Moving to ND/MN - Setting up an idea

[newhomemaker]

DH and I are planning to move from the east coast to ND or MN because of my allergies and the overall economic issues we are all struggling with. We've found some housing that we're trying to work the details out on and I had an interesting idead. So we're looking at the end of July to mid August for our move date.

I would like to see if while we are traveling, we could arrange some sort of trade or reasonable purchase if we're in your neck of the woods. Basically, if we managed to be traveling past you and there is something you've been lacking or would like, I know we would be willing.

We can offer various fresh or dried fruits and vegetables, as well as some raw honey. I know the fresh wouldn't last too terribly long on the road, but I would like to offer it to the first few states. The dried, we can package them in quart mason jars, but I'm leery of canning them because of my lack of experience. I really would feel bad if they went bad on you. We can aslo offer PC work and manual labor. We have lots of camping gear, so you wouldn't have to house us if you wished us there for a day or so.

We would also consider buying items from you, but our budget would have to ask nothing too expensive. (I know that sounds cheap, but moving about 2k miles away kinda forces you to be. )

Our planned route will be taking us through NW VA, SW PA, N OH, N IN, N IL, S Central WI to W WI, E MN to W MN, and possibly E ND.

So if you live somewhere around those areas, please post your city (so I can see how close to our route), the things you would have to offer, and the things you would like from us. I know we can't offer too much, but when we get to our new home, it'll be a little while living off our preps and any help is appriciated.

I'm including this list of things DH and I can't find ourselves (at least in our area) that we would like to let you folks know what we're looking for. And all of this is just for things you can spare. I don't want to take your preps or food from your family's mouths. I would never wish to do that to anyone. You folks are so kind that I would consider doing such offensive and inconsiderate.

-Canned or potted meats (Everything we find here is full of MSG or horrid perservstives. Perfering home raised meats. Not opposed to any animal.)
-Homemade jellies or preserves (I'm predicting a lot of PB & J sandwiches and store brands all have so much corn syrup in them.)
-Unwashed eggs (So they don't go bad on us too quickly.)
-Homemade or natural soap (It has helped so much with my allergies.)
-Unneeded blankets/comforters (They are so hard to find second hand that aren't highly used/stained/moldy. And new ones cost $35+ for any that hold warmth.)

That's all we can think of at the moment. If we can think of anything else, I'll update this post. Thank you for reading! We appriciate any offerings more than you could ever imagine!

[Up North]

What makes you choose your destination thusly?
Do you fully understand the potential for severity of winter in the area you plan on settling?

[arabian knight]

Not only are the winters very brutal in the areas you have stated but Allergy's You Say??,,, well geesh with the spring comes with Lots and Lots of pollen in both States... AZ. is where they say to send your allergy's to not the humid climate of both States not to mention the Cold, very cold winters . Especially in Eastern ND to western MN. you are Smack Dab in the middle of those Very cold fronts moving down from Canada that have really come from Siberia.~! We call those air masses "Siberian Clippers"

[newhomemaker]

Yes, I understand how cold it is there. That is part of the reason why we have chosen those areas.

And yes, I am aware of the many flowers there, but the flowers I am allergic to are prolific in my current area and are non-existant as you move north.

And I refuse to go live in AZ. It's hot and dry. Plus, it's closer to Mexico. Nothing there I want to have close to home.

So if you have any better suggestions, please PM me. I'd like to have this thread available for those willing to help with the idea I have. If no one is interested in such, then someone let me know so I can have the thread deleted.

[treasureacres]

I think these people are just trying to prepare you for the climate you are moving into. If you have limited resources it will be tough to heat a house in area due to cold weather, fuel costs are unbelievable!! I am curious, do you have jobs lined up yet, ideas for housing, or is this just a "blind" move. Good luck with everything, I hope you find a nice place.

[newhomemaker]

Yes, I am aware that everyone here is being helpful, but I have done a lot of reading and I think I'm over prepared for the move. We have more than enough food/heat providing methods/emergency items available to us. I know a lot of my peers are ignorant and make bad decisions quickly, but I've had to learn the hard way early. Thank you for your concern.

We don't have jobs lined up yet, but we have enough capital budgeted for a minimum of 6 months while we look. I have a small online business I make some money off of, so it is something to help while we live off the preps. But while we're still here, we've been living very frugal for the past three years for this move.

It's just arranging the housing that is the snag. I've emailed too many people and have gotten only one response. No one is listing phone numbers and it's driving me nuts. I don't like a lot of the real estate sites as they living spaces are way too over priced. And they all have scummy looking people advertising their properties.

