The Day Wal-Mart Stood Still!

August 27, 2010, The Day Wal-Mart Stood Still!

It was shortly after 8:30 Pm and I had just picked up the last item on my shopping list and was looking to see which of the checkout lanes were the shortest. This was the day that I got to see what could, would or will happen to Wal-Mart and the rest of us the day we have a major malfunction of our computer systems.

As I walked from one end of the checkout area to the other I quickly noticed all the lights being turned off at each register. One after another each cashier was turning off their light to signal they were having a problem. Within two minutes the whole checkout area came to stand still.

People of all walks of life were standing there wondering why none of us were moving. Kids asking their parents how much longer until they'll be able to watch that new DVD they were so excited to buy.

Well, those children had to wait close to 40 extra minutes before all the computers would come back online. Most people in the lines were laughing it off, but I got to thinking of just how reliant we have all become on computers and technology. A store like Wal-mart doesn't even have the old style credit card swiping machining to check customers out if this was to turn into a major problem.

For me, nothing was lost that night, but I did gain the reminder that people like me who have switched to using a Debit Card for 95% of our purchases would be stuck if computers systems crash!

Is It Hot In Here Or What?

OK, so it's been close to three weeks now since I arrived in VA. I don't know if this summer has been a normal summer so far, but either way the heat and humidity has been out of this world. To add to it, the price of just about everything around this area is way over priced. I know I drink too much Coke (tm), but charging me close to $8 for a 24 pack is not the reason I wanted to have to cut down drink it. Food in general is priced out of this world, mostly meats, so I guess I am going to lose weight and cut back on my Coke (tm) consumption!

Over-all, I know that this is not the type of place that I will be settling down in. I haven't achieved much progress in the three weeks I have been here besides knowing that I am not staying and that I am even thinking about heading back down to Florida to re-group my thoughts.

When I set out to come up to VA I was still planning on going out to Colorado, but over these last couple of weeks I have come across some other people's opinions and information that has me second guessing that move, or at least for now.

I know it is not even the end of the July yet, but I am still trying to make the spring semester at college, in whatever state I end up in. So I think the wise move right now is to pick one of the areas in Florida that was still on my "short list" and head back down south. At least the areas will be some place new, but still close to areas that I know and can fall back on for help.

That's all for now!

"That Darn Cat"

Well, I arrived in Manassas, VA late Saturday night, (1:30 am) almost 15 hours to the minute from door-to-door. The drive went well, and considering it was a holiday weekend I am very happy with how well traffic was flowing. I can't even say that I saw an accident or anything. There were a lot of Police on the roads, so that was nice to know.

My move out of Florida did take a little longer then I hoped. I was trying to leave on Friday, July 2nd, but when Thursday night came around I realized I had more stuff in my ex-wife's place then I thought. So it still took me most of Friday to clear out all my stuff and to pack / load my truck, but all in all that too went smooth enough, or as smooth as something like that could.

The trip to VA is part business, part social, and a lot of life changing. This is the next step in my Off The Grid Journey, but this is a bitter sweet move. Like any journey, one must close a door and leave some things behind before finding what is around the next corner. Leaving Florida was more then just moving away from the Sunshine State, it was the end of the final chapter in my marriage. It was leaving one of the few homes I have lived in for more then 2 years straight since 1979 and it was saying Good-Bye to some friends who may not be on this earth that much longer.

I do have to admit, times like these interest me, they make me sit up and look at what I have or who I care about. I have spent most of my childhood and all of my adult life moving from place to place, year after year, but since it's been seven years since I last moved, I have forgotten what one learns from leaving one place and moving to a new location. A lot of the people and belongings I left in Florida were not as hard to say Good-Bye to as I thought they would be, but there was one thing, "that darn cat" that some how found her way into my heart has given me the biggest heartache since I started packing. It is very interesting how one free cat, and for the record, I did not want, some how became my best friend through all the ups and downs that life has dished out lately.

So as exciting as the future might be right now, I am having a hard time feeling that excitement on this holiday weekend. A word to the wise, "There's no such thing as a FREE cat!"

Happy 4th of July!

Another Step In My Journey!

