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My fiance and I left Chicago (and $1700/mo) in July for this kind of middle ground. I cross-referenced national fiber optic rollout with low population/rural ar

by rboyd 11y ago

My fiance and I left Chicago (and $1700/mo) in July for this kind of middle ground. I cross-referenced national fiber optic rollout with low population/rural areas and we found a few acres with 1gbps FTTH in the Lake of the Ozarks area. Our place came with an existing 2 bedroom home with existing private well and electric, all-in we bought for under 2 years worth of Chicago rent. Our home is/was a bit of a fixer-upper, and it's harder to get help with labor here (it exists, but it's expensive). But one thing I've noticed is that learning plumbing/construction/mechanics has been way easier than learning software. You definitely sweat more though. Turn-key housing here exists too, it just comes at more of a premium. Also, your social life is obviously impacted. You're probably well-advised to already have a family or s/o (or just are comfortable being alone). All told, I think this is a great option if you're feeling trapped in your career but have stockpiled some cash. It probably doesn't require near as much money as you might think to make the jump. For us it's exactly what we needed to focus on our startups without going the traditional VC route. We'd love to see more people going this route. Let me know if I can help.

robabby 11y ago
Very inspiring. My wife and I are in northern Chicago suburb of Highwood, and we really aspire to move out west to a more nature-centric style of living. I like how one of the core parameters to your search was Fiber optic internet, and then spread from there. Where did you start your search?
- rboyd 11y ago
  There seem to be a handful of rural pockets in the US that have or are scheduled to install fiber. Our network (Co-Mo Connect) publishes network rollout status and maps at http://usage.co-mo.coop:8080/signupstatus.php http://usage.co-mo.coop:8080/signupstatus.php Before here, we looked at WK&T (Kentucky/Tennessee) http://wktelecom.coop/ http://wktelecom.coop/ That looked promising as well. It was some work to even find these two networks, then finding homes within the service area and trying to find out if they were eligible was the next challenge. Lots of Zillow searches. If the home is pre-wired, they'll probably advertise it as such in the listing. I think the sweet spot (in terms of value) is finding a property that is eligible but hasn't had an install yet. In our case that meant eye-balling the neighborhood maps at a house-by-house level. To find similar networks in other parts of the US I would start with Zillow searches (for "fiber") or Google searches for state + fiber + rollout, state + co-op + fiber, or state + co-op + Calix. Calix is a popular FTTH equipment vendor. You could also check their (or other vendors) press releases, which they usually issue when they partner with a new co-op. See http://www.ftthcouncil.org/OurMembers http://www.ftthcouncil.org/OurMembers I wish there were a friendlier UX for this. Our search lasted about 2 months. If anyone is interested in my area, email me and I should be able to help by finding properties before they hit MLS, qualifying addresses with the contacts I've made at the service provider/installers, and of course just driving around. It would be fantastic to build a hacker community here.
- pageld 11y ago
  If you want one that's just rolling out, Sibley country in Minnesota is doing ftth even on farm sites. They just started the rollout and iirc it should be done at least in the towns by next summer. Rsfiber.com is the site to check out
cpursley 11y ago
The Ozarks are beautiful; they took me by surprise. There's many places like this throughout the USA. I don't understand the appeal of living in an expense shoebox in a concrete metropolis. Another place that's got a high quality of life for low cost of living is St. Augustine, Florida. It's an architecturally significant city with several colleges, great art scene, wide beaches.
- dionidium 11y ago
  "I don't understand the appeal of living in an expense shoebox in a concrete metropolis" You don't need to look any further than the warnings in the post you're replying to for a response. If you're dating, prefer lots of social interaction, or attend a lot of big-city events, then you're going to have a bad time living in southern Missouri.
  - donthaveacow 11y ago
    I prefer social interaction as well which is why we hit up Bagnell Dam strip, go to the lake in the summer (& pools with swim up bars), farmer's markets, vineyards, and apple festivals. But I definitely don't think I would have been able to make the switch without rboyd. Definitely recommend to find a partner in the city, then move closer to nature with your love!
  - marincounty 11y ago
    I think the dating ritual depends on the city. I probally shouldn't say this, but I see many single women move to San Francisco, and while if they get housing, they enjoy big-city events, but dating is not one of them here. San Francisco is not a good place for straight women to date. No one talks about it, because it's not politically correct, but in my observations they come here, and are lonely. There's just too many single women, and not enough men. I have a very attractive ex-girlfriend, and we had so many conversations about social life, or lack there of. It got to the point, where I took her out and watched what took place. Guys--way below her league wouldn't talk to her unless she aggressively talked to them first. I know I get hammered because I'm not being politically correct, and yes--there's always the exceptions, but at least in San Francisco it's difficult for sigle women looking for a steady relationship. I'll point out the politically incorrect thoughts, and save you time: I shouldn't have stereotyped. I shouldn't have assumed some females are looking for a steady relationship. I shouldn't have mentioned looks/personality when I said "way below her league". I probally left out something that hurt someone deeply--sorry.
jrs235 11y ago
We still have the colder winters (join a curling club to make the winters go faster if you don't like outdoor winter sports) but the outdoors are beautiful and great for activities. La Crosse, WI is only two and half hours from Minneapolis/St Paul and two hours from Madison, WI. The area is excellent to raise a family and much less expensive than the larger metro areas. They are slowly starting to roll out fiber too. Although, we're not really off the grid. https://www.centurylink.com/fiber/ https://www.centurylink.com/fiber/
dmm 11y ago
Lake of the Ozarks? That's so cool! I'm in California MO a little north of there. We should be friends! You said you had a few acres. Are you planning a garden for the spring?
- otto 11y ago
  I hear there is fiber in California MO too!
  - MikeTV 11y ago
    Co-Mo Electric is rolling out fiber to Otterville, MO next year, after which I'm moving there. From small town to smaller town, but from slow cable to fast fiberoptic. Win! Any idea if there's some sort of meetup-alternative for tech-minded people moving into the area? Just based on this thread, Co-Mo Connect and other rural fiber initiatives seem to be attracting a fair number of developers/entrepreneurs. It'd be great to all get in touch with each other.
swang 11y ago
Do you still have the data in regards to fiber rollout / low population? Is it just Chicago? Interested in this but somewhere more on the west coast.

