scrapbookbuzz Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I am in the "we really need to MOVE" mode and had a very interesting, yet impossible, dream last night of someone handing us the keys to a farm on lots of acreage, so it has me thinking. Therefore, you should be smelling smoke about now! :D Anyway, how many acres do you live on? What do you like and not like about it? Do you have livestock? If someone who is not unfamiliar with farm life but has been living in the suburbs for awhile decided to move to land with lots of acreage, what advice would you give them (me)? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jar7709 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 It's not as many as some here, but we live on 10 acres in a rural area. I love it. 9 of the 10 is forest so there's not much upkeep, but the kids have a lot of fun playing in the woods, and the neighbors (with more acreage than we have) ride their horses through on the trails that extend through the area. The remaining 1 acre was cleared when we had the house built, and is big enough for our house, a chicken coop, half a dozen fruit trees, and tons of room for the kids and dogs to run around. We had a good-size garden for a while but then life got in the way. The soil is really poor here since it was forest so recently, so it needed more care and imported soil than I had time and money to give it. Someday we will try again with a better plan of attack. We have considered some small livestock like goats or sheep, but probably won't be taking that plunge. For now our menagerie is limited to chickens and dogs. DH and I like rural life, but we realize we are not farming/ranching people so we support our farming neighbors by buying their local meat and veggies. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 We have 8 1/2 acres. We're not rural, though. It's about 5 miles to the nearest town (which can barely be described as a "town" anymore it's so crowded with houses, shopping, restaurants, a mall, etc.). Most of our land is woods. It's wonderful to have space. I grew up here and enjoyed the freedom to roam around and play in the woods and now my kids get to, too. In the past we've had chickens and geese. My grandparents used to have pigs (they built the house before my mom was born). We've thought about getting chickens or even a miniature donkey, but the fact is both we and my parents like to travel, sometimes together, and it would be a bit of a pain to have to coordinate our schedules so as not to be gone at the same time or get someone to take care of our critters while we are gone, especially since sometimes we go away for the weekend with just a few hours notice. We've tried raising vegetables, but things shrivel up and die in my presence. Seriously, it seems like I can just walk by and they start screaming. My mom has the same affect. My daughter can get things to grow, though, so we get some things from the garden. Mostly having space is just that: space for us. The worst thing about the land we have is that there is about 3 or so acres worth of grass that needs to be cut. My mom does it on the tractor right now and it takes a fair amount of time every couple weeks in the spring/summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Occasionally Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I don't, but I'll dream alongside you :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 I totally get having SPACE. I grew up in suburban Illinois with an amazing amount of woods in my backyard. Granted, not all of it was OUR property but with as many kids as lived in the neighborhood, everyone knew their kids were "back there somewhere." I now live in the desert, have been here 13 years, and am ready to get OUT of it. I'm one of the few here who would like to have snow to shovel! And be able to go outside in the middle of the afternoon in the middle of July without my shoes melting. Okay, they don't really but it feels like they might! Not too far north of where I live there is plenty of land, some even with a house LOL, for sale. I may push for that really hard as summer looms closer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 I don't, but I'll dream alongside you :) Thanks! Maybe our dreaming together will lead to something wonderful for both of us! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I'm on over 200 acres, surrounded by other ranches of about that size, and I have another 200+ acres of river authority land behind my property line. I grew up in remote settings. Not rural, more Island. Here is what is hard. I cannot go to church as often as I would like. It is Lent and EO has a lot of extra services, but I have to pick and choose. My kids have a lot of room to explore and play and are at an age where they want more independence. This can be scary when I consider poisonous snakes and other predators. We utilize walkie talkies. Mud and smell. Sometimes the smells are really nice though! Lupines, honeysuckle and clover. Kids activities, this is probably the hardest thing! There is a lot they can explore here, but are limited from other social activities due to how much I can drive. It