# ALASKA! 10 acres with gorgeous home, barn, more!



## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

Our custom home on 10 gorgeous acres of rolling hay fields is for sale. Unbelievable views, privacy, maintained access, abundant wildlife, access to miles of trails on acres of adjacent public lands, too many extras to list. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - priced more than $30,000 under recent appraisal at $340,000! The picture at the top of this post was taken from our master bedroom. More pictures and information on this Wasilla property are available for viewing at http://HoofinItNorth.com/forsale2.htm.


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## JennNY (Aug 10, 2006)

Looks great! Why do you want to sell? 

Jenn


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## michiganfarmer (Oct 15, 2005)

how does a homesteader afford a $340,000 house? You should be advertising this in some rich fancy people forum.


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

Jenn - as stated on my site, my health has been failing so we need to downsize again.

michiganfarmer - there are plenty here that live in fancier, more expensive homes or are looking to move up and many, many homesteaders do have a day job. 10 acres like this is unheard-of in this area, especially with such a nice home. Did you miss the part about it being off-grid with a fully automated solar system? That's on my website too.


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## anniew (Dec 12, 2002)

Max,
I was about to ask the same question...but it seems that there is a class spread on this forum with very well to do people, and some very poor people...
But, yeah, I'd love the property if you could reduce the price by about $300,000. Thanks.


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## donsgal (May 2, 2005)

hoofinitnorth said:


> Our custom home on 10 gorgeous acres of rolling hay fields is for sale. Unbelievable views, privacy, maintained access, abundant wildlife, access to miles of trails on acres of adjacent public lands, too many extras to list. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - priced more than $30,000 under recent appraisal at $340,000! The picture at the top of this post was taken from our master bedroom. More pictures and information on this Wasilla property are available for viewing at http://HoofinItNorth.com/forsale2.htm.


Why do you used raised beds for gardening instead of having a traditional "in the ground" garden? The ground looks very arid. WHat is the water situation where you live? Is water freely available without any restrictions? I don't know much about Alaska, does it rain there? If so, how much? How long is the growing season? What have you personally grown there that was sucessful? Does anyone have chickens? Can you have chickens there? Since you are solar - off grid, would you have sufficient resources to light a chicken house during the dark period of the year?

Your site is very comprehensive, however, it does not speak much to the homesteading concerns. Mostly, food production, animal production, etc. Views are nice, but you cannot eat views and I don't know many true homesteaders who have much time left over from their daily chores to worry about looking at the wildlife and "mushing". 

So let's find out more about how it is to try to make a living and homesteading the land. Thanks.

Donsgal


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## michiganfarmer (Oct 15, 2005)

hoofinitnorth said:



> Jenn - as stated on my site, my health has been failing so we need to downsize again.
> 
> michiganfarmer - there are plenty here that live in fancier, more expensive homes or are looking to move up and many, many homesteaders do have a day job. 10 acres like this is unheard-of in this area, especially with such a nice home. Did you miss the part about it being off-grid with a fully automated solar system? That's on my website too.


thats fine and dandy, but my skill level only allows me to earn about $25,000-$35,000 per year. What I consider a homesteader is someone living off the land. Neither income like mine, nor living off the land could ever hope to pay for over a quater of a million dollar property. 

Good luck anyway


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## jnap31 (Sep 16, 2005)

anniew said:


> Max,
> I was about to ask the same question...but it seems that there is a class spread on this forum with very well to do people, and some very poor people...
> But, yeah, I'd love the property if you could reduce the price by about $300,000. Thanks.


Agreed I think I should be counted with the poor LOL, of course I find away to afford 4 gallons of MI farmers wonderful maple syrup every march and we can grow all our food,at our paid for house and 2 acres so I dont feel poor. Best yet it looks like market farming will pay the bills.


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

anniew - you can't even buy a decent vacant acre of land with NO utilities for $40,000 around here.

donsgal - we only just finished the house and then built nice decks. We hadn't had time to landscape much or do anything else after that! But we wanted some gardening spaces that were raised to provide a welcome setting of flowering perennials and annuals and make it easy to harvest our vegetables and herbs. We also wanted to take advantage of the southern exposure and solar gain for earlier starts. I started ALL of my plants IN THE GARDEN this year - FROM SEED, not a one was started indoors here and I STILL had time to get my marigolds and lobelia and others to flower before winter hit! We can use in-ground gardening too and we had planned on it but like I said, we ran out of time for our various projects.

