Sick of cutting grass in WNY

[Thomas]

Bird,
At least you folks once again have good sleeping weather and the days are cooler,but the no rain fall as of yet./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif
The temp here this morning was 35 degrees and with the wind chill it average 21 to 26 degrees,yep almost time to put a heavier shirt on. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

The leaves also are strating to turn rather quickly,but after the leaves fall than the snow furries will start to dance,ahhh go old new england weather./w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Thomas..NH

 

[gordon]

The city folks are something, I paid less than 3k an acre for my larger parcel and its got a 4 bedroom house on it as well thats 4 years old. No real estate company involved with that deal just a hand shake to hold the land until the lawyer drew up the contract.

The land across the street just sold a few months back for 6k an acre with no house---city folks want a place in the country!!! Times a changin!!!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif or /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif depending how you look at it.

I was talking to the new owner and he said he was unhappy about the guy down the street who repairs cars said his yard wasn't up to par with the other properties around here.
The guy keeps his yard pretty neat tries to keep any unrunning cars out of road sight. He is just turning wrenches to make a living. Well I shut this new neighbor down real quick and told him if he didn't like the view he could plant a windblock that would serve two things block the winter wind and also the view. Then I asked him didn't he notice that when he was looking at the place. His reply was that once he had his new house built and moved in he thought that he could change it.

Now I've lived in my place for about a year now but when I first bought my place the neighbor came over and said he had a race car and did I mind if he fired it up. I told him that there is no race car that can make more noise than my kids outside playing. He was relieved to hear this and said thanks. In the course of a year I think that I've heard the car start once or twice. He has come to me for help working on a couple of the cars and I've gone to him for help when I cracked my bucket and didn't have my welder hooked up yet.

But back to what I'm getting at---people buy land in the country so they can do as they please!!!

I hope this guy doesn't build down the street seems like he can't leave well enough alone and thats not good.

Just to keep this post on subject I'm tired of cutting grass and I charge for it but it's been a good year for brush hogging for me so I can't complain I guess.

Gordon

 

[Bird]

Yeah, Gordon, we have some very neat places in our area, and we have some terribly trashy places. In fact, the 5 acre place on one side of mine was an extremely well kept, neat place until it sold last year to a mechanic. He had the yard mowed once this year, when it got over knee deep, and he has 3 or 4 junk cars and pickups sitting around. I sure don't like it, but there's no way I'm going to say anything to him about it, because, like you said, I bought this place where I knew there were not many rules and everyone can do as he pleases.

Bird

 

[gerard]

I guess land prices are relative. I just had to pay 30K for 3 acres of land. Of course it was attached to my other 7 acres (where the house/barns etc sit, and was a very nice building lot on a very desirable street. If I hadn't bought it I would have a neighbor and my wife wouldn't have an outdoor riding arena. So it was a needed purchase but boy I wan't too happy paying 30k just to keep a piece pf land open! Upside is I can probably recoup and make some if I decide to sell in the future. FYI most rural land around by me you can get for 500 -1000K per acre, depends on how much road frontage there is

 

[Harv]

Gordon -

I guess I resemble that remark about city folks. /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif But I'm definitely starting to see the country folks side of things. When my parents originally bought the 42-acre property some 25 years ago, it was still an unspoiled country-living area. They paid $1600 per acre -- actually they paid for a 40-acre parcel and when they had it surveyed for fencing purposes it came out to 42 acres. Nifty.

I remember clearly when I went to town with my dad to buy a whole trailer full of lumber right after they bought the property, my dad was mortified to discover that his checkbook had no checks left in it. The trailer was already loaded up, so he asked the lumber yard guy if he could just leave the trailer where it was until he could drive home (30 minutes away) and get more checks. The guy (who was just meeting Dad for the first time) said, "Shoot. No need to make two trips. Go ahead and take your lumber and just drop me a check next time you're in town. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

That was the first time I realized there was a whole 'nuther way of living than what I was used to in the city.

Since then, the area has become a mecca for well-to-do retirees from the city, and property prices have at least tripled. Sadly, the put-it-on-my-tab days are gone and the roads are now dominated by late model SUV's.

There is still a sense of community up there, however, that I have come to admire and want to be a part of. Case in point -- last year a guy's mower threw a spark when he trimmed around the mailbox cluster on the road bordering our property. He didn't notice the spark, threw the mower into his pickup truck and drove away.

