Posted by Steve Ackman on June 8, 2009, 9:12 am
04:03:16 -0400, Curbie, jim.richards65@yahoo.com wrote:
>> Every place has its advantages and disadvantages
>>and, as you say, you can find happiness almost
>>anywhere. It just comes a bit easier in some places
>>than others. ;-)
> I think I find more happiness in what I do and who I'm with, rather
> than where I'm at.
> It seems to me the inside of a house looks pretty much the way you
> want it to, no matter what state it's situated in?
Who stays inside all the time? When it snows, you've
got to snowblow or plow... or hire someone??? When the
biofuel is ready for harvest, you can't do that from
inside. When the windmill needs maintenance, there's
no remote control to take care of that. No matter how
much you'd like to stay in, sometimes you just HAVE to
go out.
Walking out a 150' driveway at -30F and even a 10mph
breeze to check the mail (Cass Lake, MN) wasn't fun.
(Had a nice 30'x40' garage/shop/roastery though, and
plenty of firewood on 10 acres)
Driving home (Middleburg, FL) from work (NADEP, Jax)
wasn't fun in July in an auto with no AC and windows
with shorted switches. Windows stuck closed.
(Had a pretty decent garden at the Rosemary place though)
In Show Low, AZ we lived at 6150' elevation, which
would normally keep things pretty cool. The house was
put at exactly the wrong orientation though.
Afternoon sun was a killer. The outside of the house
was so hot you could barely touch it. Mormon country.
Not much in the way of coffee sales, even though I had
a very nice 22'x24' dedicated roastery.
Got pros and cons for each of the 30 or so places
we've lived: http://wizard.dyndns.org/sandbox/
Posted by Day Brown on June 7, 2009, 6:05 pm
Curbie wrote:
> So, does anyone know of a place I can buy or have suggestions on how
> they would go about finding one? I'm looking for:
>
> 1) Good wind resource.
> 2) Small distressed but non-condemned house on 4+ acres of land.
> 3) Cooler average temperature. (heating is easier than cooling)
> 4) Rural unincorporated county.
Arkansas Ozarks. The state does not have a building code. No vehicle
inspection either. But dont buy, rent. After you've been there for 6
months, made some contacts, friends will tell you about good deals on
real estate. You DO NOT want to move in, to Nebraska or anywhere else,
without being familiar with hidden downsides.
Take a day when its 100 in Little Rock. Its 98 in Conway, 30 miles
north. 93 at Clinton, another 30 miles back into the hills. and it'll be
89 soon as you get out of town away from the parking lots. and when you
get out to my place in the woods at the end of the grid, its 84. Which
was as hot as it got here all last summer.
Want cooler? pick a spot in a creek bottom with a wash that runs up NE.
The canopy shades the ground from about 4 pm on, and then cool air
starts flowing down hill. If the trees are tall enuf, the sun wond hit
the ground until 10:30, and the morning temps will be 55-60 deg F.
Wind power sux down there, but some places have water power potential.
There are lotsa ratty trailers, RVs, and schoolbuses to move onto the
land to live in while you build your house. No permit required. Wooded
land runs 1500-2000$/acre. Stop by and have a look on your way to NB;
if you and your family are white. The area has rednecks, and its 99%
white folks. Course, the crime rate is low and the schools work.
Posted by Curbie on June 7, 2009, 8:19 pm
Day,
>Arkansas Ozarks. The state does not have a building code. No vehicle
>inspection either.
Love it.
>But dont buy, rent. After you've been there for 6
>months, made some contacts, friends will tell you about good deals on
>real estate. You DO NOT want to move in, to Nebraska or anywhere else,
>without being familiar with hidden downsides.
Good advice for anybody but me, I've moved around a lot and seem to be
happy anywhere I am, every place has "downsides" I could look for the
rest of my life and not find a place that doesn't. Long as someone
doesn't bring their "downsides" to my doorstep, I can get by just
fine.
>Take a day when its 100 in Little Rock. Its 98 in Conway, 30 miles
>north. 93 at Clinton, another 30 miles back into the hills. and it'll be
>89 soon as you get out of town away from the parking lots. and when you
>get out to my place in the woods at the end of the grid, its 84. Which
>was as hot as it got here all last summer.
How's the agriculture for home gardening, small farming?
>Wind power sux down there, but some places have water power potential.
No wind is a problem, but I'd jump on comparable hydro in a second,
but it's so hard to find!
>There are lotsa ratty trailers, RVs, and schoolbuses to move onto the
>land to live in while you build your house. No permit required. Wooded
>land runs 1500-2000$/acre.
Looking for a house with a sound structure to start with, but may
consider a building a monolithic dome from scratch if there no
permitting interference. Inexpensive, pretty easy to construct, energy
efficient, safe, but big-time ugly in my opinion.
>Stop by and have a look on your way to NB;
>if you and your family are white. The area has rednecks, and its 99%
>white folks. Course, the crime rate is low and the schools work.
As long as there is a couple good-hearted people nearby, I'll be fine.
Still the Arkansas idea would still depend on finding a property with
a good hydro resource (a pretty tall order).
Thanks,
Curbie
Posted by Rick Samuel on June 8, 2009, 4:11 am
No permit required. Wooded
> land runs 1500-2000$/acre. Stop by and have a look on your way to NB;
> if you and your family are white. The area has rednecks, and its 99% white
> folks. Course, the crime rate is low and the schools work.
Redneck is putting it mildly. Two couples from out church in Denton, TX,
(20 yrs ago) moved up to Arkansas, around Mountain Home(?). They were not
allowed to buy groceries at the local market, a 30 mi trip to the next
bigger town. The last straw was one was shot, after a miss a few weeks
before. They were literally run out 'cause they were new
Posted by daestrom on June 7, 2009, 6:15 pm
>I want to move out of Florida I think its gotten too crowded over the
> past 25 years, but I'm not sure where. The alternative energy numbers
> look good for Nebraska, but my friends are pitching a fit about that
> idea, "there's nothing there" they say and I can't move someplace just
> because of numbers on some spread-sheet.
> Was just going to pack up and go to Nebraska and look for a place,
> can't imagine their idea (this one) is much better, but what can it
> hurt?
> So, does anyone know of a place I can buy or have suggestions on how
> they would go about finding one? I'm looking for:
> 1) Good wind resource.
> 2) Small distressed but non-condemned house on 4+ acres of land.
> 3) Cooler average temperature. (heating is easier than cooling)
> 4) Rural unincorporated county.
> My family moved around a lot when I was a kid, and I happy where ever
> we were so I don't really care where, as long as the numbers support
> my alternative energy plans.
Well, I can tell you where *not* to consider. New York. Property taxes and
weeks of winter weather without sunshine can be quite a drag. Even if the
wind along the lake shore looks promising.
Once the last of the kids are out of school, we're outa here...
daestrom
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>>and, as you say, you can find happiness almost
>>anywhere. It just comes a bit easier in some places
>>than others. ;-)
> I think I find more happiness in what I do and who I'm with, rather
> than where I'm at.
> It seems to me the inside of a house looks pretty much the way you
> want it to, no matter what state it's situated in?