# Where to Go....What to Do?



## Kevo (Mar 28, 2012)

I am looking for friendly advice...I have some ideas of what I want to do but not exactly sure and open to suggestions/ wisdom.

Here is the skinny...
I am 42 yr old Surgical Technologist..have wife and 3 daughters (10,12 & 13 yrs)
We currently live in Alaska and I make excellent money (which goes immediately for cost of living here - $1600 per month for 2br apt)
We are originally from TN but we are open to anywhere as long as we can drive to see family in TN.

My credit stinks (mainly from lack of credit) but I have $5000 saved and currently working 2 jobs and trying to save about $1000-1500 per month.

We want our own place desperately and my goal is to have a mortgage free home since my retirement will not be very much if any and who knows about Social Security???

My thought is either.... buy a owner financed fixer-upper (in the $20-30,000 range)

Or

Pay cash for a few acres in the woods and build an affordable home...either pole barn, cordwood or cob? If I went this route I would have to rent a place close enough to a hospital so I could work and be able to drive back and forth to my property.

So, what do you think? Any opinions?

Sorry so long....figured you needed the whole story.

Thanks for reading,
Kevin & Family


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## kycrawler (Sep 18, 2011)

Move back to tennessee think redboiling springs area or somewhere along I 65 close to the alabama border ardmore ,pulaski no state income tax in tennessee cheap property easy commute to nasville cookville or pulaski/huntsville for your work easy drive to alabama or ky to to your major shopping to get around the tenessee sales tax


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

It depends on your long-term plans.

A few acres in the woods may not be enough acreage for you down the line. Also, how willing are you to live off-grid ("the woods" are not known for their infrastructure amenities).

We're buying owner-financed. As long as everything is down in black-n-white and everyone knows the expectations and responsibilities, it can work out very well.


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## Calhoon (May 25, 2012)

well , Kevo , I don't know what part of Tenn you have Family in , but if you're a surgi-tech , you'll have no trouble finding a good job , so , it seems to me that your biggest expense will be to move your Family from Alaska to Tenn . . or wherever you decide to move to. 

Since you are renting a 2 room apt , don't figure you have a lot of furniture , so , if it was me , when your lease is about up , I'd sell what I could , and give what don't sell to a homeless shelter , and I'd get the Family on a jet airliner headed towards Knoxville , TN .. or , Memphis , Tenn . . . and look into the area across the river in Miss , the taxes are a lot lower in Mississippi ... and it's a short drive into middle Tennessee . . 

btw , Memphis is one of the fastest growing cities in the US . . but has a high crime rate as well , a lot lower crime rate to be found in Olive Branch , Miss , and better schools as well . 

check it out for your own self , let me know if I can help ?


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## sunny225 (Dec 4, 2009)

I don't know about moving to Mississippi. We moved FROM there last year. Crime in the cities or anywhere close to them is high. 
There's some fairly low priced land there but we found the taxes we were paying to be too high to be able to retire there. I guess I'm saying I wouldn't live in MS again at all.
TS is going to HTF fairly soon. get to wherever you're going to be as soon as possible.


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## Kevo (Mar 28, 2012)

Update......

Just thought I would let the community know that we did it!

We actually ended up in NE Alabama on my in-laws' property. 10 acres in the country. The land will go to us one day anyway and they wanted us (mostly the grand babies ) back home. We used the money we had saved to buy a $8000 used mobile home and we have stayed with Inlaws for the last 8 months while we completely remodeled it.
It looks brand new now and we just moved in... Yea! No rent , no mortgage!



Sent from my iPhone using Homesteading Today


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Glad you found a place to land, with roots already planted! 

Congratulations, and God's richest blessings on all of you!!


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## goatlady (May 31, 2002)

Good for you! You walked the walk and acted (as opposed to just talking the talk!)


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## PonderosaQ (Jan 12, 2004)

Congratulations on your big life change. I hope you and the family will be very happy there.


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