Pros and cons of living at the end of a dead end road

[rtimgray]

People like Ed are the reason I always kept my socks on...I didn't wanted to be caught naked!

I live at the end of a dead end road, and I love it. Our neighbor up the road has a circle drive for the school bus and snow plows to turn around in (he is an employee of the county road department).

I do get a few folks that sometimes wander onto the property, but it is rare that I see them because once you get to the dead end and cross the cattleguard, our house is still about 3/4 of mile back on a winding driveway.

One of the problems that I have is UPS and Fedex deliveries. UPS is not too much of a problem, because we have 2 regular drivers and they both know the way to the house. Fedex uses about a hundred different drivers and some find the house, some leave it at the neighbors, one has left it at the barn, some don't deliver at all and we have to contact them alternate delivery instructions.

Also, the dead end can be a problem with large deliveries - when I get a truckload from Lowes/Home Depot/Etc., I have to make sure to time it around either dry weather or frozen ground so that the semi can turn around in the field. One time I had to get a load of building material and it was too wet, but the Home Depot delivery driver parked the truck at the intersection of the county roads (about 1/2 mile from the entrance to our property) and used the forklift to bring things up and down the road. I tried to tip him a $20, but he wouldn't accept.

I think the benefits far outweigh the negatives, but ultimately that is for you to decide.

Good luck and take care.

 

[milligjg]

I just moved into a house (6 acres) that is the last house on a dead end road. We posted No Trespassing signs and that really slowed down the turn arounds (the house was vacant for about 5 yrs and everyone thought it was ok to come and fish in the creek). I'm sure after this spring, it will be down to just folks that are "lost". Overall, I like the privacy!

 

[bindian]

I live on a cul-de-sac with pavement that goes past it onto my property. Numerous drunks have got stuck after passing the cul-de-sac and driving off of my driveway as they try to turn around instead of backing up to the cul-de-sac to turn around. Trash has been dumped at the end of my driveway. Everybody pulls down and stares. You don't know if they are lost or casing your place. The other side of this extra pavement's owner and I are in the process of hanging gates to stop traffic past the cul-de-sac.
hugs, Brandi

 

[phiferpharm]

I'm a dead-ender on a road the neighborhood maintains. It is almost two miles to my property, then an additional 1/4 mile plus to my house once you hit my property line. My neighbor can see the entrance to my property better than we can from the house and has gone out and greeted wayward vehicles more than once that have turned and stopped at my entrance. They are friendly, but packing heat kinda folks.

I like where I live and while it would be nice to have the county maintain the main road, I'm sure the cost would be more than the few hours and gallons of Diesel keeping it passable cost me. It can be a PIA at times as a number of the local kids have become the most dreaded disease - teenagers with licenses.

 

[oosik]

My mile long gravel driveway is off a fully maintained & paved county road. I still get folks come all the way in to the house and then turn around and exit. Unfortunately, a major map maker - Metsker - showed a county road right where my driveway was located. Boy, if that wasn't a real load of fun. Finally after several discussions it has now been deleted from their county map. A few folks still have difficulty reading my "Private Driveway" sign at the gate but it becomes less of a problem each year.

Yes, I very much enjoy living at the end of a long driveway - having the closest neighbor over 3 miles distance - doing my own year round driveway maintenance and all the peace and quiet.

 

[airbiscuit]

The problem I don't like is that every romeo in the country looks for a dead end road to take his latest Juliet. It is very embarrassing to try to explain why they are parking out there to young children. It is also hard to explain why that guy just climbed over the seat into the front with no clothes on. I guess the spotlight must have bothered them.��

A local author (Michael Perry) wrote about the same thing. He nailed some old barn boards to a tree, shot several 44 rounds into the boards, and with dripping, blood red paint, wrote the following (intentionally misspelled): PIRVATE DRIVE . That did the trick!

 

[dave1949]

The OP doesn't live on a private road or at the end of a long driveway. He lives (plans to live) on a public road that may not be plowed well enough to be usable in winter. I think that is the core of the problem. Summer road maintenance timing can vary a lot and make little difference. Winter road maintenance is something else entirely.

How do your kids make the school bus, how do you get to work on time, if there is a 4-6 foot drift in the road and it is not getting plowed? How do you all get back home after the wind drifts it shut again while you are out all day? These would be my concerns.

 

[mjarrels]

Lived at the end of a dead end road in Coupeville Wa., no mail delivery, no school bus pickup/dropoff. Couldn't move my mailbox until there were five houses on the dead end road which took about ten years, still no school buses.

mark

 

[tjcarguy]

We have moved around a lot in the country and lived on two dead end roads. I would find out what my neighbors thought before I made up my mind. ---Trevor

 

[Richard]

I am the last house on a dead end road.

A 4-lane paved highway turns into a 2-lane country highway which then turns into a 2-lane country road. After the 2-lane country road, you turn onto a 1 1/2 lane (paved) county road and then finally, gravel road to the house.

The farm is at the end of the road. The farm is then surrounded on three sides by a lake so there is no other way in/out but for the road.

I've learned over the years that there are three type of people out here (when I see someone in a vehicle)

1. They are expected visitors (cause NOBODY 'just happens' to be in our area)
2. They are out exploring (and by the time I see them, they are treaspassing on the farm)
3. They are up to no good

Consequently, I go to greet virtually everyone I see so I can ascertain if they are door #1, #2 or #3.

Usually they are #1 or #2 but, I did one time, bump into several guys who had passed the houses, driven past the manicured field.... drove up the hill behind the house to pitch a tent for the weekend. I clarified the situation to them in spite of their voiciferous "knowledge" that this was indeed public land.