How Isolated ... ?

glazed · #1 01/19/10, 04:13 PM

We, here, are of a different mindset than the majority ... living lifestyles that puzzle, and sometimes even seem to threaten, others.

I don't know why this is so, but maybe that's another topic altogether.

Anyway ... I'm not sure how to word my main question, so here goes:

If you had the opportunity, how isolated (as far as location) would you go? How deep, or how far, off the beaten path would you go? Or would you even want to?

Wisconsin Ann · #2 01/19/10, 04:35 PM

If I could own a couple thousand acres of forest/land...I'd plop my house right down in the middle..as far away from people as possible

Then I'd build a small airstrip and fly my ultralight or homebuilt into town.

there ya go. oh...and there wouldn't be a driveway.

Old Vet · #3 01/19/10, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mama Crow

We, here, are of a different mindset than the majority ... living lifestyles that puzzle, and sometimes even seem to threaten, others.

I don't know why this is so, but maybe that's another topic altogether.

Anyway ... I'm not sure how to word my main question, so here goes:

If you had the opportunity, how isolated (as far as location) would you go? How deep, or how far, off the beaten path would you go? Or would you even want to?

I live in a place that is 1 mile from the nearest neighbor. On a county dirt road that has about 3 cars per day down it and one of them is a mailman. The next nearest neighbor is 2 miles away. It is about 8 miles to the nearest town pop 33. I love the quiet.

EarthSheltered · #4 01/19/10, 04:43 PM

We were just traveling, and picked up a real Estate guide for KY. There was a plot for a very secluded, off the beaten path property of 1,124 acres. I just sighed, and said "I'd love to own that much land"! But it, even at KY prices, is way out of range for me. Many people would be thrilled with the 50 acres we are on here in a hollow, not a house in sight :banana02:

I guess land lust is never satisfied

I do wonder if I'll be as thrilled with being away from it all when I'm over 70. DH tells me I will, as I'll be even crabbier when I'm older.

glazed · #5 01/19/10, 04:50 PM

Made me smile, Wisconsin Ann.

And, Old Vet, I'm talking even more isolated than that. I'm talking, like, 70-90 miles from the nearest town (and even that would be considered small.)

If y'all have time, now or later, please watch this.

I love the area ... and have visited often ... this is the Big Bend National Park and the Big Bend State Park area.

I have found, so far, the following land for sale by owner.

Five acres ... $800.00

Five acres ... $2,599 at $65/Month or Cash Sale for $1,399

Five acres ... $1500.00

Ten acres ... $1500.00

Ten acres ... $3000.00

Twenty acres ... $5000.00

Twenty acres ... $6000.00

Fifty acres ... $14,000.00 or best offer

Property tax last year (2009) for 40 acres was $65 and some odd cents.

So I'm wondering how one would adapt to this climate as homesteaders ... I'm sure the same principles would apply, but they'd have to be tweaked.

txquilter · #6 01/19/10, 04:51 PM

Well, I'm not sure if I could do completely without human interaction. I think I would like 20 - 40 acres within about 45 minutes of a decent size town.

glazed · #7 01/19/10, 04:52 PM

From what I understand, there is no city or rural water at all. Everyone uses rain catchment. Most all houses have outdoor (solar) showers, and composting toilets ... outhouses are the norm.

Some have their drinking water hauled in ... or they have the five gallon water cooler thingy.

Here are some old pics I found ... back in 1998 ... look at how young the girls are (they are 18 and 14 now!) ... Laura is only 3.5 years old in these pics.

How Isolated ... ? - Homesteading Questions

How Isolated ... ? - Homesteading Questions

My little brother and little sister and my mom and the girls on a boulder at the Rio Grande (I'm in the red sweater) ... my dad in the middle pic looking out over the Rio Grande outside the condo in Lajitas ... it really is beautiful country.

shanzone2001 · #8 01/19/10, 04:53 PM

I would like to be within 20 minutes of town so we can go to church, the store, and meet with others to socialize.

100 acres is a great amount of space and I would find ways to use all of it!!!

PS I would HAVE to have a gun totin, bear shootin, snake scarin, fire buildin, strong and scruffy man by my side though!!!!

Callieslamb · #9 01/19/10, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanzone2001

I would like to be within 20 minutes of town so we can go to church, the store, and meet with others to socialize.

100 acres is a great amount of space and I would find ways to use all of it!!!

me too!!

culpeper · #10 01/19/10, 05:01 PM

I've lived in isolation, Australia-style. On a property of 500,000 acres (the smallest in the district), with our closest neighbour being 53 miles away, and the next closest (in a different direction) being 120 miles away. Nearest town for shopping etc 400 miles away. Shopping was done every 6 months or so.

