Homesteading, buy land or join a community?

Personally, I've always had a dream of owning my own land in the rural countryside, living off the land, and having extended family be able to come stay if they so choose.

Of course, if one has the money or the land already, then a lot of the challenge is already met. However, another option is to join a community that is striving to live in a similar way that a homestead would run.

I think there is not too much difference between a homestead and a rural intentional community, except that the community has a greater variety of people and less cost of entry.

I've been thinking about the possibilities of buying land in another country where the cost would be far less expensive. I've been hearing that Brazil has the potential and may be the great green nation of this century, that's attractive to me.

But for now I will continue to live in an intentional community because it offers most of what I want: nature, space, and a focus on sustainable living. The community where I live now is here: http://lostvalley.org/live Check us out.

Happy homesteading, happy communities,

Ishmael Angelo

I would say do both. Buy land.... but join the local community as well. Lost Valley? Could be a way to go... looks very much like a resort. As with all resorts, it has a theme, in this case I.C. It operates as a training base for weekenders and vacationers as well as offering permanent placement just as many resorts offer full time parking/living for RVs. Because it is owned and run by a person or organization, they have complete control over just about everything, I am sure it works because they are both lax and firm with policy so people feel free to do as they wish and yet realize they have to do things to help everyone. It would be interesting to know how long the average permanent resident stays before moving on. Can someone who lives there still set aside money so that in the future they may buy their own land? Or are they only paid in kind (food and shelter for labour)? Are they still to spend time working to earn money to pay monthly rent?

Answer: You pay rent and while there is some work on site you may have to work in a nearby town.... more and more like the RV park, but with a different slant on community.

As with all rentals.... better to buy. We pay half per mo. for our mort. as to what we would pay in rent for the same place while paying someone else's mort. Looking at their prices, an RVer would be able to do better even with a full (220v, water, sewage) hookup. You wouldn't be able to do gardening, but fishing, hunting and foraging options are often close by and you would save for that land a bit quicker. If you found an RV park close to where you wanted to buy land, you would have time to get to know the community and the area to find out if this really was where you want to buy.

As it seems the original post was really an advertisement for this resort, I have probably spent way too much time at this.... but it has made me think.

I don't have the money to buy land, nor will I probably ever have it. Sweat equity is the only way I'm going to be able to live like this. The sad thing is, as much as places like this seem to be focused around permaculture they are very rarely welcoming of children, at least not to any courses. That makes them the furthest thing from "perma" anything in my mind.
I don't know what this place's policy on kids is but so far I have found zero permaculture workshops that allow or make allowances for children or (single) people with them. (there is a possibility on Manitoulin Island though, keep your fingers crossed for us!)
Now cob building... that's another story  .

craftylittlemonkey wrote:
I don't have the money to buy land, nor will I probably ever have it. Sweat equity is the only way I'm going to be able to live like this. The sad thing is, as much as places like this seem to be focused around permaculture they are very rarely welcoming of children, at least not to any courses. That makes them the furthest thing from "perma" anything in my mind.

This one does not seem to be a permanent anything. You can rent, but it does not look like you can buy in and build your own house.... on the flip side you can leave with a month notice (at least here you could.. by law).

I started as a single parent and bought a house with another couple who also had children. We could each afford half the mortgage. Once we paid it down enough, they were able to buy me out and get their own mortgage and I had a big enough down that I could afford my own as well (8years). I have since remarried and we moved to a smaller slower paced city. I would have gone land at the time but she couldn't drive, here she can walk... and the drivers lic is almost there.

One step at a time... and enjoy where you are in the interim. I have always managed to end up a block or two from some place semi-wild... even in Surrey BC (second most populated city in BC next to Vancouver). Here we have even more.... though when you can walk 3 feet from a mule deer without it bolting, you have to wonder how wild it is

craftylittlemonkey wrote:
I don't know what this place's policy on kids is but so far I have found zero permaculture workshops that allow or make allowances for children or (single) people with them.

Children are certainly welcomed. Our youngest resident is 7 and our oldest is 80-something.

Len wrote:You pay rent and while there is some work on site you may have to work in a nearby town.... more and more like the RV park, but with a different slant on community.

RVs are not encouraged, however if someone wanted to stay temporary to participate in Permaculture Courses, they could choose to stay in their RV for the duration of the courses.

There are developments in the works to allow people to buy-in to a housing co-op so that they can have a long term investment into the land and community. Here is information on it: http://www.lostvalley.org/housing_cooperative

For the Earth,

Ishmael Angelo

lostvalley_dot_org wrote:
There are developments in the works to allow people to buy-in to a housing co-op so that they can have a long term investment into the land and community. Here is information on it: http://www.lostvalley.org/housing_cooperative

For the Earth,

Ishmael Angelo

I have visited a few ecovillages, and I believe the above is absolutely essential to building a functional, vibrant community. 

How permanent can permaculture be if the majority of residents are transients or some sort of landless eco-serfs in a neo-fuedal system?  I like the land trust models, where residents can have 99-year, potentially extendable, leases and really invest themselves in building a home or forest garden that will survive for generations, while the ownership of the land remains in the hands of the community. 

I am not being critical of Lost Valley at all.  Looks like a great place, and I have considered coming for a PDC or just to live for a while. 

Don't give-up on buying, there are still great buys on land to be had by the well informed. Learn about property auctions and government land sales (these still happen) also how file a mining claim (I'm not sure about the last)

I'm looking for people, in Minnesota (Northfield). Have money to buy land, haven't bought yet. Intend Permaculture and some Zen, and some activism, but there's lots of discussion to do so don't be put off.