Buying wofati land sight unseen and delayed moves

Hello,

Just looking for some input here. I always repeat this as I don't know how memorable it all is... but I live in South Florida, suburbs, staying with family because it is so expensive. It's too expensive to leave, and too expensive to stay... Weird. I don't own a vehicle here, so I'd have to save up for one, and at the same time, I have a few principles that would keep me from driving across the country, parcel to parcel, inspecting land before I buy it.

I am looking to buy a parcel of land for around $20,000 and build a natural home on it, ideally with materials found on the land, and just a small bit of solar for charging, computer, video games occasionally. But if I buy the land, it would be a delayed move as I save up for everything else.

After seeing underground homes like wofati I am absolutely 100% inspired. I love the cozy feeling of enclosed spaces like that, I love the idea of temperature management because in Florida right now, it's almost too hot to even be outside without risking heat stroke if not well hydrated, it's perfect. Thus, the land I will be searching for is going to be wofati based, and being in Florida, I really don't know about which states are suitable for this type of thing. Vegetable gardening is also a must. Generally, I am a big fan of New England and the Sierra Nevada region, perhaps the adobe type deserts of New Mexico, but that'd be hard to homestead, and possibly the South, because I love Southern food. Regardless, wofati is my style.

I always get bogged down in feeling like I will never have enough money and never taking a step forward to change my life. Between land, solar power, septic, wells, building materials, any power vehicle rentals, and first of all having to buy a truck, I just don't know if I can ever afford it.

So my question is, is it worth taking a step forward, while you know you will have to wait to take another step (saving up for all the other stuff)? Or is it worth starting as soon as possible and taking a chance?

Well Jeff, somebody has to tell you.
IF YOU KEEP THINKING THE WAY YOU ARE, NOTHING WILL CHANGE!

It takes a mindset to achieve things, if you start to imagine it happening its a good start.
If you keep on focusing on the issue of 'expensive' change your circumstances, its the same conditions for everybody.
Some of us just work  at it, to achieve something.

As for having a principle of not driving around to inspect land, you may need to modify it someway so you get the benefit of picking a good block of land.

It’s worth sending it and taking a chance! I’m currently living in a self-built tiny travel trailer with my wife and one year old, after buying sub-par land that we could barely afford. We’re building a small, natural home out of materials we also can barely afford. But this incredibly stressful and difficult life we chose is still better than our previous life of city living, which we also couldn't afford.

The sooner you just go for it, the sooner you can be self sufficient on your little piece of paradise.

Dreams do come true, brother! You can do it. Even if it takes decades, which it will for me. You got this.

Great risk and great reward.

I wish I hadn't already give my apple fopr today, because if I had one, I'd give it to you, Scott! I hope it all works out for you and your family. Despiet the challenges, I am sure it will work out!

Jeff, I hope someone suggests a great place to look. It's a long way to go, but have you considered the opportunities at Wheaton Labs?

Scott Lawhead wrote:It’s worth sending it and taking a chance! I’m currently living in a self-built tiny travel trailer with my wife and one year old, after buying sub-par land that we could barely afford. We’re building a small, natural home out of materials we also can barely afford. But this incredibly stressful and difficult life we chose is still better than our previous life of city living, which we also couldn't afford.

The sooner you just go for it, the sooner you can be self sufficient on your little piece of paradise.

Dreams do come true, brother! You can do it. Even if it takes decades, which it will for me. You got this.

Great risk and great reward.

Good luck buddy, sound absolutely amazing, thanks for some real life inspiration, hearing some action and not just talk really helps. Nothing is easy, but living in this suburb is not easy either. Pick your poison it seems!

I have some family I can always count on and no dependents. I guess the worst that could happen is I default on my progress and have to move back with my family... Albeit with a bit of a land investment!

I have shared a vehicle for some time because I don't feel the need to get one, and if I did it'd be used.

So... a friend is considering selling his van and I would be first on the list to get dibs. It's an oldy, but it works, and can absolutely rough sleeping in a van as long as it's not in FL summer. Seems like a kind of perfect project to work on while I get my blacksmithing/woodworking skills up and find what state I want to live in.

