More moving questions
We've racked up a bunch
more reader questions about our upcoming move --- time for an answer
post!
We've opted to do
everything by the book this time around, which means
lots of slowdowns and bureaucracy. Heck, it took three solid hours just
to have the trailer put officially into our name and permitted to move
a mile down the road!
At the moment, we're
waiting on the septic system to be installed ---
getting approved already took a month and a thousand bucks. We're also
working out the kinks on getting the trailer set up and hooking
up electricity.
Speaking of which:
We are. Although
off-grid living is inspiring, solar panels aren't yet within our budget
if we want to stay out of debt. So we've put in our work order with the
electric company and are hoping cleanup operations down south go
quickly so residents of hurricane-damaged regions can get back on
track...and Ohio workers can return north ASAP to hook us up.
The property we're
moving to is another big parcel without very much "usable" land. Only
the half acre or so closest to the road is flat and easy to manage, so
the rest will be earmarked for hikes and mushroom gathering and
(possibly) pasture if I get the animal itch again. Despite my hankering
for privacy, I'm willing to make this swap in exchange for easier
accessibility of off-farm manure!
Our taxes will actually
be a bit more up there than they are down here. But, it's true ---
living in a trailer is going to be a huge savings based on Ohio rates!
I'd say we'll pay a third to half as much as if we'd chosen the
same-sized plot of land with a conventional house on it. Definitely a
bonus to the pocketbook....
More once we have
anything to report. In the meantime, I'm launching two fiction books
at once and starting on the third since writing up a storm is my
best approach at pretending to be patient. You know what they say ---
fake it 'til you make it!
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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Hi Anna and Mark,
Thanks for your answer. It seems to me that the basic problem is that there too many people depending on people like you who grow things.
Just my opinion. The only way out I have wondered about is what you are doing.
Reduce you 'tax' footprint.
Thus my real question. I am must too old to do what you both are doing :).
warm regards to you both, John
Thanks for answering my two questions. I can see the appeal of building up front of the block, if it means you save money on building a driveway. Those things are expensive to re-gravel, every few years or so!
We built at the front of our block, to save money running electricity cable to the house (we already had to install one power pole) and to avoid having to drive over a gully that would periodically flood.