dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
5638
bigddybn
join:2000-10-18
Stuart, FL

bigddybn to UHF

Member

to UHF

Re: If I move to the country?

said by UHF:

Decent internet is the main reason I haven't moved to the country.

Same here. It's a must for work.

Msradell
Premium Member
join:2008-12-25
Louisville, KY

Msradell to fartness

Premium Member

to fartness
You really need to go ahead and move to the country! It seems like you've just about overcome all the obstacles with your present home and we need some more issues from you to keep this forum lively.

Seriously, if you move Out to one of the smaller surrounding areas such as Avon outside of Monroe County you would still be able to have many of the things associated with living in a city without the problems. You would still be able to have city water, sewer, fire protection, etc. The taxes would be considerably lower in the way of life would be much simpler.
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

Mr Matt to fartness

Member

to fartness
Most residential locations are characterized as being in three general demographic areas:

1) Rural which is sparsely populated. Usually only electric and telephone service is available. Check to see if the property you are considering is on a public road or private road. In most states unless universal service has been repealed, the local electric and telephone company is required to extend service to the property you purchase if it is along a public road. If the property is along a private road you may have to pay to extend services from the nearest point where utility services are available.

2) Suburban which has moderate population and more available services. I live on the edge of a suburban area turning rural to the east of my home and metropolitan west of my home.

3) Metropolitan heavily populated city environment.

You might want to consider looking for a home in a suburban area. My home is in a new suburban development which is the last development within the city limits of Eustis, Florida. I have city water and sewer. Broadband service is available through Comcast and CenturyLink. Many homeowners subscribe to Dish Network or Direct TV for entertainment services even though cable television is available through Comcast.

When I was looking for a home in 2004 I learned that because of all of the new developments being constructed, many homeowners in the areas not served by DOCSIS or DSL (Do not assume, if cable is available, digital cable and broadband is available in the area where you are looking. Some areas I considered had 55 channel analog cable because the system had not been upgraded in that area.), suddenly found themselves being offered digital cable and DSL service because service was being extended to a new development.

Deciding whether to construct a new home or purchase an existing home simply comes down to economics. There are many opportunities to get a reasonably good new home for a lower price then the cost to construct new home. In most areas unless you plan on staying in the home for a long time you will probably start out upside down financially and may be required to put down an unaffordable down payment (like 50% of the cost of the home.) The problem with building a home on vacant land is that it can be risky business.

If you construct a home the quality of well water and available volume is always a crap shoot. If you find a property you would consider purchasing, call a couple of well drillers in that area. They usually are familiar with the quality of the aquifer in that area. Also put in the contract that you will be able do shallow and deep soil percolation tests (The inspector will measure the time it takes for a given volume of water to be absorbed by the surface soil and deep soil to see if you can construct a septic system in that location) to determine the type of septic system you will need to install to handle the waste water output of the proposed home. I know of some cases where the soil conditions would not support a home the size that the buyer wanted to build. One of the best time to look for property is during or after heavy rains so you can look for puddling. If there is standing water in an area a day or two after a deluge you do not want to build there.
nonymous (banned)
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ

nonymous (banned) to pandora

Member

to pandora
said by pandora:

I can help with some of your questions.

First, DO NOT buy a property without high speed Internet. DSL doesn't count. Must be cable, FIOS, or something faster than DSL. Without it you'll be living in the last century for information and media streaming (or lack of streaming).

My wife has some very nice property in New Mexico. Think it may now have dsl available. If not the other side of the valley does and may have to start a wisp if one is not there or dsl when we move. Cable would be long after we die. That is why Direct TV or Dish exist.
Moving there eventually.
Point is country property in the west you are lucky to have a privately owned small convenience store within a ten miles. Otherwise it would be the city.

tschmidt
MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
·Consolidated Com..
·Republic Wireless
·Hollis Hosting

1 recommendation

tschmidt to fartness

MVM

to fartness
It really depends on what you mean by rural. My wife and I grew up in Chicago and wanted to move to a rural area. In Western US rural is really rural. You either live in a city, dense suburbia or in the middle of nowhere where your neighbors are miles away. That was a little too stark for us so we ended up moving to NH. New England is nice in that towns were settled before WWII so you tend to have a town center with a fairly rural area before the next town. We wound up finding a 13 acre wooded parcel on the outskirts of small town with a population in the 10k range. For us that works out well but at some point we will be too decrepit to maintain the property and will need to move to an apartment or condo in the city.

