I put a lot of miles on my truck this weekend looking at land, but maybe a better way to describe it was studying land and how people interact with it. Some really rough and muddy roads. Observing everything from trailers with goats tied out front to old farm houses to McMansions. I’m undecided what my plans besides gathering the facts to make the best possible decision. I’ve been studying the state building and energy code, books on green building, books on buying land and contracting to improve it. Perc tests and water wells. Insulation and blower tests. Inverters and batteries. Various options like prefab vs stick built. Nothing too unconventional, things that are reasonably affordable and fully code compliant for safety, durability and ease of government approval.

Will I end up buying land and building the small off-grid home I want with cash? Maybe. Will I buy a rural house with or without a mortgage? That’s possible too. Or will I choose to stay in the city? Living in the city is probably the cheapest and easiest option, with a short bus or bicycle commute but I also realize that I have limited lifespan and money is useless unless you use it to buy the life you want.

I do worry I’m wasting time and that’s risky as I’m not totally sure about the situation with my apartment. Rents going up a fair bit but it’s still very affordable. But I’m still convinced my new landlord still has visions involving a bulldozer or a molotov cocktail. I have renters insurance and my smoke detector works a bit too well at times. My neighbor has a pile of trash next to his unit, he must be planning to move out. If he doesn’t clean it up soon I’m going to talk to him, the landlord and if necessary the town. The building is on rough shape, the door is rotted out, mold is a constant fight, carpet is thread bare, floor is cracked, etc. If I build my own, I can probably camp on the land next year while it’s being built. Or find another dumpy place to live for a year.

I’m probably mentally ill when I could probably have a nice vinyl sided house in the suburbs with a mortgage and a short commute via a comfortable car. But that’s not the life I want.