Every property has its own landing strip for aeroplanes - mainly used by the Flying Doctor Service in emergencies.

Strangely, the social life out there was quite busy! At least once a week, there was something to go to - a dinner, or a wool-shed dance, or a day at the horse-races. Thing is, nobody thinks twice about driving a couple of hundred miles to get somewhere! Or of driving back home again the same day. It wasn't unusual for us to go and see our closest neighbours 3-4 times a week, just for a cuppa and a chat, or to help with mending fences or whatever. Or for them to visit us.

My point is this - we humans are wired to socialise, aren't really geared for true isolation. No matter how far you are from people, there WILL be contact, like it or lump it.

My experience was 50 years ago, but I honestly don't think much will have changed since then. Especially now we've got computers and emails and mobile phones.

Mind you, isolation on the scale that I knew it can be downright terrifying when there's an emergency!

Having been there, done that, I'm perfectly happy to live in quiet suburbia again, thank you. Security is a doctor around the corner, and the shops only 2 minutes away! And, oddly, though I live in a complex of townhouses (medium density), I rarely see or hear my neighbours.

The closer you are to people, the less social you become, so I've discovered.

It's worth thinking about!

Wisconsin Ann · #11 01/19/10, 05:15 PM

Mama Crow...there's a problem with the Big Bend area recently...illegals and drug running. It's gotten pretty bad from what my friend who lives down there says. ...might be part of the reason for sales....just keep your eyes open on that thought....

as to adapting...The area isn't too bad. You need to realize you're not going to have water part of the year, so you dig cisterns, save water, plant things that will take little water...raise critters that can deal with the heat in the summer.

therunbunch · #12 01/19/10, 05:30 PM

DH would be happy as all get-out to live on his own planet, forget land! LOL However, I'm having a little trouble adjusting to the 20 acres we are renting. I have anxiety/depression... still trying to find out how to get rid of it, as it popped up suddenly after my last child's birth and can't seem to shake it. I almost get a panic attack when I think about having to drive an hour just to visit my old friends. I feel really isolated... but I'm hoping when I 'return to normal' again that I'll start to love it more. Right now I worry about my kids socializing with other kids.. which they haven't since we moved here 3 months ago.

shanzone2001 · #13 01/19/10, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanzone2001

I would like to be within 20 minutes of town so we can go to church, the store, and meet with others to socialize.

100 acres is a great amount of space and I would find ways to use all of it!!!

PS I would HAVE to have a gun totin, bear shootin, snake scarin, fire buildin, strong and scruffy man by my side though!!!!

And a BIG dog for when that man is away!!!

Gianni · #14 01/19/10, 05:37 PM

I like people so I would like to be within an hours drive of a town of 5K people. I like to be able to look 3-4 miles in either direction and see evidence of my neighbors even if it's only smoke.

D Lynn · #15 01/19/10, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mama Crow

If you had the opportunity, how isolated (as far as location) would you go? How deep, or how far, off the beaten path would you go? Or would you even want to?

That's a really good question! Although a really broad question too.

Last place I lived, we were 45 mins from the closest town. Nice and quiet, good land, excellent for 'steading, but I never felt safe there. If we had a major event (unlikely, but nothing surprises me anymore), this area SE Ont. is not safe.
So, I have resigned myself to believe that going back home (Northern Ont.) would be the best bet for us. Land is cheap, water is good, economy is comparable, and the safety issue is all good. Oh, and the humans are better spread out!

D Lynn · #16 01/19/10, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanzone2001

And a BIG dog for when that man is away!!!

I second that motion! LOL!

Alice In TX/MO · #17 01/19/10, 06:01 PM

Thirty five miles from the nearest town with a real hospital and choice of doctors.

chestnut · #18 01/19/10, 06:01 PM

What I call isolation now is the middle of 175 acres. But i wouldn't mind living in Dick Proenneke's cabin (Alaska) for as long as I could take it.

tuffnutt · #19 01/19/10, 06:07 PM

I don't think it could get isolated enough for me, I could be a hermit, heck I hide in the barn when the neighbors come a calling now lol

FarmerChick · #20 01/19/10, 06:12 PM

I am not the hermit type. I do want interaction and stores and all.

I want more isolation than I have....about 1 hr from any larger town would be nice.

My small town is 10 mins away---bigger town is 1/2 hr away and Charlotte is 1 hr away
but so much land was built up and farm land sold now. what was nice is now getting crowded.

I have 120 acres. I can put my house smack dab out of the main road, isolated in a way, with people not too far away..LOL

I don't want isolated. BUT I want what I had, not too many homes near me like all this built up over the last 10 years has done.

I had it good.....darn it....then the homes came--UGH