# Land in the Appalachians



## alamojack (Jan 4, 2016)

So, I guess this isn't a request for info on a particular property, rather I'm looking for suggestions (hopefully from locals) on good areas in the West Virginia/Western Virginia Appalachians. Doesn't necessarily have to be those states, but from what we've researched so far, those areas fit our desires the best.

What we're after is 10 or more acres (the bigger the better), with plenty of trees, either up in the mountains or down in the foothills. We'd like to do small-scale farming, so the land needs to be *fairly* flat. A creek or river is a plus. We'd be looking in the 40-80k price range, and would prefer a location that is not too far away from a reasonable sized town, as I am a mechanic and will need to at least find part-time work upon moving.

Neither of us are horribly fond of cities, but I realize the need to find a location where a hardware store and various amenities are hours drives away, so this is another consideration. 

My wife and I are both from the mountains; she grew up in SW Colorado (where we currently live) at 7000 ft. I grew up at the base of San Marcos pass in California, and while we both love the ocean, we can't live without mountains. When I was younger my family traveled extensively throughout the Appalachians and the east coast, and I love the area, fog and all. 

Our climate out here in Colorado is not in the least conducive to growing anything at all. We keep chickens and breed rabbits for meat and pelts, but my attempts at gardening have failed miserably, no matter what I do to the soil. We picked the Appalachians for the moisture, the terrain, the soil quality, and the freedoms (which are comparable with Colorado, unlike much of the East Coast proper).

If anyone can suggest towns, counties, or particular areas to look that would fit this bill, please let me know. We're planning a trip out there this summer and would like to have a number of areas planned out to visit so we don't waste our vacation simply driving aimlessly. Thanks!


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## alamojack (Jan 4, 2016)

alamojack said:


> Neither of us are horribly fond of cities, but I realize the need to find a location where a hardware store and various amenities *are *hours drives away, so this is another consideration


 Edit: AREN'T hours away. I can't find an edit post button.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

i'm in Virginia but just across the border (30 Miles) is bristle tenn. and seems like Tennessee has better tax cheeper schools and better laws for homesteader type farmers . also there is more land of the type you are looking for in that area in my county there is more rougher hills and less jobs with the coal mines going under.


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## alamojack (Jan 4, 2016)

I haven't looked much at Tennessee, but I'll check it out. My grandma lives over by Nashville in Franklin, TN, so I do know that area a bit. It seems, from what I remember though, that the Tennessee side is less mountainous, and we'd like to stay up in the mountains as far as we can while still having a decent amount of non-vertical ground.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

alamojack said:


> I haven't looked much at Tennessee, but I'll check it out. My grandma lives over by Nashville in Franklin, TN, so I do know that area a bit. It seems, from what I remember though, that the Tennessee side is less mountainous, and we'd like to stay up in the mountains as far as we can while still having a decent amount of non-vertical ground.


TN isn't very big north to south, but it's quite large from east to west, something like 440 miles. And you'll find a LOT of variation in various parts of the state. The western part of the state has the flat river bottom land with plenty of cotton fields. Middle TN gives you more rolling hills, bluegrass, livestock and dairy, horses and mules, and good ol' Nashville. Eastern TN gives you the Smokies and the Cumberland Plateau, much of it way more rugged country than the western half of the state. It's debatable where the lines are between west and middle and between middle and east TN but I can assure you, downtown Memphis is a world of difference from a little town like Deer Lodge or Sneedville. 

Good tillable land can be a bit hard to come by in the mountains. There are pieces and parts and parcels scattered here and there but the really good ones are not often for sale and when they are, get bought up quickly. 

Good luck!


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## alamojack (Jan 4, 2016)

By good, tillable land do you mean it's pretty rocky soil?


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## LuLuToo (Dec 19, 2015)

Have you considered central Kentucky? There are areas with hills/mountains, lots of farm land, many areas have few restrictions, land is relatively inexpensive, and it is a beautiful part of the country. Like someone else stated, any good, available land tends to get snatched up very quickly.

