will be logged.
Similar to us. Not yet retired, but thinking about it. I felt tremendous pressure to have a property as a bug out location when I had kids...but never bought anything. Now, the kids have mostly moved out (and are moving to other cities), so it will soon be just me and my wife...and we are getting older, so we are looking to do less work, not more.
I initially wanted to buy some nearby property further away from the city. But, having two properties to maintain would be difficult. I have a friend who did that, and we go to his place all the time, and he has done wonders with it, but I also know that he as put a ton of work into it. I'm impressed by what he's done...but also intimidated as to what I would have to start doing if I bought an extra property in my price range for "extra" property.
So, now, the wife and I talk about selling our house, and taking that money and moving to a property further away from the city, but not so far that our "kids" would have a hard time getting to us from the nearby airport. Taking our current house value and investing it in property would mean we could get something far nicer than what I was initially thinking about. And, for development and maintenance of the property, we would be working on our home, not on an albatross of an extra property.
But, we also want to travel (before the world explodes). So, I want to invest in some personal experiences before I get too old to do that. So, we may just end up staying put in our far suburb.
O yes, I kid myself I'm still young enough to do anything. Been looking at land in west Texas. Found a good one with a water tank in the middle of 20 acres for $17k. Remote but not too remote, 1hr or so from El Paso just south of Diablo Canyon. Then I wake up and see I can't do it by myself anymore. Will try to find a group that will accept me with what I have to offer.
If you desire to live the hard life when you're in your late 80's. Then live the hard life the first 88 years.
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The wife and I are looking at buying some land over on the coast, 40-100 acres or so. We won't move on it until we're too old to manage this place. It would be nice to live in an area where snow is rare. We know that we'll need to start scaling down in a few years. I think when it's time we'll just have a big auction up here and sell everything.
Howdy! from SE Texas
It's interesting how my dreams have changed over the years. I didn't have one when I was married to the ex. I got a divorce & bought a little house here & the idea (dream) was to retire & come back & maybe live on my retirement or pick up some easy job to earn a little extra money. Then I went over seas & got married & the dream was to come back here & retire. After a while we realized that our house was too small so we started looking. I thought a house out in the sticks with a little land would be great. We even looked at one & I realized all the work that would go into it. So we ended up buying a big house close to down town. So I guess you could say that my dream was modified over the years to where I ended up because I've very happy with what I have.
i posted Earlier, I had bigger dreams. Now the retirement house is a single story, on acreage I can mow with a push mower. Village of 584, 11 miles from "cities" of 11K and 20K.
30-40 miles from "Big Cities". Underground utilities, City water and Sewer, High speed cable. Mostly, it's 15 minutes from Lori's Horse, Star. Things change when you get old and are married. Mostly Old
30-40 miles from "Big Cities". Underground utilities, City water and Sewer, High speed cable. Mostly, it's 15 minutes from Lori's Horse, Star. Things change when you get old and are married. Mostly Old
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