by rboyd 11y ago

robabby 11y ago

Very inspiring. My wife and I are in northern Chicago suburb of Highwood, and we really aspire to move out west to a more nature-centric style of living. I like how one of the core parameters to your search was Fiber optic internet, and then spread from there. Where did you start your search?

rboyd 11y ago
There seem to be a handful of rural pockets in the US that have or are scheduled to install fiber. Our network (Co-Mo Connect) publishes network rollout status and maps at http://usage.co-mo.coop:8080/signupstatus.php http://usage.co-mo.coop:8080/signupstatus.php Before here, we looked at WK&T (Kentucky/Tennessee) http://wktelecom.coop/ http://wktelecom.coop/ That looked promising as well. It was some work to even find these two networks, then finding homes within the service area and trying to find out if they were eligible was the next challenge. Lots of Zillow searches. If the home is pre-wired, they'll probably advertise it as such in the listing. I think the sweet spot (in terms of value) is finding a property that is eligible but hasn't had an install yet. In our case that meant eye-balling the neighborhood maps at a house-by-house level. To find similar networks in other parts of the US I would start with Zillow searches (for "fiber") or Google searches for state + fiber + rollout, state + co-op + fiber, or state + co-op + Calix. Calix is a popular FTTH equipment vendor. You could also check their (or other vendors) press releases, which they usually issue when they partner with a new co-op. See http://www.ftthcouncil.org/OurMembers http://www.ftthcouncil.org/OurMembers I wish there were a friendlier UX for this. Our search lasted about 2 months. If anyone is interested in my area, email me and I should be able to help by finding properties before they hit MLS, qualifying addresses with the contacts I've made at the service provider/installers, and of course just driving around. It would be fantastic to build a hacker community here.
pageld 11y ago
If you want one that's just rolling out, Sibley country in Minnesota is doing ftth even on farm sites. They just started the rollout and iirc it should be done at least in the towns by next summer. Rsfiber.com is the site to check out

cpursley 11y ago

The Ozarks are beautiful; they took me by surprise. There's many places like this throughout the USA. I don't understand the appeal of living in an expense shoebox in a concrete metropolis. Another place that's got a high quality of life for low cost of living is St. Augustine, Florida. It's an architecturally significant city with several colleges, great art scene, wide beaches.

dionidium 11y ago
"I don't understand the appeal of living in an expense shoebox in a concrete metropolis" You don't need to look any further than the warnings in the post you're replying to for a response. If you're dating, prefer lots of social interaction, or attend a lot of big-city events, then you're going to have a bad time living in southern Missouri.
- donthaveacow 11y ago
  I prefer social interaction as well which is why we hit up Bagnell Dam strip, go to the lake in the summer (& pools with swim up bars), farmer's markets, vineyards, and apple festivals. But I definitely don't think I would have been able to make the switch without rboyd. Definitely recommend to find a partner in the city, then move closer to nature with your love!
- marincounty 11y ago
  I think the dating ritual depends on the city. I probally shouldn't say this, but I see many single women move to San Francisco, and while if they get housing, they enjoy big-city events, but dating is not one of them here. San Francisco is not a good place for straight women to date. No one talks about it, because it's not politically correct, but in my observations they come here, and are lonely. There's just too many single women, and not enough men. I have a very attractive ex-girlfriend, and we had so many conversations about social life, or lack there of. It got to the point, where I took her out and watched what took place. Guys--way below her league wouldn't talk to her unless she aggressively talked to them first. I know I get hammered because I'm not being politically correct, and yes--there's always the exceptions, but at least in San Francisco it's difficult for sigle women looking for a steady relationship. I'll point out the politically incorrect thoughts, and save you time: I shouldn't have stereotyped. I shouldn't have assumed some females are looking for a steady relationship. I shouldn't have mentioned looks/personality when I said "way below her league". I probally left out something that hurt someone deeply--sorry.

jrs235 11y ago

We still have the colder winters (join a curling club to make the winters go faster if you don't like outdoor winter sports) but the outdoors are beautiful and great for activities. La Crosse, WI is only two and half hours from Minneapolis/St Paul and two hours from Madison, WI. The area is excellent to raise a family and much less expensive than the larger metro areas. They are slowly starting to roll out fiber too. Although, we're not really off the grid. https://www.centurylink.com/fiber/ https://www.centurylink.com/fiber/

dmm 11y ago

Lake of the Ozarks? That's so cool! I'm in California MO a little north of there. We should be friends! You said you had a few acres. Are you planning a garden for the spring?

otto 11y ago
I hear there is fiber in California MO too!
- MikeTV 11y ago
  Co-Mo Electric is rolling out fiber to Otterville, MO next year, after which I'm moving there. From small town to smaller town, but from slow cable to fast fiberoptic. Win! Any idea if there's some sort of meetup-alternative for tech-minded people moving into the area? Just based on this thread, Co-Mo Connect and other rural fiber initiatives seem to be attracting a fair number of developers/entrepreneurs. It'd be great to all get in touch with each other.

swang 11y ago

Do you still have the data in regards to fiber rollout / low population? Is it just Chicago? Interested in this but somewhere more on the west coast.