mudboots 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 know most of the neighbors within 2 to 3 miles. We're not worried about the neighbors wandering onto the property. (One of them called to ask permission first - we didn't care.) If anything is amiss, the neighbors call. They know we worry about our dogs, who can't be trusted to run loose, so they called when one ran off to their property. We are trying to clear out some poison ivy - yuck. And I think we have water moccasins - double yuck. The water is a good distance from the house, with fences between, so the snakes aren't a daily worry. As for spiders, most outdoor varieties here are relatively harmless. Really, raccoons, coyotes, foxes, and even skunks are the biggest nuisances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pehp Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Our home is on 1.25 acres, but my grandparents own the large farm we live on--they've sold off some of it, but it's still about 60 acres, I think. They raise Angus cattle. We raise children. ;) Eventually we hope to own a larger portion of the land here. We will not do livestock, but will continue to have a nice, big garden. We will probably do walking trails/running trails on part of it, and grow grapes, possibly for sale to local wineries (we'll see--that may be pipe dream territory!!) Advice? Be realistic. For instance, we are NOT at a point in life where we could possibly handle large land ownership--our children are so small, and my husband has a long commute and a demanding, wonderful job. Eventually we want to own more, but it will have to mature with our children. There are so many pluses to rural life--I LOVE not having close neighbors. My kids can be outside and I don't worry about anything, ever. We have few neighbors. Our yard isn't fenced-in, so they have to be supervised.....otherwise they could wander off!! or get into the cow pasture or pond!!....but I don't worry about human threats, if you will. Snakes don't scare me, we had encounters with copperheads when I was a child growing up in the country (my son knows not to touch or mess with a snake, and he knows to get me if he sees a glossy black spider.....). I don't worry about that--we keep our yard very cut/nicely-kept and we have three outdoor cats and an inside/outside dog and I think they cut down on the snake population. I really don't worry about anything. I love the quiet. I love the spring peepers. I love not being part of a homeowners association. I love my autonomy. I love our garden. I love drinking coffee and watching the sun rise over the mountains, taking walks down the lane and knowing the 'scariest' thing I might encounter is a coyote or bear (and I've never encountered either here, though they are here). I just love, love it here. Minuses--it takes 25 minutes one-way to get to church. We are fairly close to the grocery store, but most outings are a 'hike.' There's no Target 5 minutes away!!! Convenience.....that's kind of an issue. Also, there are no playmates around. For me, I wouldn't want to have to mow or bushog (sp?) more than about 2 acres. I like our yard, but it's big enough! My in-laws have something like 5 acres and try to keep it totally pristine. It is a ton of work and expense. I say....let the dandelions flourish, just keep the grass cut! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 17, 2012 Author 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. Now this would be something I'd drool over. First, why do you not like the part of TX you showed me the first time? Second, I liked the first selection better. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 :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: Well,the pictures I saw were beautiful! Why do you call it "the armpit of the world"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear 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. 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........ I'm chuckling too, but for a different reason. Here, it's okay to ask. We don't have a lot, even for here, but it's still considered a chunk of land---just over 3 acres!! :lol: We do live close to town, though. One downside--we have woods and our land backs up onto a 600+ acre park (more woods). Kids have had Lyme disease more than once. Boo.:crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 have 56 we had planned to build on down the road. We have done chickens, dairy goats, horses, sheep, gardening, etc. Now that our kids are grown and mostly gone, we have pretty much gotten out of all of it (except gardening). We still have our horse but it lives on my sister's 160 acres. We do pick up strays, so we still have dogs and cats. Dh loves golf and now talks of moving to a golf course instead of our 56 acres. I don't know where we will wind up, but I think there are pros and cons to any choice you make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 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 No, we can see pretty much all of our acreage (23 + a 16 acre lot) from our house and/or at the top of a small hill. We're also in an area where almost everyone has acreage - they are our neighbors. It's not a place for squatters. There are snakes (no poisonous ones) and spiders, but patrolling isn't going to affect them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 You all have given me a lot to think about. I dream of living on, or at least being able to traipse across, vast expanses of land. May be an indication of "feeling stuck right now" or something. Anyway, I think I may look into starting with 9 or 10 acres and go from there. (I'd still like my questions about that TX property to be answered, though. ;) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) First, why do you not like the part of TX you showed me the first time? Second, I liked the first selection better. ;) I will bet you money the only water on the whole 120,000 acres is what you saw in the pics. That is the desert down there. The trees you see from a distance are most likely mesquite and salt cedar that are absolutely sucking all the water from the land. Not much will grow out there as far as gardening. The second property was in central TX which, under normal circumstances, is lush, green, gorgeous. The flowers in the springtime are overwhelming. You've got huge live oaks that have been there for ages - it is just beautiful. There is a stark beauty in the first - but dry, wind, heat - yuck. ETA: There's a good reason why there aren't any towns of any significant size west of San Angelo in TX. And San Angelo isn't big. My parents live off the caprock near Lubbock and it is beautiful to visit. They have 35 acres and they love it. They're surrounded by BIG ranches (Matador Ranch, 6666 ranch, Pitchfork)- cattle and horses outnumber people by thousands to one. It it takes a special kind of soul to live in areas like that. Edited March 18, 2012 by TXMomof4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellers Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 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 can see everything from