It's June 24th, and that means the 4th of July holiday is quickly approaching, but it also means that I am about one week away from taking another step in My Off The Grid Journey! By Friday, July 2nd, I will be on the road to stay with some great friends in Manassas, VA. I have all my belongings locked away in storage down here in FL and will set out for yet another season of doing hail repair.

This time around I am going about the season a little differently. Since I have so much going on in the way of life changing decisions, I am going to start out staying with friends, while doing a little left-over hail work in area. I will get to use this time to visit with people I have hardly seen in the last twenty years, before they too set out on another step in their journey to serve this great country of ours.

In my free time I hope to get to explore the eastern side of VA and maybe squeeze in a hike or two on part of the AP Trail, but the biggest use of my free time will be going toward finishing my re-defining of my goals and wish list for going off the grid. I have received a lot of good ideas and information from the people on the forum at Homesteading Today.com so now I want to apply that information toward my goals and wishes and try to come up with a defined short list of towns to explore when I do leave Manassas, VA.

Some things I am working on at this point in time are; researching more information on employment or business opportunities working with Aeroponics, researching different colleges to try to lessen the learning curve for Homesteading or Alternative energy and to help future employment. I am also trying to define the locations I am interested in, while trying to find a new career that would be better suited for this lifestyle. It's a lot going on, and more then I would wish to take on at any one time, but I feel that a career change and relocating are both times of new opportunities and are best planned together.

What Are You Going To Do There?

What are you going to do there? This seems to be a general question I get from people. Some I think mean to ask about income or a job, other's might look at my choice as being out in "no man's land" or "B.F.E." So this Post is more or less to clarify what it is or why it is I choose the place(s) I do or more of what I see my daily life being like in these places.

First thing I know for sure at this point in time, I do not see myself "working the land" so to say. I do see myself working in a Greenhouse environment around table-top / waist high work stations with my Aeroponic systems or even some Earthbox containers for growing the items that do better in soil.

Before I see myself even getting to into the Greenhouse, I see me building a small shed-like building to store all my tools and belongings as soon as I take ownership of the land. This will free up the money I spend each month on storage units and will allow me to have my tools where they do me more good, that's close to me!

The next item of priority, since I will still be renting a room / apartment, will be to start the main part of my shelter. This building will consist of the kitchen area, a pantry, at least a 3/4 bath and the main dinning / living area, with plans for an expansion of a master-bedroom off the side at a later time. In the early part of the developing of the land, this will be more of a hurter's cabin. As long as I will still be renting an apartment, I will only be at the property to work over the weekends, evenings, either way I will be able to "rough it" with a solar showers, and other camping style amenities.

Other buildings and Items of priority for the property are:

-Enlarge Solar / power system.

-Greenhouse

-Workshop

-Office (might become part of the workshop)

How You Going To Pay For All This?

How you going to pay for all this? This has to be about the most common question I get asked right after I get done explaining my plan to go off the grid. I get this feeling from most people that when they hear the plan, they think of it as all one big piece. Like $10,k for this, $37,k for that, another $8,700 for this thingamabob, they add it up in their heads and then ask where are you going to get two trillion dollars to pay for all this?

Like anything that is worth doing, you have to take it one step at a time, start small and pay as you go. If you sit and wait for the day that you will have all the money, items, and skills that you need before starting, you might be sitting there for the rest of your life. As time goes by, and you get new information, you may change the plans. Do you start all over and wait to have all those items that are needed for the new plan?

Plans change, different opportunities come along, so you may find that what you started out to do is better used for something else. Or, you may not enjoy it as much as you did before. I am keeping this in mind when looking for my first piece of land. I may get it all wrong, or I may end up with a property that is better used for one of my other plans or for someone else and sell it off, taking that profit (hopefully) and applying it to a piece of land that is better suited for what I need. It maybe an extra step or two, but at least it was a starting point for me instead sitting and waiting for the right time.

Employment, Since I do not have any land yet and I am looking to change careers, currently I am looking for a new basic job to use as a transition to my new location. From that basic job I will be able to see if I want to stay in the area or find a new place. I will also be able to start networking with local people and companies to see if there is a market for my Furniture /woodworkings or selling my Mother's Canned recipes.