Get the van, Jeff!

The biggest hurdle with buying raw land is how to live on it (cheaply) while you save and build a permanent home. This is how you do it! The van will be a good learning project, you can practice and get used to living in tight spaces, and you can live in it while on your property. Then, when you do finally build a place to sleep that’s attached to the ground, the van can become a guest house for people to visit and hopefully help you build out your property. The van is also great for hauling building materials. Used, beater vehicles are the best because if you dent it while using it, it’s not a huge deal because it’s not some fancy new expensive thing without scratches.

You have my support! Like you said, pick your poison.  Nothing is easy, but at least homesteading is fun and not easy.

Life's been absolutely killing me inside lately. Still living in the suburbs obviously, this wonderful swarm of honeybees I previously mentioned chose our birdhouse but with the HOA, we're going to have to get rid of them. I don't care that someone humane will come take them to try and use them for honey production, I was the one that wanted to do that! ARRRRRGH

Jeff, there will be many things that go differently to what we want.
But that is life, because sometimes the difference is fantastic, and if you fill your mind with the good things, there
will be no room for other thoughts.

I think I will be sticking in Florida. It's all I know, and I have 28 years experience here, and I have zero experience anywhere else. Trying to live somewhere completely unknown to me on my own seems like a bad move.

Second, I'm having mild doubts already after becoming enamored with the Townsends YouTube channel, which I LOVE, I absolutely love that early America aesthetic.

My doubts can be summarized by one statement : I love bread.

It seems stupid, but it encapsulates the communal aspect I will miss. It really takes a whole village to make a loaf of bread, from the planting huge fields, to maintenance, harvesting, grinding, sifting, aging... If I move somewhere to homestead, I simply need a wheat farm nearby that I can buy direct from the farmer. It won't work if I'm living in the woods foraging, growing mushrooms, raising some chickens for eggs and growing standard vegetables. I legitimately need bread, it is the staff of life after all! What I've just described is soooo close to ideal, as you've said things don't go as planned, but bread has sustained humanity since its conception pretty much, lots of peasants lived on grain bread, it's one of the only things that can basically sustain you without getting you ill with lack of vitamins or nutrients.

Does anyone have commentary on their isolated moves relative to the staples of humanity? I guess if I have enough space I can make "bread" from lots of things, perhaps beans and corn, which grow well in hotter climates as opposed to wheats. But these present the nutrient problem I described.

It's funny how Townsend has both utterly inspired me to take a leap of faith with a solar generator, some panels, and a van, plus all my tools for building and just rough it. I could easily get by with some chickens for eggs and basic crops. Having a mailbox and address would help greatly so I could order some granola bars or something from Amazon while I build.

https://www.property4u.com/listings/6370datasheet.htm
Just an example! Appalachia is a great place to consider. 4 seasons, plenty of firewood, water and building material.
This property borders close to 1 million acres of Monongahela National Forest in
West Virginia. Mineral and timber rights convey. Good luck!

If you want to stay within Florida for the familiarity, I understand north Florida is hillier and would obviously be a bit cooler. I have a friend in Tuscaloosa, Alabama who gets a touch of snow every so often.

So a wofati might work well in northern FL. Traditional building forms in the region are traditional for good reasons, so I don't think you would be wrong to go with something like that either.

It sounds like you want to buiild a house and then berm up the side with imported sand/dirt/etc.
And also add a living roof.

You can do that anywhere even in FLorida. I recommned SW florid, Fort Myers metro area. Land is still cheap and you can live off-grid. For my $20,000 I got 2acres. And it has two different bus stops within a 1000ft.  There is another 2acres(3parcels) abutting me that I would like to buy, but it isn't for sale.

My dream is to build a earth bermed ferrocement house, with foam insulation and then ferrocement inside walls. A small heat pump to mostly control the humidity. And grow nuts, fruits, and 6ft+ vegetables, and root crops. Plus eggs/poultry, fish and later buy hay to get some milk from dwarf goat/sheep.

I am here thinking that if SHTF I might perfer living off the bountiful coastal water. Eating seaweed, fish, seabirds, etc