Question for those with property in the boonies

[4Hockey4]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I'm not sure your comment regarding electric lines is accurate. Running new electric service to a property in a rural location is governed by the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. In short, it will cost the property owner just $50 to have the local electric company run new service to a new structure that has an electric meter. The act specifies that the $50 price is for service run to a location within 2,000 feet of an existing electric service demark (i.e. a utility pole). Right-of-way easements will be handled by the electric utility.

But many times that easement ends on a property and yes permission needs to be had from other surrounding land owners. At least in Virginia that is true. Myself, brother and when I ran construction company, often ran into that problem.

there is not a direct right of way easement on some land/plots in Virginia.

[Smgs1992]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

This thread makes me appreciate my HOA.

I’d rather not live somewhere where people can tell me what i cant do with my house i’m paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for. That i cant put up a shed or have a fire pit if i want to. How i have to cut my grass and that i cant work on my car in my own garage or driveway.
If you like that lifestyle to “save from an eyesore” more power to you but i prefer not to be told how i can live my life

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Smgs1992

I’d rather not live somewhere where people can tell me what i cant do with my house i’m paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for. That i cant put up a shed or have a fire pit if i want to. How i have to cut my grass and that i cant work on my car in my own garage or driveway.
If you like that lifestyle to “save from an eyesore” more power to you but i prefer not to be told how i can live my life

As long as everyone is happy with their arrangements, it’s all good.

[PoorLurker]

Originally Posted by Smgs1992

I’d rather not live somewhere where people can tell me what i cant do with my house i’m paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for. That i cant put up a shed or have a fire pit if i want to. How i have to cut my grass and that i cant work on my car in my own garage or driveway.
If you like that lifestyle to “save from an eyesore” more power to you but i prefer not to be told how i can live my life

Just saw a post on social media where a local HOA requested architectural drawings for a ring doorbell installation. hahaha

Home owner got spooked but I think the HOA just sent some default packet to the person, haha.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by gurns

Having stumbled across this thread was too coincidental as i am in the same situation as the OP. I, too, live in FLA and have been looking for quite sometime to move to upstate SC. I’ve chosen this area specifically because it satisfies my activities like cycling and hiking plus SC is a retirement friendly place to live (more so than NC). BTW, my analysis shows GA is also very good location but mountain communities there don’t have the infrastructure of mid sized towns (i.e. Hendersonville, Greenville, Chattanooga). As mentioned by many in this thread living in rural setting can involve a different way of life - both positive and negative depending on your past experiences. For me, being near (<30 min drive) places to resource good clean food (Grocery), restaurants, entertainment, etc. is important as is having a nice Mountain View, privacy, avoidance of onerous HOA fees, etc. My findings after (and presently still) looking for many, many, months is this “place” is extremely hard to find. If anything, the info exchanged in this thread has influenced me to perhaps make a few more compromises on my requirements.

Yup. I don't think we will ever find EXACTLY what we want at the price we want. We will have to compromise somewhere.

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

A key advantage of being off-the-grid is that you will probably have considerably more freedom to do what you want to do with your property.

I'm in an unincorporated township, and when I built my 32x72 pole barn, getting a building permit was a breeze and the inspector told me it's just a formality though it could be important in the event of an insurance claim.

Except for a single time where the state imposed an outdoor fire ban during a bad drought, I can have a fire whenever I want, anywhere on my land. I've got a couple of big brush piles out in the woods that are tarped-over to keep them dry, that are waiting for more snow cover (so the fire stays contained) and will be lit up once that's in place. The ability to do that saves a lot of effort when it comes to cleaning up after felling a tree. Try burning a 10-foot diameter brush pile in the 'burbs, and you'll end up in the pokey.

Being in an unincorporated area also means in my case there aren't any restrictions on the discharge of firearms. I have 25- and 50- and 100-yard ranges set up, and plans for a 200-yard range though it's not really a priority. I can shoot whenever I get the urge, within the bounds of neighborliness. I plink off my deck with .22s and pistols. I hand-load for rifles, and it's pretty nice to have a shooting bench and a 100-yard range that's about 20 steps away from my loading bench. Makes load development really quick.

That's a little... ok a lot to hardcore for me. I need to ease into it. I think one of these "country" HOAs wouldn't be too bad. I think for me it's more about I don't know if that is just some dude who likes collecting rusty bikes.... or a crack house. Because where I'm from pretty much anything that looks like that is probably a crack house and you definitely don't want to buy a house around there.... unless you are in the crack business. However around here we could be driving through what looks like a very nice area with nice houses and there's some random mobile home with no roof and a whole in the wall just sitting there.

