Inevitably when I do a blog post about me looking Zillow at properties for fun, and possibly moving out of my dingy, musty, and in many ways worn out apartment in Delmar, folks have a very helpful suggestion for me — have you ever considered renting that cute house out front of your apartment? As if I wanted to double in rent for a massively bigger living space that would cost more to heat and in utilities.

Not that I think my landlord would ever rent to me again. I’ve been tough on my apartment over the past 16 years, though basically all of the problems I’ve had is either the building is old and falling apart, or I’ve been negligent at getting things like leaky sink pipes fixed causing floor damage, rust and mold, or didn’t treat things like maybe I should, like taking off my muddy boots before walking across the floor, or pulling too hard on the refrigerator door and having the handle break off of the 30 year old refrigerator. I certainly don’t expect to be getting my security deposit back after 16 years, but I figure $600 bucks isn’t much these days, especially spread over over which is closer to being 20 years by the time I finally leave. But alas, I haven’t been evicted, and my landlord has renewed my lease several times, with only modest increases in rent, far below inflation, over the years.

It’s currently a good deal, in other words cheap. These days I make three times what I made when I first moved in, but my rent has only gone up 14% over the years while inflation has gone up 30%. I’ve worked hard to get several promotions and get that corner office. I’ve been saving for a number of years and would likely be able to put down a fair amount of money towards buying a house, if not buy it out right in cash. In some ways, I’d like to have a more permanent location, a place I could call home, a community to live in rather then just a place to get my mail and crash after work, before heading off to my next adventure. That doesn’t mean pissing away any more money in rent then the bare minimum I have to pay to have a roof over my head while I work and save fore a better tomorrow.

I’m happy where I live because it’s cheap and works well enough.

But I do want to move back to the country and own land eventually. I’m more curious then anything about what is out there then buying today but so far I’ve been more than a little disappointed. There just isn’t a lot of large acerage parcels out there within a reasonable distance from the city for a reasonable price. Land for the simple life, where I can ride four wheelers, have bonfires and livestock. Everything seems to be enormous houses with fancy interiors, it’s really hard to find simple but nice structures that are reasonably affordable locally. I’d be interested in even something like a mobile house or a converted shed if it came with enough land. Land for pigs and goats and growing food not marble counter tops.

Truth be told I really don’t want to invest in New York State or own land here. I’d rather be living in dumpy apartment saving for a better tomorrow. There are many small towns, rural areas in states that respect the second amendment and my libertarian values that off grid properties are a potential reality. Now that I’m making good money, I should be focused on saving and investing even more of it so I can retire as early as possible and move to the place I actually want live in a state that respects my rights as a human being and doesn’t tax you to death. A place with excellent outdoors activities and not all the crime and pollution of urban New York State. Places that respect those who live close to the land.

Be broke and continue to build my skills and wealth for a place and time when I can finally break free to live the life I really want far away from Albany and New York. Hold my nose, scrub more of the mold and plug the air leaks in my chilly apartment while I transfer city buses to my good job in the suburbs. That doesn’t mean not have some fun but keep my nose to the grind stone, continue learning and settling with less now as a good future comes into clearer vision even as I struggle and suffer. Keep working on eating healthy, exercising and enjoying life while continuing to save and grow. I can make it, I’m closer then ever before to that better tomorrow even if I fully admit that I’m not going to be able to build the life I actually want in the Albany area.