# The mountains



## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

In about a year I will be out of school and my fiance and I have decided to relocate to the mountains. I know...sounds cliche. However, I have spent my whole life in Kansas farming and want to try my hand in the mountains. Love the climate. I really like the San Juan mountains but cost of land is prohibitive. What areas would you suggest for decently priced land and decently low population density? I am open to Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Montana or even New Mexico. I might also mention that I am an ASE certified master tech so auto mechanics is how I will be hoping to make my living...


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## dirtundernails (Nov 20, 2006)

The Black Hills of South Dakota is right next to Wyoming, and worth a look. Lived there in Lead (say Leed) for 6 years, and would return. Hill City would be my first choice. 
Wyoming is a good choice, too. Cheaper and certainly less populated. Spent a fair amount of time playing around there.
In Colorado, the Sangre de Christo Mountains call to my spirit. Grew up in CO, and usta go down and stomp around those hills, too.


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## Farmer2B (Oct 20, 2011)

Up around the Wind Rivers is a beautiful spot, and it has a few towns dotted around it. Lander, Riverton and Rock Springs are all nice towns that are growing, and will need auto mechanics but won't urbanize the Windies for atleast another century.

Like most places in the mountains, the soil is rockier and less fertile than that of beautiful, rich Kansas soil. Land shouldn't cost much, and worst case there is a lot of blm land for lease up there if you need a few more acres. Plenty of wilderness also.


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## r93000 (Mar 9, 2009)

What are you hoping to do with your land once you have it? That would help determine an area to live in. 

We live near the Wet and Sangre de Christos in Colorado. We bought a 5 acre property with irrigation because it seemed sensible for our current lifestyle. Our closest friends live up the mountain on a 600 acre ranch with minimal water. We live 30 minutes apart and the guys are both employed at the same place. Prices are considerably different for the different "amenities" of each location.

Two things to consider:

Water availability. Are you comfortable paying for water and trucking it in or do you want it on site? Wells are hard to come by in the mountains, and in many mountain states you don't own ANY water without buying the rights to it- on the ground, under the ground, or even falling from the sky.

Grazing Rights and Feed Bills: If you want to have animals you will need to consider the different cost of feed. Do you want open graze land, fenced, or will you be buying hay year round? Different fees, permits, assessments, and levels of neighborliness are involved with these. BLM land is SOMETIMES available for lease depending on where you are. We have a lot of BLM land near us, but little of it comes available for "public" grazing lease at a reasonable cost. Ten year leases, and inspections occur when a lease is expiring to determine whether a lease can be renewed or if the land will be closed to recuperate. Hay is CONSIDERABLY higher than what it is in Kansas if you are buying it. Unless you are talking about buying a true working ranch $$$$$!!!! You will need to buy hay for the winter in order to live IN the mountains and feed. This year in our area: 1200# are averaging $200/bale, 70# squares are $10-12 for horse and $8-10 for cow. Obviously, there is even more variation in price depending on origination state, cutting, and quality.

I'm editing to add that my DH and I grew up in the Ozarks, spent 4 years in Kansas, and then moved to the mountains. We don't have any regrets about leaving the "flat lands"


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Ozark Mountains in lower MO or northern Arkansas. Low cost of living. West Virginia is known as the Mountain state since the entire state is mountainous. Stay away from the west because of overpriced lands that have water issues. Maybe some areas of the Appalachians?


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Low population densities and jobs really don't mix that well.... also, where there's low pop density, it's usually because the land is either extremely unconducive to producing life or very unscenic.

You might check out oil companies and the supporting industries... mechanics in the oil patch are always in demand.


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

What we are going to be doing on the land is a small subsistence farming operation, just the basics to get by for us as well as a small amount of livestock. Nothing commercial of any sort. As well as I am a big outdoors man...hunting, trapping, fishing and hiking. Low enough population where I don't have to deal with emissions and lock-up traffic


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## r93000 (Mar 9, 2009)

So...
smaller acreage, in the mountains or upper foothills, able to commute year round (no plow restricted roads) to a town of enough size to need a mechanic or industry that needs a mechanic

water- are you willing to truck it in and use a cistern? You can cut your purchase price significantly, but it also means your property is worth significantly less for resale. 

A small sample from our local (relatively speaking) real estate:
http://www.canoncityhomes.net/defau...query_id=115708462&sortby=2&user_page_size=20
http://www.canoncityhomes.net/defau...query_id=115708462&sortby=2&user_page_size=20
http://www.canoncityhomes.net/defau...query_id=115708462&sortby=2&user_page_size=20
http://www.canoncityhomes.net/defau...query_id=115708462&sortby=2&user_page_size=20


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## r93000 (Mar 9, 2009)

http://martinandtope.com/hom_cab.htm

Adding this link for you as well. This is a very nice hometown real estate. They can also let you know which properties would allow for commuting to work.


