I want to live a simple life out in the country.

[Integral]

One should make sure living in the country is something they REALLY want before they plunge into buying property. I'm still a bit undecided (it's definitely a viable option here, but turbo's points about commuting to a paying job is a real issue, and what's holding me back a bit right now). Living in a small town is pretty nice too. Kind of the best of both worlds. Quiet, away from the traffic and crowds, but still close enough to the necessities of grocery stores and work. When I crave things in a city, it's a bit over an hour's drive.

Septic and wells aren't all that great in some places. A lot of developments around here are only just starting to tie into town sewer and water. Septic isn't too bad as long as it's maintained and emptied often enough (added expenses), but if you're not paying attention, it can back up on you. The wells aren't always so great. One person who got town water is glad, because after doing a load of laundry, it would take a while for the well to refill.

An outhouse is just plain unsanitary. Unpleasant odors, having to head outside in the middle of the night, regardless of weather conditions (rain, snow, wind), is not really desirable.

What? You never heard of a chamber pot?

 

[stickythighs]

What the hell is wrong with you?

One time a gay guy actually tried to rape me (He made a physical attempt.), and several times I've had gay guys hit on me aggressively.

 

[stickythighs]

Ok...To build a cabin and live alone in the middle of nowhere, I would need to pay property taxes (property less than a thousand dollars a year), buy a septic tank and have to pay to have it emptied from time to time, buy a woodstove, and buy a well (in addition to some other things).

My dad told me that it would cost about $3,000 for a well and another $2,000 for the drilling for the well (or maybe it was the other way around- but whatever the case, I remember the total was five grand).

How much would a septic tank cost? And how much would it cost to have it installed?

How much does it cost to have the septic tank emptied?

 

[stickythighs]

I live here:

I bought the cabin, built about 30 years ago. Property taxes are a little over $1000.

Turbo, what state do you live in?

Ok, so your property taxes are a little over $1,000 per year. So if I bought one acre and built a cabin on it, my property taxes would probably be less than $200 per year; correct?

$200/year- that's not bad.

 

[Moonbear]

Turbo, what state do you live in?

Ok, so your property taxes are a little over $1,000 per year. So if I bought one acre and built a cabin on it, my property taxes would probably be less than $200 per year; correct?

$200/year- that's not bad.

Not necessarily. And, again, taxes vary greatly with location and land use. Taxes could easily be $900 for the part of the property including the house and $100 for all the rest of the undeveloped land. NOBODY but the local tax assessor can give you a proper answer to the question of taxes.

I think you're highly underestimating costs. Note that once you have a well, you need pumps to get water out of the well, chlorination and/or filtration tanks to purify the water, etc., and all of that needs maintenance too. If you have both a well and septic, you need to make sure there is adequate room on your property to locate the well safely away from the septic leach field to avoid contamination of your well water. The cost of a well also greatly depends on how deep the water is.

Also, keep in mind that taxes can go up at any time, and usually do.

 

[Borek]

How much would a septic tank cost? And how much would it cost to have it installed?

How much does it cost to have the septic tank emptied?

No idea how it looks alike in US, but here there are more and more systems installed without a septic tank, but with some kind of biological filters that purify the water so that it can be safely discarded. Such systems have limited capacity and you need to be careful about what chemicals you use for cleaning, but in general they seem to be cheaper in the long run, and you don't need to empty the tank.

 

[turbo]

Turbo, what state do you live in?

Ok, so your property taxes are a little over $1,000 per year. So if I bought one acre and built a cabin on it, my property taxes would probably be less than $200 per year; correct?

$200/year- that's not bad.

You really have to start doing some homework because your assumptions are WAY off. You are not assessed taxes only on the land nor only on the building(s). The property value also goes up with each improvement, and you will be forced to get permits for each such improvement, so that 1) the municipality can ensure that the improvements are done to code and 2) they can log each improvement and increase the property valuation accordingly. An acre of unimproved land along a road is NOT going to be assessed the same as an acre of land with a gravel driveway, a drilled well, and an installed septic system and leach field. The first is an unimproved lot - the second is a ready-to-build house lot and its market value will be many thousands of dollars higher and will be taxed accordingly.

 

[Jon_]

LOL. Howers!

 

[Jordan Joab]

I'm worried about what any homos would do if they found out I live alone out in my cabin in the middle of nowhere.

Oh. My. God.