Not really a tractor question but seeking opinions

[Doofy]

Walking away could be the right thing to do. Time will tell. You both seem happy, either way.

 

[grsthegreat]

Sorry to hear it didnt work out for you....i have 30 acres myself that i have worked weekends for 27 years.....yeiks how did i do that. Im retired this year, so now i work it 6 days a week and im no further ahead.

Maybe ill just head out to the lake.

 

[Doofy]

Sorry to hear it didnt work out for you....i have 30 acres myself that i have worked weekends for 27 years.....yeiks how did i do that. Im retired this year, so now i work it 6 days a week and im no further ahead.

Maybe ill just head out to the lake.

Yes sir. If all else fails, go fishing!

 

[jmc]

When you described your current situation in the lede post- plenty of elbow room, close to two 2 nice sized towns, dual incomes- that sounded pretty good to me. Maybe the reason this new place didn't work is because you have it good already? There will still be land available later when things that tether you there change.

 

[WW2017]

Very true JMC and I appreciate your wise words. I grew up on a 15 acre hobby farm, my wife grew up in town but she loved to visit her grandparents' farm and the 100 acres her dad had bought when she was little, so we always knew our current piece of heaven was something we wanted eventually. When we finally pulled the trigger and moved here in 2017, we felt like we had found our forever place and a small piece of paradise. I guess that's part of my uneasiness as well, because now I feel guilty and a bit greedy in wanting more, when God has blessed us with such a beautiful and amazing place that we currently have. Everyone who has ever visited us has went on and on about how great this place is, so I just need to be focusing on being thankful for what God has blessed us with. I'm gonna go take a walk in the woods, in the rain, pick out a spot for a pond, and focus on Him, and be thankful for all of the fine folks at TBN. God bless.

 

[CADplans]

When we purchased our place,, the appraiser had two negative comments,,

1) the driveway was not oriented correctly in relation to the house (I have since changed the driveway)

2) the place was WAY TOO SECLUDED!! (that seclusion is the reason we wanted the place)

We have been here since 1982, almost forty years,, and I gotta say, there has never been a second where the wife and I have wished we lived somewhere else.

12 years ago, a house next to our property came up for sale,, my older daughter bought it!!
then,,
5 years ago, at the other end of our property, another house came up for sale,, my younger daughter bought that one!!

My younger daughter had not seen the house in over 8 years, her husband NEVER saw the house, and they bought it!!

I feel like our family is one of those 1960's "communes",, it has been even better for us with the family here.
We hardly know COVID exists,, whatever we need,,is here,, other than an occasional trip for groceries,,

OH, by the way, I saw the guy who sold us the house, a couple years after we bought the house,
his wife made him sell it because she wanted to live "in town",,
He was still heartbroken, and missed the house that he had built,,

If I had the choice,, I would do it over,, EXACTLY the same.

 

[MossRoad]

Just to update everyone so this thread doesn't stay active. My wife and I have been back and forth on whether to purchase this land. It has been gut wrenching to say the least. It is an amazing piece of property and would be a dream come true. However, with both of us still working full time, still have both kids, 21 and 16, still at home, elderly parents (10 minutes away) who need help with their small cattle operation, and trying to maintain our 22 acres and large home, we have decided the timing just isn't right. It is disappointing to us and we realize we may regret it someday, but we are extremely happy where we are and just didn't think it would be beneficial for us to work here every evening after work, then spend every Saturday there, coming home exhausted but satisfied, then doing it all again the next week for 5 years.

The final straw was yesterday, when I spoke to the neighbor farmer who is much older and wiser. He said he had been in a similar situation, which I figured he had and was the reason I sought his opinion, and he ended up farming more than he could handle. He said he realized a few years in he had made a mistake when he no longer enjoyed doing something he had previously. He got a little choked up when he talked about all of the things he had missed because he had stuff to do. It was a lightbulb moment for me, and for my wife when I told her.

I greatly appreciate all of those who took the time to offer their opinions. Each of them were considered and discussed. Thank you all. Maybe we'll get another chance in the future.

I understand your line of thinking for the most part. Only you know what's best for your situation.

With that said, land will never get less-expensive.

And, a question; Why would you have to go there every weekend for 5 years? Just curious to the thought process. I've been on TBN for close to 20 years now. I often hear people talk about asking what size tractor they need for X acres... it's a good question IF you have plans for it. IF NOT, then you don't need a tractor. Land does not need to be maintained if it's idle. It'll do just fine without human intervention for many years.