As far as build new vs buy an existing house again really depends on what you want and how much work or money you are willing to put into the project. When we were house hunting the only ones we could afford needed a fair amount of work and we immediately wanted to change this and that which would involve a long remodeling project. We ultimately opted to build a new house. Worked out well for us – lots of sweat equity and owner built homes are never finished. But if that is what you want can be very satisfying.

In terms of pros and cons of city vs country living in the sense of full disclosure IMHO suburbia combines the worst aspects of city and country living with few of the benefits of either.

Pros
Depending on how rural your location neighbors may not be visible from your house, lots of privacy.

With less population density you have more freedom of action. No “grass police” in our town.

We live in snow country – driving in winter is easier than the city because in rural areas there is more place to put the snow.

In our case we have our own well and septic system. This can be a double edged sword but I like being responsible for our own water and waste products. No chlorine in our water just a little sand.

We heat with wood I’m able to harvest on our own property for the cost of a few gallons of gas for the chainsaw. Wood pellets are also popular in our area.

Schools are probably somewhat better. A stable environment and more involved parents is a plus for academic achievement.

One of the reasons we wanted to move to a rural area was to become more involved in civic activity. NH, more than most states, has a tradition of citizen participation. Rural areas with stable population tend to have higher levels of citizen involvement.

Cons
With fewer people there is less in the way of organized activity. Growing up our son constantly complained about living out in the sticks and he could not wait to get out. Surprising he ultimately chose to also live in a fairly rural area.

Not much anonymity in rural areas. Even though you tend to have a great deal of physical privacy everyone knows your business, especially if you volunteer for a lot of stuff.

You are more on your own. Personally I find that a good thing. As has been posted services city folks take for granted are either nonexistent or take longer to arrive. It is a source of amazement to some of my siblings that we need to take our garbage to the dump rather than having it picked up. I consider that a plus, one less thing for the town to pay for, and you never know what treasures might be tucked away at the dump’s still good shed.

High speed Internet access can be a problem. Our town has both Cable and DSL and both extend pretty far out. I’m a DSL customer with 6Mbps service. That is fast enough for how we use the Internet.

Depending on how land is taxed you may be forced to sell if the area around gets built up. In the Midwest when I was growing up farmers were often forced to sell as suburbia encroached driving property taxes up so high they could no earn enough farming so had to sell even if they did not want to. In NH we have current use taxation. If you own over 10 acres land can be taxed at its productive rather than speculative value.

If you lose power it may be out longer then in urban areas. Over the last half dozen years we have had two power outages that lasted almost a week.

You have to drive everywhere. We have a lot of hiking paths but bicycling is pretty dangerous, unpaved shoulders no bike paths.
If you are a night owl there is typically not much to do during the wee hours of the night.

Finding a job can be a problem depending on the area. We are lucky in that Southern NH and MA have a pretty strong and mixed economy. On the other hand living in the north country of NH the job opportunities are pretty limited.

Demographics is not kind to rural areas. NH has a aging population - young people are moving out of the state. Does not bode well long term.

/Tom

Draiman
Let me see those devil horns in the sky
join:2012-06-01
Kill Devil Hills, NC

Draiman to fartness

Member

to fartness
One of the reasons I won't live too far away from the city is EMS response times. If I call the police, fire, or an ambulance I want it at my door in 3-5 minutes not 30+ minutes. I also want to be able to get to the hospital in a timely manner. My dad lives around 75 minutes from a hospital, shopping, etc. so it's a whole day even to go grocery shopping. All they have close is a McD's, Subway in the gas station, local pizza place, some random doctors, and a local mom/pop hardware store within a 15-20 minute drive. I'd never do it though my dad has a standing offer that he'd give me 15-20 acres if I ever want it. I think he owns around 170 acres now.

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine to fartness

Member

to fartness
I live in a semi rural area. My experience is as follows.

Long drive to go anywhere. Grocery store? 6 miles. Lowe's Depot? 20. Work? 60.

Internet isn't too bad but while I know people in the burbs getting fios we are stuck with cable. I'm glad we don't have to use satellite. If you use the internet for more than checking email and occasional web surfing you will not be happy with satellite.

TV is OK. We had cable but now have satellite (DirecTV).