Anyways we are still looking. Very hard to find something we like, we can access with our 32' trailer and is in our budget.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Yup. I don't think we will ever find EXACTLY what we want at the price we want. We will have to compromise somewhere.



That's a little... ok a lot to hardcore for me. I need to ease into it. I think one of these "country" HOAs wouldn't be too bad. I think for me it's more about I don't know if that is just some dude who likes collecting rusty bikes.... or a crack house. Because where I'm from pretty much anything that looks like that is probably a crack house and you definitely don't want to buy a house around there.... unless you are in the crack business. However around here we could be driving through what looks like a very nice area with nice houses and there's some random mobile home with no roof and a whole in the wall just sitting there.

Anyways we are still looking. Very hard to find something we like, we can access with our 32' trailer and is in our budget.

Look into something like Big Canoe in north Georgia. Upstate SC and eastern TN have similar things, too.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Yup. I don't think we will ever find EXACTLY what we want at the price we want. We will have to compromise somewhere.



That's a little... ok a lot to hardcore for me. I need to ease into it. I think one of these "country" HOAs wouldn't be too bad. I think for me it's more about I don't know if that is just some dude who likes collecting rusty bikes.... or a crack house. Because where I'm from pretty much anything that looks like that is probably a crack house and you definitely don't want to buy a house around there.... unless you are in the crack business. However around here we could be driving through what looks like a very nice area with nice houses and there's some random mobile home with no roof and a whole in the wall just sitting there.

Anyways we are still looking. Very hard to find something we like, we can access with our 32' trailer and is in our budget.

All of life is a trade-off between freedom and security.

If you greatly value your freedom, find a place to live where you can do whatever the f*ck you want. Accept the risk that the property next to you may get bought by the Hell's Angels and you'll hear gunfire and police sirens a dozen times a week. Every time you turn around some of your shit will have disappeared or gotten trashed. And there won't be much you can do about it unless you want to declare war on the Hell's Angels.

Or you can decide that security and stability are paramount, and go live in a place where nobody gets to do anything that could possibly offend anyone else's sensibilities. The downside is that if you should happen to take a leisurely whiz off your deck at 3 AM some balmy summer night, a 4K video of it will be on the social media feeds of all the local busy-bodies. And you'll be brought up on charges for sexually harassing your hastas.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

All of life is a trade-off between freedom and security.

If you greatly value your freedom, find a place to live where you can do whatever the f*ck you want. Accept the risk that the property next to you may get bought by the Hell's Angels and you'll hear gunfire and police sirens a dozen times a week. Every time you turn around some of your shit will have disappeared or gotten trashed. And there won't be much you can do about it unless you want to declare war on the Hell's Angels.

Or you can decide that security and stability are paramount, and go live in a place where nobody gets to do anything that could possibly offend anyone else's sensibilities. The downside is that if you should happen to take a leisurely whiz off your deck at 3 AM some balmy summer night, a 4K video of it will be on the social media feeds of all the local busy-bodies. And you'll be brought up on charges for sexually harassing your hastas.

Or a video of a naked man standing on his porch extricating a bat from an antique fish net he used to catch the bat flying around in his 250 year old log cabin bedroom at 3AM in the morning.

Just sayin'

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Or a video of a naked man standing on his porch extricating a bat from an antique fish net he used to catch the bat flying around in his 250 year old log cabin bedroom at 3AM in the morning.

Just sayin'

You seem to be in compliance with the porch nudity rule (must be between 2 and 4 AM) but I suspect that that net may lie outside of the sporting goods age limits. Your bat husbandry has been duly noted and will be discussed at the next board meeting. You can expect stern warnings on these infractions.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

You seem to be in compliance with the porch nudity rule (must be between 2 and 4 AM) but I suspect that that net may lie outside of the sporting goods age limits. Your bat husbandry has been duly noted and will be discussed at the next board meeting. You can expect stern warnings on these infractions.

No bats were harmed during the filming of that movie...

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

No bats were harmed during the filming of that movie...

A previous GF and I had a bat appear in the bedroom while we were...demonstrating our mutual affection. She calmly announced "Bat." We finished our frolicking and I dispatched the bat with a badminton racket.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Look into something like Big Canoe in north Georgia. Upstate SC and eastern TN have similar things, too.

Are there any commercially-depressed towns in Upstate SC and vicinity? My ideal retirement property would be an old car dealership, pole barn/garage with a 1BR house/apartment, etc. Greenville and surrounding towns seem to be appreciating, which is good for investors but not for retirement car storage/tinkering space.....

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

whereupon he somehow managed to contract lead poisoning of a very high velocity strain. Neighbor came over with his backhoe and buried it. Problem solved.

