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Having just bought a cottage, here are some things that have changed recently. 1. P2P wireless means you can cheaply get a 50/10 internet connection in remote

Having just bought a cottage, here are some things that have changed recently. 1. P2P wireless means you can cheaply get a 50/10 internet connection in remote areas. This is plenty for most users. Also starlink is apparently pretty good. 2. Just pay someone to pump your septic. You don’t have to pay city taxes covering sewers so you probably come out ahead. 3. Plumbing and electrical is usually exposed, making it very easy to work on. For plumbing, shark bites and pex are way easier than soldering copper. One thing that does suck about owning a cottage is needing to worry about mice…

tantalor 5y ago
> worry about mice Get a cat or two.
- tibbydudeza 5y ago
  Got that covered - got 6 of them but probably only two of them are active mousers.
  - nicwolff 5y ago
    I live in a cottage in the woods and my cat brings live shrews into the house to play with. Cats!
    - tibbydudeza 5y ago
      Fortunately we only had one cat who did that and she is now a pensioner and prefers less strenuous activities like sun bathing and sleeping. Trapping a mouse at 1am in the bedroom is not so endearing.
silicon2401 5y ago
What's a good resource to learn about septic? I'm interested in moving somewhere more rural at some point in the future but have no idea how septic works. I admit a slight squeamishness at the thought of our waste accumulating in a tank, but the part that I'm more concerned about is not knowing what the risks or processes involved are.
- giantg2 5y ago
  https://www.epa.gov/septic/how-your-septic-system-works https://www.epa.gov/septic/how-your-septic-system-works
- tharkun__ 5y ago
  Is this somehow different in the rural US? I'm in Canada and while part of a large metro area I am far enough out to have a septic tank. I never so much as spent a second of thought on it. We just get the tank cleaned out every two years. The city even has a by law requiring that and you have to send in the invoice to prove you had it done.
  - silicon2401 5y ago
    I've never lived in a place that uses septic, so to me septic is something that feels quite rural, even if it's common in places that are more suburban than rural.
  - Danieru 5y ago
    My theory is most people do not realize just how much of their "water" bill is actually sewage costs. Pumping clean water is nothing compared to sewage. Yet most cities present the water bill as a split cost between water and sewage. We are on septic despite being 100meters from the border of tokyo. Our costs for quatery inspections, and a yearly pumping are about 220 dollars. In exchange our water bill is about 40dollars every two months, so twenty a month. This is half what we paid in Tokyo while using much less water. Now compare to many water bills in the states where many towns have over built sewage systems and you often year families spending a hundred or more a month. I strongly suspect cities hide the cost of sewage behind the water supply charge. They run the departments as one and assume all supplied water is drained.

tantalor 5y ago

> worry about mice Get a cat or two.

tibbydudeza 5y ago
Got that covered - got 6 of them but probably only two of them are active mousers.
- nicwolff 5y ago
  I live in a cottage in the woods and my cat brings live shrews into the house to play with. Cats!
  - tibbydudeza 5y ago
    Fortunately we only had one cat who did that and she is now a pensioner and prefers less strenuous activities like sun bathing and sleeping. Trapping a mouse at 1am in the bedroom is not so endearing.

silicon2401 5y ago

What's a good resource to learn about septic? I'm interested in moving somewhere more rural at some point in the future but have no idea how septic works. I admit a slight squeamishness at the thought of our waste accumulating in a tank, but the part that I'm more concerned about is not knowing what the risks or processes involved are.

giantg2 5y ago
https://www.epa.gov/septic/how-your-septic-system-works https://www.epa.gov/septic/how-your-septic-system-works
tharkun__ 5y ago
Is this somehow different in the rural US? I'm in Canada and while part of a large metro area I am far enough out to have a septic tank. I never so much as spent a second of thought on it. We just get the tank cleaned out every two years. The city even has a by law requiring that and you have to send in the invoice to prove you had it done.
- silicon2401 5y ago
  I've never lived in a place that uses septic, so to me septic is something that feels quite rural, even if it's common in places that are more suburban than rural.
- Danieru 5y ago
  My theory is most people do not realize just how much of their "water" bill is actually sewage costs. Pumping clean water is nothing compared to sewage. Yet most cities present the water bill as a split cost between water and sewage. We are on septic despite being 100meters from the border of tokyo. Our costs for quatery inspections, and a yearly pumping are about 220 dollars. In exchange our water bill is about 40dollars every two months, so twenty a month. This is half what we paid in Tokyo while using much less water. Now compare to many water bills in the states where many towns have over built sewage systems and you often year families spending a hundred or more a month. I strongly suspect cities hide the cost of sewage behind the water supply charge. They run the departments as one and assume all supplied water is drained.