Let's talk about Country Living

This pic was taken from my back yard, just down beyond the 2 story is where the lake is supposed to be. This was during some rare flooding.
If I want to fish or view the lake, I only need to walk down the lane. But I can set out on my step or the back of the truck and tear down to my hearts content as this is listed as country. Around the corner is a boat launch where you can put a boat into the lake and this one is connected to 5 others. I'm 5min. from one town and 15 from Warsaw, 40 to Ft Wayne. I can still leave my car unlocked at all times. My small slice of heaven.

http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/...8/100_0368.jpg

Wow, this thread hit a nerve with lots of people!

I would like to make a couple of points in response to a couple of comments I saw:

1. Someone worried about upkeep on acreage, as if every square foot needed to be mowed or something....I put it this way: "selective neglect". I address what I feel like and the rest can be taken care of by mother nature. I grow hay on about 15% of my land and the squirrels and coyotes take care of the rest. Actually, every year a few more acres feels the bush rake on the D6 Cat for more hay. But this is a big difference between urban and country. You don't have to keep up your lot with perfectly mowed lawns and well tended flowergardens or risk some busybody calling the bylaw Nazis.

2. You need to have a look at the bylaws in the area you are considering. I noticed this when I was in the 'burbs where everyone had 5 acres lots. It was out of the city but still in an area that the local governing body considered "more than rural." (called a "Regional District" here in Canada, something like the US County Gov't.) So they didn't like anyone doing any business from their home and even frowned on guys parking their logging trucks in their 5 acre yards! There was one guy on my street who did some sort of machine shop work...every once in a while he had steel delivered from the local steel supplier but it was visible in his yard for about 30 seconds until he whisked it into his shop...which was closed up tight as a drum. So watch out for areas that look like rural country but are simply subdivisions with big, multi-acre lots....with all the stupid town/city bylaws.

Jon.

I lived in the country for 17 years. NoI i live in small city. I was born and raised in city. Living in the country I had to commute for work. Several years I worked off shore in the gulf of mexico so commuting was only a monthly thing. However, I missed out on a lot with my son. But on the time I wasn't working ,a week or at a time I was able to devote much of my time to family! The cons ,in my opinion were very minor inconveniences. I found early on that Mother Earth News was a way to learn about country living. And it still is. This was the 70's & 80;s internet to me was a mystery. Wish I was back in the country now! You will never regret such a move. In my opinion anyway . Good luck.

Great great stuff guys. Thank you. I'll try to answer questions as I remember them:
1. Do have an outside cat- technically 2
2. Both wife and I have 4wd vehicles
3. Not sure if we are looking to have so much property to have livestock- but hey.. wife has always said she wanted a cow (don't ask)
4. Mowing.. Yes.. not looking to have a 3 acre front lawn- I HATE to Mow.. most guys love to have to do it 3 or 4 hours on a weekend.. I can't stand mowing. So the "selective" would be perfect. Plus my son is getting to the age he shall start doing his share sooner than later in the mowing department.
5. What is "Frog Gigging?"

Keep em coming folks. This insight is invaluable to me in working to make a large life decision! I am appreciative.. very appreciative!

selective neglect is how most of us live our lives on a day to day basis lol... i was speaking more to the rest of the point. the parts that really need to be kept up. the more you have, the more time it takes. and if that's what you like to do, spend your saturdays or sundays on a tractor, more power to you. but that's not me. :) and i was only throwing it out there as a point to consider.

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Originally Posted by phred59

selective neglect is how most of us live our lives on a day to day basis lol... i was speaking more to the rest of the point. the parts that really need to be kept up. the more you have, the more time it takes. and if that's what you like to do, spend your saturdays or sundays on a tractor, more power to you. but that's not me. :) and i was only throwing it out there as a point to consider.

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All good. If I had a lot of selective neglect to "attend too" that would be fine with me. Thank you sir for the info.. I'm gathering it all.. and appreciate each and every piece of advice and knowledge!

Sledge, I can tell you have put a lot of thought into this big decision. You live in central Indiana and I live in central Wis so I think I can assume our terrain will be the same.

I live 7 miles from town and am surrounded by agricultural land and small woodlots. Not exactly the boonies that some have pictured when they think of living in the country. I wouldn't trade where I live for a million dollars. There is no better place to raise a family. Your children will have so many more opportunites to learn about the world around them than living in town. Examples such as how to plant seeds and watch them grow to harvest. How to build a bird house and watch the birds move in and young ones hatch. Chances are they will be closer to their community in the country than they will be with their block in town because everyone is more open and willing to help each other at a moments notice. I raised 3 sons and all were very popular because we lived in the country where their friends could have Friday night bonfires or could ride go kart or play paint ball games etc. They rode the school bus until they got driving licenses and were involved in after school sports.

