Not really a tractor question but seeking opinions

[Frankenkubota]

Just did it. 55 acres, total isolation. Occasional visit from from friends, not often.

I知 single with dog and can go days without seeing anyone.

In a nut shell, I think you need to be able to keep yourself entertained, busy, whatever that is. Seems most folks on this forum like projects, I know I do. Something to look forward to.

I致e been taking an informal survey, for the last year or so. When I tell 50 guys about what I知 doing, regardless of age, at least 48 of them will get this dreamy look in their eyes and say, boy, some day I壇 love to do that.

When I tell 50 women, almost universally they say......what if something happens?

Our brains are wired very very differently. It痴 my opinion that most women are far more social than most men. (That痴 biology) You know your family, I壇 just keep that in mind.

Good luck!

 

[Doofy]

Please be aware that for some people the "Quiet" is deafening. Make sure that you both can stand the peace and solitude. Good Luck!

 

[bigtiller]

Please be aware that for some people the "Quiet" is deafening. Make sure that you both can stand the peace and solitude. Good Luck!

That's for sure. I know a lot of guys that retired early in their 50's and couldn't stand it. Most of them took other jobs at half of their old pay scale, just to have something to do.

 

[MossRoad]

Please be aware that for some people the "Quiet" is deafening. Make sure that you both can stand the peace and solitude. Good Luck!

Good point. I like solitude, but also enjoy saying 'Hi!" to the neighbors. I see a lot of people at work, but mostly work by myself. Wife and I like to go out to eat and socialize with friends and family, but enjoy a quiet afternoon in the pool. It's sometimes challenging to find that exact balance at the exact time.

 

[ultrarunner]

Sounds like opportunity knocking...

One of the things I love about my 17 acres in WA is the peace and solitude but a short drive for city services... not to mention natural beauty.

 

[Doofy]

Access to good medical services is very important as you age. Never was sick a day in my life until I hit 67 and things started acting up.

 

[oosik]

If my son didn't come out to visit three or four times a year I wouldn't have the normal half dozen visitors I get every year. Fortunately, I THRIVE on solitude.

 

[Doofy]

If my son didn't come out to visit three or four times a year I wouldn't have the normal half dozen visitors I get every year. Fortunately, I THRIVE on solitude.

Same here. Peace and Quiet is bliss. Hate to say it but this Covid outbreak has provided a great excuse for being less social. Certain neighbors are miffed because we are not socializing but after having a second brain surgery a couple weeks ago, can't take any chances.

 

[MossRoad]

Same here. Peace and Quiet is bliss. Hate to say it but this Covid outbreak has provided a great excuse for being less social. Certain neighbors are miffed because we are not socializing but after having a second brain surgery a couple weeks ago, can't take any chances.

Brain surgery? Yikes. Apparently things went well? :thumbsup:

 

[Doofy]

Brain surgery? Yikes. Apparently things went well? :thumbsup:

Yes, doing great. They just went up my nose again to remove the rest of my pituitary tumor. Not so much as a headache. :cool2:

 

[MossRoad]

Yay!

I've had about a dozen MRI's, CT scans, etc... on my head over the years looking for aneurysms. They didn't find anything....

:laughing:

Good luck to you. :thumbsup:

 

[Doofy]

Yay!

I've had about a dozen MRI's, CT scans, etc... on my head over the years looking for aneurysms. They didn't find anything....

:laughing:

Good luck to you. :thumbsup:

They gave me a Fat Head. They replaced the volume of the removed tumor with a plug of fat from my belly. Do not sneeze when you have stitches in your gut.:shocked: They also gave me a piece of paper at discharge telling me not to cough or sneeze for 6 weeks. Right!

 

[EddieWalker]

My dream was always to have enough land to hunt on, not see anybody else on and be as self sufficient as possible. I have 68 acres of mixed woods and pastures. The deer hunting isn't very good, but I am over run with wild hogs and you can hunt them year round, day and night. For years, I shot half a dozen or so a year and enjoyed clearing the land and creating trails through the woods. I always wanted more land, and I always day dream of that perfect ranch with everything on it.

