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  • From: Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Call for Ideas !
  • Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:29:17 -0500


On Sep 12, 2007, at 11:57 AM, <eureka AT hctc.net> wrote:

It's 2-1/2 hours away to a corporate job,
1-1/2 to the nearest Starbucks, 1 to WalMart. The school
hasn't been updated in decades, no medical services, all
others 'volunteer'. Property values have gone up about 64
percent since I bought six years ago so land is no longer
cheap.

Part of the problem is that ranchers can't make a living
anymore (bottom fell out of mohair, can't hire illegals to
sheer, etc.) and their kids have all gone to college to
become doctors and lawyers, don't want to do anything
other than drive their shiny hummers and ATVs around on
their childhood haunts. The only way they can keep up with
the taxes is to sell off chunks to little folks like us.
This kind of fragmentation is going on all over the Texas
hill country right now. I'm sure this is happening
elsewhere, too.

It is a familiar story and is happening in many areas across the country. I just finished reading THAT OLD ACE IN THE HOLE by Annie Proulx. The setting is the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. The main character is an agent for an intensive hog farm conglomeration. Proulx illuminates the issues of old timers who want to hang on to the land, heirs who just want the cash, and the tensions and opportunities that presents to those of various motivations.

One of the characteristics of peaceable land you can usually depend on is excessive distance for weekenders to commute. One must be aware that ever-greater distance is required, as vehicles go faster easier and pressure is ever on for higher speed limits. One day many will have private helicopters or other small flying things that will exacerbate rural peace and quiet. One of the first ones will be shot down, the shooter will become a cult hero, songs will be written about her, and she will become legend. But I digress.

Far out is often just not far enough. The majority of Americans would prefer to live in a small town or rural place. The only thing holding back the outmigration flood is the current reticence toward telecommuting by most big companies. Once the employment issue is resolved, many of the old rules will no longer be valid.

Another key characteristic of land that often provides serenity is conditions that the masses find simply undesirable. Here in my neck of the Ozarks we joke that if it wasn't for the ticks and chiggers we would be overrun by city slickers and their rantipoles terrorizing we locals with their dirt bikes and off-road vehicles. Even with the ticks, chiggers, mosquitoes, no-see-ums, poisonous snakes, tornadoes, and did I mention a potential repeat of the New Madrid earthquake?, my Ozark County counts tourism as its third largest source of income.

Finding a place that is highly desirable to you and yours and highly unlikely to change is a challenging quest. Those who get it right do a thorough search, applying their criteria to a wide area and taking the time to determine the plusses and negatives. It is time consuming but it is worth the effort. I can think of few things in life that are more important to personal peace than the location of one's home.






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