The ground here is not arid - most of the photos you are seeing were taken in fall or late winter/early spring, after the season was done or before we had much growing starting. If you look at the summer pictures, the pastures are lush. If they were mowed regularly, they would look even better. We don't have that equipment and we've used the areas for rotational grazing, preferring to let the horses enjoy their time out and maintain the pastures naturally.

The water here is excellent. We commissioned a comprehensive well water test and found our water to be among the best in the area (by the lab's own words). No contaminants, no heavy sediments, great taste, etc. Our single well yields 15 gallons per minute and there are no restrictions on it's use. To protect this resource for the future, you can file for water rights for a modest fee, if you like but I can't say I've ever heard of a concern about water here - it is plentiful here.

Yes, it rains in Alaska. It is raining lightly right now, although it's unseasonably warm right now (warmest Halloween in 9 years, they said).  I'm not sure how much rain we get or how long our growing season is, but you can try starting here: [ame]http://www.google.com/search?q=Wasilla+almanac&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a[/ame] I can't tell you if this information is reliable, though, I haven't ever bothered to set up a rain gauge, we've never worried about not getting enough rain or water and we've never had a drought. Our wet seasons are traditionally the fringes of spring and fall.

Pretty much people start their gardens outdoors as early as May and wrap them up anywhere between mid-September and late October. I just put my garden beds to sleep for the winter a week ago (actually I still have the south flower beds to do). If you have indoor starts, some people start as early as January or February. This affords them the ability to have flowering plants at the very start of spring, rather than later in summer.

I know that our particular location does have longer growing seasons than our neighbors and some of the other surrounding areas because of the extended daylight due to the lack of tree cover that would otherwise block sunlight, the extreme southern exposure, and the naturally angled slopes of the fields (Ever been to Holland? They angle their slopes to maximize sun exposure and growth for their Daffodils and other crops. This is already done here, by nature.). Our snow usually melts faster here and the grass is always greening up faster than in other places. Did you see the pictures of the brand new lawn we put in? That was started in mid August. That will give you an idea of how easy it is to grow lush, green grass, and other plants in these soils. This area is KNOWN for its fertile soils and successful gardening - just Google "Alaska Grown" and you will see how big our farm and agricultural programs are. Start here: [ame]http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Alaska+Grown%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a[/ame]

Did you know that Alaskan's from this very area hold MANY world records in oversized fruits and vegetables (like squash, pumpkin, cabbage, etc.)? We often have 500# pumpkins and 150# cabbages on display at the State Fair in Palmer. If you go to my website you will see my first attempt at gardening this year - I won several prizes at the Fair and it was my first attempt. I didn't even get to put the effort into it that I would have liked.

Chickens? Yes, I have LOTS of chickens - I currently have over 150 birds - chickens, ducks, and turkeys. Lots of people also have game birds, geese, etc. Check out the HT poultry forum, there are at least 3 of us posting there these days and two of us live in the same general area. Yes, my chickens have a chicken coop and because I have 6-week-old chicks in there right now, it is lighted with a single 60-watt heat bulb on a timer. Does it need to be? If I had adults only, probably not. My friend that homesteads down the road from me does not light her coop except for her convenience. She does not heat her coop either, the birds do an efficient job of that on their own. I followed her model and only insulated mine, no heater. It works great. I also have turkeys and ducks that live outdoors, with only a large doghouse to retreat to to get out of the wind. Most of the time they don't bother.

In addition to fowl, I have horses and goats and pets. I also planned to raise meat rabbits and continually expand my homesteading efforts.

The home is marketed for what it is, not specifically a homestead. Can it be? Yes, it once was a part of a 160-acre+ designated homestead! It used to be a hay farm! It used to sustain cattle and horses and other livestock! Then it sat vacant for many years as it was in legal limbo after family deaths, etc. We've been here only a couple of years and we've been building it up as we go, between our daytime jobs and our non-waking hours.  We think we've done quite a lot in the short time we've been here, doing it all on our own with little or no hired help. As we have changed our focus from the 9-5, to self-employment, and now to me being at home most of the time being ill, we have expanded the homestead functions to try to live healthier and better sustain ourselves. It was also important this year because our budget is tighter and my husband did not have as successful a hunting season as we had hoped (another downside to having a day job).