We have our own well and septic system but our house is plumbed just like it would be in town. We have satellite internet, tv and cell service just like "city people". I love the quiet at night and maybe hear a siren off in the distance once or twice a year. I love seeing the stars and find myself more aware of the weather..wishing for rain at certain times and hoping it stops at others.

You need to become a bit more self sufficient to avoid repair service calls and often their will be a neighbor that you can exchange services with. You'll need a good lawn mower as mentioned and something for snow removal. One concern that hasn't been mentioned is allergies. I would think that country living might be rough if someone had a problem with them.

I guess the point I started off trying to make was that country living isn't as backward as it was 50 years ago. Best of luck to you in whatever decision you make.

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Originally Posted by sledge

Great great stuff guys. Thank you. I'll try to answer questions as I remember them:
1. Do have an outside cat- technically 2
2. Both wife and I have 4wd vehicles
3. Not sure if we are looking to have so much property to have livestock- but hey.. wife has always said she wanted a cow (don't ask)
4. Mowing.. Yes.. not looking to have a 3 acre front lawn- I HATE to Mow.. most guys love to have to do it 3 or 4 hours on a weekend.. I can't stand mowing. So the "selective" would be perfect. Plus my son is getting to the age he shall start doing his share sooner than later in the mowing department.
5. What is "Frog Gigging?"

Keep em coming folks. This insight is invaluable to me in working to make a large life decision! I am appreciative.. very appreciative!

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5. Catching frogs for sport,food,sale .
We only let how hunters hunt during season on our land , no fire arms period .
Most days there are 4-5 deer feasting on the chestnut tree in the side yard when I exit the garage . I always joke about deer for dinner.

Sledge, nice to here you are thinking about making some changes. I grew up here on an acre lot and my family has been here for 30+ years. The city has reached us and there has been lots of new building in the area, some good some bad. When we started here there was all dirt roads and a handful of houses but, now there are a lot more track homes in the area and paved roads. The only new building that I appreciate around here is the homedepot that is a couple miles from the house hehe. There is a lot more people coming from local cities which we dislike, more crime (got my smart phone stolen at a yard sale at the house)and regulation. I always tell my wife in a joking manner "Too many city foke here in are country side". Most city people have a different mentality. With all this said we still enjoy where we live.

Where we live it isnt totally in the boonies but, enough to have some nice benefits like: privacy from your neighbors, you can park your truck and trailer on the street and no one cares, you can work early and late, you can store more stuff, you have work space for projects, and lots of other things. If you are wanting to move to a very rural, off the grid, in the middle of no where type setting then you should really think about your decision and then do it. But, if you are looking to live on a semi-rural property, 1-2 acres, internet, close to stores, etc. I would say go for it, thats an easy decision.

My wife and I are looking for another place and what is important to us is the property size not the size of the home. We want a small 3br mobile home, a nice outdoor patio, on 1-5 acres. I hear many people talk or even brag (not on this forum) about the amount of square footage of their home but, it is on a little tiny spec of a property in track home community. For some reason lots of people want a huge home on a tiny property, we want the reverse, a cozy home on a huge property.

So my advice to you sledge is go for it, going with the midrange option sounds like it will work for you, you can do it.

P.S. I noticed how many people on this thread mentioned how close they are to Walmart, for some reason I thought that was funny haha. Well in case anyone wanted to know, I am about 10 miles from Walmart.

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Originally Posted by mrsamsonite

P.S. I noticed how many people on this thread mentioned how close they are to Walmart, for some reason I thought that was funny haha. Well in case anyone wanted to know, I am about 10 miles from Walmart.

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I never said how close I was to walmart either, so I better take care of that. About 3 miles ;)

I grew up in suburbs where there were people everywhere. 18 years ago my wife and I packed the kids up and moved to the country. We're about 45+ mins to the city center and 20mins to somewhere. We don't have traffic lights and many of what should be stop signs are yields. We love it out here. The kids grew up snowmobiling and shooting and swimming at the quarry. It does have it's challenges though. Daily commutes are 45mins each way -winters can be very rough and double that ride at times. Simple things like needing gas for the mower is a half hour chore. I always over buy when repairing or building things around the house because the nearest Lowes is an hour round trip drive. What you do gain is peace and quiet. I can go out back and have a 20' bonfire and no one would blink an eye.