Roads and snow. Some are dirt roads, but not where I live. After a big storm we won't get plowed out until noon the next day.

Garbage pickup is with a private hauler, about $150 per quarter. Or you can haul it off to the dump yourself and pay scale charge. Recycling at the dump is free.

Electricity is one of the better things. We have a cooperative and they restored everyone 3 days after hurricane Sandy. The voltage is also pretty stable because the system is well maintained and lightly loaded. YMMV. Cooperatives tend to do better than investor owned utilities.

Heating. Many rural places do not have natural gas service. We don't have it up here even though a few miles away there is natural gas service. So we have to deal with the propane crooks. The good thing is that we can use firewood and our wood stove, unlike in many city places where burning wood is a problem. A friend of mine in the burbs had the cops called on him because he was burning his wood stove after a power outage (Halloween snow storm of 2011).

Septic is not as bad as some people make it out to be. We have it pumped every 3 years. Everything from showers, toilets even the kitchen sink goes into it.

Clashes with wildlife. You'll have those. We have had groundhogs dig up our front yard and woodpeckers try to attack the house. Feral cats abound. Deer and skunks on the road.

But the good things are that you'll have clean air, lots of space and in my opinion a better quality of life.
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC

ke4pym to KoolMoe

Premium Member

to KoolMoe
said by KoolMoe:

Assuming you won't have muni water, you'll need a well.
Getting a well drilled is not cheap.
I don't know costs to give you, but around here when a well goes dry, I hear an awful lot of crying about how expensive it is to have a new one scoped and dug. $5000 minimum, I'd venture?

Then along with the pump, you need tank, and likely some sort of treatment system to adjust the water to your preferred drinking and washing preference (no heavy iron or other 'impurities')...and treatment systems vary but pretty sure all need some sort of 'recharge'

We go through about $30 in salt for our system every 6 weeks.

THEN, of course, hope that whatever water supply you can tap is not only decent tasting but not really polluted or dangerous.
And, if you have kids, no flouride (no biggie)...AND if you lose power, your well pump doesn't work, so have limited water reserve (whatever is in your tank) til the power comes back on...
...or, maybe of course, living in such a rural area, you'd have a generator hookup for it.

So that's JUST the water concern. We're in a very suburb area but have a well. I like it overall...I think it's a lot cheaper than muni water service...at least, as long as it doesn't run dry. When it does, I'll be crying a different tune...
KM

In this neck of the woods the "tank" associated with wells isn't for water storage. But rather, to provide pressure to the system.

And $5k for a well to be dug would be cheap. Probably wouldn't have to drill very deep. Get on a hill and have to have a 300 foot drop, yeah, that'll be pricey. And let me tell you how fun it is to pull up 300 feet of pipe and wire.

Don't forget to have a nice well house. Frozen well bits suck.
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

1 recommendation

Mr Matt

Member

You do not need a well house if you use a pitless adapter, see these images:

»www.google.com/search?q= ··· &bih=654
tobicat
Premium Member
join:2005-04-18
Tombstone, AZ

1 recommendation

tobicat to fartness

Premium Member

to fartness
Click for full size
Well I live a truly rural area. It is 15 miles to a small town and 36 to town with a supermarket ect.

I love it. I got DSL, phone, Direc TV and cell phone.

Yep I have septic, well and propane.

The closest neighbor is over a mile away and there are probably less than 20 families within a 5 mile radius.

What I don't have is noise, noisy neighbors, strangers knocking on my door, salesmen, ect.

I can do what I want when I want and nobody cares.

sk1939
Premium Member
join:2010-10-23
Frederick, MD
ARRIS SB8200
Ubiquiti UDM-Pro
Juniper SRX320

sk1939

Premium Member

said by tobicat:

Well I live a truly rural area. It is 15 miles to a small town and 36 to town with a supermarket ect.

I love it. I got DSL, phone, Direc TV and cell phone.

Yep I have septic, well and propane.

The closest neighbor is over a mile away and there are probably less than 20 families within a 5 mile radius.

What I don't have is noise, noisy neighbors, strangers knocking on my door, salesmen, ect.

I can do what I want when I want and nobody cares.

