Country Life
My buddies’ $150k house he bought in Summit 🏘 🐷 🤠
It’s super nice, with a view of the mountains and nine acres of land. I am jealous because the parcel I grew up on was only 4.9 acres and the neighbors were a lot closer it seems. It also makes me kind of happy to think things like this still exist in the world, because $150,000 isn’t a lot of money in these inflationary times, and I could if I decided to sell of some stock go out and buy something similar, if I so wanted today.
To be sure it’s more of a large hunting cabin then a house, and it’s electrically heated and not far from the road. But it shows what kind of deals once can get if you out there and looking — he apparently snapped it up from the man that was selling the first day it went on the market. Plus Schoharie County has been bleeding population ever since Summit Shock Correctional closed — nearly one out ten people have left the county since then. But it’s a reminder of what’s out there if you are looking.
It really gives me hope that there is a tomorrow, and some day I will be able to afford my own land, preferably with cash and no borrowing costs. And that the only choice need not be suburbia with neighbors right next door, looking down on your redneckery. Seems like there is a bright future ahead, and if I want to leave way out in the sticks, there are eventually very affordable options out there if you know what your looking for. And if you keep it simple, and it’s paid with cash, rural living can be affordable and possible.
How Much Land Would I Need to Own.
When I own a land, how much land do I think I’ll want to own? I think I would want to own enough land to:
– Be able to hunt and shoot firearms at a backyard range, which would mean at least 500 feet from the nearest other house.
– Be able to ride four wheelers on my land, have some fun in the mud without making too much of a mess.
– Have enough land to hobby farm, such as pigs, goats, and other smaller livestock, which means they’ll need pasture and a bit of distance from the house.
– Be able to compost food, leaves, and other waste.
– Be able to burn trash and have bonfires, without causing a nuisance or smelling my neighbors burning their trash.
– Be able to listen to music as loud as I want to, hang lights outdoors, drink beer, and have a good time with buddies.
– Have junk cars and other equipment I’m working on, or saving for scrap use on my land without bothering others.
– Be far enough back from the road so I don’t have to see others or have others piering onto my land.
Obviously, none of that doesn’t require that much land if you have the right kind of neighbors and the right kind of state and local government that leaves people alone, but having more land often comes with having better neighbors that mind their business while you mind your own.
My parents have a little under five acres — surrounded on one side by city reservoir property — but I think I’d rather have closer to 50 with much less house and barns, as my focus would be the wilderness not having a fancy home or barnyard. Obviously, this is an expensive goal, but living farther out means you can get more with less money.
Farmland in NY
Pulling a HUGE Calf BACKWARDS!
It really is a miracle that he was able to save the calf.
Rural Means Free
There are many state lands away from big cities that are relatively unrestricted in their use. They are so free only because they are largely unknown by the public and the lack of use means they can be used extensively without serious environmental damage.
The wear and tear by a few pickup trucks, quads, and horses seem minimal compared to the damage we see in far more restricted urban areas. I am inspired by Rural America and how little us humans have destroyed it compared to the big cities.
People can pollute more per capita and do far more damage then would be permissible if more people where out here. A truck can tear up a muddy trail pretty badly, but many people walking on one trail can do far more damage as witnessed in the Northern Catskills. People who live out here can have dirty diesel tractors, big gas-guzzling pickup trucks, and burn trash without significantly compromising their clean air or their quality of life. We could only wish that to be the case in the big city.
My biggest fear is what will happen when the cities expand further and further out into the country. What will happen with a new class of people coming out to enjoy the land? More people will ultimately mean more rules, less, freedom, and certainly no camping or four wheeling. The area won’t be as beautiful as farmsteads and forests get replaced by McMansions enjoying the mountains. What once was empty roads is increasingly becoming houses.
You just have to fear what it will mean when people come out here and settle the land. Outsiders will start demanding that we change, and that we start following their orders. Rural America might ultimately be the Pine Bush of the future a seriously compromised area that only is preserved for historical memories of the great beauty. Life in Rural America is nice now, but how will it be when country ain’t country no more
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Farm Land by New York State County in 2021
Montgomery County is a classic example of an MAUP ... it's almost drawn to capture all of the agricultural areas along the Mohawk Valley without the hills and poorer soils of surrounding counties. Probably this was done historically not by accident.