Rural Living, Self Sustainment, No Urban Weirdos, and such...

[filthy_liar]

I've heard (read) a few folks on here say that they live in a rural setting or are thinking about living "out here."  With all of the woke craziness going on, and more and more males in the world not really capable of accomplishing much in the way of taking care of themselves without relying on everyone else to do everything for them, I was wondering...how many of you live "out here."

I wanted to live in a rural setting pretty much the entire time I was in the military, but didn't manage to pull it off.  As soon as I retired, I fled the city.  Life is a billion times better.  Still have to go into the city everyday, but coming home to a rural setting is about as good as it gets.  

The reason I started this thread, is that most people that I talk to when I describe where I live and what I do day to day, and everyone that comes out here - says wow, I wish I had that.  Maybe they are just being nice, dunno.  But I actually love living like this.  A lot of they guys I ran around with in the military live like this since they retired.

Maybe some more of you who live out of the city, are somewhat self reliant, and can do things for yourselves can add to this.

[di1630]

What are your family demographics and how “rural” do you call rural?

I live in the suburbs in a planned community but I also have a rural farm I spend time at. My kids have parks, neighbor kids their age and a pool to access and top notch schools.

I grew up on a farm, 7 miles from a small town which was 30 miles from a medium city. Loved it but it has changed in the 20+ years.

There are pluses and minuses in regards to schools, social outlets and activities.

I take my kids from the city to the farm as much as I can to let them experience the freedoms of rural living and I may move there full time eventually.

Not yet though.



Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

[Tonka]

I think the Military is unique in that we move so much that we experience so many different, mostly sub-urban like, environments.  By statistics alone you are almost guaranteed to have at least 1 bad experience with a neighbor, neighborhood, or local-government (even if that is the base-governing body)...

and that is exacerbated by some of the people we have to interact with in the military, unfortunately they tend to be more likely in the "jobs-program" roles... the only logical conclusion is that a decent portion of people are arrogant, greedy, incompetent, and/or idiots... let's call them "deplorables" (not meant to be a political swipe, just a good re-use of that term).

Contrast that with some of the most dedicated, selflessly, honorable people that IMHO we get to interact with more in the military then many other professions (I'd imagine other professions, like firefighters, also share those attributes)...

the only statistically feasible option then is to move away from dense populations to limit your exposure to the total number of deplorables, while maintaining the potential to interact with the more honorable people... I'm sure you still have similar ratios in the rural communities, but lowering the denominator also lowers the numerator.  I'm not saying that ratio is high per se, I bet it is lower than we think it is, however the deplorables have such an impact on those they interact with that you feel like it is more than it really is, and thus we try to avoid it like the plague (pun intended).

Obviously this is one motivation and one technique to overcome... there are many other motivations (enjoying hunting, outdoor stuff), and other techniques to overcome the deplorable ratio (live like a hermit or start getting involved with organizations to call our their B.S. and expose them)... YMMV

[FLEA]

I grew up in a blend between rural and suburbs. I won't go back. While self sufficiency is great and I certainly appreciate the skills I got having to be self dependent, the fact is rural life is extraordinarily isolating; and human beings are meant to be social creatures. People just aren't motivated to drive 30 minutes out to your house to hang out with you. Making a 30 minute drive to town to hang out with other people is a struggle and eliminates certain activities (read alcohol) from enjoyment. No neighbors, no community, nothing to do. Its honestly boring to me. 

I guess the point is, its really just what you prefer. I love being able to walk out my front door and simply walk to restaurants, bars, nightclubs, etc... and never have to worry about getting into car. I love having a 10 minute commute (if that). I love how my neighbors just mingle on the rooftop balconies and chat for hours while sipping a beer. I love that when I call off work sick and can't leave the house neighbors bring me by soup, or magazines. When you have some self sufficiency sills, this helps even more as neighbors learn they can ask you for advice if they want to patch a wall, or retile a floor. 

I think everyone has the cabin in the woods dream, with the cozy fire, and not a neighbor in sight for miles. For me though, that's an awesome vacation. Wouldn't want to live that lifestyle. 

Edited December 20, 2020 by FLEA

[Sua Sponte]

I grew up in Wyoming, stationed at Altus, and now live outside of Denver. I like not directly living in the city. I also like the ability to be by most things I need within 20-30 minutes and not having to drive 100+ mile round trip to get there.