Way too isolated from my taste.

mike34
Premium Member
join:2004-07-17
Central City, PA
Netgear CM500V
Asus RT-AC68

mike34 to fartness

Premium Member

to fartness
said by fartness:

Currently live in a decent sized city, and have lived in this area or the suburbs for most of my life. If I move to the country (rural area), what can I expect

I think you better stay where your are. If you have to ask, then it isn't for you.
silbaco
Premium Member
join:2009-08-03
USA

silbaco to fartness

Premium Member

to fartness
I live in the country. Gravel roads and fields on all 4 sides.

Never really had much problem with septic. Water is going to be expensive. Pump, pressure tank, water softener, iron filter. Propane, no natural gas for me.

Internet is not a problem in my area. I am served by a cooperative who is actively deploying FTTH to their entire service area. I am even considering getting fiber installed on one of my other properties for security reasons and there is not even a house there. I would check the area you are looking at. If there is not a decent provider now, there probably won't be in the near future.
fartness (banned)
Donald Trump 2016
join:2003-03-25
Look Outside

fartness (banned)

Member

Some family in PA live in a rural area and it's so nice to go there. They even have cable internet that is acceptable (5-7 mbps I think it is).

What about farm smells? I don't want it smelling terrible so when is the best time to go house hunting? I want clean fresh air. Too much pollution here in the city where I live. Some areas of the country I've driven in smell really bad and some smell great. I've noticed there are a lot of garbage dumps around, but I think fertilizer is the smell that can be really bad at times. Not sure though. I don't want to go to work in the city or suburbs smelling like a farm.

Lurch77
Premium Member
join:2001-11-22
Green Bay, WI

2 recommendations

Lurch77 to fartness

Premium Member

to fartness
On a very positive side, if you move into the country, you can eat a lot of peaches.

I hope at least one person gets the reference.
fartness (banned)
Donald Trump 2016
join:2003-03-25
Look Outside

fartness (banned)

Member

»Re: If I move to the country?

Lurch77
Premium Member
join:2001-11-22
Green Bay, WI

Lurch77

Premium Member

Doh! Reading is fundamental. I saw the title and it was the first thing to pop in my head, so I posted.

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

John Galt6

Premium Member

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· tx_-BZMY
walta
join:2001-05-22
Saint Louis, MO

walta to fartness

Member

to fartness
In the country everybody knows everything about everyone. This is good and bad at the same time. Before you make an enemy of Sam (by out bidding him for the land he always wanted) remember he is from a large family he got 10 brother and sisters all with 10 kids. Before you know it 25% people in the county are his cousins or there in-laws. I say rent for a year and see is it for you.

Walta

davidg
Good Bye My Friend
MVM
join:2002-06-15
00000

1 recommendation

davidg to fartness

MVM

to fartness
don't buy near a livestock farm then. row crop farms won't have a smell, unless they use cow manure for fertilizer then it will stink. there are parts of the country i can't stand to work due to the manure smell, though honestly after a day or two you don't even smell it anymore.

don't do like my new neighbor. they bought the house next to my orse pasture then complain about manure, mice, and weeds. DUH, the pasture has been there since before you bought the home so you should have seen it.

rockotman
...Blown On The Steel Breeze
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06
DSotM

2 edits

rockotman to H_T_R_N

Premium Member

to H_T_R_N
said by H_T_R_N:

Get ready to be involved in a 5 car traffic jam when Jim Bob needs to move his harvester down to the north west field.

I take it you drive on Valencia Road a lot.

To the OP:

I grew up in the city, moved to the suburbs when I got married, and now live out in the country as I approach retirement. It's nice out here. I've lived out here for a little over 3 years now, and here are the things that are the biggest adjustments for me:

The longer commute to work. I used to drive 17 miles one way, now I drive 44. But it only takes me about 15-20 minutes longer.

If you get a place with oil heat, remember to check your oil levels regularly. Nothing is more frustrating than running out of oil in the middle of the evening. You will only do it once; trust me, I know.

If you have a pond, expect people to stop and ask if they can fish.

If you have a pond, and your properly boarders a fairly busy road, expect a car to end up in it. Trust me, I know. Now one might expect this to happen during bad weather in the winter, but it can also happen on a hot, sunny, August afternoon, Again, trust me, I know.

There tends to be a bit more maintenance associated with the extra land that you will likely have. But that's OK - the extra work is good for the soul.

Your walk behind mower won't be sufficient. Expect to purchase a decent tractor. Then you too can annoy passers-thru like Jim Bob.

