# lookiing for property on east side of Austin



## supernovae (Jul 14, 2014)

Anyone have any connections/recommendations for 10+ acres on the east side of Austin? I love the hill country/west side but prices are insane there and soil isn't the best for growing. 

by east side - something within an hour or two of Austin... so anywhere between Austin/Houston almost, around Bastrop, Thrall, Coupland, Manor, Elgin so on and so forth.

Main requirement is good soil and absolutely no restrictions. I can't stand the fact 10+ acre plots around here have deed restrictions forcing huge 3500 square foot homes! grrr


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Insanely expensive so I can't help you on that. I moved to Kansas 8 years ago. Never regretted it since. No allergies as well. In Austin, I was sick all the time.


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## supernovae (Jul 14, 2014)

Oddly enough, I have no allergies in Austin, yet when i lived in Houston growing up or Lancaster PA, i suffered miserably with the exception of winter months.

Property is expensive down here.. that's for sure.


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## rambotex (May 5, 2014)

There is a little bit of good dirt West of Llano. you gotta have a well though.

if you go east look within 20 miles of Thorndale.


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## FarmFamily (Feb 12, 2014)

Land is soooo pricey in TX. (Esp around Austin) Been in TX all of my life. We're in SE TX getting ready to sell and relocate out of state where we can actually afford to expand.  Good luck in your search!


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## supernovae (Jul 14, 2014)

One of the biggest reasons i'm looking to stay in Texas is the home schooling laws (or lack of them lol) and also, being near Austin i have great access to work being in IT. Technically all i need is broadband, but location near austin, dallas and houston as well as SA all within a few hours drive is hard to beat. 

thanks all for the kind words, i'll check out Thorndale and also west of Llano.. I absolutely love Llano area, but there is huge competition for hunting ranches up there that make even near city lands look cheap!


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## FarmFamily (Feb 12, 2014)

We homeschool also so I understand what you mean. We do have great hs freedom here. Other hs friendly states to consider....Oklahoma and Missouri have laws just like ours. In Arkansas fams do have to give an intent to homeschool and test every year but I've been told by AR hs moms that the state is super easy going and they leave you be to do your thing. Tenn doesn't have good laws but they have a loop hole. you can enroll in an umbrella school (cheap and easy) which means you send the umbrella school your grades at the end of each "semester" and they keep up with your transcript for you. They give you a diploma at graduation from their school. You use your own curriculum. So....a few other options for you to consider. Your money goes much further in these states. If you can break away from TX that is. Which is hard to do.


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## septemberwheat (Dec 22, 2011)

I purchased a small organic farm north west of austin about a year ago. Awesome soil in this part of hill country. Prices are really expensive but the prices you can charge for organic are above average here! Good luck.


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## supernovae (Jul 14, 2014)

septemberwheat said:


> I purchased a small organic farm north west of austin about a year ago. Awesome soil in this part of hill country. Prices are really expensive but the prices you can charge for organic are above average here! Good luck.


Are you selling any produce this year or building up?

I got a great lead on ~7 acres yesterday that i may be putting an offer down on. Was looking at something bigger but at least this property has some options to grow as they're willing to sell neighboring plots. I figure if i don't jump on this asap a developer will. Time to go find so junk cars and rv's to lay everywhere to make the rest of the property so undesirable hehehe (oh if only it were that easy)


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Kansas also has a huge homeschooling thing going. They have this big homeschooling get together..I believe every fall.


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## SquonkHunter (Feb 24, 2008)

I'm in the Elgin area. East of town is sandy land and west of town is the blackland. Far enough from Austin to be peaceful and quiet but close enough to commute for work- about 45 minutes for me. The Coupland-Taylor-Thrall-Thorndale area is blackland. It comes down to what type of land you want and what you want to do with it.