Two and a half years ago my wife got colon cancer. She was 52 and there is no family history of cancer. She is Cherokee, and all her family died of heart disease, never cancer. Chemo and Radiation was successful, but she spent a total of 30 days hospitalized during the process and then the recovery. She is cancer free, but will probably always struggle with the damage done to her "gut" by the treatment.

I know understand and appreciate living close to a hospital. It's 20 minutes away, along with all the other things we need to day to day living. For me, the comforts of being able to get what I want, and being able to deal with any health issues in a reasonable amount of time is a lot more important then having more land, or better hunting.

In all reality, I spend most of my time around the house. We are creating a backyard living area that is very enjoyable. We have 5 big dogs that we enjoy spending time with in a one acre fenced backyard that we are thinking about expanding a little, but that's in the future and not a priority. We have 24 raised garden beds and we're currently picking more tomatoes every day then we can handle. I think my wife canned 30 jars of tomatoes the other day, along with 16 of salsa and a dozen spaghetti sauce.

Having that home area as nice as possible has become a much bigger priority for me than working the land or want more acreage.

I'm 54 and in good health. I have a decent income, but no plans of retiring any time soon, if ever.

My bigger goal for the land is to build a fence strong enough to keep wild hogs and coyotes out of the land. I do not believe there is any profit in selling timber. I've tried on multiple occasions to do so, and there just wasn't any interest by the dozen plus logging companies that I spoke to. My neighbor is the personal pilot for a large timber company and he had then cut a bunch of trees on his place so he could build a runway for one of his planes. the amount of money he got for the trees was about half of what it cost to get the stumps out and the land smoothed out enough to land a plane on. They where on his land cutting and grinding up the trees into chips for the entire summer, then it took two years to get the land cleaned up. I realize that most people don't need their land that smooth, but when I drive over it, I don't think it's all that smooth, and so far, he has not tried landing on it. I've been to a lumber mill to see about selling some of my hardwoods to them directly and to find out what they wanted. All they are interested in was railroad lumber. They want 14 inch butts on the logs. When looking at what I have, that really limited me to what I could sell, and those where the trees that i liked the best.

I'm excited for your new adventure in life. I remember what it was like when I moved to my place.

 

[oosik]

I'm sure glad I don't have wild hogs. I have more than my share of wild pocket gophers. Twenty one years ago - I sold timber off my land. Selective logging. I have ancient Ponderosa pine and timber values were sky high. I netted a little more than 16K. But it would be another 80 years before that could be done again. So...... 16K every 80 years, or so, ain't so very great. You're going to be eating a whole lot of dirt if that were your sole source of income.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

My dream was always to have enough land to hunt on, not see anybody else on and be as self sufficient as possible. I have 68 acres of mixed woods and pastures. The deer hunting isn't very good, but I am over run with wild hogs and you can hunt them year round, day and night. For years, I shot half a dozen or so a year and enjoyed clearing the land and creating trails through the woods. I always wanted more land, and I always day dream of that perfect ranch with everything on it.

Two and a half years ago my wife got colon cancer. She was 52 and there is no family history of cancer. She is Cherokee, and all her family died of heart disease, never cancer. Chemo and Radiation was successful, but she spent a total of 30 days hospitalized during the process and then the recovery. She is cancer free, but will probably always struggle with the damage done to her "gut" by the treatment.

I know understand and appreciate living close to a hospital. It's 20 minutes away, along with all the other things we need to day to day living. For me, the comforts of being able to get what I want, and being able to deal with any health issues in a reasonable amount of time is a lot more important then having more land, or better hunting.

