day dreaming while at work?

[Ron Wenrich]

smwoody was from up in Elk county, but has moved to Virginia.  He might be a good source of info for you.  Also, check out a multi list realtor in the area.  You can get a good feel for prices in the area through the net.

[crtreedude]

One of the things that nudged me to doing what I am now doing is concern that even though I was making very good money, I wasn't saving any to speak of. And I sure wasn't building something of lasting value.

I guess part of my heritage is that I wanted land - the more land I have, the happier I am.  I still work hard, probably harder, than before, but I sure enjoy it more because I know it is going toward things that are tangible.

As my partner Hector trys to educate me in, if you have land (with no debt) you will be okay. If you raise your own vegetables and have a few cows, etc. for your own meat - and don't forget a couple of pigs - you may find that $50,000 per year would be a lot of money.

If you can wipe out your debt at this point in your life - that is a good thing for sure.  By moving away from the big cities, you move away from the constant pressure to buy things. Since I only sort of understand Spanish TV (they speak really fast on the translations because Spanish takes more time to say than English) I almost never watch TV here. Guess what, we really don't think much about things we would like to buy. It isn't that we can't afford it, it is just we don't need it. It is just clutter.

If your wife isn't of the same mindset, you might try to introduce her to the concepts gradually. For example, take trips into areas where you might want to live. Stop at a decent restaurant and have a meal, and enjoy the slower pace.  Keep the pressure off while she is figuring out if she might actually enjoy the adventure. Make it a potential adventure, instead of a permanent life style change. Just some ideas. Check out a bed and breakfast in the area and stay a week or so. If you love a place for a vacation, you might actually like living there. You might also see if someone on the board needs a person to help out in a situation like you think you would like. Volunteer to help out just so you find out if you would like doing it every day.

When we were moving to Costa Rica, we had people ask us "Are you moving there for the rest of your life?" I would always respond "How do I know? I am not about to die that I know of..." 

Who knows, we might end up anywhere...  I have no desire to be another place, yet, but it is very possible that in the future we might start other reforestation projects in other parts of the world. I got my hands full with this one right now. 

[IndyIan]

My partner and I bought 100 acres with about 40 of it forested four years ago in southern Ontario.  The rest was farmed but is not high quality farm land. 

A few things we would keep in mind next time;
Outbuildings would be nice to have.
Rentable farmland would be nice to chop taxes, we could pasture it but it needs some fencing done first.
We would look at the harvestable value of the forest a bit more, not just aesthetics.  We have a lot of really interesting looking wolf trees right now... 
We should have budgeted for a tractor.  One OK for woods work is like $15K here

If you can find a place that is on the rise but not expensive yet, I think that's the best.  Our area is starting to attract people retiring and if your trying to sell quality wood products you need a bit of an upscale market.  My neighbor makes custom cabinets, entrance doors, and furniture, right from the logs that customers drop off and he has no trouble keeping busy.  If you have those skills and your own hardwood you could do very well.  I'm guessing though he has maybe $30k worth of used equipment to do this and he does have breakdowns once in a while.  He is going with the no debt, buy everything outright business model which requires some mechanical ability!

Anyways, there is lots to think about! 
Ian




   

[DanG]

TWoodward, you just might have your opportunity falling into your lap right now.  Let me tell ya what I'm talkin' about:

I was just about your age, and in a similar situation, when the big fuel crunch hit in the mid-70's.  My wife had that same money-hoarding mindset.  I couldn't convince her that there were better investments than a passbook savings account.  When the price of heating fuel doubled within a month, I had a chance to get her attention.  I convinced her that we could heat a lot cheaper with wood, so we bought a wood stove.  Then, I pointed out that I could buy a small chainsaw for the price of one truckload of wood.  I got the saw, and had enough wood for the whole winter within a week.  I had found a place where I could get all the wood I could cut, already dried, for free, so I kept cutting and put an ad in the paper.  In that first winter, I had paid for the stove and the saw, and added considerably to the bank account.  The experience also opened her eyes to the fact that we could do a lot better than just working 40 hours and hoarding the paycheck.  We split up a few years later, entirely due to other issues, but that tiny investment changed both our lives.  I developed a serious addiction to sawdust, and she has become quite the outdoorsperson, and not afraid to invest in the future.   Maybe you too can use the current economic situation to your advantage in this sort of way.

[DonE911]

what DanG forgot to mention is that you can keep the wife too.