Although my husband grew up on a 164-acre+ homestead, his dad had a day job too and the vast majority of their efforts were small gardens and hunting and fishing. This is new to me, and really in many respects, to my husband. My neighbor and friend, however, (who also posts on HT), lives on but 5 acres and has quite a productive garden and greenhouse in one tiny corner next to her barn. She puts up several hundred cans of goods every year from her relatively small efforts! Another neighbor and friend, who sold me my goats and my ducks, has made a real go of homesteading. Her husband works in the day and she runs the homestead. She raises goats and herding dogs and herding sheep and herding ducks and various fowl (she is the one I mentioned earlier with the unheated, unlit coop - the "Taj Mahal" as she likes to call it - it's huge!). She hays and gardens and grows oats and straw and many other things - all of this as close to organic as one can get without the actual certification. She is starting to can too, with the help of the first friend I mentioned. The guy that sold me my turkeys has a real poultry and rabbit farm on only about 3 acres up on the mountain north of me. I buy a lot of my hay from a local farmer that has several thousand acres on various homesteads he's acquired over the years and he is over in Palmer. There is also the Point MacKenzie Agricultural District not far from here.

Please understand that while someone may want to buy this property to homestead, most folks up here do not make it their full-time effort and it is not being marketed as such. I only mentioned the property here so that the type that want to come to Alaska and give it a go without giving up some of the things they've become accustomed to (like keeping livestock and having room and a private, rural setting), they know it is here to consider. I get near daily PMs about Alaska with people asking about moving here. Homesteaders, hobbyists, and fanciful folks, alike.  Alaska is a true homesteader's state - just maybe not in the sense to which you've become accustomed. Much of the homesteader's "income" comes in-kind - through legally hunting and harvesting his/her land rather than farming it on a large scale!

Homesteading here is probably more of a hobby for those that have a day job - mostly because living in Alaska is NOT cheap. That doesn't mean it HAS to be expensive, but when your real estate values are as high as they are in my area, that puts you ahead of the pack for initial start-up costs.

Also realize that while you may not be able to "eat views", you can market them (rent as in let visitors come and look, run a B&B, lease pasture space, etc.) or sell them to sustain your homesteading activities, as we are doing now. You may not think mushing or wildlife viewing is important, but when you travel by dogsled or ATV to get to your neighbor's house in a 1-mile straight line vs. a 5-mile road trip, or when you hunt to fill your freezer for the winter, you will quickly appreciate these amenities.

Life is different here, but variety is the spice of life. We love it and we're not leaving. We plan to live next door on our adjacent 10-acre lot with a smaller home and a larger farm.


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## DocM (Oct 18, 2006)

michiganfarmer said:


> thats fine and dandy, but my skill level only allows me to earn about $25,000-$35,000 per year. What I consider a homesteader is someone living off the land. Neither income like mine, nor living off the land could ever hope to pay for over a quater of a million dollar property.
> 
> Good luck anyway


Actually, a homesteader was someone in a previous century, who without a dime, claimed a piece of land, proved it up, and was awarded deed. Did you do that? Modern homesteaders come in all shapes, sizes, orientations, and income levels - because none of us are actually "homesteading".


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

michiganfarmer - if your skill set pays you only $25,000-$35,000 per year where you are now, it is likely it would pay much more here.

Many people here can and do make income off their property that far exceeds the initial cost - even if it was a quarter million dollars. But being close to the population centers of Wasilla, Palmer, and Anchorage, there isn't much need to do the labor of love you and I may appreciate when you can go sit at a computer and do mental aerobics for 10x the money.  I happen to like homesteading and have been learning all I can and working toward a more self-sustained lifestyle.


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## donsgal (May 2, 2005)

> Also realize that while you may not be able to "eat views", you can market them (rent as in let visitors come and look, run a B&B, lease pasture space, etc.) or sell them to sustain your homesteading activities, as we are doing now.


I bet it would make a great B&B or vacation property. Folks wanting to spend some time in Alaska without making the full-time commitment. It's a big investment though, and I wonder if a lender would go for that. Hmmmmm If I were truly interested, I'd certainly check it out. I know that houses are more expensive in Alaska because of building costs, labor costs and such. Hopefully, you'll find a buyer soon. Best wishes.

donsgal


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

Thanks DocM - that's actually what my in-laws did in the 1950s. After my father-in-law finished his work in the US Army they found 164+ acres on the Kenai River (south of here), cleared a field and planted timothy hay. They never hayed it but did lease it to others to hay I think. Around the same time, much of the land in Palmer was actually set aside by the US Government and doled out to MidWest farmers willing to relocate and farm here, growing our agricultural districts. We have SEVERAL "imports" from the MidWest here as a result.  They are now considered foundation families of the community. We celebrate them every spring and summer with Colony Days.

Wasilla and Palmer have pig, beef and dairy cattle, sheep, fowl, hay, vegetable, and ALL SORTS of farms here, which is how it seems michiganfarmer and others define homesteading. That's but one definition and as we've learned from one another, there is more than one road to Rome.  I do not have a grandscale farm, YET! For more information on farming here, one could contact the State of Alaska Division of Agriculture or the University of Alaska (they research and develop different crops for growing here).


