2 ms·

I'm pretty similar, my wife and I have been looking for 5-10acres for the same reason. I will say tho, while i prefer smaller homes (less room for stuff), these

I'm pretty similar, my wife and I have been looking for 5-10acres for the same reason. I will say tho, while i prefer smaller homes (less room for stuff), these days i massively value two offices and tons of storage. I don't want stuff, but buying a home (i'm in my first) led me to realize all the practical stuff you accumulate. Organization of it is challenging. Doubly so if you're super space constrained.

falcolas 3y ago
> Organization of it is challenging. Doubly so if you're super space constrained. And when you're space constrained, just allocating a room to one purpose - such as recreation or hobbies - is super hard. Every space is shared with the whole family.
mindcrime 3y ago
Yep. One reason I want to get back to more of a "country" setting is because some of my hobbies involve needing a lot of space, that I don't currently have. Specifically I want a shop for working on cars, working on bicycles, doing metal working and wood working, using a welding machine, cutting torch, band saw, yadda yadda, etc. Things you can't really do in an apartment in the city. And while the local hackerspace is handy, it's still not like having your own shop where you can park a "project car" in there and leave it for long periods of time, swap engines, pull transmissions, etc.
- mindslight 3y ago
  I've been pondering how much of that is circular though. My interest in metalworking is precisely because I've got some land to maintain. Take away the tractor, and I don't need metalworking. Give me some shared walls, and I don't need to burn wood for heat. Reduce the amounts of biomass and snow that need to be kept at bay, and I don't need a shed full of landscaping equipment. Bury the power lines, and I don't need a generator in case the power goes out. I know some dyed in the wool country lifers are recoiling in horror at my comment, but my point is to be aware of the path dependence, including the path dependence of culture (eg why you want to work on old cars). There's also the circular path dependence of (not) relying on socially shared venues, eg hacker spaces, local markets, etc. The US doesn't have great availability of these things, meaning that people use more space at their personal house to replicate their functionality. Rather than going to a corner market and buying food for a few days, we go to the grocery store every week or two and buy huge quantities. Rather than looking around at hacker spaces to scratch my machining itch, I think how it would be great to find some room for a CNC mill. Most of my garage is currently being taken up because I can't even rely on Home Depot to function as a warehouse that sells non-broken goods on demand. In my estimation the largest unescapable dynamic in the US is that when you're in a city or even a suburb, you're running on the financial treadmill much harder. Which is fine when you're young, rent is comparable to the money you spend on experiences, and you're happy fitting into the corporate societal structure where you can. But when you get tired of running so fast for someone else, want to have a bit more autonomy, perhaps run your own business or other productive endeavor, the main way to do that comfortably is to move to a lower cost of living area where things like office/hobby space comes bundled with your dwelling.

falcolas 3y ago

> Organization of it is challenging. Doubly so if you're super space constrained. And when you're space constrained, just allocating a room to one purpose - such as recreation or hobbies - is super hard. Every space is shared with the whole family.

mindcrime 3y ago

Yep. One reason I want to get back to more of a "country" setting is because some of my hobbies involve needing a lot of space, that I don't currently have. Specifically I want a shop for working on cars, working on bicycles, doing metal working and wood working, using a welding machine, cutting torch, band saw, yadda yadda, etc. Things you can't really do in an apartment in the city. And while the local hackerspace is handy, it's still not like having your own shop where you can park a "project car" in there and leave it for long periods of time, swap engines, pull transmissions, etc.

mindslight 3y ago
I've been pondering how much of that is circular though. My interest in metalworking is precisely because I've got some land to maintain. Take away the tractor, and I don't need metalworking. Give me some shared walls, and I don't need to burn wood for heat. Reduce the amounts of biomass and snow that need to be kept at bay, and I don't need a shed full of landscaping equipment. Bury the power lines, and I don't need a generator in case the power goes out. I know some dyed in the wool country lifers are recoiling in horror at my comment, but my point is to be aware of the path dependence, including the path dependence of culture (eg why you want to work on old cars). There's also the circular path dependence of (not) relying on socially shared venues, eg hacker spaces, local markets, etc. The US doesn't have great availability of these things, meaning that people use more space at their personal house to replicate their functionality. Rather than going to a corner market and buying food for a few days, we go to the grocery store every week or two and buy huge quantities. Rather than looking around at hacker spaces to scratch my machining itch, I think how it would be great to find some room for a CNC mill. Most of my garage is currently being taken up because I can't even rely on Home Depot to function as a warehouse that sells non-broken goods on demand. In my estimation the largest unescapable dynamic in the US is that when you're in a city or even a suburb, you're running on the financial treadmill much harder. Which is fine when you're young, rent is comparable to the money you spend on experiences, and you're happy fitting into the corporate societal structure where you can. But when you get tired of running so fast for someone else, want to have a bit more autonomy, perhaps run your own business or other productive endeavor, the main way to do that comfortably is to move to a lower cost of living area where things like office/hobby space comes bundled with your dwelling.