Living in the country

[Okie Boarder]

I'm sure there are at least a few of you that live out in the country. Our goal is to do the same within the next 6-18 months, depending upon what we can work out. What are some things that you would suggest considering, lessons learned, etc after living in the country for a while? I'm wanting to ensure I get some feedback from folks that have done it to see if there were things they overlooked prior to making the move and if there are things they would have done differently.

[viking]

I would have done it sooner!

[michael hunter]

Look for a place with as few restrictions as possible . Preferably not within a city limit with as many acres as you can afford. Close proximity to a lake is a bonus.

[td in nc]

If you work on your car or like to have a clean car/boat don't live on a dirt road. Make sure if you have neighbors that they good people- they can make or break you fortress of solitude.

[Salty87]

Wow, Okie...selling the boat and moving to the country. Life happens to everyone. I've thought about selling mine since it hasn't been run in over a year. We moved to the country too but compared to the tows others are making to their home lakes it's not really that far. I'm halfway between Austin & San Antonio now instead of 2 miles from Lake Travis. Canyon Lake is alot closer now than it was before at least.

I can't think of anything we would have done differently or that we overlooked but here's a few considerations. You may have thought of them already.

Are you going to build a house or buy one? Buying existing in the country often means smaller and not very efficient. If you're going to build then buy the land as soon as you find it. Around Austin lots of people are moving to the country so land prices are only going up. We bought the land about 2 years before we settled on a builder and plans.

Country also usually means septic system and either a well or rain water. Wells work fine in many areas but you don't have a storage tank. If the well goes dry you have to dig deeper. Rain water collection comes with a storage tank. If a drought gets bad enough you only need to buy water which is a heck of a lot cheaper than drilling again. With more people moving to the country and sucking up the water, having a well go dry made us nervous.

Unrestricted is the way to go like Michael said.

Storage is very important. You'll want extra fridge and freezer in the house as well as large pantry. Going to the store can be a hassle. Having freezer space for taking a few deer is good.

Driveways are expensive but undeveloped land is alot cheaper than paying a developer who did all of that stuff plus their markup.

Wood burning stoves are nice to have too.

Good luck and have fun. I can't bear the idea of moving back into a neighborhood.

PS...if you don't have a chainsaw add it to your Christmas list

[Okie Boarder]

Some good thoughts. At this point we are leaning towards resale and have actually found one place that is a gem...it may work out...we'll see. I would definitely like having rainwater collection and it has been on my list for quite some time now. Just need the right situation to be able to make it work and out in the country would definitely do it.