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## QuiltingLady2 (Jan 3, 2007)

I have an Uncle that lives in Delta. Sounds like this might be close. Right?

Beautiful place btw. Would love it. Every square inch.


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

Thanks, QuiltingLady2. Delta is north of here, I think around 150 miles? Would have to check. They are a pretty big agricultural area too.

By the way, just spoke with Steve Gallagher with the Alaska Farmland Trust and this property does qualify for certain programs involving agricultural preservation. He is awaiting the Farm Bill release now scheduled for January or February 2008 to adjust his program for the coming year and consider properties such as this for USDA and AFT participation/protection, if that interests any of you.


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

donsgal - I guess I have to ask: "Why do you think living off-grid is any more restrictive than living on-grid?" Depending on how you design, build, and maintain your system, you can do as much as you want off-grid, often more than you can on-grid with a lot more flexibility. Just look at all we have in our home - we did not cut back anywhere and never have to suffer for being off-grid. We do have batteries and a back-up generator for charging batteries when we have long sequences of cloudy days of poor solar charging too.


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## georgec (Jul 9, 2007)

michiganfarmer said:


> how does a homesteader afford a $340,000 house? You should be advertising this in some rich fancy people forum.


Max - you need to get out more. $340k is nothing for a house with 10 acres. In the Seattle area $340k will get you a small house with a postage stamp yard. In Southern California it will get you a 1 bedroom 500 sq foot apartment.


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

Thanks Rose. We love it here and don't want to leave. We've poured our blood, sweat, tears, hearts, and souls into this place and our visitors say it shows! Someone will be very lucky to have this place but for now it's not us.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

DocM said:


> Actually, a homesteader was someone in a previous century, who without a dime, claimed a piece of land, proved it up, and was awarded deed. Did you do that? Modern homesteaders come in all shapes, sizes, orientations, and income levels - because none of us are actually "homesteading".



Well said. I get a teensy bit tired of the drivel about rich people and who's actually homesteading or not.

Heather, it looks great!


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

Hi thanks, Lisa! Email me when you get time, ok? We need to catch up!


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## dunroven (Dec 6, 2004)

I wish we had the money. My husband would love to return to Alaska but it has really gone up since he was there many, many years ago. He used to work with a boys home in the Matanuska Valley, and told me that he would take me up there and show me around some time. That would be wonderful. He talks alot about Palmer and Wasilla and how beautiful it was and at the boys home they did all their own gardening and chopping wood, raised their own meat, etc. Said it wasn't easy but it was well worth it. And as far as mushing? He loved to do that and he loved the beauty of the place. He describes it as, "awesome."


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

Yes, prices have risen sharply over the years but they have come back down a bit closer to reality lately, which is why we are offering our home at more than $30,000 below appraised value. Thankfully though, wages tend to be higher here so that compensates for the added cost of living in many sectors. If you ever get to Alaska, drop me a line, dunroven!


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## greenboy (Sep 5, 2005)

Her in PA. for 340,000 dollars you for sure are going to do a lot better than 10 acres and a home. and Our weather is a lot better. for $30,000 (or less) you may get a "row home" with a small garden. And I don't know but Alaska is Alaska. If you know what I mean.


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

Questions, The heat is oil and appliances are propane...both costly to say the least, so how much electric do you get from the few solar panels in the pics?

And what are the taxes there?

How are people managing with Alaskas high unemployment rate?
What sectors are there jobs in?


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

No sales tax!!! That's a huge plus for Alaska.

Hoofinitnorth, I wish I had known you were in Wasilla. We'd have stopped in to say hi when we were there in October. I might have even brought you a scovy or two. My granny would love for me to move so close to her. But for now, home is in Ohio. I have to ask though, do you have many problems with bears? The one grizz we saw near Eagle River was HUGE and not something I want to tangle with!

I was surprised that orange juice cost less than soda and with orange juice you get free refills. (at least in most of the diners we visited) 

greenboy, is there much tillable land there where you are? Or is it all rock strewn and shallow soil like so much of NE PA?


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## Guest (Nov 15, 2007)

The Mat-Su borough has a 3% sales tax with a cap at around $13.00. 

No state taxes.

Higher wages MORE than makes up for any additional cost of living. 

I was talking to a state career counciler the other day. He affirmed that the only unemployed people (long term) are very unemployable. 

Hard working, talented people are in demand. They get paid well. If you would have told me 10 years ago what I would be making now, I would have laughed. I have actually been recruited for my last 2 jobs. I was not even looking to change companies.