We've owned 20 acres 9 miles from our house and I'm out there just a few times per year. Some years more if we need firewood. Sometimes less. We're just letting the trees grow, mow the trails once in a while, and leaving it to mature for the future. Our little bitty machine is perfect for brush cutting the trails and dragging firewood out of the woods. Really, there's no need for a larger machine for this property. It's easy to trailer. I've never regretted purchasing the land. As it slowly reverts from farmed land back to woods, it's nice to watch the existing woods mature, and the trees we planted grow.

Again, you know your situation best, just not sure why you feel the need to be on that land every weekend for 5 years.

Good luck in your process and best wishes. :thumbsup:

 

[kthompson]

WW2017, has been an interesting read. I grew up on about 20 acres mostly wood land with few acres of pasture and few animals. Loved it. Married my wife 46 years ago and her family lived about 5 miles from where I grew up with mostly open farm land and something like 30 acres of crop land and I grew to love it also. We moved onto some of her family land (that was not part of the land they farmed) 20 years ago and later that year lost her Dad. For over 20 years I have worked to improve her family farm and put hours and days into it. I farmed the roughly 35 acres of farm land it grew to be to mostly take care of it. It was work, cost money and enjoyed it greatly. Learned if you want to be just you and God get on a tractor or lawn mower with ear muffs and motor cranked up and easy to find the peace you want with just you and him. Must say disking works better than mowing lawn for it requires paying attention. Last year was a major decision year for me, I turned 66, working full time with retirement looking near bye and raising hay with more land to be sprigged and with more land needed to really build barn(s) to handle the hay and some hay equipment if going to increase the amount of hay. Easy $100,000 and possibly more with no child or son in law who had any interest in the farming and out look for one of our grands to have interest not too good either, so after much number crunching and praying over it decide it was time to retire from farming. No idea how I was doing what I was for now with covid only working 4 days a week so have Friday and Saturday to do all I need and want done with the farm and that is with NO FARMING ON MY PART. I have no doubt retiring from farming was the right decision for one reason I really do not miss it but still have a twinge with each piece of equipment I sell. At one time wished could have had farm as my Daddy's parents did, a few hundred acres and really almost self contained. But the land or the house does not give us happiness it is our family and friends and yes our God.
I sold real estate for about three years and wondered about some who bought about how they moved from family and such and still do today how happy they were with the move long term and really find the thought interesting still. One suggestion I would make about making such a move is INVEST the time to visit the area, not just on weekend(s). Visit a few Churches, variety of stores,
local restaurants and listen and see how the community feels to you. Ask some how they feel about the people who are moving in and listen. Can tell you here we are so tired of them it is amazing. We can not build anything fast enough to handle them, well maybe Dollar Generals are keeping up. Those who move here and want to be friends, who act as local and respect the locals and our customs and traditions are accepted normally very well. Those who move in and say well this is not have we did it up North...those normally are no happier here than where they moved from and their neighbors are willing to help them move back. lol

I can tell you as you age and health issue become more so, being near family and long term friends sure means more. My only living sister is about a 1,000 miles from us, both she and her husband have health issues and the ability to just share time is hard. Phone calls are good but phone calls don't give you a hug or kiss. Nor allow you to mow their lawn or such either. But it does help prevent sibling squabbles. It is worst to be near family who is a JERK. Have one of those also.

 

[grsthegreat]

The reason the wife and i dont travel much is.......the places we visit are not as nice as the place we live at.

 

[sodamo]

Just to update everyone so this thread doesn't stay active. My wife and I have been back and forth on whether to purchase this land. It has been gut wrenching to say the least. It is an amazing piece of property and would be a dream come true. However, with both of us still working full time, still have both kids, 21 and 16, still at home, elderly parents (10 minutes away) who need help with their small cattle operation, and trying to maintain our 22 acres and large home, we have decided the timing just isn't right. It is disappointing to us and we realize we may regret it someday, but we are extremely happy where we are and just didn't think it would be beneficial for us to work here every evening after work, then spend every Saturday there, coming home exhausted but satisfied, then doing it all again the next week for 5 years.

The final straw was yesterday, when I spoke to the neighbor farmer who is much older and wiser. He said he had been in a similar situation, which I figured he had and was the reason I sought his opinion, and he ended up farming more than he could handle. He said he realized a few years in he had made a mistake when he no longer enjoyed doing something he had previously. He got a little choked up when he talked about all of the things he had missed because he had stuff to do. It was a lightbulb moment for me, and for my wife when I told her.

I greatly appreciate all of those who took the time to offer their opinions. Each of them were considered and discussed. Thank you all. Maybe we'll get another chance in the future.

Thanks for the update. Perhaps using this experience as a catalyst you’ll find your current situation the best even long term. 22 acres isn’t too shabby and depending could even keep you busier than you want at some point. Sometimes a look over the fence and we find the grass isn’t really greener.
Thanks for sharing. Was interesting to read the various inputs.