Frog Gigging....yes frog hunting, thanks. My kids love going out to the edge of the pond at night and grabbing, netting, gigging some half pound bull frogs. They bring them home and skin 'em out and fry up the legs in a fish cooker, very good eatin'. My wife is a good sport about it as long as they don't trash the kitchen too bad. One night we came home and they had cleaned 20 frogs and some rabbits under our carport. She had them clean up fast because we were having out of town company that night. They also love catching and cooking fish. That's another country thing I like, my kids learned to clean and cook anything they bring home from hunting so it's not just sport, it's for food.

Rusty....thanks, I forgot all about the bonfires and paintball!!

Selective neglect....love it! I need to start my list today.

Sledge...I also hate mowing. Our 1.5 acre of grass right around the house gets mowed, the rest is field, pasture or woods and gets cut around with a bushhog occasionally. If my wife would allow it, we'd have goats fenced around the house. She just doesn't think it would be fun shooing them off the top of her car every morning...go figure.

If you move out here, there's some rules. Be a good neighbor and don't tell city people that it's nice out here. No TV, no indoor plumbing, snakes, fire ants, coyotes howling at your back door, mosquitoes, no night life and anything else you can think of. We don't want the cities to be deserted and a steady stream of people moving in the country. We are just bending the rule for you 'cause we like you.

I'm actually really glad there are different places to live. My step brother lives in Austin TX and wouldn't live in the country if you paid him even though he spent his teen summers here with us and loved it. Lots of people love the city life and I like to visit and check it out, but wouldn't really be happy living there. To each his own, but it is great that you're looking for information before diving in/out to something new.

Last year some city people bought 10 acres beside my Mom where I grew up playing in the woods. They fenced it and put up Posted Private Property signs every 100 feet. One odd thing is they had to be on my property without permission to hang the signs. I wouldn't have cared if they are there, just not too stoked about the signs. They open and shut a gate to go home every day and hide in their trailer fearing????? Neighbors, maybe, I don't know. The problem is they are missing out on some of the most wonderful people around. I grew up around all these people and they are so nice. ALL of them will wave if I come by now on the road and will even flag me down to try to give me food or something...lol. My Mom has a garden that yields more than she can possibly eat just so she can feed everyone around her with squash, okra, tomatoes, cucumbers, blueberries, figs, pecans...etc. Another neighbor grows potatoes and beans. Another grows sweet corn and peaches. I don't think they planned that on purpose, but it's worked out great for all with trading veggies. Not exactly trading because if you live nearby, you'll get offered some of all of it for free. Yet the newcomers hide and don't participate.

I think if you get serious about buying some place, first take Jon's advice and make sure it's not a heavily restricted area. Then, go visit the neighbors surrounding the place. Let them know you're not a hostile coming in to make their life miserable or change everything. You'll find out quickly if it's a good neighborhood and you might just leave with a sack of field peas for your visit.

Man.. in less than 24 hours I have gotten such a great bundle of advice. I feel like I can't answer for all of your responses. Much Thanks to all of you.

If I could sum up what would be ideal for me I guess it would be as follows (May or may not get it all)

--More land than house. A 3 bedroom ranch is all we need.
-- Barn or Outbuilding: A must to store my trailer and scrap, as well as all the material, tools, that lawnmower everyone is advising.. hell maybe a tractor? Basically, the tools of any size and shape I'll need to do what I do. Room to have my son be able to putter on a car maybe when he gets older? (I can dream right?)
--Areas where my wife can pot her roses, plants, and flowers.. her own "outside dirt work area" as she says
-- Trees and cover
--Place to have massive bonfires of wood, clearings.. anything legal I want. (I love my bonfires) Maybe even be able to shoot off some fireworks on the 4th!
-- Decent amount of land for kids to be able to explore and the 102 lb St. Bernard to run free!
-- I always want to have and intend to have good relations with neighbors. I feel right now we are good neighbors, we are fair, we watch out for others property, we lend a hand (sometimes more than we should.. but that is ok) We are the people who have baked cookies for the work crew doing the reconstruction of our road.. We know people are miffed at them for "inconveniencing them" and they catch heck all day.. so we thought it would be nice to do something for them.

So I guess in a nutshell.. would love to have good relations with neighbors- just not see them 3, 4, 5 or 10 times a day. I go out at any time of the day or night and I see someone.. or a car, or sirens blaring, or whatnot. My neighbor parks his 24 foot delivery truck that blocks my view to get out of my driveway and impedes me backing in my truck/trailer.