To answer that main question, How am I going to pay for all this? The Comedian inside me wants to answer by saying "With money, of course!" But Since I ask myself the same thing, I can say that I plan on working and saving until I have enough to start with a piece of land that will get me out of renting. Then as soon as I can afford enough to build even a small space to set up my woodworking tools, then I will be able to bring in extra money and plan to add each part of the plan as the money comes in.

Like the early Pioneers and Settlers, things are going to be rough for some time. They always are in the beginning of any new adventure, but as more work comes in things will grow and get easier. This is why I knew I was setting out on a "Journey" and not just building a Cabin in the woods. To me, going "Off The Grid" means more then just not having utilities, it is a change in the way I am living my life.

Property Details

The property size and general information of the land is something that I am still researching on how much the entry-level acreage is for different parts of the country. I think most people would want "as big as I can get" but being realistic, and trying to do this on a shoe-string budget, all I can say at this point in time is one acre is a minimal size, but shooting for something in the five acre size. I know some of the areas I am researching have minimum lot sizes, and some counties put restrictions on wells or septic systems for lots under "X" amount of acres.

The guidelines on price that I am starting with are made up of a self-assessment of "land prices" across the US. I see plenty of tracks of land for sale in all different parts of the county for around the $1000 per acre price. Some tracks of land go up into the $5,000 per acre. Right now I am trying to weigh the Pro's and Con's for pricing, so I can't add much more at this time. I will add a post down the road once I do figure out how to compare each lot.

Other defining needs are as followed:

- I am looking for land that is not too heavily zoned

- Zoned for multiple uses or Agricultural with a home business

- Has to be Zoned for Agricultural, allowing crops and animals

- Lower taxes.

- Works well with Solar, south-facing if hillside.

- Soil is not a big deal if I am going to use Aeroponics to grow my crops.

- Needs to have enough "Build-able" areas since I am not looking at building one large building / home.

Location, Location, Location!

Since the three most important things in real estate are Location, Location, Location! I guess I should start with this. For me, location has two main defining parts. Physical location and Climate. I will start with Climate since it is the easiest for me to define.

Climate, after living here in Central Florida since 2003 and in the Midwest most of my life, I am really wishing to be some place a lot less humid. Since I do not have an office job, it is getting old dealing with the humidity. So I am looking for a place with enough annual precipitation so there are trees that are green most of the year and that there is water falling on my roof enough times of year to collect rain-water if I choose or if the law's allow me to rain-harvest.

I know I am not looking for some place that gets cloudy and stays cloudy for days on end. I like a good rain storm as much, if not more then the next person. I have made my living for the last 14 years off of repairing hail damage on vehicles, so a good storm to me is like handing a new iPad to a Geek. However, I do not want the weather to get all gloomy and not rain. Plus, I need the sunshine for solar production!

With the less humid air means average daily temperatures do not matter as much to me. 75 to 90 degrees through the summer months is ideal, with the abnormal 100 degree days a couple of times in July and August is not going to be a problem. The winter months can be cold, but I would prefer the daily highs to not be below 10 to 15 degrees on a daily bases.

Snow fall will be welcomed since my theory on snow is, if it's going to snow, it better be enough to play in it! I enjoy a fresh white blanket of snow covering the ground and trees. Even better if it happens in time for a white Christmas. I can't believe I am talking about snow and Christmas in June while it's 85 degrees outside right now.

I am also looking for a change in the general scenery or topography. Again,living in Florida you do not get to see much change in the land or elevation. There's an area on I-75 towards the northen part of the state that reaches an elevation of around 500 feet if I remember correct. It's my favorite part of my drive north through the state. So I am looking at giving the bigger mountains a try. Since I enjoy Snowboarding, Skiing, Rock Climbing and I'm looking at exploring climbing some of the Colorado 14'ers in the near future, I think living in that type of environment will be a welcome change from the flat beaches of Florida.

A little about the local population and general proximity to the nearest town and stores. Since I will be building everything from the ground up, I will need to have some stores like a good lumberyard, hardware, or a Farm & Feed store within driving distance that doesn't take the whole day to go shopping. Also, having something like a Sam's Club or a Walmart handy will save on gas cost for buying the basic daily items. Since items from Sam's or Walmart would be purchased in bulk, their location does not need to be in the closes town, just close enough so it doesn't require an over-night stay to go shopping.