our house. My kids ride quads all over, but we really only ride though to check fences. Our fences have seen better days. In the Spring we do have problems with hot air ballon companies landing on our property without permission. We have rattle snakes here. They live in this region so even people in town could see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 I will bet you money the only water on the whole 120,000 acres is what you saw in the pics. That is the desert down there. The trees you see from a distance are most likely mesquite and salt cedar that are absolutely sucking all the water from the land. Not much will grow out there as far as gardening. The second property was in central TX which, under normal circumstances, is lush, green, gorgeous. The flowers in the springtime are overwhelming. You've got huge live oaks that have been there for ages - it is just beautiful. There is a stark beauty in the first - but dry, wind, heat - yuck. ETA: There's a good reason why there aren't any towns of any significant size west of San Angelo in TX. And San Angelo isn't big. My parents live off the caprock near Lubbock and it is beautiful to visit. They have 35 acres and they love it. They're surrounded by BIG ranches (Matador Ranch, 6666 ranch, Pitchfork)- cattle and horses outnumber people by thousands to one. It it takes a special kind of soul to live in areas like that. Good to know about the first property. Although it sounds a bit like where I live right now, only greener!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmmiSays Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 It does sound wonderful to have so much land and a sense of freedom. Maybe I could get over my fears if I could convince my family and my husband's entire family to move with us and get alot of dogs and 4 wheelers to ride around to patrol.....:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillieBoy Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 We have twenty acres, but around here that is like track housing in the suburbs. We love it and wouldn’t trade it for anything. About ¾ is treed with Douglas Fir, Pine and Tamarack (Larch), a half acre around the house for yard and flower beds, one acre in vegetable garden, one acre in orchard, and the three in pasture, corral, and barn areas. We are mostly surrounded by BLM and Timberland so our nearest neighbor is a ½ mile away. We are between two small towns, and by small, I mean populations less than 500. I suppose some would say a major drawback would be the driving distance for shopping. Our big city is an hour away and I shop once a month. Of course, you have to plan, be frugal, be organized, and want to operate like this. Wildlife is both a blessing and a pain in the butt. For instance, last week a pregnant moose decided to block our driveway for two days. Would not move AT ALL! Some civil services can be sporadic like police and fire. We are prepared for all types of emergencies up here. Also with more land is more expense for the upkeep. Fencing, driveway repair, plowing, and outbuilding maintenance can get expensive, especially if you are not a do-it-your-selfer. All that said, the pros totally outweigh any cons. We are 80% self-sufficient. (We’d be more, but we lease ten acres for hay and grain). Our daughter is very versed in survival situations, vetting, foraging, organic gardening, livestock husbandry, food preservation, and home economics. Her back yard is nature. Last week my Dh woke us up at 3AM to bundle up and lay out on the deck where watched a spectacular Northern Light show. Nope, wouldn’t trade it for the world. Homeschooling and homesteading go hand in hand in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Good to know about the first property. Although it sounds a bit like where I live right now, only greener!:D Well, I guess a desert is a desert. ;) After the drought the last year I bet it's not quite so green anymore though. It is just depressing in TX - there wasn't enough rain last year so none of the flowers are blooming. It's just brown, brown, and more brown. Add the wind and I understand why people went nuts during the Dustbowl. I didn't know what I was missing growing up, but having spent time in the DFW area and now in GA I'm realizing that spring is actually a beautiful time of year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 We live on a small piece of land, about 5 acres here. I posted previously about longing for more but we are really content here. We are surrounded my national forest and also have some forest on the property as well. I think it is helpful to consider a lot of things. Location is one thing. Cost of buying, cost of upkeep, what do you want do on the land? We can reasonably do most everything we want to do and have a very small debt(soon to be paid off) and not too much upkeep. We have rabbits now and have gardened on a small scale off and on. We have an orchard, that will hopefully produce the first time this year. We have bees ordered and plans for chickens this spring. It takes us 15-25 minutes to get to "town", that isn't a lot for around here. We pick and choose, I'd do that regardless though. I lived more isolated than this even, my parents had 30 acres. There were times I wished to be out more but loved being in the woods and such even more and so did my brother. It can be easy to just dream without being realistic though. I would make a list of wants and needs. What can you afford? How much time do you have or want to devote to various things? How important is having a town or city close by? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 In the Spring we do have problems with hot air ballon companies landing on our property without permission. . BB gun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 BB gun? :eek::lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgilli3 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 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" WE are soon to be on 12- which in the Australian country side, isnt really a lot ( I grew up on large dairy farms, so 12 acres is nothing...lol) Australias largest farm is Anna Creek- it is 6,000,000 acres ( or about 24,000 km2) The family who own Anna Creek ( the Kidmans) own many properties- running about 200,000 cattle over 110,000 km2 Now THAT is a lot of land! http://www.kidman.com.au/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 BB gun? You are SO bad! But, I have to admit, this did make me chuckle! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellers Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 BB gun? A big ranch owner up the road had the same problem and actually parked his backhoe on top of the deflated hot air balloon. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Shellers, did they get the message?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Well, perhaps once we get all the repairs done where we live now (in a townhome) the opportunity to move to a house on some LAND will present itself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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