can be nerve racking when an unfamiliar car comes down the drive. I would not trade it for the world. I do not miss living in a subdivision. I felt so trapped! I love having the gardens and animals, campfires any night, stargazing, wildflowers, beautiful views, nature. Mostly I love having space and privacy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) Duplicate Edited March 16, 2012 by Denisemomof4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) 28.5 acres. I feel like I live on a little piece of heaven on earth.:001_smile: I *love* my privacy. I love that we have no HOA. Country life is for us 110%. I would be miserable living in a development somewhere and I don't know what I would do with my time. We have a rescue farm. We have four llamas, a horse, a pony, a large pig, three potbellies, two ducks and chickens outside. We built our barn 10 years ago but have lived here for 15.5 years. From my driveway we have miles and miles of riding or hiking trails and are surrounded by conservation land. I couldn't be happier. We are hoping to start to plant fruit trees and expand our garden thisyear. I hope to start to regularly use my greenhouse and become quite the gardener soon. I know not everyone wants to live like this. I grew up in a development with a yard the size of a postage stamp. I could hear my neighbors talking, or fighting, at night during the summer when we all had our windows open. I remember having to close our drapes for privacy. I HATED it. The only window treatments I own now are room darkening shades and decorative valances in the bedrooms. We made many expensive mistakes along the way but we do learn as we go. Oh, I also love sitting outside on nice mornings and enjoying my coffee or tea while in pj's with bed head, resting comfortably, knowing that nobody can see me.:001_smile: Edited March 16, 2012 by Denisemomof4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasRachel Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 We have 5 acres that's cleared completely, but we're hoping to buy the neighbor's 5 that's strictly brush. We have a chicken coop and a small corral for one or two cows, though we plan on fencing an acre or so for the cows. If we buy the neighbors's we'll get goats to help clear it. We live in a small subdivision where everyone has 2-7 acres. About half is trailer homes though. We're only 3 miles from our itty bitty town, and 10 from a decent sized one, and 30 from a large one. We've learned pretty much everything as we're going. The Internet has been our friend. :001_smile: We have a tractor and a riding lawn mower. I thought the tractor was unnecessary at first, considering our small acreage, but it gets used all the time. And we've since bought an old truck Because I got tired of my van getting dirty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 We live on about ten acres give or take about 1/2 an acre. The 20 acres next door to us are owned by my mother. The 40 acres in the opposite direction are owned by my aunt and uncle (who do not live here). My best advice would be to invest in sunscreen and bugspray. The first year is culture shock. The best tip is that if you let the grass grow up too much, you will get yellow jackets. :( We're in a rural area and it's 15 miles to the nearest wal-mart (which is frequently out of items). After tornadoes came through last year, I was in shock when I went to town for minimal items and realized that due to power outage and delivery trucks not able to get to our area, there was literally little to no food. We're planning on bringing in chickens at some point this year. I currently buy eggs from a neighbor for $1 a dozen. Raising chickens is more for 'fun' rather than economics. We are thinking about goats. I couldn't slaughter anything so cows and hogs are out. The best part is the absolute stillness and quiet. I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 I'm on over 200 acres, surrounded by other ranches of about that size, and I have another 200+ acres of river authority land behind my property line. I grew up in remote settings. Not rural, more Island. Here is what is hard. I cannot go to church as often as I would like. It is Lent and EO has a lot of extra services, but I have to pick and choose. My kids have a lot of room to explore and play and are at an age where they want more independence. This can be scary when I consider poisonous snakes and other predators. We utilize walkie talkies. Mud and smell. Sometimes the smells are really nice though! Lupines, honeysuckle and clover. Kids activities, this is probably the hardest thing! There is a lot they can explore here, but are limited from other social activities due to how much I can drive. It can be nerve racking when an unfamiliar car comes down the drive. I would not trade it for the world. I do not miss living in a subdivision. I felt so trapped! I love having the gardens and animals, campfires any night, stargazing, wildflowers, beautiful views, nature. Mostly I love having space and privacy! Sounds lovely! Can I come visit for a "familiarization trip"? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 We moved last fall to a 65 acre farm. What I love? Privacy, quiet, space for the kids to run, hobbies, tractors, wildlife, space to breathe. What's challenging? Mud & burrs, it IS a lot dirtier than the city. :D Kids are still learning what they can wear in the the "yard" and what I'll scalp them for wearing. We're rethinking footwear since this is a farm, not a yard. No flip flops or open toed sandals this year. Crocs are good to a point but they won't work well for all the hiking they're already doing. Keen-like sandals for all. All the open space has gone to these former city kid's brains. They don't have common sense about safety, animal, or distances. Trying to keep it real while we are still following the learning curve on these. Bees come in two weeks and that's going to be interesting! The distance to town isn't huge but it does make you thinking about doubling up all your trips. Walmart's an hour away. I still remember the day I got there only to discover I'd forgotten my purse. :glare: My kids remember it too. I've discovered that I truly can go without instead of running to the store to get whatever I think I need. I'm doing way more freeway driving than I ever did in the city. Country neighbors are i n t e r e s t i n g. Oh my. I've tried to stay away from posting too much on this but I will say that they let their children carry 22's along the road squirrel hunting any day of the week, ride their riding mowers down down the road, wave at everyone they drive past on the road in the valley, have goats that bleat all day long loudly, .......... But we're here to stay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 And then there are those of us who DON'T live on a lot of land, but our hubbies think we do! Ha-ha! We live on 1 acre (ONE!) and have chickens, bees, a pond, a house and 2 sheds, maple trees that DH tapped for syrup, and a lovely little sledding hill. . . . and he keeps buying books and going to workshops about livestock . . . :lol: (Denise, I want to come be your friend! We're in NH, too!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 We certainly don't live on a lot of land now, but I grew up out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by god-knows-how-many acres of forests and fields. It was great up until I was about fifteen, and then it was miserable. My recommendation would be not to move somewhere like that unless you can commit to a lot of driving. I was not allowed to be in any activities, ever, because my mom didn't want to drive me fifteen minutes, and I was mad about that for a long time. I still feel like I missed out on a lot. My mom and stepdad own fifteen acres right now, and a lot of it is flat and grassy. My stepdad spends a LOT of his free time mowing. They have a massive garden, but last year they hardly got anything from it, between the alternating of heat and flooding. It's a lovely place, but because the property borders woods with several streams and ponds, the mosquitos are horrid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WistfulRidge Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Dreaming along with you - our future contains ten acres minimum. I'd love more. Lots and lots more. I need lots of room to play in - animals, gardens (vegetable, herb, orchard) etc with few signs of people. I've been stuck in an apartment for the last five and a half years and I have never been more miserable and depressed in my life. Seriously. The people noise never. ever. stops. That alone is enough to make me love any and all aspects of life in the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 When we lived in the Pacific Northwest we lived on 144 acres. Most of it was leased to farmers to hazelnuts and berries. It had two ponds. We loved it! I had two huge gardens, berries and fruit trees. We had hunting dogs and chickens. From there we moved to 25 acres that was hilly and mostly wooded with a creek running through it. I would love to live in the country again. I noticed where you live though. That is where we are now and, honestly, I would not care to have a lot of acreage here. If it was fertile land or mountains, then yes. Desert, no. You were meaning moving out of the desert, right? :D Some of the horse property around here is nice though. A little country in the city. I grew up in the midwest. The other night dh was watching the bio of some UFC fighter. He grew up in Indiana and they showed him back home on the farm. I miss that SO MUCH! I grew up on one acre and we always had a huge garden but no livestock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 We are on 5. When we move with Dh's company in June, we are hoping to at least double that. If we move by my parents, we will own about 5 acres, but the kids will have a 400+ acre stomping ground. The kids love living in the country. Love it. It takes more time and gas to go places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 I would love to live in the country again. I noticed where you live though. That is where we are now and, honestly, I would not care to have a lot of acreage here. If it was fertile land or mountains, then yes. Desert, no. You were meaning moving out of the desert, right? :D