I'm working on formulating this, but I have to wait for others. That is why I thought of this idea. A lot of things are hard to find in my horribly urban area, so I'm trying to work out an alternative. I just can't live in VA any longer or I will shoot the next idiot on a cell phone, driving 12 mph under the limit, AND playing with their face in some way.

So if you have any other areas you think would suit me, feel free to list them, but I have my heart set on Lankin, ND.

[Up North]

We don't know enough about what you value, or what's important to you to make a sensible recommendation of alternatives. Many areas of North Dakota will certainly get you away from population centers, no question about that.
Beyond that, do you want a home only? Do you want a few acres for gardening/self sufficiency? Do you want enough acres to raise livestock and do some farming?
Are you satisfied with seasonal employment, or do you wish to be employed year around?
Never know what good ideas folks can come up with. Ideas are free,no harm in considering alternatives. If ND is the best choice for you, we wish you well with it. A few pointers if you choose to move to that north of a location on the Great Plains: Your automobile needs to have the anti-freeze tested and set to -40F. Tires with good tread for negotiating snow and ice are a must.
An engine block heater on the automobile is highly recommended.
Just some things to be aware of.

[Scrounger]

I like your idea! xOthers have used similar ideas to "work" their way across country.

I like it but, I'm out of your "flight path"......

[Seeria]

Welcome to the northern midwest!! Go severe cold winters!!! Love 'em We spent a winter in Arizona, won't ever ever ever go there again. heh Nothing to trade but wish you luck and a fine trip!

[newhomemaker]

Originally Posted by Up North

Beyond that, do you want a home only? Do you want a few acres for gardening/self sufficiency? Do you want enough acres to raise livestock and do some farming?Are you satisfied with seasonal employment, or do you wish to be employed year around?

No, all of the homes I am looking at have a minimun of 3 acres and a maximum of 7. DH adn I decided that would be a good limit seeing it will be he, myself, and one friend living there. And it would allow for us to be self sufficient to a degree before winter comes. We've been taking the measures to be able to live off preps for the whole winter if need be.

I don't want anything with too many acres as I know I would be the only one doing anything with them. DH would be working and my friend is disabled, she just can't live in the area either.

We are looking at raising milk and meat goats, chickens, rabbits, and we're still debating on the rest of ideas. We also have a large selection of seeds already packed away for the spring. So yes, land is important, but too much of it will break me.

And for DH and I, any employment that allows a savings will allow us to be fine. Of course, if the job pays better and lasts only part of the year, it will be balanced out. DH and I make sure that's how it happens here.

And to let you know, I've found some areas in Iowa and Wisconsin that are looking better only because the people are talking to me. It's disappointing to me because the one response before raised the rent for their home another $200 without repying to me. So the first post might get drastically altered.

[Macybaby]

I live in SD, so a bit off your route. My husband has been working construction in ND the last two summers. There is a ton of work going on in the coal fields, and soon there will be more oil drilling too. It pays well enough that my husband makes twice as much working 6 months of the year than if he took a job locally. He puts in long hours, but if he wasn't working, he'd be sitting in a hotel room. It does mean I take care of the homestead by myself during the summer. I have a steady job, and with DH's income, we are paying off debt and getting ourselves to the point where he will only have to take one or two contract jobs a summer.

I grew up in MN and lived in WI for four years, have been in SD for the last five. One of the things I love most about SD is the poilitcal climate (or lack there of).

Cathy

[Trisha-MN]

Wow, you're really moving north. We're down by Fargo-Moorhead so when you get things figured out if you end up going by our way let me know.

[Madsaw]

Well looks like I will be the first to offer you something for your trip. I am in the southwest croner of wisconsin. If y ou wanted you can detour fromt eh freeway route and come through some amish country. You should beable to pick up the canned goods you looking for at the roadside stands or they have stores too around here.
I have been to the dakotas a time or too and I can supply a road map to get you back on the interstate up in minnesota. If you like I can also check around here if you might be interested in the southwest croner of wiscon.
Bob

[fishhead]

If you are traveling you could camp your way as you go. MN has some nice state and private parks or you could do what I've always done and that's just find an out of the way place to sleep and move on in the morning.

MN has lots of allergy producing plants and in the spring mold allergies are pretty common. There's nothing to say that you won't become allergic to them in the future. We've also got some pretty brutal cold spells although not as cold as when I was younger.

Personally I would go for the maximum amount of land I could afford but I LOVE land. That leaves a buffer of unaltered land for the rest of the critters.

If it wasn't for the wind I would be looking at South Dakota personally. The MN government is pretty disfunctional.