Well water isn't that bad, but the cost of treatment chemicals can offset the savings of having to pay for muni-water.

A septic tank isn't that bad either.

Your neighbors are more than willing to help, even if you are brand new to the neighborhood. Be sure to return the favor with whatever skills you can offer.

Burn piles are a thing of beauty.

Taxes are cheaper. I have 30 times the land and three times the house that I had in Allegheny county, but my taxes out here in Butler county are slightly less.
H_T_R_N (banned)
join:2011-12-06
Valencia, PA

H_T_R_N (banned)

Member

said by rockotman:

said by H_T_R_N:

Get ready to be involved in a 5 car traffic jam when Jim Bob needs to move his harvester down to the north west field.

I take it you drive on Valencia Road a lot.

And Glade Mill Rd.

rockotman
...Blown On The Steel Breeze
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06
DSotM

rockotman

Premium Member

Ah - you are on the other side of Rt. 8, where the roads are a lot wider.

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

1 recommendation

aurgathor to fartness

Member

to fartness
said by fartness:

What about farm smells? I don't want it smelling terrible so when is the best time to go house hunting?

Keep away from dairy or hog farms.

rockotman
...Blown On The Steel Breeze
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06
DSotM

rockotman to fartness

Premium Member

to fartness
There will be farm smells. Some are pleasant (hay making, crop harvesting, etc...), some are not (any large animal farms). The only large animals in my area are horses. The nearest dairy farm is about 1 mile away, and down wind. My wife has horses. Luckily, the barn and manure pile are a good 300 yards from the house. It makes taking care of the horses in the winter a little bit more of a chore, but is worth it to keep the odors around the house down. And I find that after a while, you get used to the odors.

tschmidt
MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
·Consolidated Com..
·Republic Wireless
·Hollis Hosting

tschmidt to rockotman

MVM

to rockotman
said by rockotman:

Burn piles are a thing of beauty.

That one struck a cord. Every time I think I've burned the last brush pile I find I've made another one. Now I only burn brush in the winter, as having one get away is a humbling experience: trust me, I know.
said by rockotman:

Your walk behind mower won't be sufficient.

Disagree a little about that, it really depends on how much land you intend to manicure and how valuable your time is. We maintain about an acre of lawn that I cut with a walk behind mower. The rest is un-managed woodlot. Takes about half a day if i have to cut everything. I enjoy doing it and and it forces me to exercise more then I would if we had a tractor.

Not having a tractor is a problem hauling cord wood, but our neighbor has one and as you mentioned is very willing to help.

/tom

Draiman
Let me see those devil horns in the sky
join:2012-06-01
Kill Devil Hills, NC

Draiman to rockotman

Member

to rockotman
said by rockotman:

Burn piles are a thing of beauty.

Yes they are but I do that in the city here. The only difference is I have to go onto the fire departments website and get a FREE open burn permit first.

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

1 recommendation

fifty nine to fartness

Member

to fartness
said by fartness:

Some family in PA live in a rural area and it's so nice to go there. They even have cable internet that is acceptable (5-7 mbps I think it is).

What about farm smells? I don't want it smelling terrible so when is the best time to go house hunting? I want clean fresh air. Too much pollution here in the city where I live. Some areas of the country I've driven in smell really bad and some smell great. I've noticed there are a lot of garbage dumps around, but I think fertilizer is the smell that can be really bad at times. Not sure though. I don't want to go to work in the city or suburbs smelling like a farm.

Occasionally I smell horses nearby but it's better than smelling vomit and diesel smoke in the city.
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

Mr Matt to fartness

Member

to fartness
One thing you can do, is to locate a watering hole in the area you are considering moving, to where the guests are friendly and they have lived in the area for a long time.

The hotel I was staying at while looking for property had a lounge with a social club were all the members were at least second generation residents in this area. Their advise was invaluable. When a member asked where I looked for property today, all I had to do was show them on a map and they would point out if there were issues in that area. One subdivision looked great except for a problem with sink holes. Another looked good except for a tendency for the access road to become impassable during tropical storms. They were also able to recommend reliable contractors and service companies.

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

John Galt6

Premium Member

said by Mr Matt:

One subdivision looked great except for a problem with sink holes.

Hmmm...

»usnews.nbcnews.com/_news ··· rth?lite