Looking for semi-retirement land

[LS Tractor Owner]

I don't get the moving the house part. Why? How far??

Why? Because I own it outright. I have 2 - 22,000 lb trailers that the halves would be put on. I figure anywhere up to about a 1000 miles would be doable.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

We sure like middle TN for several of the reasons you cite. It's massively "green" with enormous bio-diversity, there's actual SEASONS (significant snowfall only sometimes), from Cookeville, you've got about 90 min drive to either Nashville or Knoxville, 3 or 4 nice lakes and the Cumberland and Caney Fork rivers within 30 min drive, topo ranging from rolling pasture to mountainous (on the Cumberland Plateau), very little "permitting" (depends on county), undeveloped land pricing from under $1k/ac on up, depending on several factors such as tillable area, view, access to county water/power, etc., plus lots of available rural parcels of almost any size desired. Power in most areas is by EMC, which I have found to be much easier to work with for remote/rural places. The only thing we had to have permitted in Jackson Co. is our septic, and the EMC would only connect IF we had the septic permit, so they tie those together. State electrical inspection was required.

Sounds like what I might be looking for. I'll try to contact someone about the area. Thanks for the info

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Thanks!

 

[coobie]

Northern Michigan,Minnesota might fit the bill..

 

[2LaneCruzer]

The question is not land prices, but,, neighbors.

The rural setting you are looking for is also desired by some others.
Watch this movie,, before you just "drop" into any rural location.

Winter's Bone - Wikipedia

ANY location I wanted to move to would require a minimum of a 1/2 year rental nearby,,
so that I could "learn" the location.

This is nothing new,, I have a friend that moved from Erie PA to the Roanoke VA valley back in the late 1980's.
He picked the wrong location,, and had to move about 2 years later.
6 months of rental would have educated him,,,

Very sage advice. I know that some folks in some rural areas do not take kindly to "outsiders" who come to their community, and it may take a couple generations before you are accepted...not to mention that the culture shock may be more than you can bear. Also, if the geographic area is different from what you are accustomed to, negotiating narrow, winding, hilly, rocky and wet, icy roads can be a nightmare... and coping with such things as doctors, clinics, grocery and department stores being 50 miles away may be unacceptable. I assume that you do not have school age children, but for some that is the ultimate nightmare.

 

[teejk]

Don't ignore taxes.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Private message sent

 

[dmccarty]

As other people have mentioned, you need to narrow down the region and then the state you would want to live. Look at climate and terrain but look seriously at taxes, and given you age, look to be near good quality hospitals and doctors. If you need/want high speed or decent Internet service, you really need to dig to see if it is available. I will get back to this in a second.

Many people move to FLA because there is no state income taxes. But in retirement, one is likely to have little taxable income but property tax in FLA is a killer and then there is insurance. The state has to get money through taxes so figure out which state will hit your bank account the least amount.

Your wanting to be in a rural area and on county/community water is almost an impossible requirement, especially with the $50K lot price. My county has some areas on county water but from what I can see, we are FAR better off with our own well. There are very few areas with county/community water in a rural area so that will be hard to find. Flip side is that one of the local towns built huge capacity for a large employer. The employer went out of business but that infrastructure has to be paid for so the remaining business, and especially the home owners have seen a very large increase in their water bill even though their use of water has not increased.

I would also suggest getting to know the area you are planning to move too. Subscribe to the local paper and find any local websites or mailing lists so you can tune into what is happening. You have to take what you read with a grain of salt but it should clue you into major issues. Back to Internet access. There are websites available to show Internet speeds in an area. The map we have is all but a lie and we have one service provider who provides horrible service. The map has to be carefully read because it indicates we have decent service, something like 10 mbps or some such when the reality is 1.5 mbps for many of us. The local digital media is very likely to cover this issue.

Later,
Dan

 

[JRobyn]

Sounds like what I might be looking for. I'll try to contact someone about the area. Thanks for the info

There's both American and American Way Real Estate around here that list a lot of the rural acreage parcels.

 

[Sigarms]

The northwest was in contention, but the area would be more around the north / ne side of Seatle. Northern Midwest, Kentucky, Tennessee , etc.. Are good choices.

I've lived in NC now more than anywhere in the world now. Very happy with the state, and life here, but earlier this year we took a trip to "middle" Tennessee. Liked it very much, both my wife and I agreed that we could of seen us living there if we would of made other choices earlier on.