Family moving to Michigan looking for homestead

Large family moving to Michigan from West Virginia in the next month or two. Looking for homesteading opportunity. We are willing to rent, rent to own, owner finance, or share land / responsibilities if we found the right people. Looking for a minimum of 15 to 20 acres.

Welcome!



Michigan's a big place. What's bringing you here? Where exactly do you need to be?

We have family all over in Michigan. We are adventurous and for the right property the location wouldnt really matter. As long as the land is good for homesteading

I see!

In that case, I'd start with Zillow. Set an alert with your criteria, like this:


http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Midland-Township-MI/399216_rid/3-_beds/100-100000_price/0-386_mp/600000-_lot/44.129985,-84.046783,42.999625,-85.304718_rect/8_zm/1_fr/


Which gives you some results like this one:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2232-Guernsey-Rd-Beaverton-MI-48612/2124684553_zpid/

20 acres, a 3bed/2bath house, $89,000.


To use the website, you zoom out to show more areas, and the same search will be applied whatever area is onscreen.

Good luck!

Actually, one more thought: for homesteading, you might try to land over on the Fruit Coast (the Lake Michigan coast, where food-growing conditions are markedly better than elsewhere).

Here's a property there:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/11396-Leisure-Grant-MI-49327/106531659_zpid/



OR! You might try to get as close down to Indiana as you can, where the density of Amish folks is higher. They're a great resource, both in terms of knowledge/skills and also tools/equipment/shops/materials. Interested in draft animals, for example? I know a guy who knows some Amish, etc.
That's how that gets accomplished around here. All your traditional skills.

Welcome to the Mitten State!

It's a vast state, with varied growing zones. There's water pretty much everywhere, but different crops thrive in different parts of the state.
If you're hoping to become orchardists, look to the north, on the west side of the state. Mint thrives in Central Michigan, which I'm told is the mint-capital of the world. Strawberries do equally well in that area.

Also, keep in mind that the further north you go, the more snow you'll have to deal with. Last winter was incredibly harsh in my area, and even worse to the north. Greenhouses help immensely, but I can't imagine growing enough food to sustain a large family in the Upper Peninsula. Look at average snowfall, rainfall and last frost dates, and plan accordingly!

Zillow is good, but you could also try the Mid-Michigan and Norther Michigan CraigsList pages. You never know what treasures you'll find there (or what might find you, if you post a Wanted ad). I've seen some nice properties listed in Central Michigan, between Lansing, Grand Rapids, Mt Pleasant and Flint. Also, not everything is online. If you're able to travel to Michigan to look for properties, it never hurts to ask around at local feed shops, neighborhood hardware stores, lumber yards, etc.

Good luck to you and your family in the search and upcoming move. If you want to talk more about specific areas, please don't hesitate to ask me... and don't forget to check out the Smitten in the Mitten Forum! https://permies.com/forums/posts/list/40/13349

speaking of snow
here is a link of our area in the Keweenaw

http://www.pasty.com/snow/index.html

it has pictures and info

Mike

Hi JD

What exactly is a "large family"?

It will be easier to help you if the parameters of family are made known ... How Many ... Nature of homesteading interests ... Kinds of skills in the group ... etc.

Please tell us more.

Have lots of good land available here in the NW quadrant of the lower peninsula ... in the fruit growing belt.

thanks for filling us in ...

Two adults, 3 kids one on the way. We currently live in wv and have animals and gardens. We would like to upsize everything. Bigger gardens more critters. We have worked with all animals that would be on a farm except cows and we would like to start with that too once we have more land to work with and are settled in. We know alot about survival and the kids are getting about that age where they can start learning that stuff. Our 4acres here just doesn't cut it. We have been in wv for a while now. Time to go somewhere new to see what it has to offer