The size of the closest town for gas, and basic items I hope is not much bigger then around 25,000 +/- a few hundred people. Again, after living here in FL through the winter-time when all the tourist come down, I am not looking forward to any place with a lot of traffic. I'm looking for a place that has more Squirrels or Cattle then people!

Dreams Is Spelled With Three R's!

When it comes to "dreams", there are three important R's in the word, Rethink, Redefine, and Relocate! Even though I have already started this journey I am finding myself needing to rethink or redefine my dreams or goals.

My opening statement was enough to launch my journey to search for more information, but now, as I make progress I need to sit down to Rethink and Redefine so I can Relocate! I am going to dedicate the next few posts to breaking down my plans, and then define as many steps or goals as I can within each step.

Two of the three R's are pretty much standard for anything you want to change in your life, but you might be saying to yourself "But I'm not relocating or moving anywhere?" Relocating doesn't have to mean you are packing up your belongings and physically moving from your home. To some, you can look at it as a metaphor for just getting up and doing somethings.

I believe it was Newton's First Law of Motion that said " An object at rest will stay at rest unless an unbalanced force acts upon it." So in other words, if you don't get up and do something, you will still be in the same place doing nothing tomorrow! So go relocate yourself in front of all the things you need to get done, but don't forget to check back on my blog! :)

The Overview of what I am trying to achieve is;

1. Location

-Climate, Hot / Cold, Humid / Dry?

- Snow, Rain, four seasons?

2. Property

- Big, Small, City, Rural?

- Use, Personal, Farm, other?

3. Employment

- Current, Business or Job?

- Future, Business or Job?

I will add to this list as I work through the planning process, but this will be a good start. So let's get started with Rethinking, Redefining, and Relocating!

Forum, Solar, and Property

I have found a new Forum (new to me) for Homesteading and it's been a major help for all the things I want to try and need learn to help get me Off The Grid. Homesteadingtoday.com is a forum with pretty much any kind of information you could need or want, from growing your own food to using alternative energy. It's clearly laid out so you can focus your time in one area. Some topics get broken down into even more direct topics, like "Raising Animals" gets broken down into Goats, Poultry, etc, so you don't have to read a 1oo post about Chickens if you are only interested in raising Goats.

Right now I have been spending my time looking for some ideas on where the best, over-all place would be for me to get started. With all the great information I have found on Homesteading Today I have learned that I need to learn a lot more and that a person's first place is more then likely not their last, but we all need to start some where.

In the last couple of weeks I have narrowed my search for my first place. I have learned a lot about what's important to me in my journey to get off the grid. Some things have changed a little, but I haven't lost total sight of my main goal. Since this is going to require taking smaller steps, I feel I will have to give a little on some of the luxuries for now and focus on the things I can not change or do without.

My shortened list of areas has been reduced to the Southern Region of Colorado or it's High Rockies region. The Southern region has to be one of the better zoned regions for solar use, and it has some cheaper location for land prices. Like I say, I can have two out of three, and in this case it's the lack of water / precipitation.

Southern Colorado is a "Zone 2" according to the Solar Insolation Map which means, unless I want to live in the Death Valley area, "Zone 1" it doesn't get much better. Florida is a Zone 4, so I would have to use / buy more PV panels, to make up for the less production according to U.S. Solar Radiation Resource Maps if I stayed living here.

The High Rockies loses a little solar gain, so it's a Zone 3, but has better employment options. Although better employment means higher cost of living. So it all comes back down to the best "two out of three" of my needs. Since I will need to rent some place to sleep while looking for work, etc, I think the High Rockies will win out for now and it will give me time to look around the general area for land.

WWOOF, WWOOF!

Came across a website for World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, or WWOOF, it seems to be a great resource for information on work exchange programs for people looking to learn more about Organic Farming.

For a small membership fee (WWOOFUSA.org) you get access to list of farms "Hosting" internships or work-exchange programs. Either way most programs offer "Hands-on" Education and Room & Board in exchange for your time and labor.

I have just started previewing their list of farms, but already have found a wide range of farms looking for help. Some "farms" are people just starting out and others are large, multi-generation, family owned businesses.

