Mid move interview
Jennifer:
Sounds
like you two are super busy managing the contractors and doing your own
work. Plus, even just washing and cooking must be a bit of an endeavor
without power and running water. Can you tell us more about a
day-in-the-life in another post sometime?
Anna: Well, we're very
much camping at the moment since we don't have electricity or internet.
So I'm having to run to town three days a week to keep our internet
businesses running while Mark's been busy getting our new place ready
for the inspection. We've been cooking on a camp stove and keeping food
cool in a cooler. Not so bad...as long as the weather stays nice!
Jennifer: Can you explain
what the "final inspection" is all about?
Anna: Rules are a lot stricter here than they were for folks who live
way back in the woods in Virginia. So we'll have to pass an inspection
that involves not just electric wiring but also basics like foundation,
steps, smoke detectors, and plumbing before we'll be okayed to have our
power turned on. After that, there's a final inspection that checks on
skirting before we get the state's official seal of approval. It turns
out the septic system that I thought was the big important hoop isn't
so essential here --- maybe we could have gotten away with a composting
toilet after all?
Jennifer:
What is similar and what is
different from how you lived before? What do you like better already
and what do you miss?
Anna: At the moment, I miss having on-demand internet. You don't
really realize how much business you slide into random breaks during
the day until you have to squeeze it all into a few hours per week at
the library. I suspect that, in the long run, what I'll miss most is
our beautiful creek and ability to stretch out in all directions
without worrying about bothering or being bothered by anyone. Plus, my
rich garden soil will take years to replicate.
On the like-better front --- I don't miss our swamp at all. I really
enjoy not having to drive for an hour to hit most stores, and the
amazing farmer's market and intellectual opportunities in town are
invigorating. There's a really nice free newspaper, the potential for
door-to-door compost delivery, and much better solar gain for the
garden. Overall, I'm
pretty sure we made a good choice to pull up stakes and move north.
Jennifer: Is the chaos making you
crazy?
Anna: Yes.
Or explore more posts by date or by subject.
About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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As strict as the codes are in your township, I am sure they are no comparison to some of the more metropolitan areas you could be in.
In some places your "new to you" manufactured home would have to be anchored to a foundation, and not piers. Or some places near our GA coast, 12' in the air on pilings!
I've built a lean to off my garage and one off a shed without permit, but it was more of a "beg for forgiveness before asking for mercy" situation. And this was not something I had a lot of money in so being told to remove it would not have been the end of the world.
I am sure there is a good reason for the inspection- if the utility connects power and the place burns down due to faulty wiring, there is liability.