Hi Donielle,
We are a little far from you but we do live in paradise in Leelanau County in Northern MI. My husband, my two small children, dog, nine ducks with 17 new ducklings have a small homestead we are building. We too were planning on a straw bale home but decided to work on a smaller tiny home with green roof and other sustainable features. We have some space, a new large tent ie fairly rustic living. We have just had a young family stay with us while we worked on some larger hugelkultur beds and finishing up on some of our many projects. I wish you luck with finding a great place to try something new! PS I grew up in Portland. Best big city ever!!
Mindy