Future Ex-Californian Looking to Homestead

[bodhimind]

Hi everyone! I'm Ahmed in California and I live in the Central Valley, a central hub of agriculture.
I'm in a populous city (150,000 people) surrounded by rural areas and want to embark on the road of homesteading...
I have been studying it for the past years and experimenting a little in my small backyard, raising chickens and pair gardening. I would certainly like to be free from city codes of water usage among other things...

I doubt however, a California farm would be the best decision considering it is expensive and I work remotely and I could work in a tax-free, drought-free state instead.
So I want to find a state to either:

• Buy 5+ acres of arable land with no house for future cultivation and bug-out and eventually developing into a primary residency.
• Buy 5+ acres of arable land with with a house for more immediate move and primary residency.

I have no limitations where I can move and am single in my decision. Most of my friends and family do love the city so it looks like I would be going at it alone to start with.

As homesteading is a 5 year project just to stabilize, I need a city which is "future-proof" and I'd love to pick people's brains.
I have been considering various factors (no order):

• "pandemic" policies and other restrictive laws
• lower property prices, state income taxes, property taxes
• immigration and far-left policies and future projections of safety. Tthis made Texas feel less ideal because of their totally open border... what will it be like in 10 years?
• In addition to weather patterns and rain frequency, also trying to consider Grand Solar Minimum (GSM) into 2025-2040 (see Adapt2030 YT channel). Global climate changes are going to intensify and we may experience an "ice age" due to jet streams halting due to conjunction of planets and lowered solar activity.... places at least a few hundred miles from ocean and also eastern half of US may fare better than others. So this is why I had my eyes on north texas...
• moderate vicinity to major city (~50 miles) and supplies and luxuries (e.g. Walmart, Costco, etc.)
• like-minded freedom-loving responsible community. People interested in meditation, kungfu, tai chi, yoga and eastern things would be awesome.
• preferably city connections for gas, electricity, water, and sewage. This desire may be due to ignorance on my part but I don't want my septic tank mixing with my water. Also because I don't expect to become an off-grid homestead right away, maybe not for years due to difficulty (again maybe just my ignorance on its difficulty.)

I'd love to hear your feedback and thoughts on what your ideal locations would be and why and any other advice you may have for me... I know I will have to ultimately sacrifice some of above factors for more impactful factors.

 

[Peanut]

Hello, welcome to the forum! There are pockets of land like you describe in almost every state east of the Mississippi. But, land prices are high these days and getting higher. Wish you luck!

 

[Alaskajohn]

Welcome from Alaska!

 

[Cascadian]

Welcome from Oregon.

 

[Pearl]

Welcome from Texas, lots of great info here!

 

[Morgan101]

Welcome from Eastern Missouri. Good to have you with us.

 

[kd4ulw]

Welcome Ahmed from Indiana. 150 years ago many people headed west, to the new frontier, for a new life and a way to gain land and an opportunity to prosper. Now, there are those looking to come back east to get away from the mess progressive policies have inflicted.

There are still many areas available to meet your needs. Drought is never a concern in my area (no water restrictions, municipal water here comes from the Ohio River or underground aquifers). You’ll have plenty of places to choose from east of the Rocky Mountains, good luck.

 

[mosquitomountainman]

Welcome . You should consider the eastern or midwestern states east of the Rockies. Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma. Land prices are still reasonable and politics tend to be conservative. Climate is great for gardening and homesteading. Southern states have some good characteristics also.

 

[dademoss]

Welcome from Ohio.

 

[Bacpacker]

Welcome

 

[Spikedriver]

Welcome from Iowa. It's a great decision to leave California. Nowhere is really drought free, but if you draw a north-south line at Omaha, Nebraska you'll find a lot less drought to the east of that line. There's a lot of options out there, best of luck...

 

[snappy1]

Welcome from MS! This area meets most qualifications. Lots of humidity to deal with though!

 

[Weedygarden]

Welcome . You should consider the eastern or midwestern states east of the Rockies. Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma. Land prices are still reasonable and politics tend to be conservative. Climate is great for gardening and homesteading. Southern states have some good characteristics also.

This!
Welcome from Colorado!

 

[Grimm]

As a fellow Californian I need to remind you (and anyone registered to vote in California) to vote to recall Gavin Newsom on September 14th!

If Newsom is allowed to remain in office we will be restricted to 52 gallons a day of water starting in 2025.

 

[viking]

Hello and welcome from S.W. Oregon. First of all, sometimes we have to divorce ourselves from family because of what we are seeing, far too many people have normalcy bias and think that things will just go back to the way they were. We have come to realize that we are the "Black Sheep" of the family. From what we are hearing about the Juan Da Fuca and Cascadia plates that may slip and cause major earthquakes, I would recommend being in the Midwest, if we were younger, we might consider moving away but being 78 and wife in her 70's, we'll just stick it out where we are. Do things while you're still young.