Living in the "boonies"!

[pmcgrady]

I'm starting to get used to it...

1) It's quiet! If some idiot decides to use his "jake brake" on his semi... He's getting shot at.

2) I can see the stars at night! Not much artificial light here.

3) Nothing like having the Old Lake out your front door, and the New Lake out your back door.

4) I pretty much, cut the cord on everything and realized I didn't need it anyway...
I canceled my internet service, and figured out how to make a hotspot with my cellphone. Land line...don't need it...dish or direct tv...don't need it... Life insurance!!! Don't need it! I'm going to be dead! Throw me in a dumpster! House/Home insurance... Highly over rated...I paid the premiums for 35 years and had 1- 17 thousand dollar claim when a tree fell on my cabin, insurance is highly overrated...

5) If I get really hungry, I can walk 50 yards out my front or back door and go fishing...and probably catch something to eat.

6) the less you have, the less you have to worry about... My cabin is 1650 sq ft from the 4000 sq ft house I just moved from. I'm looking at Tiny House plans that are around 500 sq ft, but I would have to add on at least 200 sq ft to store Mary's shoes in!!!

7) fill in the blank

[AlittleSalt]

6) For two people, a 700 sq. ft. home has an extra room in it for storage/whatever. I speak from experience.

[Worth1]

People are strange.
Worth

[clkeiper]

yes we are. I need that much space for my canning and cooking stuff, my gardening and farming stuff, my grow lights and work area... but I agree and I say it often... the more you have the more you have to take care of the more you have to take care of the less time you have for everything else. I have space but we still have 3 children at home. but when they move out? oyvey! we will be swimming in space. we have a 16x32 two story shed. we are thinking about converting the upstairs into a living area. maybe we will rent out the house and live there when the kids are all gone.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

yes we are. I need that much space for my canning and cooking stuff, my gardening and farming stuff, my grow lights and work area... but I agree and I say it often... the more you have the more you have to take care of the more you have to take care of the less time you have for everything else. I have space but we still have 3 children at home. but when they move out? oyvey! we will be swimming in space. we have a 16x32 two story shed. we are thinking about converting the upstairs into a living area. maybe we will rent out the house and live there when the kids are all gone.

Your shed living area could be an air b&b in the meantime.

[Worth1]

Carolyn you are not strange but some people are.
An example is people that retire and move into the giant dream house they always wanted and have no use for.
Both neighbors on both sides of me would be better off in a way smaller house.
Some people have hobbies up till the day they die and need room.
Some dont or just need a small space for it like painting or something.
Not my choice to make just how it is.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Your shed living area could be an air b&b in the meantime.

She may wake up one day and find me camped out in it.

[clkeiper]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Carolyn you are not strange but some people are.
An example is people that retire and move into the giant dream house they always wanted and have no use for.
Both neighbors on both sides of me would be better off in a way smaller house.
Some people have hobbies up till the day they die and need room.
Some dont or just need a small space for it like painting or something.
Not my choice to make just how it is.

yep, that is the truth. we do construction for a living.... Dh is starting homes regularly for people who are "moving up". we have 2000sq. ft. plus a basement and all of our out buildings and greenhouses. I am purging regularly. someday I need to clean this all out and move to a smaller house. I don't plan to make work for my children so "I can stay here till I die".... like some elses I know...inlaws and parents..... I don't plan on doing that to my kids. I took the men supper one night a while ago. this was a development OUT of town. HUGE houses of retired people. I was shaking my head. grass to mow, floors to sweep, windows to wash, curtains and or blinds on every window to keep clean two stories worth..... minimum of 2 acres per house.

@ Ginger... zoning here prohibits air bnb. so, thats a no go. maybe we could get away with donations but since my husband is a township trustee...... nah, we had better not.

[Father'sDaughter]

Around here it's all about downsizing in retirement. Houses cost a fortune, and even if there's no mortgage left the property taxes would be too big of a hit on most people's retirement income.

