Gettin' out of Dodge

[MossflowerWoods]

If you want to get a farmer's BP up, ask him how much he gets in subsidies. They really, really hate the EWG database that's on the web.

What's the EWG database?
Tell me more please!

David

 

[psdx]

EWG = Environmental Working Group. This web page hosts a farm subsidy database, searchable by name or zip code.

 

[Artisan]

If you want to get a farmer's BP up, ask him how much he gets in subsidies. They really, really hate the EWG database that's on the web.

BP?
EWG?

 

[foggy1111]

My brother-in-law has run a successful paving (blacktopping) company for many years. I think he has up to about 5 or 6 employees. He lives in a nice home and drives good cars and talks retirment....so I think he has done well. He mostly does residential and small commercial jobs....but has taken on some large parking lots at times (I think the small jobs are more profitable).

Anyway.....he is getting too old to cut the mustard (the paving biz is hot , hard work) .....and wants a younger guy to come in and take it over. Basically he'd sell the biz for the machinery value and his time during the year or so transition time. So far....he has not found anyone that can swing the deal with him. He says nobody wants to work....or has even a small amount of money...etc etc.

I would think there are other small biz owners (such as his) that want out too. Not sure how you find them.....but I'm sure they are out there.

As I like to say.....you gotta mine allot of dirt to find YOUR diamond.

 

[Artisan]

Foggy asphalt laying is posatively for a certain breed of man. You gotta be more than tough...man, summer jobs are absolute murder and finding help I am sure is an issue. Folks like you reading threads like this are indeed "mining" and indeed I need to turn a LOT of soil in this quest. Perhaps another man will read this and jump on it releaving bro-in-law, but it is not for me, appreciative of your time I am...

Today the wife and I are considering shipping containers for building. I opened up AutoCAD and figured out scale so that 3.5" = 8', then I calculated lengths. I went outside and started cutting 4x4 wood blocks to scale, 10', 20', 40', 45', 53' er's. It's building block city on one of my desks today. Fun Stuff....ya never know...we can do whatever we want within reason and a modest budget, if we sell this house. Perhaps buy a lot, clear a pad, pour a slab or build a basement, then build a container shell / envelope, stick the camper trailer inside it and one at a time, modify the containers into a home. VERY doable it is.

Gotta find work or create it. I won't be able to live off plumbing alone in the sticks. Canadian border, Washington is really purdy. The Mining continues...

 

[foggy1111]

Foggy asphalt laying is posatively for a certain breed of man. You gotta be more than tough...man, summer jobs are absolute murder and finding help I am sure is an issue. Folks like you reading threads like this are indeed "mining" and indeed I need to turn a LOT of soil in this quest. Perhaps another man will read this and jump on it releaving bro-in-law, but it is not for me, appreciative of your time I am...

Today the wife and I are considering shipping containers for building. I opened up AutoCAD and figured out scale so that 3.5" = 8', then I calculated lengths. I went outside and started cutting 4x4 wood blocks to scale, 10', 20', 40', 45', 53' er's. It's building block city on one of my desks today. Fun Stuff....ya never know...we can do whatever we want within reason and a modest budget, if we sell this house. Perhaps buy a lot, clear a pad, pour a slab or build a basement, then build a container shell / envelope, stick the camper trailer inside it and one at a time, modify the containers into a home. VERY doable it is.

Gotta find work or create it. I won't be able to live off plumbing alone in the sticks. Canadian border, Washington is really purdy. The Mining continues...

Yep....I understand on the paving gig.....it would not be for me either. But, my point is that lots of folks own a biz and want to retire. If your a plumber.....maybe you should be looking to find an old plumber with a biz that is profitable. Do a work-in / buy out in the area you want to be. NO? :thumbsup:

 

[tjwoody]

Have you considered North Dakota? The oil boom there is providing lots of jobs (3%+/- unemployment). I'm sure someone with your skills would have little trouble finding work.

 

[foreman Etexas]

There is also a oil boom going on just south of San Antonio,Texas. Lots of work,for a long period of time,the company im employed with has 14rigs running for us right now and going to expand. Lots of landowners going to get rich down there......

 

[Artisan]

ND is not out of the loop, Texas kinda is, we both want 4 seasons, trees and rivers.

Froggy although I excel doing plumbing my body will not allow me to keep doing it forever unless It were in maybe 4-5 hours tools, then the balance no tools situation, a day. Plumbing is insanely hard to do it RIGHT. You have to be willing to jump thru hoop after hoop after hoop to do clean, decades lasting work. Man theres gotta be a better way...