Edited December 20, 2020 by Sua Sponte

[brabus]

On 11/30/2020 at 9:06 PM, filthy_liar said:

more and more males in the world not really capable of accomplishing much in the way of taking care of themselves without relying on everyone else to do everything for them,

As a self-sufficient man who lives semi-rural, I’ll say while this statement does certainly describe probably a lot of helpless men nowadays, I do think there are plenty of dudes who live in suburbia/the city who, if forced into the position, could easily learn many of the things you and I do on a normal basis. It’s not necessarily hard to run chainsaws and log your own property, drive a tractor, hunt/garden, or do basic home repairs, you just need somebody to teach you/offer helpful tips. My optimism says more people would be in the teachable group than the totally fucked group.

[jazzdude]

It’s not necessarily hard to run chainsaws and log your own property, drive a tractor, hunt/garden, or do basic home repairs, you just need somebody to teach you/offer helpful tips. My optimism says more people would be in the teachable group than the totally ed group.

Throw in the resources available online (videos, how-to blogs/websites, etc), and I think many people could figure out many skills that are taken for granted pretty quickly if they were put in a position to need those skills.

Assuming internet is still available when those skills are needed...But even then, people can be pretty creative and resourceful.

[LJDRVR]

I don't mind urban living at all. When I was on close to the beach in SoCal, I could ride my bike to just about anything I wanted and was a short drive or medium run from the mountains.

I'm in the suburbs of the Pacific Northwest right now. Weird choice as the kids are grown, but mostly because we wanted a new house and because my wife wanted some sense of community and support when I was at work.

I'd live rural if I was single. Then it'd be me on a cot in my hangar full of airplanes. And a dog.

Truthfully, all of it sounds good to me. I'd be happy anywhere. The only place I couldn't abide is Manhattan. That having been said, I love visiting it. Particularly for the bookstores and Central Park.

 

[filthy_liar]

Ok.  Thank you for your replies.  I like living out here.  It's interesting every day.  And for Flea, sorry, I traded in the Maserati for...a '21 Maserati.  It's a big'in.  Lots of hp.  On a second note, I'm digging a pond.  Anyone have any experience in that? It's probably going to be about an acre.

[SocialD]

I grew up in a ridiculously small town in the midwest.  I graduated with 35 kids and said, "the keg is on the bean planter," way too many times, kind of rural. 🤣  My parents and sisters still live there, and while there are many great things about it, I just find it way too boring for my taste.  As rural as I'm looking for these days, is a house on a lake that is within 30-45 of the city, and has tons of houses/neighborhoods. 

 

I currently live in a townhome on the edge of a medium sized city and I have become accustomed having everything close.  I love that I have tons of neighbors who are always outside on the patio, fishing in the lake or jumping on 1 of the 2 running/bike trails that pass through my development.  Beers on the back porch with my neighbors has created many a new friendship.  A 5 min Uber to the bars/restaurants is great, as is the 5 minute drive to the grocery/hardware store.  I also love that when I get home from an airline trip in the winter, my driveway is already plowed...I shoveled enough driveways in my youth to know I can do it.  Maybe when I'm that old "get off my lawn" type of guy, I'll change my mind. 

 

[brabus]

On 12/21/2020 at 2:10 AM, filthy_liar said:

On a second note, I'm digging a pond.  Anyone have any experience in that?

Talk to people in your area, as the composition of the soil is going to matter. Pond liner is a good idea, and make sure you have a good plan for the spillway/outflow. Our pond uses schedule 80 PVC (the green pipe); no spill way, just a horizontal pipe running through an embankment and out to a creek. Have a plan for how you will cap that horizontal pipe, considering future access for draining or repairs (I fucked that one away and 85% of my pond drained undesirably this summer...I blame the beaver, who got what was coming to him...) Do you have a good source of water (spring, creek, etc.) and is it continuous flow or seasonal? Depth matters depending on climate, will you stock with fish, etc.

[FLEA]

10 hours ago, SocialD said:

I grew up in a ridiculously small town in the midwest.  I graduated with 35 kids and said, "the keg is on the bean planter," way too many times, kind of rural. 🤣  My parents and sisters still live there, and while there are many great things about it, I just find it way too boring for my taste.  As rural as I'm looking for these days, is a house on a lake that is within 30-45 of the city, and has tons of houses/neighborhoods. 