My husband and I never upsized from our "starter home," so now it'll become our retirement home. And we are lucky that if one of us ever ends up with mobility issues, it's one level living so we could both continue to stay here. One of the biggest mistake retirees often make is staying in (or moving to) a house with stairs or multi levels.

And pmmcardy, I hope you've at least looked into liability insurance. While you don't feel the need to protect your new house, liability coverage could protect your new lifestyle.

[Ricky Shaw]

Brother I knows what you're talking about. Seriously considering moving to a mobile home near any south Florida beach. Skip the home insurance and a keep a used uhaul trailer in the driveway. Evacuate in it for hurricanes and if the mobile home washes away, roll another into its place. Plant another garden in pots and resume fishing.

[Worth1]

I fought with my wife tooth and nail about giant two story houses and how I wouldn't have one.
Fire on the lower deck and you are upstairs and handicapped you are in trouble big time.
Or you have a whole floor useless to you.
When we bought this place without explaining to her why, I raised the garage floor up even with the house floor.
This allowed her to move in and out of the house in the wheelchair and walker she at that time she didn't know she was going to be in.

Worth

[Hellmanns]

Taxes.

[carolyn137]

Yes, I live in the"boonies" as well and love it.

No more smelling what someone in the next apartment is cooking, no more being forced to listen to loud music, no more living near playing fields where the little League and older ones who wanted the so called experience of playing under the lights and those tall lights were gifted to them and would shine in our windows, and the yelling and cheering that went with it.

All the above was when I was living in Latham Village appts,many different buildings, I was in building 22,end apt, 2nd floor. All had only two floors.

I moved from there to where I am now and when I moved here in 1998 I could see the Northern Lights while in bed, but the trees grew taller and now I can't see them.

I used to be able to open the middle doors in the LV/DR and hear the water cascading over a 30ft waterfall next to my home, but not allowed now to even go down that step to the front part of the hexagaon.

Taxes? This is not a wealthy area and my proerty and school taxes have risen considerably since I moved here, it's about the town 's only income.

But at night in the summer I can hear the owls talking to each other, the cyotes howling and also see the Black Bears from time to time, sometimes with their cubs following. And yes, the red foxes that have a den under an old barn up the road.

As I sit here at my computer, which is my bedroom now but for those who had this wonderful home built, it was what they called their sitting room.Right now as I look out the 4 large low windows I can see the birds going for the black oil sunflower seed that Freda puts out for them in the winter. I can see the deer when they come down here when deer hunting season starts.

I have 30 acres here, none of it tillable excepct for the Chambers Farm which sows it for haylage and they milk, with a lot of help,about 400 cows each day..There are several raised beds in the side yard where I have Freda plant stuff for me as well as large pots and large growbags where the tomatoes go.

Now that I'm totally homebound there are a few that have encouraged me to sell and move to an assisited living place. It isn't going to happen as long as my brain and eyes and hearing are OK and trust me on that.

Almost noon and Dody hadn't delivered the Sunday paper when I last looked,she puts it in a net bag hanging from a nail to my right when I open the door and balance myself with the walker to take a look,so I'll look again, but all I'll see are flyers for cyber this this and cyber that, that should stop soon.

Bye bye for now,

Carolyn

[Cole_Robbie]

Several years ago, where I live used to have a full exemption for property taxes for mobile homes, log cabin kits, underground earth berm, and pole barn houses. That was way too good to be true, and those days are gone for good.

My idea of avoiding property taxes would be to live in a greenhouse/high tunnel type of structure. They are considered temporary, thus no taxes. Some of the clearspan brand structures are as big as any barn and have coverings rated 10-15 years. I could build a nice little styrofoam house inside of one and live out my days in a house that never gets taxed. People would say that the first storm would blow it down, but my greenhouse has been up for six years now, and never had a problem, even with 60 mph thunderstorm winds. It doesn't seem that temporary to me.

[pmcgrady]

Fathers Daughter, I've owned homes for at least 35 years and paid insurance on them, including liability. Never had a liability issue in 35 years of payments, lucky I guess but I now consider it a bad investment.