More or less land, what did you get/want?

[archangel]

The issue my wife and I have is that she wants a small plot, like an acre or two, and I want as much as we can afford to purchase.

She wants a small garden and is ok with some chickens, nothing more.
She seems to think that like a lawn in the suburbs, the whole thing needs to be mowed and manicured.

I want to start out with chickens, then perhaps add some ducks, guinea hens, geese, and possibly even turkey.
Then I would work up to a few Soay sheep and goats.
We need land to have free range animals.

I try to explain how land can be left wild, and that she needs the buffer from the neighbors (she really does, don't ask).
She also fears being off the city/town sewer and water.

In a nut shell.

What size of property have you purchased compared to what you later wish you purchased?
What were your experiences?

[jimbrown]

We bought 40 ac and then bought an adjoining 40ac and if I had the money I would buy the adjoining 1000 ac. My water and septic are far better than any in the city the water is cleaner and taste beter. I don't want no friggin neighbors.

[Muhammad]

My feeling is that you almost can't have too much land.

When I was growing up, we had 55 acres and that provided enough room to do anything we wanted from a "hobby farm" perspective (animals plus agriculture, outbuildings, etc). We kept about 10 acres of it mowed in various degrees of finish (some fields, some lawn, etc). Even with that much land, you'll notice the neighbors... and probably want to do something (like plant a tree line) to seclude yourself.

Later on, we got a five-acre piece with only about 1.5 acres mowed and the rest were heavily wooded. This attracted a lot more bugs, but the seclusion was nice. Not as much room to roam but still enough to let some animals out. They really don't need a whole lot of room to be "free range" ... sheep can easily get by on an acre, and chickens need much less.

As a general guideline, you could get by with as little as five acres, but I'd recommend going for 20+... and if it's cheap, the more the merrier.Tthen you can have things like riding trails, maybe a pond, some varying topography (if such a thing exists in the midwest!), an the freedom to do whatever strikes your fancy over the next 10-30 years (or however long you live there).

I think one of the main reasons people live in the country is so that they can stay off the grid and not have to rely on the city for things like water and sewer. When I evaluate a place in the country, if it doesn't have its own well and septic, it's much less desirable. Right now I live in the city and between home and work we spend ~$200/month on bottled water because I would never drink the processed city water. So without a doubt, you want a place with a good well.

[jml755]

First, it depends on where you want to be. The closer you are to a metropolitan area, the pricier ANY land will be and larger parcels may be impossible to find at any price. All things being equal, I would agree with your approach: get as much land as you can afford. Remember, the purchase price isn't the only issue. Check out the taxes, local government ordinances, zoning, master plan for the area. You could buy a nice piece and find out the master plan has neighboring parcels designated as industrial parks.

We had purchased 5 acres about 20 miles north of Detroit in the mid-70's. All farmland back then. Sold it to move in to a subdivision about a mile away from it in the 80s. Now the 5A is surrounded by subdivisions of 1000s of homes.

Few years ago, once again decided to get some land since the kids are grown and we wanted a place to retire on with a few horses. Went another 30 miles out from here and bought 55 acres. It's not too far from civilization, though, and has shopping and hospitals, etc. within about 5 miles. We had started looking for 10 acres as this is a popular split from larger acreage. Ended up getting the 55A for slightly more than what a lot of the 10A parcels were selling for.

For what you're describing, I would think 10A would be minimum. And with real estate prices at pretty close to a bottom, now would be a good time to buy.

And as Muhammad says, don't think you'll get away from neighbors even with large parcels. Remember that the other side of your property line belongs to SOMEBODY. Unless you abut State or Federal land, you'll be dealing with another human being as a neighbor. And they can be as nice or as terrible in the country as they can be in the city.

[Pat]

When we were looking for land when planning to relocate from employment in San Diego to retirement in Oklahoma we wanted a minimum of 40 acres, to have some buffer zone, and preferred getting 80 with 160 being close to our ideal. We got 160 and do not regret it. Would like more if we could have done it debt free.

When considering how much land, consider how much privacy you want. You need to own your own buffer zone. Over time it is virtually a sure thing that your area will become more populated. Larger tracts will be broken down into smaller ones and you will end up with whatever random assembly of neighbors that chaos provides. Not all neighbors will share your concept of neat and tidy (at whatever level you maintain.) You don't want to find out too late that your various neighbor's junk appliance and auto collections are difficult to mask from your view. Surrounded by bare land? It will likely not stay that way so if you want some privacy or seclusion you have to provide for it on your own land.

Need to commute? When buying rural land but commuting to civilization you will find that over time it is a virtually guaranteed thing that the number of stop signs and lights will increase between you and your destination. Nearly vacant roads will over time begin to have congestion. This is inevitable. When it comes to roads, build them and they will come. Commute times will ALWAYS get longer quicker than you think.

Typically what happens is you buy land a ways out from town or whatever destination and the roads are nearly empty. Then someone builds some subdivisions between you and your commute destination. This leads to, at least, stop signs and likely lights and lots more traffic during the construction phase and of course later when hundreds of more folks need to use the same little quaint country road to get to town it takes a lot longer than you anticipated. Then comes the convenience store/gas station and the traffic surrounding it.

This human wave brings with it students for the rural school, increasing attendance and necessitating a school bond issue and increased taxes to add on to the school. Your property taxes spiral upward. OK, no more doom and gloom... Just trying to show that you need to consider lots of practical matters before deciding where to buy.

I have seen all of the above in both California and Oklahoma but was a bit more careful this last time.

Pat

[purplemom]

In all honesty I'd love to have about 1000 acres (even owning a small island would be okay). But we had to settle for the next best thing - 22 acres. I'm okay with it and it's in a great location for my family. We also live down a private drive so that keeps the privacy level up. I love my house and land but do wish we were more in the middle of a larger tract.

[dana]

We didn't get even close to what we wanted. Wanted a house in the country and about 20 acres...got a house in a neighborhood with less than an acre. We were in a situation where we had to move and move now so the search continues. Maybe one day we can use this one as a rental property.

[NSbound]

I didn't know what I wanted until I saw it. It was advertised as 5 acres, but in fact was 10 acres on a tidal river, 700' of riverfront shoreline, bounded by 2 roads and the river and a creek. Within a mile of my mother's homestead, relatives throughout the area, but a country life. It's perfect!

[Phena30]

Wow, some of you have a lot of land. I wish I had more land than we do. We own about 10 acres of land. I wish it were more. We own wooded land as well as usable land. We love to ride 4-wheelers and just be outside. So more land would be great!

[purplemom]

I didn't know what I wanted until I saw it. It was advertised as 5 acres, but in fact was 10 acres on a tidal river, 700' of riverfront shoreline, bounded by 2 roads and the river and a creek. Within a mile of my mother's homestead, relatives throughout the area, but a country life. It's perfect!

I'd love a riverfront property. Sounds wonderful!

We didn't really know what we wanted until we saw it too. And not everyone would have "loved" this piece since the back portion is swamp land. BUT that gives us privacy forever!