 

I currently live in a townhome on the edge of a medium sized city and I have become accustomed having everything close.  I love that I have tons of neighbors who are always outside on the patio, fishing in the lake or jumping on 1 of the 2 running/bike trails that pass through my development.  Beers on the back porch with my neighbors has created many a new friendship.  A 5 min Uber to the bars/restaurants is great, as is the 5 minute drive to the grocery/hardware store.  I also love that when I get home from an airline trip in the winter, my driveway is already plowed...I shoveled enough driveways in my youth to know I can do it.  Maybe when I'm that old "get off my lawn" type of guy, I'll change my mind. 

 

I think one of the great things about the AF is I've lived everywhere from South Dakota to downtown Seoul. Really helps illuminate different lifestyles for you and set expectations on what you want in life. I'll probably be getting out after this tour, bit the expereince definitely made me recognize I want a city with good access to the outdoors. Something like Seattle is perfect for this. Then I can have the best of both worlds. Sip coffee in pioneer square on Monday, do some tent camping in the cascades on the weekend. 

[herkbum]

I think one of the great things about the AF is I've lived everywhere from South Dakota to downtown Seoul. Really helps illuminate different lifestyles for you and set expectations on what you want in life. I'll probably be getting out after this tour, bit the expereince definitely made me recognize I want a city with good access to the outdoors. Something like Seattle is perfect for this. Then I can have the best of both worlds. Sip coffee in pioneer square on Monday, do some tent camping in the cascades on the weekend. 

Sounds like Knoxville, TN. Tons of lakes, the Smoky Mountains with the App Trail all within 45 mins of downtown.


Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

[Prozac]

12 hours ago, FLEA said:

I think one of the great things about the AF is I've lived everywhere from South Dakota to downtown Seoul. Really helps illuminate different lifestyles for you and set expectations on what you want in life. I'll probably be getting out after this tour, bit the expereince definitely made me recognize I want a city with good access to the outdoors. Something like Seattle is perfect for this. Then I can have the best of both worlds. Sip coffee in pioneer square on Monday, do some tent camping in the cascades on the weekend. 

I live in the Seattle area and am only being partially tongue in cheek when I say that tent camping seems to be more popular in Pioneer Square than the Cascades these days and vice-versa for coffee drinking. 😝 In all honesty though Seattle still has a lot going for it as do any number of surrounding communities. Come on up. The water’s warm (a balmy 50F in July)!

[hindsight2020]

On 12/23/2020 at 5:52 PM, herkbum said:

 

Sounds like Knoxville, TN. Tons of lakes, the Smoky Mountains with the App Trail all within 45 mins of downtown.


Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

 

Word. Eastern TN has recently popped up in our radar for potential post .mil and empty nester relocation. Wife is sick and tired of the sprawl here in metro TX but I'm still probably gonna have to do about 10 years of a-word work after mil retirement to get me to the finish line, so we want to retain no income tax residency like we currently enjoy. Chattanooga is a primary POI for me right now.

[herkbum]

Word. Eastern TN has recently popped up in our radar for potential post .mil and empty nester relocation. Wife is sick and tired of the sprawl here in metro TX but I'm still probably gonna have to do about 10 years of a-word work after mil retirement to get me to the finish line, so we want to retain no income tax residency like we currently enjoy. Chattanooga is a primary POI for me right now.

Chattanooga is up and coming. My brother has lived in the area for about 17 years. We moved to Knoxville last spring and we love it. I’m retiring in April and we are staying right here. And we have our first white Christmas in over 10 years, the mountains will be beautiful tomorrow when the sun comes up.


Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

[herkbum]

[mention=1838]herkbum[/mention] and [mention=1929]hindsight2020[/mention] don't be afraid to look at the western NC side as well. Asheville offers unique amenities (and people watching). Housing is expensive right around AVL, but the surrounding area still holds remote and and affordable patches of land, the views are hard to beat and the golf is top notch.
Chattanooga is a great spot though, and TN offers certain tax/living advantages.

Thx. We’ll drive over to visit, but we’re staying in Knoxville until my kids are out of school.


Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

[Sim]

Is there any suggested / recommended reading materials regarding homestead to increase GK about said topic? 

 

 

[brabus]

Google/YouTube...seriously. Guess it depends specifically on what you’re after, as “homesteading” is a very broad term that can mean a lot of things to different people. 