From all of my wife and my conversations we are looking to outskirt the town. I know plenty of guys who live on that outskirt that have property, a neighbor is a little ways away.. but not so far out we feel like we are "going off the grid" That isn't our intent. Just a little more privacy and peace and quiet. A little more elbow room.. a little more breathing room. Probably the best way to sum it up.

So in a nutshell- more breathing room, more room to stretch out.. but not "off the grid" kind of stuff.

So Frog Gigging.. Mmmm.. think that would be something I'd fall short on! Good eatin?? I'll take your word for it gents!
:)

A couple of the things I like about my spot....I can wander around outside in the altogether in the morning and whiz where I feel like. And I'll make nobody's eyes bleed from the sight!!!

My boys and I can break out the center fires and target practise on the back 40 all afternoon with no one giving a shzt. (We have lots of up and down land so a backstop isn't an issue.)

And, as someone else mentioned, bonfires are anytime...with a few Forestry rules that aren't difficult to comply with.

Not meaning to single out anyone for worrying about keeping the place up...my wife occasionally comments about this, too. Mostly because I took the bush hog gearbox apart for a new oil seal, found I had to machine a part for it, and that's where its been sitting for a couple of....years. Got the tools to do it, but the time hasn't been there.

One thing to keep a hard nosed approach with is buildings. We purchased our property from an old guy's estate that had been in the same family for 99 years. It was the second place staked in this area in 1906. Not old by some of the Eastern US standards, but old for around here. It had all sorts of old crap laying around and a 2 story house built in 1930. We got all nostalgic and decided to rebuild the house, because it only had rudimentary water, scabbed-in wiring from about 1960, no insulation and a 7' ceiling in the upstairs....well, you get the picture. I'm still working on it. Nothing is square or level, some of the foundation has rot, had to blow the entire roof off and replace it....{scream of frustration}. We should have lit a match and built a single level house like Sledge is looking at.

I know how it is Jon, I think I rebuilt that same house minus the second story. Oh, and my 5 foot bush hog just needs a universal yoke going on 4 years. I know I'll find the right one at the scrap yard someday soon.

Saw-
I can tell you this for CERTAIN. We bought the current house we had at the age of 26 (both of us) and we said "Oh gee we can fix it up, restore it.. make it beautiful again." Yep.. it has been a work in progress for 10 years. I have literally rebuilt nearly every room in the house. We both agree- NOT AGAIN. Minor repairs? Sure, painting walls? YES! Tearing out walls, ceilings, rewiring everything, adding exterior doors, re-doing the porch- NOPE.

When we bought the house we had no light fixtures on the second floor, no cable lines, no phone lines.. and the first shower I took the water just dribbled out of the shower head. I will now allow my wife to "squeee" about whatever property we look at.. but I'll be in the attic, basement, on the roof and in every nook and cranny before I sign on the dotted line again.
:)

Whew ... there's a lot to take in. :) I'll probably end up repeating much of what's already been covered but i'll see if i can cover some of the pro's & cons of rural living.

1: You really want to take a close look at the government situation before you jump in. Rural living is more about being independent and living on your own terms. It's a bit like escaping the matrix .... or .... at least distancing yourself from it. Please forgive if i'm getting a wee bit close to politics but this is more about political science which is something different.

Moderation is a good thing. As you start to trend left of center you get larger and more complex government. It becomes what's called a bureaucracy. There are all of these different departments or bureaus within government that create more rules and regulations. It grows and grows. Your choices are taken away from you. Instead .... you have to seek permission (or a permit ) from someone in government before you are allowed to do the thing you want to do.

The viewpoint is that " Most people need to be told where to go and what to do. "

You're not allowed to think and decide for yourself. Someone sitting in a position of authority will do that for you.

Obviously, that's a problem for somebody with a more independent temperament.

In my situation it's not local or county government but rather state government. It's a strange thing because people "from away" move here for the quality of life that this place has to offer and then they turn around and try to make it like the place they came from. We're well over 50% "transplants" and many are very active in politics. There have been a lot of changes over the years.

Government interference is an important factor in the mix. Rural living isn't about making a million dollars. It's about a certain quality of life. The thing is that most folks in the country are just getting by despite the fact that they work hard for a living. When they make a new law it generally costs somebody out there more money. With a cost of living being higher in the rural areas that can make a difference between being able to pay the monthly bills and not. It can make the difference between a business being able to get through the tough times or going under. ~ Nuff said ~

2: The social aspect of living in a small close knit rural community is an important consideration. It's a double edged sword. In one respect you HAVE to be there for one another in a time of need. It's when things are at their worst that everyone in the community will pull together and circle the wagons regardless of any differences they might have had in the past.

