homesteading location

[fredfl]

Am looking to homestead somewhere in the mid south would like to find an area that allows living in a temporary building or a travel trailer while building something more permanent. Also need an area that would allow an out house to be used. Would appreciate any feedback.

[bee_pipes]

Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee. Move to a rural county and you can do just about anything in any state. You want flat land or hilly/mountainous?

Regards,
Pat

[flatwater]

What people don't know won't hurt them unless of course your outhouse is located next to their kitchen window.
Flatwater

[WileyCoyote]

I gotta tell you, an outhouse is a drag to keep up. Been there, done that. When you aren't cleaning it or liming it, you have to dig another hole and move it every couplea years.

Have you considered a composting toilet setup?

Ordinances on travel trailers/campers, even tents, vary from County to county as well as state to state. Counties closer to or that encompass large towns/cities, or that are expecting encroaching development, will have stricter ordinances. "Snowbirds" - Yankees that head south for the warmer climate and comfort and less taxes - are moving south at a prodigious rate, and as soon as they move, they start demanding laws and rules and regulations to make their own lives more important, and to feel at home where there are RULES to keep people like you out. They use the whole liberal "no one should have to live like that" false-pity crap, but what they are really saying is that they don't want you living anywhere near THEM like that.

The more rural, the better.

[bee_pipes]

Location will depend on your requirements - do you need to live close to a metropolitan area so you can commute to work? Or do you have a trade that you can ply in a rural area? The wages and opportunity for work decrease the further you get from population centers, and the more rural the county, the more you'll have to travel and harder you'll have to search for jobs. I had a friend out here that earned a pretty good living doing HVAC work. The summers out here are so hot that there was a constant market for air conditioner repair and installation.

WileyCoyote brings up a good point. Why bury something as valuable as wastes? If you are going to try to grow anything, you're throwing money away and going to a lot of trouble to do it. Check out the book on this link for a simple sawdust toilet/composting system:

http://weblife.org/humanure/default.html

Regards,
Pat

[bookwormom]

yep, that compost toilet sure works well. I would not dig a latrine. and the compost toilet you can keep indoors, as soon as you have an indoors.

[fredfl]

Thanks for the input folks. Looks like a rural area would be best for me don't need a job and it sounds like there would be less interference in the boonies. As far as the out house goes I would only use this as a temporary solution while building.

[mike82934]

I don't care what bureaucrats try to say about permits and building codes...just get a place that's out of sight to most if not all people and do what you want. The only time I would say otherwise is in the case of an outhouse, where human waste plus a high water table equals potential trouble, not just for you but your neighbors as well.

[WileyCoyote]

That's a fine independent attitude to have, Mike - and I can appreciate your sentiments. However, depending on where one lives, getting 'caught' breaking the rules can result in heavy fines and even liens on property. It seems like there is always some hunter or hiker or nosy neighbor who has to live by the rules - and who will call in on anyone breaking them whether they get any kind of a reward or not. Even if you are not going to pay the slightest bit of attention to the rules, one needs to know them to know what the repercussions could be.

Some places even have tree ordinances that will fine you thousands of dollars for cutting down a protected tree or for cutting down a tree over 9" in diameter! So that way they can control building sites for large developers as well as the single independent guy who wants to put in a cabin. Since a 12" pine can drink up to 46 gallons a day of water, this affects water tables, drought area, etc. The wetlands and water conservation restrictions can be very intense - and the Corps of Engineers and OCRM are not friendly if they get called out.

Dontcha HATE what we have become? Sigh.

[bee_pipes]

True - leads again to selecting your property and neighborhood VERY carefully. There are tradeoffs.

If you want a place with lax government control, you are generally talking about an economically depressed area. The only cure for gov't interference is a starvation diet. Counties where there is little revenue cannot afford a bunch of ordinances that they can't enforce.

But there's a down side - weak law enforcement - these places can be havens for meth labs and a target for burgularies, if they are near metropolitain areas. You can also wind up with family/machine politics running the county. One old family or group of people can ride roughshod over the citizens of the county, controlling the gov't and law enforcement. This isn't a problem until one runs afoul of those in power, and can be cited as the cause of many a feude in Kentucky back in the 1800's and early 1900's.

Then there are the neighbors. With like-minded folk, you would be secure and have your backside watched. But odds are heavily against that. Usually you will find yourself buying into an area where the neighbors have been living for generations. You might buy someone's old place because of death or hardship, hardly a reason to welcome someone new.

Then there's dogs and children. Encroachment on your land - neighbor's dogs killing your livestock, teenagers using your property for their traditional haunts for late night drinking, drug using, plinking and sex.

Work can also be difficult to come by. If you need to earn a living, there may not be much work to be had without driving. If you live near a metro area, your days are numbered. You will become a bedroom community with an influx of McMansions and money corrupting local gov't. Codes and ordinances are soon to follow as the money trys to make the area exclusive and long time residents get taxed out of existence.

The up side
If you are very fortunate, someone has divided an old farm or timber land, and you may find yourself living amongst other outsiders. The cost of living will be low and you can get along on a small pension. If you have a skill - carpentry, HVAC, plumbing, welding, machine mechanic, etc. you may be able to scratch out a living after the locals have gotten over their suspicions.

