Will Taking Care of Acreage Get Old?

   / Will Taking Care of Acreage Get Old? #1  

Alan L.

Elite Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2000
Messages
3,053
Location
Grayson County, TX
Tractor
Kubota B2710
Well we close on the sale of our 2000 square foot house in a small town on Nov 30 and have to be out Dec 15. Hoping to have our shop/living quarters on our 24 acres ready to move into in time.

Recently a couple of friends have told us "You'll like it for a while, then you will get tired of taking care of all that land." I can't see that happening, but at 46 years old I wonder when I get older if taking care of the property will really get old. Playing on the tractor and maintaining the propery is very enjoyable to us now, but what about after 5 years - or 10 years.

For those of you who have lived on acreage for quite a while - does it get old?
 
   / Will Taking Care of Acreage Get Old? #2  
Alan,

For the last thirty years I have been doing what I call "crimes against nature" building houses, barns, pig sheds, chicken houses, ponds, cutting trees, building fence, windmills, dams and roads. It has never gotten old for me. If I live to finish half of the projects I have planned social security will lose big time. The only thing that seems to get old is me, but I will bet without this kind of life style the time I spend above ground would be significantly less. While your friends are becoming couch potatoes you can be growing Yukon Golds.
 
   / Will Taking Care of Acreage Get Old? #3  
Alan,
It will only grow old when you cannot stand to be out in a natural setting without a ton of people being there, and you no longer enjoy the fresh air, solitude, peace, and bounty that your own land can provide to your soul, and harmonious living with the land.
 
   / Will Taking Care of Acreage Get Old? #4  
Alan,
Taking care of the land doesn't get old for you do it at a slower pace when you get older,and what you don't take care of mother nature will reclaim.



Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
 
   / Will Taking Care of Acreage Get Old? #5  
Alan L. Your friends may well be right; it depends on the individual. I know in my area, there are, or have been, a lot of folks who bought acreages, worked on their place a couple of years, then put it up for sale and moved back to town. You'll never get caught up or have your place completed to your satisfaction, so if you get frustrated trying to, you'll soon be unhappy. If, on the other hand, you enjoy always having some projects in mind, and are not in too big a hurry to get them done, you'll probably enjoy it for many years. To tell the truth, I've considered selling my place. I like living here, but am getting to an age that I know my wife couldn't live here if something happened to me. My wife's brother has just put his place up for sale because his wife has terminal cancer, and we're a long ways from health care resources, etc. Of course, most of us can't go through life planning for the worst case; just enjoy what we can while we can./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bird
 
   / Will Taking Care of Acreage Get Old? #6  
I agree that the labor of maintenance varys with the individual. I've lived in the country for 28 years. During that time I've worked and raised a family. I've had periods of time that left me without the time to keep the place maintained as I would have liked. But it is always there when I do have time, and getting on the tractor and cutting grass relives a lot of pressure for me.

Now that I'm retired and have more time, I can keep it better and enjoy it even more. I,too, believe that maintaining land helps keep you active and in good health longer. If/when you can't care for it any longer, take the profits from your investment and make your life a little more comfortable.

Gene MS
 
   / Will Taking Care of Acreage Get Old? #7  
Alan L. I'm basically in the same scenario you are. I purchased 23 acres in Vt. back in 1978 while I was in the Navy. We built our home three years ago and I've been busy ever since. Now that I have my tractor I'm even busier pulling rocks etc. So far and God willing I won't ever get tired of it. For me it's my source of stress relief and the contentment you get with a good project done. I will agree on one other thing don't try to get to much done at once. All you will do is get frustrated!! All my projects have taken longer then planned so now I don't worry about time. If you love the outdoors and working or playing outdoors it will never get old!!!
Good luck,
Al
 
   / Will Taking Care of Acreage Get Old? #8  
Alan, it depends upon the individual. I have lived on my place here in Maine for 21 years. Lack of enough time has been a problem but taking care of land does not have to be a big deal. You do have to keep fields mowed or they soon grow up to scrub. I have managed to keep nature at an arm's length witha 5' rotar mower. What has killed me is taking care of the buildings. I plan to retire next year and have at least one year's work ahead of me to get the barn back in shape. Much like you I came from a city lot to 40 acres. Would I go back?? No way!
 
   / Will Taking Care of Acreage Get Old? #9  
I think that Thomas hit the nail on the head. I've got a total of 59 acres and I wouldn't trade it for city life. There is just no comparing the two. If you love the outdoors than you'll love having the land and what goes along with it. You will always have something to do thats for sure.
Gordon
 
   / Will Taking Care of Acreage Get Old? #10  
I can only speak from my experiences. I've been maintaining and "improving" my 10 acres for more than 20 years and never tire of working on the yard, in the woodlot, or even building and maintaining fences. I also help my neighbor who is 93 with a lot of the maintainence on his place, like bush hogging and keeping trails and lanes open so he can run his little Kawasaki mule around. Nope, I never tire of working on the land. I never seem to get caught up on all the things I'd like to do, but that's OK. I kind of view it as job security. My wife seems to have a never ending list of honey-do's for me, so she knows if I want to "play" outside I have to keep up on the chores list.

For me, it just never gets old.

Bob Pence
 

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