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Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be better to buy some cheap land and throw up a yurt (or maybe a Quonset hut if you're more fancy), rather than take on a 30-y
by jcadam 3y ago
Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be better to buy some cheap land and throw up a yurt (or maybe a Quonset hut if you're more fancy), rather than take on a 30-year mortgage.
- jollyllama 3y agoThe problem is finding a place where they won't nail you with building codes, zoning or other ordinances, etc.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- Scoundreller 3y agoQuite often the places with cheap land are also the ones that don’t have building codes.
- jcadam 3y agoUp here in Alaska, land can be had very cheap (but construction costs are high), particularly if you don't care to be on the road system.
- diversionfactor 3y agoWhere can I find this cheap land? When I check online zillow, or via Alaskan state land auctions, the price of building lots even without road access in the deep interior is more than that of a suburb in Texas!
- mbrameld 3y agohttps://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/landsales/parcels/details/470-1433 https://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/landsales/parcels/details/470-143... seems pretty cheap to me at about $4,200 per acre. A quick search of building lots in San Marcos, TX as an example shows prices are around $200,000 per acre, or about 50 times higher than the land in Alaska: https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/San-Marcos_TX/type-land https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/San-Marcos... Can you share the lots you were looking at?
- diversionfactor 3y agoSan Marcos is one of the most overpriced and fastest growing markets in Texas, right next to Austin, priced to the stratosphere since the Californians moved in. Austin is my home town, but I couldn't afford to live in San Marcos. For typical Texas land priced around the same per acre as Alaskan land: https://www.land.com/property/Fox-Hunters-Club-Rd-Bon-Wier-Texas-75928/16523649/ https://www.land.com/property/Fox-Hunters-Club-Rd-Bon-Wier-T... $19,708 - 3.79 acres On a public road, with electricity (water you'd need a well). Remote East Texas, and by remote I mean you're 20 min drive from the nearest city (Kirbyville with some gas, food, small department stores) and 40 min drive from the nearest Walmart SuperCenter (the real sign of civilization in rural America). Or if you prefer something closer to a city, the desert just outside Del Rio, you can see: https://www.land.com/property/Windmill-Rd-Del-Rio-Texas-78840/16303923/ https://www.land.com/property/Windmill-Rd-Del-Rio-Texas-7884... $15,997 - 2.05 acres On a public road, I see electricity nearby but you'd have to run it to your land ($15k+ probably), or just do solar since there's plenty of sun there. Well water and septic. Bordering the Rough Canyon national recreation area and Lake Amistad, if you like boating and hiking (watch out for rattlesnakes). I'd say a "suburb" of Del Rio, an apartment building and single family homes 7 min drive away as well as a cafe. The nearest Walmart Supercenter is 30 min drive away in Del Rio, as well as the city of Del Rio and the general aviation airport is by the Walmart, if you wanted to fly to San Antonio or Monterrey. Now you might be saying, I want true suburban land, like surrounded by other single family homes, with water hookups and neighbors, and commuting distance to a major city. That's going to cost you more - but not much more, especially given it's already got all utilities: https://www.land.com/property/1631-Old-Henry-Court-Angleton-Texas-77515/15238303/ https://www.land.com/property/1631-Old-Henry-Court-Angleton-... $33,000 - 1 acres About 15 minutes drive from the nearest Walmart Supercenter in Angleton, as well as an HEB (gotta have that HEB), and 40 min commute to Pearland where you could actually find city jobs, or 60 min if you want to go all the way to downtown Houston (I used to have a manager who did just this drive every day for 10+ years, so she could live on a working horse farm). That's where my disconnect is for Alaskan land prices. I can only surmise it's because the federal and state government own like 99%+ of the land in Alaska and only sell a very small amount at any time to rigidly control the prices and development. Like an Uber-California in that way.