The website claims to have over 1200 farms listed in their directory and from what I have seen so far, there doesn't seem to be a shortage of farms in most states. Like most of the people on WWOOFUSA.org, and WWOOF.org, I too believe in hands-on learning and in this case you really do get to roll up your selves and get your hands dirty!

The Host Farms ask for help for lengths of time from a couple of days to many months. Most seem to ask for at least one week to a couple of months. It seems pretty common for the host farms to ask for a trial period of one week and then extend the stay after a review.

The amount of hours you are asked to work seems to very as much as the type of farms that are available. The "average" I see is around 30 - 40 hours per week in exchange for food and a room. Some farms offer hours as little as 20 hours per week, while others ask for as much as 100 hours per week during harvest time, then reward you with only 20 hours per week afterwards.

All "Room & Boards" are not created equal!!! So far I have seen a range from "bring your own tent and use our outhouse & solar shower" to a private room and bath in a house. The same seems to go for food / diet needs. Some "Host" farms offer full meals, 3 times a day, with meat included, while others offer "what's out in the garden", or the type of diet the "Host" is use to. Some offer Veggi or Vegan diets, so WWOOF'ers beware!

Some of the main questions I would ask, are;

How many hours per week am I expected to work?

What kind of accommodations are available?

What kind of diet can I expect?

If the Host family are Veggi's or Vegans, will they provide or have a problem with meat being cooked/eaten in the house?

What religion does the Host family practice and what is expected of me?

These are just some of the questions that came to mind while previewing some of the Bio's of the Host Farms. Each person is different and so is the Host Farm, but either way it would be wise to ask as many questions before you go, instead of going and being let down or letting down the host farm.

Remember, on average, each Farm only "host" one or two people at a time, so by not asking questions you might be setting yourself up to have a bad experience, while taking a chance away from someone else to have a good experience.

Happy WWOOF'ing!

Update from September 2009 to January 2010

UPDATE-

I haven't written too much lately due to there's a lot going on, but not in the direction I was hoping to head, so here's what's "new" since Sept. '09

I'm still recovering from my hernia, I was doing well, but I think things may have gotten a little messed up and set me back. I am moving a lot slower then I expected to be moving five months after my surgery. My slow recovery and the almost 13% unemployment rate here in my part of Florida has put a huge dent into my goal, not to mention my bank account.

Since September '09 I have lost both of my businesses due to the slow economy, my bad health and lack of employment. There is a "silver-lining" to part of this, as bad as times are, I see an opportunity to maybe return to college to get my Architectural-Engineering degree, which would greatly help in the understanding and designing of the HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical systems I would be installing in the house.

I am also taking this time to learn more about the way different countries deal with their over-crowding populations and how some families have been living for hundreds of years without that much change. If ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

I have also taken this down time to start studying Chinese / Mandarin, and it's been great to hear from some people over-seas and to see how some of the rural families live. Depending on if or when I would go back to college, I may try to get over to China to study / travel for a summer to learn more first hand how people adapt to smaller apartment / condo living.

If anyone would like to try learning Mandarin, for free, I found a great web site Chinese-tools.com that offers free audio, along with reading and writing lessons. There's no sense in paying for CD's or videos if you're not sure if you want to learn it or want to just learn some basic words for fun.

To date, the little that I have learned about living off the grid has made me re-think some of my off the grid goals or thoughts. Like a lot of people, I too would love to "get away from it all" and live way out in the middle of Erehwon, "That's nowhere spelled backwards"(TM) I sure I needed to give the out-fitter store some kind of credit for using their slogan, even if they might be out of business too???

So is it better to live way out in the country and have a bunch of land and no neighbors for miles or maybe live in a medium size town / city and take advantage of things like a flat "green roof" to maybe grown some veggies?

The second option doesn't lend it's self to raising goats for meat or milk, or chickens or other live stock, but if you are someone who still needs to work five days a week to earn a living, why have the long commute?

I never made it out to Jackson Hole or the Northwest this year for a number of reasons, but I did make it out to one of the areas that was on my list in Kansas. The nearest medium sized town is called Newton, KS. It's a nice, clean, typical Mid-West farming town. One of my original thoughts about an area like this was to buy a small piece of land outside of town that is great for growning a crop and raising some goats and chickens, for both myself and to trade / sell.

