You should move to the Columbia Basin, try Richland, WA. I lived in the area for a few years and I had a great garden, along with many of my friends and colleag

You should move to the Columbia Basin, try Richland, WA. I lived in the area for a few years and I had a great garden, along with many of my friends and colleagues. Land is inexpensive, we had 1/2 acre, you could easily get 2-3 on the edge of town for a few 100k. There were minimal deer in the desert. The odd squirrel would take some fruit. If you were closer to the mountains you might have to deal with elk in the winter. Lavender grew like weeds and never disappeared. Water was super cheap from the river and most houses have timed irrigation so you don't need to remember to water. Also, tons of sunshine during the long growing season. We had more mulberries than we could possibly eat, passersby would frequently "steal" them from our tree. Was it a lot of work, yes, did it pay for itself, no probably not, considering the low price of excellent produce at the farmers market, was it a fun and rewarding/learning experience, yes.