I have been paying taxes since I was 13.5 years old. State of Arizona gave me a work permit, I had to work if I wanted to eat more than pop was able to provide. My body after 40 years of manual labor is acting up. I would certainly look into taking over a business but if it is successful they will prob want a pretty penny for it and I don't have 20 years I am willing to work to pay it off, THEN start making money...ya never know. Case by case evaulations are necessary. Additionally I don't think I want to live that close to the rat race...

I can put in a hard 4-5 hours, w/ a shovel if necessary, and THAT still outperforms MANY a man 1/2 my age but I just can't keep doing it. More seat time drunning machines or AutoCAD or whatever is what it has to be. 53 years old I be. I am by no means weak nor "done", but my back says no no no anymore. The days of 8 hours of pushing a 2-9/16" x 18" long ship-auger drillbit w/ a Milwaukee Monster drill are behind me.

 

[foreman Etexas]

ND is not out of the loop, Texas kinda is, we both want 4 seasons, trees and rivers.

Froggy although I excel doing plumbing my body will not allow me to keep doing it forever unless It were in maybe 4-5 hours tools, then the balance no tools situation, a day. Plumbing is insanely hard to do it RIGHT. You have to be willing to jump thru hoop after hoop after hoop to do clean, decades lasting work. Man theres gotta be a better way...

I have been paying taxes since I was 13.5 years old. State of Arizona gave me a work permit, I had to work if I wanted to eat more than pop was able to provide. My body after 40 years of manual labor is acting up. I would certainly look into taking over a business but if it is successful they will prob want a pretty penny for it and I don't have 20 years I am willing to work to pay it off, THEN start making money...ya never know. Case by case evaulations are necessary. Additionally I don't think I want to live that close to the rat race...

I can put in a hard 4-5 hours, w/ a shovel if necessary, and THAT still outperforms MANY a man 1/2 my age but I just can't keep doing it. More seat time drunning machines or AutoCAD or whatever is what it has to be. 53 years old I be. I am by no means weak nor "done", but my back says no no no anymore. The days of 8 hours of pushing a 2-9/16" x 18" long ship-auger drillbit w/ a Milwaukee Monster drill are behind me.

I thought everyday was a new season here..
As for the trees and rivers,this is a picture from out back door at in-laws
And this is a picture on my powerline R.O.W,

 

[Artisan]

I thought everyday was a new season here..
As for the trees and rivers,this is a picture from out back door at in-lawsView attachment 252252
And this is a picture on my powerline R.O.W,View attachment 252253

Well, goes to show ya what I know! WOW!

 

[300UGUY]

My brother-in-law has run a successful paving (blacktopping) company for many years. I think he has up to about 5 or 6 employees. He lives in a nice home and drives good cars and talks retirment....so I think he has done well. He mostly does residential and small commercial jobs....but has taken on some large parking lots at times (I think the small jobs are more profitable).

Anyway.....he is getting too old to cut the mustard (the paving biz is hot , hard work) .....and wants a younger guy to come in and take it over. Basically he'd sell the biz for the machinery value and his time during the year or so transition time. So far....he has not found anyone that can swing the deal with him. He says nobody wants to work....or has even a small amount of money...etc etc.

I would think there are other small biz owners (such as his) that want out too. Not sure how you find them.....but I'm sure they are out there.

As I like to say.....you gotta mine allot of dirt to find YOUR diamond.

I've been researching this a little bit, and I am finding that selling a small biz is not very common. From what I've read, fewer than 3% of all businesses ( small ) are ever sold. A biz with employees is a better sell, no employees means you are basically sellin a job. And folks are reluctant to pay much for a job, at least in those terms.

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm always surprised the number of TBN members with ties to California.

Living in the SF Bay Area... I have seen a number of people pick up and move... some are returning home after 30 or 40 years and others just make the move.

As brother Eddie said (Sorry, your current avatar looks like one of the priests I had in High School) moving can be very hard on a marriage...

The move is filled with expectations and even when a couple is on the same page... things do change.

Recently, several I know... well actually two couples bought Farm Land in Oregon... they have river frontage with a mix of pasture, orchard and timber...

Both couples felt the need for an escape hatch and one did years of planning before finding the right property.

I looked to WA State and it has been a mixed bag... the biggest surprise came when a tax law was thrown out letting my taxes jump 80%... kind of makes California look good when thinking of retirement as far as predicting property tax... right now I'm at $12.5k WA and 9k CA and the CA home is 45 year old 1725 square feet...

Prime destinations for those I know from California are... Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Texas, Arkansas and Georgia... in that order.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

No matter where you go, there are always some sort of problems to deal with. Yes some are easier to deal with than others, but nowhere is trouble-worry free. I looked extensively for over 10 years, couldn't find any place that pleased everyone in the family. Decided to stay in California, but move to a more rural area. Might not be the best answer, but got everyone in my family to agree on a place at least. Now we just need to get moved instead of having it a weekend place.