We have a fellow here that moved to the area from Colorado. The cost of living got too high for him. He built a pole barn and does vehicle reapair. He bought a place deep in a Menonnite community, they stopped trying to save him and have come to the conclusion that he is a sinner damned to perdition. They might not invite him to Sunday supper, but they patronize his business.

Weak county gov't means weak or absent code ordinances. I can build any abomination on my property and it does not affect anyone else. I live upstream from the neighbor, so I don't dump poisons or wastes in the creek. This is no hardship - I don't like having a lot of chemicals around - fertilizers, pesticieds or herbicides. From time to time I come across buried garbage from the last owner - places where old motor oil was dumped, buried oil filters, beer cans, etc. Recently we started penning the dogs. I had let them run free in the past, but they got a little too wild. The neighbor asked me to keep them penned up because they were running the deer off and he liked watching them. Now the raccoons are getting a little bold - so we will work out some sort of compromise.

We are fortunate in our location - a neighbor in front of us provides a buffer between us and the road. There is an easement that allows us to drive through their property, but that requires some consideration from us. You don't go tearing through his property, kicking up dust and endangering grandkids or dogs. He is currently working for the sherriff, so I get the gossip about town and county gov't, names of people to watch out for and names of folk to vote for. He is also an outsider, though has been here for well over a decade. Other than these interactions, we pretty much tend to keep to ourselves. We have made friends with other residents, mostly through groups and organizations we participate in. This is where churches, the Elks, Masons, VFW, even AA meetings and other such organizations come in handy.

The prices of goods with local merchants are a little higher than the big box stores in population centers. If you have a large purchase, it might be worth driving, but if the difference is not too much, I believe in pumping the money into the local economy. Some things just cannot be found locally. It's an ajustment. Do you really need that? Can you salvage something or make due? But there are also things you can't find in a population center - we have a menonnite market that has good food, flour, spices and all the staples and kitchen gear. It's like a mini-Lehman's. There's also a Menonnite run lumber yard with the best prices for three counties. And there are farm auctions where tools and materials can be had. You won't find a sexy new chainsaw or ATV, but you will find tools to last a lifetime and materials, like chains, tac and such, at bargain prices.

There's a lot wrong with the county I live in, but there's a lot right about it too. The first three months we were here I had to commute to work - about a 1:45 drive each way. I hung in there to wrap up on the job before quitting. The drive is not practical, and getting prohibitive with the price of gas. I think we're safe from becoming a bedroom community for Nashville. Cost of living is cheap. The wealthier families are trying to get a prison in here, but the voters have been successful in defeating the siren wail of "mo' jobs, mo' money" from these interests. The local timber companies are clear-cutting the woods, so we may be an isolated pocket of forrest some day.

Nothing's ever perfect, but life is good. Get WRTN to chime in. He has a wealth of experience in being an outsider in a rough county.

Best of luck to you. Your little slice of heaven is waiting out there for you somewhere. Hope you find it.

Regards,
Pat

[gardenfay]

And then there are places like here in Montana where a quite different thing is happening.
You have people move out here from more urban places - i have talked to a number of them who seem to think they are homesteaders.
They say they want the freedom of rural living; but they bring their big city attitudes with them - start wanting more ordinances. Don't understand the concept of being a good neighbor. It is kinda sad.
It is even happening here in northcentral Montana. But it was far worse in the Bitterroot Valley. We have been on a Sunday drive on a remote forest service road literally 35 miles from the nearest town and you know you are driving maybe 25 on this rough gravel road and looking in the rear view mirror not super often - haven't seen anybody for the past hour. Then somebody in a new SUV with MT plates goes screamin past you; throwin' you the bird as they go and you think - oh yea, why did you even move out of the city.
So, my suggestion is for everyone to try to find a homesteading location where they like it how it is now - not try to change it into where you came from.
We live in a town that is unincorporated - 85 miles from our county seat. but we still have county ordinances we have to follow on electrical inspections, junk vehicles, septic tanks, etc.

[solarman]

I purchased 5.3 acres near el paso texas for $700 with no building restrictions. Go to ebay and type in el paso.

LaMar

[toester]

I bought a 10ac parcel that is pretty much out of the way. From Bee Pipes description it sounds like he is my neighbor. I am going to put in a new home starting in March. Also looking to keep some smaller livestock. I guess I should have bought an established "stead" but my wife has her ideas on what she wants and the land is just too nice. I like the isolation and the fact if a car shows up it becomes the talk of the month. I've traveled and lived around the mid-south for about 16 years. This area has to be the best I've seen. The summers are quite warm, but winters are mild. The only county involvement is the health department wants a Perc test for $250. Closest "real" shopping is Columbia, tn (I don't walmart if I can help it)and when we do that, it is the monthly shopping trip. Not far from here is the Menonite store and my wife buys fresh ground flour. Since I don't travel to work, I'm not worried about a commute. At the place I'm renting until the house is put in, my favorite pass time is watching the bird feeders. Normally there is various woodpeckers, finches, cardinals and many other small birds any given moment of the day. Seen deer in the backyard, fox passing through and many turkeys. Out here, life is good. Oh yeah, the county has a guy that arrives at 3:30 on wednesday's for trash pickup. It is actually a time for socializing. Doesn't get better than that.