While visiting the area I saw some old flat-roofed commercial buildings and got to thinking. Many people have re-zoned buildings like these to make useful living quarters and with a flat roof they would make for a great water collection and Solar PV system set-up. It doesn't fit into my "Timber-frame" theme, but it fits very well in the LEED building concept, reuse, repurpose or recycle, etc. Plus, some of the old factory style building were built with something close to a post and beam style. And if you hit the jack-pot, you can find an old building with old hard-wood pine floors!

Some big "pro's" to an area like this are:

-Farmer's markets just about every weekend through-out the growing season. Which means I don't have to grow all my own foods, but could buy it fresh, I would know where it came from and it would help support the local economy.
-The Building is already built, just need remodeling.
-If I choose to grid-tie the PV system I could earn money back from the electric company to help pay for the system and help give to the community.
-Close to town and within an hour's drive to a big enough airport if I need to fly. FYI -I did have to fly out of Wichita one year to Chicago, the flight cost more then flying to Germany from Chicago. It might have something to do with most of the people flying into or out of Wichita during the week are doing so for business, all the airline manufactures are located there. It's one of those trade-off's, is it worth it???
-Centrally located in the US, so I could drive to places like the Colorado Rockies or Chicago within a long day's drive.
-Located close enough to a medium population that I could find employment, but not be within the "rat race."

So even though I am not actually building my dream home, I am making productive use of this time.

Happy New Year!

Daryl

In the words of Peter Brady (BradyBunch TV show)

In those famous words (and scratchy voice) of Peter Brady... "It's time to change!"

Yes, I still don't know where I am really heading, and I'm still not any closer to buying any land. I am in the need to make a move. Sometime in the next coming weeks I will be leaving Florida and heading out "west" somewhere, well, maybe west by northwest??? I am still trying to find the balance of reasonable priced land, with a safe, clean area, and good employment. Like all the problems in my life right now, I notice that I can usually have two out of three things.

I ended up having a Hernia surgery on Aug. 6th, 2009 and although the surgery went well, I am still moving slow and have yet to return to work of any kind. So trying to make any move right now is both needed and at the same time hard. Most of the money I had set aside for land purchase or living expense has been used to keep myself fed, etc while recovering from my surgery.

Since I missed the 2009 hail season, and 2010 season doesn't start until at least February I am going to have to go and find "something" to do, "somewhere" until I either get some hail work or find a new career.

I feel weird about this point in my life, on one hand it's scary as hell to not know where you are heading and the fact that you are almost out of money, but on the other hand, it's kind of a blessing that this economy and my bad health as given me a chance to "start over." Part of me wants to dust myself off and get right back into the game and another part of me is thinking stop and take a look around, live on the cheap for awhile and don't be in a rush to get back into the rat race.

While recovering from my surgery I had a lot of time to sit and think about what I am looking for. I have always been the kind of person who has some kind of dream or goal, and although I am not completely lost for a direction, I am finding it harder to stay excited about any of my goals in these difficult times. So as of this point in time, I feel no big move is the best. I will take this opportunity to continue to check out different states, towns, etc and when I find something I like, then I will take the next step. So it's off to the Northwest or West somewhere. Depending on the weather, I am thinking about spending some time in Jackson,WY and then if it's too costly to make anything happen I can make my way to the west coast from there.

Land, Land everywhere!

Well, my plans to get up to Iowa to look at some properties got set back by that little thing called a "job." I ended up needing to go do some hail work, and now I'm almost finished packing my house, but with no idea to where I'm heading!

I'm putting my belonging in storage and so now the push is on to get out there and narrow my search for land! A funny thing happens when you start really looking, well, it's more like a couple of things happen when you get down to it.

One, all the great "deals" you use to find just about every day, well, they're all gone. Which reminds me of a quote by Donald Trump, he was quoted as saying that "the deal of a life-time comes around about once a week." I find this to be both true and false. The deals are out there, but everything that glitters is not gold! So you need to look harder.

So the other thing that happened once I really set out to find a deal, was I started finding a lot of great places. I started talking with people about different areas in the country and each one has a different area with it's own pro's and con's.