[FLEA]

1 hour ago, brabus said:

Google/YouTube...seriously. Guess it depends specifically on what you’re after, as “homesteading” is a very broad term that can mean a lot of things to different people. 

Just watch every video this guy ever did: 

 

[Sim]

4 hours ago, brabus said:

YouTube...seriously.

I've been following few channels. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/growinginfaithfarm  

Guy living off-grid. Currently building log cabin for his mom. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi8jM5w49UezskDWBGyKq5g

Guy growing sheep and cows. 

https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinRhodesVlog

Family moved to a farm and growing things

50 years off grid - just one video, but amazing.

Joel Salatin's stuff is always great. 

 

Anyhow, youtube goes only so far. 

For the starters, how to buy land, where to search, negotiate price, jurisdictions (ei do I need inspects when building or anything goes?) how to get water rights. etc. 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2020 by Sim
added video

[brabus]

All of that varies greatly by state. Typically it is harder to finance land than a house; you’ll either have a high rate, will have to put down a significant amount, or likely both. The best way (in my opinion) is find land you want, then buy it/start build immediately with a construction loan - construction finished = wrap it all up into a traditional loan. As always, paying cash is the easiest way.

If you go just land (with intent to build in the future), then definitely get a geological survey done and make sure you can build a septic (does soil support a septic, and which kind...leech field or mound system)? What about a well (what is the water table depth? More depth = more $...estimated flow rate?), can you run power to the site, is a road/driveway already in or will you have to factor that excavation into the budget, etc. With all these things, check local ordinances, zoning, etc. to ensure what you want (or can live with) is within the local laws. Worst thing is you get emotionally attached to beautiful land, only to realize after signing the papers you can’t put a septic on it, or the driveway is going to cost $100k because of significant blasting required. Doing your homework will save a lot of headaches, and said homework will take your time and some money (surveyor, geologist, etc.)

[arg]

I bought a place in SE NM, where nobody wants to live, ten years ago. Established place which for here means trees, fences, barns and a 60+ year old house. We have a neighbor across the the road, my age, born and raised here, great guy. Next closest one is over 1/2 mile. Closest town, Portales, is 20 miles. It's a 38 mile drive to Cannon, I don't like the drive but put up with it. We have 80 acres which ain't shit for this part of the country. We are fortunate to have water from the small village we live close to for our house, plus we have two wells that pump enough water for our livestock, pecan trees, fruit trees, grapevines, gardens and our small pool. A bit of a story here. Took our pitbull to the vet. He's anxious there, he doesn't get to town too often. Some chick in the vets office says I need to take him to a dog park to socialize him. I say he has a dog park, it has 80 acres, another dog, 13 cows, 25 chickens, 2 llamas, 6 cats, a goat, and a horse, what dog park are you thinking of?

[Danger41]

+1 on YouTube to learn pretty much anything you want. In the last week, I’ve used it to fix brakes on my bike, replace a tailgate handle on my truck that broke, rebuild a sink, and learn how to get sticker residue off of a few different items (white vinegar on wood works crazy well). I used to roof houses and am decently handy, but I’m nowhere near some of the folks in this thread. I’ve learned a ton from YouTube.

Secondly on cool places to live, look at the Black Hills of SD. That’s my home area and my wife is from Knoxville and they’re pretty similar. SD isn’t as hot, but there’s no income tax. Rapid City is a great town which has a climate similar to the front range of Colorado, unlike the eastern side of the state which is more typical cold prairie. Spearfish, SD is awesome as well.

[FLEA]

5 hours ago, Danger41 said:

+1 on YouTube to learn pretty much anything you want. In the last week, I’ve used it to fix brakes on my bike, replace a tailgate handle on my truck that broke, rebuild a sink, and learn how to get sticker residue off of a few different items (white vinegar on wood works crazy well). I used to roof houses and am decently handy, but I’m nowhere near some of the folks in this thread. I’ve learned a ton from YouTube.

Secondly on cool places to live, look at the Black Hills of SD. That’s my home area and my wife is from Knoxville and they’re pretty similar. SD isn’t as hot, but there’s no income tax. Rapid City is a great town which has a climate similar to the front range of Colorado, unlike the eastern side of the state which is more typical cold prairie. Spearfish, SD is awesome as well.

I loved being stationed in Rapid City. Fantastic place to raise children. It's like a village from a Hallmark movie. Winters are brutally cold though. But the scenery is 10/10.