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## johncronejr (Nov 4, 2007)

Will your off grid power system provide enough oooomph to power a 220V welder along with the house? I know absolutely nothing about the solar systems and their capabilities.

What is the area like for home based shop business such as a welder/fixit guy and for a midwife?


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## Dave (May 10, 2002)

michiganfarmer said:


> thats fine and dandy, but my skill level only allows me to earn about $25,000-$35,000 per year. What I consider a homesteader is someone living off the land. Neither income like mine, nor living off the land could ever hope to pay for over a quater of a million dollar property.
> 
> Good luck anyway


I disagree. There's plenty of people living off of land that make enough to afford a 340k homestead. It might not happen with grains, dairy, meat, etc unless it's a larger operation, but many people make a nice income growing specialty crops, producing goods or running businesses from home. There's even plenty of family farms doing traditional things like dairy that are worth way more than 340k.

Have you priced rural land or the cost to build a home like that around the US lately? That 340k won't seem so outrageous.


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

Yes, the heat and appliances are oil and propane but very efficient. We go through about 2 100-pound bottles of propane PER YEAR for all our cooking and clothes drying. We have 2 separate 30,000 BTU heaters and a separate in-floor radiant system - very efficient and cost a lot less to operate than my friends' forced-air natural gas systems! Oil is much more efficient than electricity for heating.  We have electric refrigerator/freezer, chest freezer, clothes washer, convection microwave, etc. We even have a jetted clawfoot tub (electric).

We get ALL our electricity from the 10 solar panels in the pictures and have the battery bank to store the power and the generator for back-up charging during months of low-light. I think we have 110-amp service ????? but I would have to check. It's more than adequate to power the home and barn and fences and everything else we have here. And big bonus - our power doesn't just go out for hours at a time like the local utility's! 

No state income or sales taxes. No city taxes (we are outside city limits). Borough has a small sales tax. Real estate taxes are minimal - mill rate is set at about 13 (0.013 x assessed value), I think, and we just got a big escrow refund from the bank because they overestimated our tax payments by about $200/month! You can look up the property on the Mat-Su Borough website to get the exact tax payments for 2007 but I am thinking it was around $2,000 last year for all the buildings/improvements and the 2 10-acre lots. It is less, of course, for just the 1 10-acre lot.

Alaska has a seasonally high unemployment rate, typically because we have people that are transient and come here to work during the summer and hang over for the fall, etc. and then head back home. We also have our fair share of folks who would rather stay on the unemployment rolls than get a job. Ask me how I know. My dad was Commissioner of Labor under Governor Murkowski for 4 years.  When I was running my business full-time, I had a very hard time finding decent, employable people, even when I DOUBLED the starting salary and provided all on-the-job training, benefits, etc. Many people envied those that worked for me but I had a hard time finding people worth hiring! That is usually the case for skilled or highly educated/trained people. Most of the unemployment falls in the lower support sector (retail, administrtative clerks, etc.). Alaska has a vast and ever-expanding support sector so beside jobs in natural resources (mining, fishing, timber, etc.), we have many jobs in executive, teaching, medical, service, etc. sectors. Pretty much if it exists elsewhere, it exists here too. 

Bears are not a problem in our area. We occasionally see signs of their presence but after 4 years here we have not yet seen one! At our other house northeast of here, we did see them frequently, however! We think the reason we don't see as many here, even though they are around, is because there are fewer people to press their populations closer to the people. We are surrounded by thousands of acres of public lands that are sparsely populated, and that undoubtedly gives the wildlife breathing room so they don't have to come bother us.  Even at our old house where we saw bears nearly weekly throughout the spring, summer, and fall months, we never had a problem with them getting into anything (dogfood, refuse, barn, livestock, etc.). We haven't had any problems here either, and we have several fox and coyote and the occasional wolf passing through. The moose don't bother our hay storage either - again plenty of habitat and food for them not to have to bother us.

To run your 200v welder I'd have to check the amperage requirements. We aren't limited by anything a typical house would have and I think we have more than most homes on the grid but I'd have to check since I don't know anything about welding.

Yes, welders are in HUGE demand here. There are a lot of people that do an OK home job for themselves and their friends but very few that do a GOOD job. Midwifery is also a very popular job in this area. Home-based businesses depend on the business, the traffic flow, the neighborhood, etc. This area is fairly conducive to such things since it is rural and there aren't many neighbors. It's also still a frontier area and with having large lots, you're protecting your privacy and independance. Can you see why we like it here so much?


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