In all reality, I spend most of my time around the house. We are creating a backyard living area that is very enjoyable. We have 5 big dogs that we enjoy spending time with in a one acre fenced backyard that we are thinking about expanding a little, but that's in the future and not a priority. We have 24 raised garden beds and we're currently picking more tomatoes every day then we can handle. I think my wife canned 30 jars of tomatoes the other day, along with 16 of salsa and a dozen spaghetti sauce.

Having that home area as nice as possible has become a much bigger priority for me than working the land or want more acreage.

I'm 54 and in good health. I have a decent income, but no plans of retiring any time soon, if ever.

My bigger goal for the land is to build a fence strong enough to keep wild hogs and coyotes out of the land. I do not believe there is any profit in selling timber. I've tried on multiple occasions to do so, and there just wasn't any interest by the dozen plus logging companies that I spoke to. My neighbor is the personal pilot for a large timber company and he had then cut a bunch of trees on his place so he could build a runway for one of his planes. the amount of money he got for the trees was about half of what it cost to get the stumps out and the land smoothed out enough to land a plane on. They where on his land cutting and grinding up the trees into chips for the entire summer, then it took two years to get the land cleaned up. I realize that most people don't need their land that smooth, but when I drive over it, I don't think it's all that smooth, and so far, he has not tried landing on it. I've been to a lumber mill to see about selling some of my hardwoods to them directly and to find out what they wanted. All they are interested in was railroad lumber. They want 14 inch butts on the logs. When looking at what I have, that really limited me to what I could sell, and those where the trees that i liked the best.

I'm excited for your new adventure in life. I remember what it was like when I moved to my place.

:drink:

 

[Steppenwolfe]

We live in the middle of 95 acres that looks like a state park. I have put in miles of trails that we can ride our SXS on and my wife walks with the dogs. Anytime I am on a tractor is heaven to me. I travel a lot, been in virtually every major city in America, and this is most definitely our fortress of solitude. We rarely have visitors, kids come a few ties a year, but we cherish our solitude, the silence of nature, and our time alone. Life is special in this kind of place, and God is everywhere you look.

 

[ultrarunner]

My brother wanted land for years and eventually claimed his 65 acre slice but being in the SF Bay Area taxes probably mean it won't last forever...

Another consideration is if this is a shared dream... especially when a lovely home on a half acre would be ideal for his wife.

In the end man plans and life happens.

 

[sodamo]

Sure can relate to the wild hogs. Would take another 3000+ft fencing to keep them out. Not about to do it myself anymore and not anxious to pay to have it done so instead I’ll just curse them when they do their damage. They were here long before I was.
Wife went thru endometrial cancer just as we started building. Cancer free 13 years now.

 

[Doofy]

Always good to hear when folks beat cancer. Gives us all hope.

 

[WW2017]

Just to update everyone so this thread doesn't stay active. My wife and I have been back and forth on whether to purchase this land. It has been gut wrenching to say the least. It is an amazing piece of property and would be a dream come true. However, with both of us still working full time, still have both kids, 21 and 16, still at home, elderly parents (10 minutes away) who need help with their small cattle operation, and trying to maintain our 22 acres and large home, we have decided the timing just isn't right. It is disappointing to us and we realize we may regret it someday, but we are extremely happy where we are and just didn't think it would be beneficial for us to work here every evening after work, then spend every Saturday there, coming home exhausted but satisfied, then doing it all again the next week for 5 years.

The final straw was yesterday, when I spoke to the neighbor farmer who is much older and wiser. He said he had been in a similar situation, which I figured he had and was the reason I sought his opinion, and he ended up farming more than he could handle. He said he realized a few years in he had made a mistake when he no longer enjoyed doing something he had previously. He got a little choked up when he talked about all of the things he had missed because he had stuff to do. It was a lightbulb moment for me, and for my wife when I told her.

I greatly appreciate all of those who took the time to offer their opinions. Each of them were considered and discussed. Thank you all. Maybe we'll get another chance in the future.