LuLu


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## DryHeat (Nov 11, 2010)

I'd think "tillable" means real soil perhaps in limited stream bottom areas in that region. Another issue to be cautious of in there would be that any moderate to largish streams could have coal strip mine impoundments upstream, or leaching from underground mining. Even if the mines themselves have played out or closed due to economic factors, the impoundment dams sometimes fail much later and ruin downstream watersheds for years with massive silt flows. I had a short job doing environmental testing of those situations in the area some 30 years back. Beautiful country, and some acreage with a self-contained obviously pristine small stream in it would be a wonderful find. Google Earth would be your friend big-time if you identified a series of properties with streams attached; zoom around upstream on any substantial watersheds and look for stripped areas especially. If you're visiting in person, look for streams with yellowish deposits, OR a lot of silt, in either case there wouldn't be much insect larvae populations much less fish, but might be OK for garden irrigation or livestock watering. In that NE TN area, the real problem was from silt after strip mining, not acid mine drainage so much. What the researchers thought they were seeing with silt flows was what might be more temporary damage *if* such watersheds had a few undamaged little streams feeding from side valleys still, most insect and fish species could recolonize over multiple decades from silt damage if there were just a source for replacement of the original critters. I suppose you just might be able to find a good buy on land that had a stream previously damaged but beginning to recover if the sellers were mostly aware of how badly it had been messed up over the past 20 years, say. YMMV, of course, I haven't been back to the area for several decades.


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## Vahomesteaders (Jun 4, 2014)

I'm in western va. In the Shenandoah valley of the Appalachians. It's the best place on earth to live. Here there are several river systems that run the base of the mountains making rich soil. Land from woodstock va south is affordable. Lots of great small towns that run the rt. 11 and 81 corridor. You should really visit. We are quiet areas that attract tourism dollars at the farmers markets and the governing powers want it to stay that way. Some if the nation's best themed festivals are held here. Keeping that old time charm and feel is everyone's goal. Definitely can make a living homesteading.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

alamojack said:


> By good, tillable land do you mean it's pretty rocky soil?


Up here on the Cumberland Plateau, there is quite a lot of rock. It's big business around here. Lots of land is rock outcropping and just a few inches of soil over rock outcropping. Or heavily wooded. 

There are places where the soil is nice and deep and not all rock. It does vary. But I know of a lot of land that's used as pasture that really does not have a deep enough soil over the rock that I'd want to try plowing it up for planting corn. 

Just small rocks don't bother me much. My garden in PA summer before last was, as my dad called it, "5 stones to one dirt". It had been picked over many times but still had plenty of small rocks in it. It grew crops just fine. Somehow, I have this idea in my head that those little rocks continue to give some minerals to the soil year after year, dunno for sure. 

Then again, if someone is determined enough, they can build raised beds and go with whatever dirt they happen to find. Ok for a small garden but gets more complicated if planning on a market garden sized place. It sure is nice to find a nice piece of dirt that's closer to ready to produce crops, though.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Tennessee has plenty of mountains in the eastern part of the State. Nothing like the Colorado Rockies in size, since they are far older and worn down, but plenty.

The tax structure is far better (IMHO) than Virginia, where you will pay a State income tax and personal property taxes (buy something, and you get to pay sales tax initially.....6% I think....then pay taxes on it forever). 

We do have a fairly high sales tax (9-9.75% depending on location), but low property taxes and the lack of income/personal property more than make up for that.

You'll notice in the map below, VA is #1 in the nation (as of 2009) for taxing personal property (mainly your vehicles). TN is number 20, but they only tax business personal property, not individuals. KY has no PPtax, but does have an income tax.


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## alamojack (Jan 4, 2016)

Vahomesteaders said:


> I'm in western va. In the Shenandoah valley of the Appalachians. It's the best place on earth to live. Here there are several river systems that run the base of the mountains making rich soil. Land from woodstock va south is affordable. Lots of great small towns that run the rt. 11 and 81 corridor. You should really visit. We are quiet areas that attract tourism dollars at the farmers markets and the governing powers want it to stay that way. Some if the nation's best themed festivals are held here. Keeping that old time charm and feel is everyone's goal. Definitely can make a living homesteading.


Care to share what particular town or specific area you're in? I'm not quite sure what is exactly considered the Shenandoah Valley. 