[cc-rider]

I don't have a thing to offer, nor do I need anything in return, but if you need a place to pull off the road and camp for a period of time (or even just overnight!) I'm in northwest Ohio. State Route 224. Just let me know!

Good luck with your trip....sounds exciting and I'm envious.
CC

[kare_bear]

Not sure if this would help or on your path of travel but guessing you will be passing within an hour of us. If you wanted to stop by, we could give you a young rabbit trio, unrelated of course. We have babies popping out everywhere, lol.

We would be on the last part of the journey so wouldnt have to travel too far with them.

[Scrounger]

I would agree that you might look at tracts of land a bit larger then you are mentioning. ND is a fine place, but 5 acres there and 5 acres in other places might not be the same, production wise.

[blufford]

It sounds like Maine might be a little closer. With what you would save in gas you could probably buy an acre of land. LOLs


http://cgi.ebay.com/51-ACRES-LAND-WI...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/4-79-ACRE-WOODED...3911.m14.l1308

[newhomemaker]

After this morning, I think I have been blessed or given a good omen.

A 7 acre property in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin should become available to us on Sept. 1st once the summer tenants move. It comes with a 4 bedroom/2 bathroom home and a 2,000+ acre back yard plus a 3 state parks within 30 minutes driving (Heck, one is only 4 miles away from the front door!) It's well within our budget and there is a Uhaul location right down the street!! I was having trouble trying to buy an enclosed trailer in my area, but this is all fitting together much better than it had before.

I'm still willing to come through MN for some of your ideas and offerings. We would be ridiculously close and would be a waste if we didn't. PLus it sounds like a lot of things we're in dire need of would be available. That alone excites me.

And I want to let you all know I am very thankful for your help. I really am.

Since it looks like the middle of August before we start our way out, if there is anyone else who'd like anything, please let us know!! I got a new price list from our produce wholesaler and there are so many new items. Like starfruit! :O So please!! Let us know if there is anything you'd be interestd in. We're going to place and pick up an order tomorrow and I might be able to give canning a shot.

UPDATE: Spoke with the landlord and he's had many offers because of how cheap he's letting the home go for in it's location. The home was moved from another location from down the street and was placed ontop of a basement! Yes!!!

And in our back yard, we'll have coyotes, bobcats, deer, small game critters, and I think he mentioned bear. Oh joyus! Lots of warm critters will find themselves on my bed if they don't watch out.

Now the man said that the home needed slight repairs before we could move in, but it involves new paint and I think he said something about the toilet kept running water. I was too excited to actually talk to someone to remember.

The man also said it was going to a first come, first serve basis, but he wasn't going to let it go out from under us because I sounded serious and in more need than some of the other offers. Most of the other offers are local, but in his words "A lot of the are nuts, smoke, or just don't take care of nothin'." Looking good for me!

When I told him that we were ready to send him the deposit and the first month's rent, he switched tones. He is hell bent on us seeing it before we move in. I told him we're coming from VA so if we're coming, we coming to stay. Eventually, he agreed to send me some pictures so I would have an idea about the home, but in the end, DH and I don't give a hoot. The home has been renovated and is winterized for it's location. Everything is working and in great condition. So we're ready to go.

I told him DH and I would talk about it tonight and I would give him a ring tomorrow. When I got off the phone, all DH had to say was "How much by when?" So it looks like, if things go the way I would like them to, we'll send him the needed info and deposit on Friday with overnight shipping. I want to be the first to come, dangit.

And DH said we are going to come by the Amish area in MN mentioned. I'll PM everyone a few days before we head out. If there's enough interest, I'll see if I can take pictures of the journey and show everyone what fun this should be.

[Up North]

If it all works out for you, here is some info on Ellison Bay: http://wisconsin.hometownlocator.com...llison-Bay.cfm

Door County is a fruit producing and tourist area due to it's unique micro-climate. The Lake Effect basically means it will not get as hot in summer and not as cold in winter as the interior mainland of the surrounding states. Plenty of snow though, and usually plenty of precipitation. Pretty country, not too far a drive from Green Bay, WI which has a college and paper mill industries. WI does have fairly high real estate property taxes, so that's the downside. Good news is they have very reasonable auto licensing fees.

If for some reason it does not work out, one might explore properties located in a band bordered on the south by Highway 8 and bordered on the north by Highway 2. This region tends to have more reasonably priced properties.
Also the U.P. of Michigan East of Ironwood has more reasonably priced properties, varies by demand due to recreational/hunting value.

Hey Good Luck there.