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## ognend (Sep 15, 2010)

supernovae said:


> Anyone have any connections/recommendations for 10+ acres on the east side of Austin? I love the hill country/west side but prices are insane there and soil isn't the best for growing.
> 
> by east side - something within an hour or two of Austin... so anywhere between Austin/Houston almost, around Bastrop, Thrall, Coupland, Manor, Elgin so on and so forth.
> 
> Main requirement is good soil and absolutely no restrictions. I can't stand the fact 10+ acre plots around here have deed restrictions forcing huge 3500 square foot homes! grrr


I have lived all over the world (Europe, Canada, FL, MO, NY etc.) and I absolutely hate Texas. IMHO it is a police state where all the land is private and fenced (well, 96% is private and 4% is public but it is, frankly, embarrassing). Anyways, we are about 40 miles SW of Austin in the Hill Country and broadband offerings here are atrocious. Basically, your choice is line of sight wireless or satellite and they both suck. I am in IT (soft eng) and I cannot get much done. It's funny, I have the opportunity to work from home, I want to homestead and be rural, have a little farm etc. but a stupid little think like lack of broadband is the obstacle.

We lucked out on a 5+ acre foreclosure that came with a double-wide, well, septic etc. It has taken us the better part of two years to rehab the property, put in horse fencing, barn, riding arena, clear all the idiotic junk that the previous loser-owners did and we have actually managed to grow our own veggies both years. Our strategy has been to fence off 2.5 acres for the horses and the other 2.5 acres we have been covering in horse manure, day after day, for two years. Every fall we spread rye-grass seeds to connect the decomposed manure and provide something to green up the area. It has paid off as the soil has started to form slowly. Our major problem are deer - they are in abundance here and for some reason it is very popular here to feed them, all our neighbors do. Then they complain when there are car collisions, go figure. Well, I know actually why they feed them - it is to get wildlife ag property tax exemptions, in this idiotic state putting corn out for the deer is legal and not only that, gets you lower property taxes so I guess it is encouraged.

Anyways, we don't want to put game fencing around the remaining 2.5 acres since it would mean critters like roadrunners etc. cannot cross the property. So, I have lots of fenced in areas for gardens (potato patch, pumpkin patch, tomato patch etc.). We recently built a screen covered hoop for zucchini - so hard it has held off most of the pests. The only inputs to our "farm" is horse manure, no sprays of any kind so... One of my neighbors has a 70 acre property and they are willing to sell us a few acres. Guess what? The red-tape state wins again! The county requires my neighbor to plat his property like a subdivision if he wants to sell me a single acre! So, we worked out a 99 year lease...

Anyways, I hate Texas. Can't wait to get out.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Move closer to Austin and your IT issues will disappear. They're planning to run Google Wire or whatever they're calling it now in Austin. Hill country isn't progressive when it comes to internet stuff. I should know. I lived in Austin over 25 years plus and have visited the Hill country numerous times.

Not all of Texas has crappy internet services. Tyler, Dallas, Austin..don't and I've lived in all 3.


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## Guest (Sep 8, 2014)

San Antonio has decent broadband... But you'll get Brownsville wages here. Oh, you can then tele-commute to Austin - there ya go!


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## ognend (Sep 15, 2010)

TedH71 said:


> Move closer to Austin and your IT issues will disappear. They're planning to run Google Wire or whatever they're calling it now in Austin. Hill country isn't progressive when it comes to internet stuff. I should know. I lived in Austin over 25 years plus and have visited the Hill country numerous times.
> 
> Not all of Texas has crappy internet services. Tyler, Dallas, Austin..don't and I've lived in all 3.


I have friends in Driftwood (much closer to Austin) and outskirts of Dripping Springs - same problems with broadband. The problem is much deeper than just a couple of towns. We are talking a radius of 20-40 miles outside of the famed "silicon hills" of America (Austin). Anyways, what;s the point of homesteading in a rural place if I get told to move to a city?


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## rambotex (May 5, 2014)

Why don't you just move?


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## ognend (Sep 15, 2010)

rambotex said:


> Why don't you just move?


I most definitely am planning on it as soon as I rehab the property fully so I can sell it well.


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