- mhb 3y agoA cursory look reveals that there is acreage in Maine for less than $2K/acre. https://www.landwatch.com/maine-land-for-sale https://www.landwatch.com/maine-land-for-sale
- vectorxheng 3y ago[flagged]
- vectorxheng 3y ago[flagged]
- thfuran 3y agoAh, to get away from civilization into pristine nature, 12 feet away from the next guy doing the same.
- TeMPOraL 3y agoThey also lack various things highly correlated with presence of building codes, such us road access, electricity, running water, clean water, water, food variety, healthcare, ER/ambulance, fire protection/prevention, crime protection/prevention, schooling, after-school activities, nightlife, pool for potential mates, (edit: was supposed to be "pool of potential mates", but in this context both work), and in general, people.
- Scoundreller 3y agoI mean, not paying for/depending on/having half of those networks sounds pretty awesome I’d add lack of internet to your list. Much harder (but not impossible) to provide yourself.
- TeMPOraL 3y agoAbsolutely! Unfortunately, they are all mutually dependent and mutually reinforcing, so you can't opt out of some without opting out of the rest.
- microtherion 3y agoCf "A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear": https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/matthew-hongoltz-hetling/a-libertarian-walks-into-a-bear/9781541788510/?lens=publicaffairs https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/matthew-hongoltz-he...
- jollyllama 3y ago>much harder to provide That's the real problem. HN forgets not everyone is remote.
- TeMPOraL 3y agoThe "provide" is easy these days, apparently, thanks to Starlink. The "yourself" bit is a tricky bit, as where it comes to utilities, you can sort of DIY your own supply of everything else, but Internet is as much a social construct as it is technical.
- turtlebits 3y agoIt's not building codes, it's zoning/permitting. You can't just toss up an structure and live in it without going through some approval process with your county/city.
- Scoundreller 3y agoSometimes the only requirement is to meet code, but even that creates issues when you want to build something for yourself. We have some really far out places that are still "unorganized" in Ontario Canada and therefore no permitting req'd, but you're still supposed to follow the building code for anything over 108sqft.
- iancmceachern 3y agoEspecially in California
- nine_k 3y agoOne issue: bathroom. Not an actual bathtub, of course, but at least a shower and a toilet.
- Kalium 3y agoYou'll find it is! That said, many might face some challenges in doing so in a place they want to live. It's non-trivial to find a cheap piece of livable land in a city. In a more rural areas, you can expect some possible complications in things like water, electricity, and internet access.
- nine_k 3y agoWater: dig a well, buy a kettle. Electricity: solar panels + batteries. You will need a lot of them if you want to run a small fridge. Forget about a gaming desktop. Internet access: LTE via a tall antenna if you're lucky, Starlink otherwise. Add more solar panels. You'll have to limit your diet mostly to foods that store well without a fridge. A tiny fridge can still fit the power budget. I'd say that sewage and trash disposal are going to be bigger problems. Having a shower, too, especially in winter.
- HideousKojima 3y agoSewage is easy, get a septic tank
- culi 3y agoEven easier than that... just don't treat it as "sewage". In Japan all the way up into the 20th century landlords often claimed a right to their residents "night soil". In pretty much everywhere except (parts of) Europe, human manure was seen as a very valuable resource. Start a compost pile and get the correct Carbon:Nitrogen ratio (~24:1). Using the Berkeley method it can reach heats of up to 200°F (93°C) within a week. You'd be surprised how quickly something like human feces can neutralized in conditions like these. The recommended wait time before direct handling is usually about 2 months but this is mostly because it's hard to be sure you've got the right ratios, temperatures, etc. Regardless, anyone trying an "offgrid" life would be wise to stop pouring effort into throwing away one of the most valuable resources humans produce
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- vectorxheng 3y ago[flagged]
- ytdytvhxgydvhh 3y agoJust to be clear, they aren’t actually selling land, they’re selling access to land. https://minute.land/about https://minute.land/about
- vectorxheng 3y agoit pretty much simulates land ownership without the costs, the leases are perpetual and exclusive
- asdff 3y agoYurts are fundamentally portable. You can set up on blm land and live indefinitely for free if you are decamping every three weeks.