Some of the horse property around here is nice though. A little country in the city. . Yes, I want to move to Prescott or Flagstaff if we have to stay in AZ. When I first discovered you could have horses within the city limits here it surprised me! I'm not so surprised now, but I do feel the horses probably need more exercise than they get! I'm done with desert living! And to a previous poster, unlike your mom, I have NO problem driving 15 minutes or more for an activity. My husband and I used to live in southern Arizona and it took at least 90 minutes to drive anywhere for something other than grocery shopping or a movie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 We live on 23 acres and own a separate next door lot of 16 acres. We plan to sell one or the other. If we sell what we live on, we plan to build an earthship house on the 16 acres. If we sell that lot, we'll keep what we have and fix it up a little bit. Living in the country has been awesome for raising our boys. They've launched rockets in our backyard, ridden ponies all over, and built forts. We have our own campsite next to a gorgeous creek. We have a 1 acre stocked pond and a nice sized garden as well as fenced pastures for our critters. Deer, herons, and even "our own" pair of Bald Eagles live here too (though the Bald Eagle nest is on a neighboring property). It's quiet and there's no traffic, but we're just 8 minutes from school (where I work), groceries, the post office, the bank and a hardware store. Homeschooling in our school district is easy. Getting to Wally World and other shopping/dining takes 15 minutes. Our neighbors are awesome. There are many other pros I could keep rattling off I suppose. Cons? The upkeep. It will keep you busy and it will cost $$. The house we are living in now can use some repairs we just can't afford right now. The outbuildings could use painting, etc. The pros far outweigh the cons to me, but as my boys are growing up and moving out, we're losing our field hands... hence, selling one or the other. I do not AT ALL regret having lived here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) Yes, I want to move to Prescott or Flagstaff if we have to stay in AZ. When I first discovered you could have horses within the city limits here it surprised me! I'm not so surprised now, but I do feel the horses probably need more exercise than they get! I'm done with desert living! And to a previous poster, unlike your mom, I have NO problem driving 15 minutes or more for an activity. My husband and I used to live in southern Arizona and it took at least 90 minutes to drive anywhere for something other than grocery shopping or a movie! My mom lives on some acreage in Prescott. In fact she is getting a couple alpacas next month. She owns an art gallery on the square called Artrageous. ;) I still consider Prescott desert, just high desert. ;) .....but I really miss the mountains! Edited March 16, 2012 by simka2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 We certainly don't live on a lot of land now, but I grew up out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by god-knows-how-many acres of forests and fields. It was great up until I was about fifteen, and then it was miserable. My recommendation would be not to move somewhere like that unless you can commit to a lot of driving. I was not allowed to be in any activities, ever, because my mom didn't want to drive me fifteen minutes, and I was mad about that for a long time. I still feel like I missed out on a lot. My mom and stepdad own fifteen acres right now, and a lot of it is flat and grassy. My stepdad spends a LOT of his free time mowing. They have a massive garden, but last year they hardly got anything from it, between the alternating of heat and flooding. It's a lovely place, but because the property borders woods with several streams and ponds, the mosquitos are horrid. Amen, the driving! I'm so thankful there's a YMCA nearer than Walmart. We pick their activities based on how many kids we can get scheduled at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I am thinking you need to define lots of acreage To me that would be well over 100 acres. I am living on 10 acres, and trying to live self-sufficient. We dream of living on lots of acreage one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Our new house will have 26 acres. (If we can get a closing date!) I grew up at my grandparent's house, and they owned about 250 acres. Most of it was rented out to farmers for pasture or corn, but we spent a lot of time getting dirty when I was a kid. I'm trying to work back up to that amount of land, but it's an expensive proposition for what is basically a hobby. Unfortunately, my grandparents have both passed away and only about 100 acres of the property is still undeveloped. I'd love to buy that land, but I couldn't pay what the remaining partner is getting for two lots, let alone the whole remainder. Right now we are on a 1/2 acre lot with about 3 dozen poultry (chickens, turkeys, ducks). We have rabbits. We have a garden. We have lots of semi-dwarf fruit trees and berry bushes. We used to raise two different kinds of