Wait, the "What's for dinner" thread is over there, and I see no entry of yours. . .

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

A previous GF and I had a bat appear in the bedroom while we were...demonstrating our mutual affection. She calmly announced "Bat." We finished our frolicking and I dispatched the bat with a badminton racket.

Cool chick, she. I was dead asleep at the time. Unfortunately.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Wait, the "What's for dinner" thread is over there, and I see no entry of yours. . .

I'd sooner have eaten my own arm than to take a single bite of that stinky, tick-infested son of a bitch.

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

I'd sooner have eaten my own arm than to take a single bite of that stinky, tick-infested son of a bitch.

Wait, you said it was a bear, not a wolf-chick.

We always eat bear well-done (OK, that ONE time, but it was good!)

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Wait, you said it was a bear, not a wolf-chick.

We always eat bear well-done (OK, that ONE time, but it was good!)

I've eaten bear once, and liked it. But to get from that hairy, stinky, disgusting fuck lying on my driveway to my dinner table...? Too many steps that I'm not willing to perform. Nature made him, and I put him back.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

I've eaten bear once, and liked it. But to get from that hairy, stinky, disgusting fuck lying on my driveway to my dinner table...? Too many steps that I'm not willing to perform. Nature made him, and I put him back.

You recycled him either way... Tree-hugger

[floridaorange]

Damn son, the first 2 pages of this thread had me laughing harder than I have ever laughed at any thread before.... I've had nearly all of these experiences - but thankfully via my parents who own the NC Mountain house. All of the responses are accurate regarding emptying the water pipes, finding reliable help for this and that.

Where our house is has changed considerably over the yrs, loads of Floridians have been vacationing there for generations - so there are systems in place to help them city slickers since they bring so much to the otherwise depressed economy.

Growing up i'd go down to soflo to be around my country cousins and get called city boy etc etc, thanks for posting this and the funny responses, haven't laughed that hard in ages... we are in Siesta Key right now - vacationing - my father in law visiting from the mountains of Northern Cal - and he's got the same gripes - but his property had over 300 pine trees. He cleared it down to 75.

Our property in NC sits on a golf course and all the neighbors have FL license plates, and them fancy german cars . Truth be told the country folk can teach you a lot about slowing down - sincerity and kindness. Hell just having a conversation is valued differently up in the mountains.

Last 4th of July we were up there, i was out on the deck enjoying my tobacco pipe i started smoking since covid began (helped take the edge off) after my kids had gone to bed, and was enjoying the night sky and a small fire in our pit. When i heard a bobcat or mountain lion scream several times - it was simply awesome. Good luck - take your time finding the right place - so dont rush it. Keep in mind, you may want a house with a system in place so if you do rent it out - less headaches for your renters = less headaches for you. Ours stay for several months at at time, each yr.

"Drink like your guts on fire ".

"Finely aged rustic shanty sheds" "

[TrevorM3]

good thread, very informative.

[Maynard]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Yup. I don't think we will ever find EXACTLY what we want at the price we want. We will have to compromise somewhere.



That's a little... ok a lot to hardcore for me. I need to ease into it. I think one of these "country" HOAs wouldn't be too bad. I think for me it's more about I don't know if that is just some dude who likes collecting rusty bikes.... or a crack house. Because where I'm from pretty much anything that looks like that is probably a crack house and you definitely don't want to buy a house around there.... unless you are in the crack business. However around here we could be driving through what looks like a very nice area with nice houses and there's some random mobile home with no roof and a whole in the wall just sitting there.

Anyways we are still looking. Very hard to find something we like, we can access with our 32' trailer and is in our budget.

You are deluding yourself into a false sense of security in the burbs. Those nice people in the nice looking area often have a crackhead kid living in that nice, well manicured suburban home. They'll be in some therapist's office bitching about how he robs them blind but they love him too much to not bail him out, never mentioning how much he got from the neighbors.

[Run Silent]

To answer your original question, OP:

I probably live in a more rural location than anyone in this forum. My driveway is several miles long and my property backs the App. Trail.

My house sits at about 5,000ft on the top of a mountain bordering NC/TN. Now, having said all this - I have access to both sewer and water from the city. I rarely use it - since I have a river that I pull both water from and electricity via a water wheel.

Regarding your question about 'shanty towns' - most of those around where I live are either hunting cabins or simply poor people. We don't really have zoning out here, so it's not uncommon to see a nice large home right next to a trailer park and a Dollar General store. This is one of the many reasons I bought so much land. Since I own everything close to a square mile of real estate around my home - no one can really get near me.

Just the way I like it.

Also - for what it's worth - I was moved here from central Florida.