Jay Sharp

Hi and thanks for the price list. Already had something like that going.

Since we have apx 50% equity in our current house, thats where most of the income will come from to start with.
-Land budget will not come from the house income.
-Water, hopefully i can dig my own well. But if not funds will be set aside.
-Elec, depends on where the lines are and what other alternatives we can come up with.
-Will cut out the labor and dig my own hole. Just buy the parts for someone to install and then will hook up my self.

Since i own a tractor, i will be doing all the work my self which will decrease the price for orchards, livestock, etc..

For building a house, trees are a must on the land. I will be buying a saw mill so we can mill our own lumber. Or build a log cabin.

We have to be smart with with monies we will have and cut cost where we can. If i can do most of it myself then why now. Thats one of the main goals of going the homesteading way and living off the land.

To make the move easier we will be using the pod system [did this the last time we moved]. Put all necessary items and have it shipped over to the land, then up pack into a Conex. Sell everything else!
Before we move to the land, we need to have it somewhat livable with power/water/septic, so that will be step 1. hopefully we can find some land this year and start that project. After that is complete then we should be able to make the change. But we have to have atleast that 1st before we move.
Of course a drive way where the pod can make it to. If the pod can make it, then my RV can.

to recap in 6 not so simple steps.
1. Buy land
2/3/4 -  power/water/septic [not in any order]
5. retire.
6. enjoy life.

Hi all and thank you for all the replies. I will try to answer some of the questions [hopefully I don't miss any]

Only 5 will be joining us, our older 2 kids + grandchild have said that they do not want to move with us.

We did live in our RV for 6+ months while looking for our current place. Yeah, it does get a bit cramp, but very doable for the 5 of us.  No issue for us.

Currently our stock pile is greater than 6+ months. - We have always stocked up before any of this stuff happened.

What price range are you considering in total?
-Would like to stick around 50k. We are seeing 20 AC plots in MT for this price.
What price range per acre are you considering?
-thats about 2.5k per ac
-maybe go up to 5k which would be about 5k per ac
How many acres of land are you considering?  
-20 would be nice. Incase my other family members want to join. So we all don't have to be close together. and also area's for growing food for the animals. etc..

We have looked around in WA, but the new "bills" and politics are getting to us. We were really looking into NE part too. we really like that area. We thought maybe moving out far enough, it would effect us. But this is not the case.

It could be possible to rent out our house, but then again we are still responsible for the mortgage . if we don't have a renter, it will not get paid. The whole idea is not to OWE anyone any money

Reducing my hours at work will not happen, its the field I am in. Service engineer, no part time either. ;( At this point in my life i would rather work for myself or my family rather than lining other folks pockets. Actually take a breather and enjoy life. Dont get me wrong, i do like my job and what i do. I now have a different perspective on life now...

To be completely honest, i would like to have a blank canvas and build from starch. Yes, i know it will take time. Then again, i will look back at it and say "look at what we did".

To add, we were already looking at these options before buying this property, we just didn’t have a good enough plan then. That experience helped us plan for our next journey.

When COVID hit, it really showed the true nature of humans, all the greed and stock piling is completely unnecessary!  

I have a large family of 8 people in our house and seeing the super markets out of stock on food and basic needs really taught us to look at the world a different way. Not to rely on anyone but ourselves!

Good thing we always buy a whole cow and we always had a stock of everything because of our large family and not running to the store every week to stock up.

Hi and thanks for the reply’s.

One of the main reasons for retirement is because I work so dam much and I am never really home. And when I am home I am so exhausted from work I don’t feel like doing anything much.
After a day or two off I feel energized and ready to get dirty only to find myself going back into the office.
I would rather live free and spend what quality time I have left while my kids are still young.

We are looking for areas with lots of trees. Main reason is that we can mill our own lumber and not pay them outrageous prices. Looking for mostly flat so that we can have options.

We do plan on bringing our live stock with us.

We would like to have power close by but not required. We could go solar or some other means.

Septic and well and power would be a + if it was already there.

Looking for raw land that we can start a farm on and build a quite life together, etc.

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time posting.

Here is a bit of background.
I currently live in SW WA and have a 5ac with a new house, mortgage + bills. I have a great job making 6 figures +. Working M-F 40 + hours a week is growing tiring and dealing with the cities and all that carp that comes with it. We are using our current land as training grounds before taking the plunge for my retirement next year. I am 38yr young.

We currently have 4 goats + 3 babies.

20 + laying hens, 6 babies turkeys, 4 ducks, green house and outside plot.

We are starting to look around for land, to see whats around. We are looking around NE WA, Idaho, Montana areas.

Wife has few requirements.
-Electricity
-Water
-Sewer
-apx 1hr to hospital [we have kids and never know whats going to happen]

We do have an RV and plan to live in that until we can build a barn house when we do retire.

We are also hoping to have a small income selling animals or other goods to pay for a small amount of bills. if this does not pan out, then might have to get a pt time job to assist.
I have some options for other work too, like mowing fields, selling items that we make, etc..

Anyone have tips or advice or anything i should be looking at?

Medical is something we are keeping in mind too.