I have found some amazing deals on land in areas like OK, KS and MO. Places that I have never thought much of before. And with the real estate market like it is, there are some special deals to be made with people who are willing to "owner finance" or help out in other ways so they can get out from under the payments.

Sad reality of this market is people need to leave the places they dreamed about, so they can move to an area where they can find employment. I have seen real estate ad's from Colorado to Kentucky from people just about begging someone to buy their home so they can move closer to their new job.

So what has changed in my search? Iowa is not on top of my list as of right now. I took a closer look at the climate and choose to look a little farther south. One area that has a good balance of cheap land, good location for my job, and room to grow, is around the Ozarks in Missouri. Or more or less the general area where OK and KS meets south west Missouri. The area has good prices for someone starting out who's looking for a larger track of land. There's some hidden gems, and some not so great lots for sale, but the area in general looks like it could work well for both my Hail work, and if I want to add livestock. Not to mention the better wind and solar possibilities in OK and KS.

Another area that I have had my eye on since my childhood is Eastern Kentucky. I remember my parent's dreaming of one day owning horses in the Blue Grass State. Now I drive through the area any time I need to get from my home in Florida to wherever the hail storms are and keep telling myself to check out the area "some day." Land is not as cheap in KY, pretty, but not as cheap, but I did find that the houses are a better bargain. $50,000 buys a pretty nice house in some of the smaller towns around Danville,KY. So the general area is back on my list.

Hopefully my job will work out so I can drive through the area again, but maybe take a couple of days to look around. Then I can come back at the end of my season to really pin point my search efforts.

Too many great places in this country to live!

Trade you my sister for that PB&J?

We've all done it at one time or another, but it's making a bigger come back. I'm talking about bartering or trading goods and services without using money.

I was talking to a Farmer / Rancher friend of mine the other day about the way this economy is going and how people are dealing with it. Something that both he and I have noticed more lately is people are getting back to bartering more. My friend said he has been trading goods and services for years, but now he's seeing more people doing it.

It's even making the headlines, companies like BestBuy are setting up their stores to "deal." One article I read talked about how each BestBuy store now has a computer system that gives the store manager the lowest price they can offer an item for. Not only for sales, or normal prices, but to make a deal with a customer right on the spot.

They're asking people to make them an offer. It's not to say that you will be able to get that 50" Plasma TV for $1, but they are saying that if you're willing to ask, you can get a lot of little "extras" at no or low cost. If you're buying that new computer, you're going to need things like USB cords, or a case for a laptop, these are things that the manager has the power to give to you for free, just for buying something you were going to buy anyway.

So get out there and make a deal! Just don't try to trade your little sister or brother for a pet frog or something!

Searching for property

In the next few days I will be heading up to Iowa to look at some different areas. I have read a couple of different articles about how the Midwest has some of the most reasonable land / home prices, and since I am originally from Illinois, I know I would feel right at home there.

Iowa has it's Pro's and Con's just like every area. I have seen some good prices on land / homes, sadly to say, even more now after the 2008 Iowa Flood. At this time I am seeing a lot of homes on the market with flood damage, or that have been gutted and cleaned up, but not rehabbed.

The sad state of the housing market is not what brings me to the Iowa, but more of the location for work. I travel by vehicle with my business, and Iowa puts me just about within a day's drive to most of the areas I would need to visit. So far this major "Pro" makes it worth dealing with all the cost of dealing with cold winters. Higher heating fuel cost, needing warmer winter clothes, etc, all add up when trying to live on a tight budget. BUT, I am going to have to really look closer at the Pro's and Con's of building in the area if I find something I like. The fact that I will mostly be building in the winter months may add too many delays and higher costs, thus off-setting the benefits of the cheaper land???

A Magazine I like

Even though I want to build a house Off The Grid, I am not so much the type to get into home steading. I still enjoy reading a magazine called Grit. I wanted to mention this, for the people who might not have taken the time to check out their website. Besides the useful articles, their real estate section (most of the time) has a pretty good list of cheaper land for sale.

I will write a more detailed post in the near future to share some of the many real estate websites I visit in my search for land or cabins / houses for sale.