On the other end the community tends to police itself. Cross the line and the punishment is far worse than anything a judge could ever hand down from the bench. If the community turns it's back on you life will become very hard. You may not be able to survive there anymore.

There is the lack of privacy. People talk about one another and the stories get distorted as they go down the line. My advise would be to speak ill of no person and keep anything you do learn about another in the strictest confidence. Don't be a gossip ! Keep it on a need to know basis and if you to have to talk about someone else make absolutely sure that you've got your facts straight first.

3: So often times life in the country is living life by the seasons. There are times of plenty when the living is easy and there are times of scarcity. Make sure that you put enough by during the summer to carry you through the winter. Food,fuel, money, whatever you will need to get you through ....

Make sure that your vehicles are in good repair by late fall because you don't want to be outdoors in the middle of winter fixing something that could have been prevented.

4: Develop your skill sets. Learn plumbing ,heating, propane, automotive tech, electricals,carpentry etc. That way you can do for yourself.

5: Buy the tools ! Don't cheap out. ( If you don't have the tool you can't do the job. ) A tractor is a good idea. A plow truck for the winter. Firearms ( different ones for different jobs.) A chain saw is a must. Chain hoists, jacks, and come-a-longs, and chains for heavy lifting. The list is endless ..... ;)

6: Think about infrastructure. There's a well and septic. The power goes out frequently so it's a good idea to have at least one backup generator. You ought to have a couple of hundred of gallons of fuel on hand to run the jenny. You might want to consider a larger capacity expansion tank for the well. The standard has a five gallon draw down so when the power goes out you only have five gallons of pressurized water that you can draw from the tap. I added a couple of thirty gallon tanks Extrol tanks so we can go a day or two without having to power up the well pump.

7: Think about the location of your new home. You're drawing your well water from an underground aquifer. Are there any sources of pollution nearby like old abandoned landfills ? Any nitrate runoff from nearby farms ? Maybe old underground fuel tanks from a nearby gas station ?

How hard (expensive) will it be to get a septic system in ? Will you have to pump the effluent uphill ? (That will add a lot of expense for electricity over the years.)

There's an advantage to setting your home back away from the road a bit. You know how it is .... people drive by and in a small community everybody knows your business. Out of sight equals out of mind. What you do and how you live is your own business.

Try to place your home strategically so that nobody can build close by. A swamp on one side of your property can be a good thing.

Take advantage of a southern exposure and place the home for maximum solar gain during the day. It can save you a fortune in heating costs in the winter.

Save the trees ! Hardwoods can provide shade in the summer and softwoods can block the bitterly cold north wind in the winter.

Jeez .... covered a lot of territory on this post. It's a lot to take in. I hope it helps. :)

we would be classifies as living in the country. we only own 6 acres at our house and have a few neighbors but cant see the houses. surrounded by corn and lakes otherwise. Up untill lately their was no problem with my massive piles of scrap untill a a city boy moved out by us and complained to authorites. (so if you move dont be that guy). We are lucky as we only have to live 15 minutes from the nearest city to be rural it just so happens it has a scrap yard. gas does get a little more pricey with everyday life having to go into town everyday but its not bad. another great thing would be all the oppurtunites out here if you are an outdoorsman like me you live right where the best hunting and fishing is, you also become freinds with the farmers and get many connections. Overall i dont think you can go wrong moving out

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Originally Posted by F350scrapper

we would be classifies as living in the country. we only own 6 acres at our house and have a few neighbors but cant see the houses. surrounded by corn and lakes otherwise. Up untill lately their was no problem with my massive piles of scrap untill a a city boy moved out by us and complained to authorites. (so if you move dont be that guy). We are lucky as we only have to live 15 minutes from the nearest city to be rural it just so happens it has a scrap yard. gas does get a little more pricey with everyday life having to go into town everyday but its not bad. another great thing would be all the oppurtunites out here if you are an outdoorsman like me you live right where the best hunting and fishing is, you also become freinds with the farmers and get many connections. Overall i dont think you can go wrong moving out

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That kind of stuff pisses me off to no end. Reminds me of the city slickers that move next to a dairy or cattle farm, then piss and moan about the sights and smells. Uh...who was here first? Exactly.

I dont mean to be spreading rumors but, everyone Sledge is moving to the countryside!