quail. Bees and a pair of milking goats were on our list for the next year if we were staying here. We still would have had a good area for the kids to run and play on their swingset. It is amazing how much you can do on smaller pieces of property if you don't have too many obstacles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 We have a total of 110 acres - 60 acres of our own, 30 acres of my parents, and 20 acres of my sister's. All are adjoining. I absolutely love it. We are 7 minutes to town, have neighbors we can see but not really hear (or perhaps it's better that they don't hear us :)), and my dh's office manager runs cattle on the property so the upkeep is easy and we get beef inexpensively (and know what it has been fed). We have a about half/half woods and pasture, 3 ponds (2 with fish). It's absolutely beautiful out here - the stars are so much brighter than when we lived in town, it smells much fresher (or at least "organic" with the cattle), and we never need to go to the park because our place is nicer than any park in town :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I'm chuckling a bit at this post because in our area you may not ask someone how many acres they have. It's like asking them what their bank balance is. Of course all the ranchers know about how many acres the others have but you don't talk about it. But don't worry about asking. We live on a lot of acres since we are cattle ranchers. The worse thing to me is that our church is far away. There are churches close, but since we are reformed we drive three hours every Sunday back and forth. We have a Walmart 17 miles away that's where we get groceries. The next worst thing is that we have to do a lot of driving. Parts, vet meds, more parts, more cattle stuff, kids driving to college classes or living too far away. I love looking out my front door and seeing no neighbors. We are fairly isolated but I like it. The kids can not only roam on foot but they can and do frequently leave on horseback. We aren't far enough out that winter roads are a problem. I can keep all the chickens I want........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma H Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 We just moved from 80 acres in Colorado. We are now on 38 acres in Missouri. We love living on land. We usually have atv's, animals of all kinds, big garden, quiet and privacy. Here we have three ponds, about 20 acres of woods and about 8 acres of more or less open. It can be a lot of work keeping up with noxious weeds (Colorado) and brush hogging (Missouri) but it is very worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 I live on a little over 10 acres. I grew up on a fairly large working farm so it is a dream come true to have my own small acreage. I have a gardens, fruit trees, and chickens during the summer. We moved her a bit over a year ago and hope to grow/raise more as time goes on. I love it! I love the privacy. I love raising my own food. I love that my kids can roam the land, feed the chickens, plant their own garden, and so much more. I love everything about it, but it is not for everybody. I know people who bought their "dream house" on some acreage and absolutely hate it. They hate not being able to just run to the store, take their kids to the park, etc. Of course this varies depending on where you live. If you want livestock, you will say no to a lot of other things. You can assume vacations will be rare if not impossible. There are certain things I am giving up, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqr Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 I'm chuckling a bit at this post because in our area you may not ask someone how many acres they have. It's like asking them what their bank balance is. . Just what I was thinking. The other thing is to define a LOT. In places I have lived that would be 3 in others it would be well over 3,000. Ask an Australian from the cattle stations to define "a LOT" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 I am thinking you need to define lots of acreage To me that would be well over 100 acres. I am living on 10 acres, and trying to live self-sufficient. We dream of living on lots of acreage one day. :iagree: I feel greedy when I think my 28.5 acres is a small lot. I have learned, however, that WHERE you live defines LOTS of acreage. In New England I own a LOOOOOOT of acreage. TX? no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 Let me clarify: "a lot" to me is 10 or more. 1-5 is nice but I miss having SPACE. And I'm really tired of living in the city where I have to drive to an open space (park) where my kids can play, instead of just sending them out the door. I'm also tired, seriously, of the "convenience" of being able to dash to the store or a fast food restaurant. It is way too tempting to do so, instead of planning and sticking with those plans of healthy mieals for my family. But I don't just want prairie, I want woods, too! Hope that helps some of you see where I'm coming from! As for vacations, we don't really take any now, so that would not be a big adjustment. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Not only do you not ask number of acres, you don't ask how many cattle. Of course, anyone who wants to figure it out can drive past the bull pasture, count bulls and multiply by 25... Not at our place, we only run steers. If I caught someone counting our cattle I'd probably run them off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Just what I was thinking. The other thing is to define a LOT. In places I have lived that would be 3 in others it would be well over 3,000. Ask an Australian from the cattle stations to define "a LOT" They don't measure in acres, but in kilometers, or hours of driving, as in the driveway is 1 hour long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqr Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Now this is a LOT of land. 121,000 acres in TX http://www.landwatch.com/Val-Verde-County-Texas-Farms-and-Ranches-for-sale/pid/200010991 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudboots Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 DH used to search landwatch all the time. He said some of the big chunks are owned by Ted Turner. I'm chuckling a bit at this post because in our area you may not ask someone how many acres they have. It's like asking them what their bank balance is. It's somewhat that way here, maybe a little less so because we're near a city. People have asked us. We fall within the range of what's been posted already. The main thing I don't like is that my friends have to drive a long way if I invite them for a visit. I also don't like my kids wandering off where I can't see them. And right now I'm bummed that we're spending a large proportion of our budget on outdoor things (like cattle - anyone is free to count all six of ours). I love the space around us. I love being able to live off the land if we choose. I love my kids being able to run a long way. I love our rural, friendly neighbors. So far, the good outweighs the bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 We have 7.23 acres, and we live about 5 miles from the nearest town. Our property is situated well off the road, so we have a lot of privacy. We love it! We have a small pond (about 3/4 acre), and just today, dh & I rode down there on the 4-wheeler to watch the fish just enjoy the peace and quiet. We regularly see lots of wildlife, including deer, foxes, hawks, woodpeckers, and, of course, squirrels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 Now this is a LOT of land. 121,000 acres in TX http://www.landwatch.com/Val-Verde-County-Texas-Farms-and-Ranches-for-sale/pid/200010991 WOW! Thank you for posting this link! I SO miss being able to traipse through rivers and woods and creeks! Dear God, can I please win the Power Ball tomorrow?:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74Heaven Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 We live on 20 acres, all forest land except for the 1/2 acre or so around the house. We love everything about it, except the driving can be tiring and it limits activities as we have to figure in time and gas... In addition to what everyone else said, I also like that I can go for a hike or a walk just about any time of day and not see more than 1-2 cars - usually 0. No people usually either. We live on a dirt road so that helps keep traffic down. We just have the rabbits, chickens, cat, dog variety of animals. We mostly are here for the beauty, open space and peace and quiet. We have gardened on and off but we started with unimproved land so most of our money and effort has went into putting in lawn and finishing the basement, outbuildings, etc. Keep dreaming. It is well worth the hard work and cost. lisaj, mom to 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 We live on a lot of acres since we are cattle ranchers. The worse thing to me is that our church is far away. There are churches close, but since we are reformed we drive three hours every Sunday back and forth. We have a Walmart 17 miles away that's where we get groceries. The next worst thing is that we have to do a lot of driving. Parts, vet meds, more parts, more cattle stuff, kids driving to college classes or living too far away. :lol: I read the bolded above as 'have reformed', not "are reformed". ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 WOW! Thank you for posting this link! I SO miss being able to traipse through rivers and woods and creeks! Dear God, can I please win the Power Ball tomorrow?:D Are you familiar with that part of TX? I would give up a LOT of land to not live there. Now this would be something I'd drool over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 We have three acres, which isn't much. What people tend not to think about is that land usually can't be just left. If we don't mow our field, the grass grows, flops over and gets slimy. Then the grass doesn't grow properly the next year and it looks a mess. Similarly, we have an acre of trees (mostly sycamore and larch). We use the wood for firewood. We get branches and whole trees that come down each year. Sometimes these fall across the drive, or into the road, or threaten the telephone or electricity wires. So Husband has learned to use a chainsaw. One day, after a high wind, he had to chainsaw his way down the drive and we heaved huge branches out of the way, so I could go and collect the boys from school. And the woods are all the same age, so we had to replant one section, and will be transplanting a lot into the other section. So it's a fair bit of work, one way and another, and we don't have livestock. We enjoy it, but it's good to be warned. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Sigh, I'll dream with you. We hope to secure 20+ acres one day, soon, God willing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 We have close to 19 acres and I love it! Most of our land is wooded but the area arond our house and a small orchard are cleared. It does require upkeep and I would definitely recommend that you take care not to bit off more than you can chew so to speak. Clear gradually and add gardening and/or livestock projects at a manageable rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 We just moved to a 15 acre farm from living in the suburbs or city for most of my adult life. I love it. BUT, I grew up in a place that you couldn't even SEE another house. It was seriously in the boonies. My dh grew up on 13 acres. So we are used to it. If you have over a couple of acres, be prepared for work. The land needs upkeep constantly, or you'll be living in the middle of a mess. You'll need some way of mowing fields if you have them. Fences and barns for animals need constant maintenance. Animal care is messy and unpredictable. So is gardening..lol. But I wouldn't trade it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 We have 5 acres so certainly not a lot. Others have mentioned a lot of things to think about---driving distances, upkeep of the land, etc. I would also mention to check the zoning....not only for what YOU want to do with the land but what the neigbors could do with their land.....I can vary a great deal just across township lines so one side of the street might be able to ...........while the other side can't. Also, check out the neighbors and do NOT depend on the neighbors for YOUR privacy. We ran into that here where we bought 5 acres and cut down about 3 of it for our horse barn and horse pasture. Well, the neighbor next door/behind us (he has a corner lot) is not happy as HE cut down all of his trees right to the lot line and then when we cut down ours, he lost his "in the woods" privacy. Actually, we were kind and left up about 40 feet between our pastures and the lot line but it isn't as private as before. All that to say, look at the lot lines and where the house is/will be and think of what would happen if the neighbors cut down all the trees to the lot line or put in a subdivision or built a ................... While it is great for us to have the freedom to have 4 horses, 3 cats, a dog and some chickens on our lot, the same freedom means that our neighbors could buy 100 pigs this afternoon and 50 turkeys if they wanted. Oh, and the smell if you are in a farming area........just don't complain about the manure smells. That is just a fact of farming/rural life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmmiSays Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 I always wanted to know if you have 20 or more acres, do you do a daily or weekly ride through to make sure there isn't anyone on your property? I mean how do you secure it? I would love to have land but I am so paranoid, plus I am constantly thinking about snakes and spiders.....Can you tell I am suburb girl? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 43 acres. lots of cows. Don't get any animals until you KNOW that the fences are secure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 I always wanted to know if you have 20 or more acres, do you do a daily or weekly ride through to make sure there isn't anyone on your property? I mean how do you secure it? I would love to have land but I am so paranoid, plus I am constantly thinking about snakes and spiders.....Can you tell I am suburb girl? :D we have a a dog. and really there is nothing back there that anyone wants to mess with, I an sure in other areas this might be a problem (have a friend that has neighbor kids that cut his barbed wire fence to ride 4 wheelers through it) but not here. Honestly, although it sounds huge to suburb dwellers, we don;t think it is all that big. In fact we'd love to buy more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiveOaksAcademy Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Are you familiar with that part of TX? I would give up a LOT of land to not live there. . :iagree: I know that part of TX. I grew up near there. It is the armpit of the world. I wouldn't want any of it, thank you very much!! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellers Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 We have 20 acres. I wish we had 100+ acres but in California that's not going to happen. Right now we have: 1 horse 1 llama 2 miniature donkeys 1 dwarf Nigerian goat 1 bunny A bunch of bantam chickens A bunch of chickens 5 dogs In the past we've had hogs, steer, and more horses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.