Small House information

To see just how little space some people need to live, check out small-house-society. I believe this guy is living in a house that has about 80 square feet. I really like the fact that he has gone to this extreme to show the rest of the would we don't need thousands of square feet to live in.

I will try to locate some of the information I have seen on homes in Japan to show some great examples of how to maximize living space. Simple designs, like using small sinks that people in America would only see used in a Dentist's office or in an airplane's washroom can save a lot of space. For now, here's a look at apartment rentals in Japan.


Just one of the many areas of a home that can be reduced in size and not feel like too much was taken away.

The Design Ideas

The concept behind the design is to build the house only as big as it needs to be to remain livable. Some people will argue that "livable" needs to be 10,000 square feet. That's fine for them, but for me, I don't see the need for that much space.

I really like the concept of "micro-houses" or "tiny-homes." But, I think they missed something simple, the houses I have seen do a great job at showing people you don't have to build thousands of square feet to have everything you need under one roof. I think if you take the mirco-house concept, and marry it to the design of some of the homes in Hawaii or Honduras by using the outdoors as living space you wouldn't look like you're living in a tool shed.

Each area of the country has to deal with different weather factors so there's no "perfect" design for all climates. Here in Florida, (before the real estate boom) people use to build smaller homes and then wrap them with a porch or sun-rooms. Their taxes were based on the part of the house that had A/C, but after you open a set of large sliding patio doors your living room area doubled. Down side being that it gets very hot in the sun-rooms, and your A/C unit has to work extra hard to cool all that extra space. Not as big of a deal if you plan ahead when installing the HVAC system.

I like the way the Hawaiians take advantage of their weather by not using A/C, they have the bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchen under the roof of the "house", but again by opening up doors and windows they use the patios or deck space as their living room.

From what I have seen, the design isn't limited to warm weather areas. I have seen with a little planning, using passive solar heat in the form of a sun-room in a cold weather climate allows an "outdoor" space to be used in the middle of a Colorado winter. And there's something to be said about outdoor fireplaces too! Not a bad way to spend an evening with a loved one on a cool mountain evening.

So the basic design I am leaning towards is a small, single level, open floor plan, timber-frame (hybrid) living area with two bedrooms, and wrapping most of the house with an enclosed porch. I know the extra windows add a lot of cost, but the benefit would be the porch area is space I don't have to heat or cool every day, but if I need the extra space, I'll be able to open up the main living area.

Plus, from the houses I have seen where people are living in cold climates and were using passive solar, building the "outdoor space" with concrete, brick, or stone stored the heat through-out the day, and used it to radiate back into the home at night. One thing some people didn't count on, was that solar space took the brunt of the cold wind / weather, so their "exterior" walls didn't need to work so hard to keep the house warm in freezing weather. Some commented on how they could sit in the porch area in the middle of winter on a sunny day and be very comfortable.

As time goes on I will refine my house design based on what area of the country I end up choosing. The design I would use in Colorado is completely different from what I am thinking about if I stay in the southeast. But I do know whatever I build, it's not going to be more then 1000 sq ft. Realistically it'll be around 650-700 sq ft, not including the porch area.

I will add updates to the design as time goes on and add details on the different materials I am building with.

Location, Location, Location

The one thing I have going for me when it comes to this build is I travel for work, so I don't need to be located in any one town or by an airport, etc. Of course I have locations I would prefer, but if there is a location that has a greater benefits I will look into just about anywhere.

Some of the areas or towns that are making my short list;

1) The general north to south area from Casper,WY to the Boulder,CO area.
And from a little west of Rocky Mtn Nat. Park, to just about I-25 in Colorado
2) Parts of Oklahoma
3) The Smokey Mtn Nat. Park area, prefer the NC. side, maybe to the south of Hendersonville,NC.
4) Still haven't ruled out states like Northern Wisconsin, (great wooded lots, cheaper prices, but out of the way for travel, short building season) or Iowa (good central locations for Interstate travel, but shorter building season.)

Some of the factors that I use to rate a location are;
1) I work mostly in the summer, so I will be building mostly in the fall / winter.
2) Price, taxes, etc
3) Building code,
4) Location of building supplies, etc.
5) Resale value