So You Wanna Move to the Country – Really?

Remember the show Green Acres?  Many of us may want to move rural and be ‘Oliver’, but the truth is most of us are ‘Lisa’s - country life is not for everyone.  There are a multitude of things that we take for granted in a city that do not exist or are hard to come by in a rural town.

So the first thing to do is to be sure you understand the differences between rural and suburban/urban living.

When thinking of leaving the ‘rat race’ behind – be honest and consider all the facts.  If you feel you cannot live with all these conveniences being an hour or more away, then rural living is not for you. Instead find a nice suburban ‘country like’ area.  If you still wish to move to the country, despite the travel time for these conveniences, then let’s get to it!

Decisions, decisions and more decisions …

Good detailed research on this kind of living is a must!  

• Honestly set your ‘country living’ expectations with reality. Be honest about you can and cannot do both physically and mentally.
• Define and prioritize what you are looking for in the state and general area of your potential rural home.
• Define and prioritize what you want the property to provide (grazing, farming or gardening, water, lumber, etc).
• Have a prepared ‘Must Have and Would Like’ list to review with the realtor and to rank potential properties.
• Have a checklist of all the various survey, certification, inspection and or tests you want, that you can show the realtor, so he can collect the information.
• Follow all the usual “real estate” purchasing and selling checklist procedures.

When you do start looking, take advantage of the internet for all your preliminary research and ‘looking’, however never, ever purchase something without a personal, by-your-own-eyes, look see and or walk thru.

You just gotta Think, Research, Think some more, Make a decision, Make a plan and then Go for it!

Read on to find out what kinds of questions to ask about the state, area, the land itself and for a list of resources @ http://www.scribd.com/doc/88030384/So-You-Wanna-Move-to-the-Country-%E2%80%93-Really

Keep On Preppin’

TNT