Good luck in your search, and be sure to check out all financial aspects of any place that you may find.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

As a native Californian I encourage you to "Get out of Dodge." We left two years ago for the Cumberland plateau in Tennessee. I can't say enough about how nice the people here are. Except for a couple of years in my early forties I lived in California all my life. Those other 2-1/2 I lived in rural East Texas attending school to get a teaching degree. While people were cordial enough, it was obvious that I couldn't become a part of the community, at least not for 10 years or more. Here it's a whole different story. The native Tennesseans and the migrants from all over the country have been genuinely nice, friendly and accepting. Land prices are quite reasonable compared to California, taxes are low ($900+/- on a $300K house) no income tax although sales tax is close to 10% and is levied on everything, including food. The politicians are sane and not trying to support everyone and his brother and don't try to restrict whatever you want to do. Currently gasoline is about $3.50. My car tags this year for a 2010 luxury vehicle were $14. I really like it here and wouldn't move back. Oh, and unless you get into a big city, you won't be seeing any traffic cams.

Makes me want to get out of dodge. I think MD is competing for CA as the highest cost place to live. Real estate taxes here are $5K, my car tags run $180 for 2 yrs, 6% sales tax ontop of a high income tax, and our governor is completely insane with wanting to raise every tax in sight.

 

[mbohuntr]

Nice idea, except just a word of advice. Yes there are areas in the northeast where farmers are just trying to hold on to their family owned farms that they have to sell soon.Reason is of course taxes , taxes, taxes! Upstate N.Y. has beautiful land no shortage of good clean water 4 seasons and beautiful landscapes, lots of trees and great soil, and many 100 acre farms all around me. We have it all, but the one thing that kills the dream here is cost, taxes, fuel for tractors, trucks, cars, home heating. Thread carefully, and good luck.
DevilDog

I will ABSOLUTELY second this remark. I owned 50+ acres of woods, and was promptly taxed into selling it! I bowhunt on a 350 acre dairy farm, where the farmer is hoping to die there, having lived hand to mouth for the last 30 years. It is a second generation farm.

Stay out of NY....

 

[grsthegreat]

Here in N. Idaho, its cheaper to live than in most areas. However house and land values have not dropped as much as in other areas cause were a retirement and vacation destination.

I have 20 acres and with the help of timber exemptions i pay about $1,900/yr property taxes. Have 3 outbuildings (a 30x40 shop, a 30x60 shop and a 48x60 barn) and 4,200 SF home on the property

Auto tags are cheap for personal cars/trucks, but commercial rigs can get spendy (i pay $5.00/yr on a flatbed trailer, but pay $60/yr on my commercial van and $150 on my 2005 f350 4x4. My wifes 94 dodge is about $40/yr as i recall.

Insurance is pretty reasonable. Especially compared to Californians rates.

But property costs have risen dramatically since i moved here in 1993, I paid $2,000 an acre back then. I saw the prices raise to $50,000 an acre back in 2008. Its dropped back to within reason, but still can run $10-15,000 an acre for good land with accessible water.

Lake front....forget it. The price per foot of frontage is out of the world. My wifes uncle has a 1950's era useless cabin on 50' of water frontage. the place would bring in $600,000 ... and the house is worthless to live in. Cant even get to it in the winter months.

But wherever you move...do one thing. If you find a nice place you wish to move to...rent first. get a lay of the land. then find an area where even the locals like to live. I have seen so many people build in a beautiful looking area..only to find out why no one has built there before..... no water, no winter access, landslides, roads that need chained up 4x4 to access in spring time, no perc for the septic, etc.

 

[bullbreaker]

GRS Thanks for posting that rock solid dang good information !
Idaho is one of the places I've been looking at.

Boone

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Auto tags are cheap for personal cars/trucks, but commercial rigs can get spendy (i pay $5.00/yr on a flatbed trailer, but pay $60/yr on my commercial van and $150 on my 2005 f350 4x4. My wifes 94 dodge is about $40/yr as i recall.

That's funny, :laughing: I can only dream of having those high commercial license rates. :drool:

 

[grsthegreat]

Auto tags are cheap for personal cars/trucks, but commercial rigs can get spendy (i pay $5.00/yr on a flatbed trailer, but pay $60/yr on my commercial van and $150 on my 2005 f350 4x4. My wifes 94 dodge is about $40/yr as i recall.

That's funny, :laughing: I can only dream of having those high commercial license rates. :drool:

ya well high in relation to residential rates. My jet sky trailer costs $30 for a 10 year license tag. but my horse trailer costs $25 per year. they should both cost $3/year HEHE. Man im cheap.