The next car to drive by (not from the immediate neighborhood) saw the smoke and stopped to try and put it out. It was more than he could handle and the fire was spreading rapidly onto our property and towards Mom's house. Within minutes, he had flagged down more cars (one had a cell phone and called the volunteer fire department) and everyone pitched in to do what they could. By the time the fire trucks got there (about 3 minutes later), the place was swarming with neighbors I didn't know existed -- fire extinguishers, shovels, and one guy came straight through our fence with his tractor and proceeded to clear a swath between the fire and Mom's house (this guy suffered minor burns, but clearly gets credit for saving the house). Other folks (total strangers) rushed in to escort my 85-year old mother to safety.

Net result -- a couple of scorched acres, no structural damage. When I heard about what had happened, I was able to to thank the tractor-driver in person, but I never even found out the names of any of the others who had helped so much. The fire chief told me that's just the way it is up there. Everybody watches out for everybody else. No thanks are expected.

Down here in the city, someone may or may not have called 911, but for sure they would have watched from their windows to see what happened. /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif

Just to keep this on topic -- those couple of acres needed no mowing for the rest of that season. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[gordon]

Harv, sorry for posting such a general remark I should have said SOME city folks not all!!!/w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

There is a country store about 5 miles from the house it's the closest store to me and they do a booming business and don't even have a regular cash regisiter they use a calculator and a scrach pad. I have a charge account there that I pay at the end of the month it's kept in a notebook. I can say this about that little store they sell anything from fresh subs to well points and alittle of everything in between.

We also have a large Amish population in this area they use horse and buggy for transportation. It's nothing to see 6-8 buggies tied to the hitchin post at the market. Man what a hard way to go no electric, no rubber tires, they are allowed now to have a phone but it has to be used only in an emergency and it has to be located in the yard not in the house. Their wood shops are powered by air and hydraulic they buy new electric powertools and convert them over to either air powered or hydraulic run. The planers and tablesaws are converted to hydraulic the rest are usually air powered. They have diesel engines that run the air compressors and have hydraulic pumps or take offs on the engines. Their wells are powered by the air compressor as well. A hard way to go. It makes you think when you pull into Wal-Mart parking lot and there are buggies tied up to the light poles.

A good way to go is what goes around comes around---meaning one day you might help the guy who drove the tractor!! It's nice to know that people still care!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Gordon

 

[EddieW]

Gerard, I'm trying to buy 30 acres for the same reason. Just so I can control what happens to it. The guy hasn't priced it so far but I expect to pay between 2k-3k for it. THis land is zoned agricultural so you can do about anything you want on ii so if I don't buy it I get to live with whatever happens.

 

[scruffy]

102.2 degrees today, H-m-m-m, Bird, we must've gotten your 'warm' weather! Well, I know for sure you don't want it back! Unfortunately, we have done the reverse migration thingy. Born and raised country, raised four kids in the country, and due to a change in occupations brought about after several years disability from a broken neck, we are now forced to live in or next to cities for work (only place where this type of job is found) ( bummer. Oh well, we've found a remote rural place back up in a canyon where civilization is held at bay due to property owners refusing to sell out for developement. Here in southern cal, they call it 'horse country', but the only horse that would call it that is an iron one! Personally, I think its nothing but a coyote tinkling area. Property prices? Well this 2.5 acres is appraised at $300,000, and maybe a half acre is usable, the rest is very steep, unbuildable hillside! Insane! It has a not very nice 2 bdrm house, with 2 car garage, but still not anything to braig bout!

 

[Bird]

Yeah, scruffy, from what I hear, California land prices have just gone crazy. My wife has an aunt in Camarillo, and of course they bought their house over 40 years ago for $20k plus and now it's appraised at over $250k (ordinary little stucco house on a city lot). Of course, there are some places like that in Texas, too. I've heard of houses selling for $1 million plus in Highland Park (separate city within Dallas) only to be torn down so the buyer could build a new house on the lot. A million dollars for a city lot is beyond my comprehension, even if I had that kind of money.

Bird

 

[scruffy]

Bird, all I can say is NO WAY! If I had a million bucks, I would retire to Oregon so fast it would be a wonder if anyone saw me along the way! We bought 10 acres up north for a grand an acre, and I thought that was robbery! Even if I cut the trees down a paid for it that way, I'd still scream! Like it just like it is, trees and all. California prices are absolutely outside of reality. We are sooooooooo ready to go back to the rural lifestyle that it is hard to drive to work (through also insane traffic) every day. The only thing you can say about southern Cal is the weather is (for the most part) great, but I sure miss the rain, snow, fishing, solitude, and general peace and quiet. So what that we have to drive 20 miles for a cup of coffee! That's what makes it great! As well as the general friendliness of the neighbors, and the unasked for helping hand when someone is tackling a big job, or as mentioned, a fire, or other emergency. Those are all the best parts of rural living, which has long since disappeared in the city lifestyle.