And to everyone else, thanks for the suggestions on soil, taxes, etc. I'll check into all that this afternoon when I get a chance. I hadn't really thought of the tax issue; I guess we're spoiled here in Colorado.


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## Vahomesteaders (Jun 4, 2014)

alamojack said:


> Care to share what particular town or specific area you're in? I'm not quite sure what is exactly considered the Shenandoah Valley.
> 
> And to everyone else, thanks for the suggestions on soil, taxes, etc. I'll check into all that this afternoon when I get a chance. I hadn't really thought of the tax issue; I guess we're spoiled here in Colorado.


Im in Shenandoah county next to Edinburg va. Everything from winchester va and down 200 miles of the western side of the state is considered the Shenandoah valley. It's considered the best of both worlds. The appalachias and Shenandoah valley combine here to create a wonderful history and atmosphere. It's considered the birth place of our nation's greatest leaders and our nation's birth really. Land is affordable and a couple hour trip puts you on the best beaches in the country or we have dome huge mountain lakes to enjoy.


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## FarmerKat (Jul 3, 2014)

If you are looking for flat quality farm land near the mountains, the area in the photo may be of interest (pic is from google earth, TN hwy 107 in Chuckey).

The Nolichucky River flows through the valley and is bordered by the mountains on the east side. It is near Greeneville and not far from the Tri-Cities either. This is as flat as it is going to get in this area and also the best quality soil. 

In the mountains, you can find parcels of land that have some "flat" (not like the photo though) but you really have to look at each property individually to assess soil quality. We have 11 acres near the state line with NC (not too far from the Appalachian trail) and it has several acres of beautiful rich soil, several acres of poor soil with bedrock showing through and bunch of forest with soil quality somewhere in between. Some is flat, some is vertical and some has slope to it. But simply looking at a map or even google earth, you would not really know what is there. You just have to get out and walk it.


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## Toad sticker (May 12, 2002)

You will miss Colorado...just a warning....you can grow stuff near Delta on up to Paonia...I grew up in Gunnison (talk about not being able to grow much) but you can manage if you try...I am 13 years removed from Colorado and desperately want to move back...

TS


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## jeeper55 (Feb 24, 2008)

I agree with VA Homesteaders the Shenandoah valley is about the prettiness place in VA. i would love to live there myself instead of NC.


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## DryHeat (Nov 11, 2010)

One of my most pleasant "imprinted" memories from college days is from sitting with a lady friend on one of the hills in those Shenandoas surveying out over rolling green hilly pastures and woods. Can't recall how we came to get to the spot, even, maybe a short hike from a rest stop? Go a bit south and west of the actual Shenandoa and there are smaller but also wonderful valleys and streams say between Staunton and Warm Springs, Bath and Highland Counties, specifically. Rolling hills, though, not scenic mountain peaks like Colorado.


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## PonderosaQ (Jan 12, 2004)

I live in Giles Co VA. I am 20 mins west of Blacksburg home of VA Tech. Work is available in that area. You might be able to find land in the price range you mentioned though any flat area would be pure luck to find! Sometimes some comes up but more land is mountainous than flat. Dirt is clay but I have no problem growing good crops here. The New River goes through the county and is good for fishing, swimming and other recreation. My daughter tried Co for a while and now I am hoping to see your state this summer. Other who have said the VA Appalachian are is a good choice are telling the truth. Hope you get to visit and find yourself a new place to call home this summer.


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## Itsroger (Aug 28, 2015)

If you search "web soil survey" you can select a certain area and it will tell you the acreage and type\depth of soil. I think it's done by the geological survey and all areas that I've checked had information available.


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## KeeperOfTheHome (Dec 16, 2015)

I grew up in the Shenandoah Valley, and it is truly stunning. My dad might be selling property in the south part of the valley near Lexington, VA- pm me if you're interested. Also, if you end up near Lexington and sell anything, he'll probably buy it. I know there's a good sized homeschooling community near Harrisonburg, plus if you're there you get to be near the locally famous Salatin family and Polyface farm. 
And the American Shakespeare Center!!
And the Frontier Culture Museum!!

In fact, if you end up in the valley, pm me cause I want to tell you about so many cool places there!


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