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## Mulegirl (Oct 6, 2010)

joejeep92 said:


> What we are going to be doing on the land is a small subsistence farming operation, just the basics to get by for us as well as a small amount of livestock. Nothing commercial of any sort. As well as I am a big outdoors man...hunting, trapping, fishing and hiking. Low enough population where I don't have to deal with emissions and lock-up traffic


You really should take a look at the Appalachians and Ozarks as well--there's plenty around here that fits that description, and will put you close enough to decent-sized towns to have a very easy commute to an off-farm job. Plus deer are almost a nuisance animal out here, and water's much easier to get. Having heard from my Oregonian husband about the water fights out there, I never want to have to tangle with any of that . . .


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

I have lots of family in the Ozarks. Do like the country. I would really like to have a well but I know that is not always an option...and no road maintenance is fine by me. That is what I deal with out here. I plow, grade and gravel


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## PonderosaQ (Jan 12, 2004)

Another vote for the Appalachians. I am 20 mins from WV, lot of mountains and all the fishing, hunting etc you could want. AT is only 15 mins from me for all the hiking you could want and lots of mountains off the trail to hike on too. Always people needing cars fixed. A local shop here is always looking for certified mechanics. Land is going for about 1/3 what it was 7-8 years ago. Lots around at the min for $2,000 an acre. Blue Ridge Parkway areas are gorgeous but they are more expensive.


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## rickfrosty (Jun 19, 2008)

r93000 said:


> What are you hoping to do with your land once you have it? That would help determine an area to live in.
> 
> 1200# are averaging $200/bale, 70# squares are $10-12 for horse and $8-10 for cow. Obviously, there is even more variation in price depending on origination state, cutting, and quality.
> 
> I'm editing to add that my DH and I grew up in the Ozarks, spent 4 years in Kansas, and then moved to the mountains. We don't have any regrets about leaving the "flat lands"


Mtn. farms in Maine are smaller - I think you'd find them cheaper, & if you look at a map of ME, you'll see that water isn't generally a problem, but perhaps you don't consider the east ?
I think people forget that, while winters are indeed long, cold, & snowy, the summers are absolutely heavenly (called Vacationland) & don't require AC, and the summer days are very long for decent growing.
Oh, and no crime !! Always room for a good mechanic too.
Oh, forgot to say, hay is $3 - $5 (or less ?) for square bales.


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## r93000 (Mar 9, 2009)

joejeep92 said:


> I have lots of family in the Ozarks. Do like the country. I would really like to have a well but I know that is not always an option...and no road maintenance is fine by me. That is what I deal with out here. I plow, grade and gravel


Its not the road maintenance, per se, its the restrictions and closures. Privately maintained roads are actually easier, because you can take care of it yourself. Some state and county roads have restricted plow times because they lose plows over the side of the mountain. They don't plow them during low visibility or EVER while it is dark. You can't really plow them yourself because of the same danger of going over the edge. They have markers, but even in daylight it can be hard to tell where they are depending on how much snow is already down.

Depending on your employer this may or may not be a problem. For me, generally its not a big deal. I teach school, so if the road is closed we either have a 2hr delay to allow plows to run and reopen or school is closed for the day. If it closes while we are at school, I'm out of luck anyway because 1/4 of my kiddos can't leave either  For dh, road closure is not an acceptable reason to be absent. There has to be someone at his post, so if he doesn't get there someone else has to stay over until a live body arrives. We had to pass up some amazing properties because of little yellow and black signs.


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## r93000 (Mar 9, 2009)

I just wanted to offer up a bit of information for our portion of the mountains. Its always nice to get a bit of an inside scoop when trying to decide where to move.

I can't address the east, because I have never lived there. I can say that the "feel" of the Ozarks versus our portion of the Rockies is very different.

I will add, if we were able to choose mountains anywhere in the US, we would head north. Way north. Alaska north. Just not an employment option for us at this time, but definitely something a mechanic could consider...


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

By feel what are you referring to? Well I would love to live in Alaska but the little lady wants somewhere warmer than that...I had to beg for the mountains haha


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## r93000 (Mar 9, 2009)

Its a bit hard to explain without sounding obnoxious, which is not my intent. Let me preface by saying that dh and I both grew up in the MO Ozarks and both of our extended families live there. We visit regularly. This is only my interpretation of it and I am sure that others feel differently. Please no :flame:

When we first moved here, I asked about the differences that I felt and noticed. The way a native Coloradan explained it to me was like this:
"You're used to southern hospitality, and we're westerners. We're more independent."

I wouldn't really say where we are is more liberal in a classic sense, but more of the ignore what the neighbors are doing and live your own life. In the Ozarks, I found it to be more of the neighbors are going to share their opinions to you and/or others in town. 

For example:
We have lived in our new house for 3 months, and have not met a single neighbor other than to wave in passing. We lived in our previous house in this county for 9 months, and only met neighbors by going and introducing ourselves. In the Ozarks, when we moved to a new house in a new county, you could count on at least three or four neighbors stopping by to introduce themselves, and check you out, within the first week.

I rarely needed to ask for help with anything when we lived in the Ozarks. If you just mentioned that you were working on a project (or even bought the pieces at the local hardware without saying a word), there would usually be 9 suggestions on how to do it, 4 volunteers to help, and 2 that just showed up to do it. Here, if you want an opinion on a project you ask for it. If you need help, you ask for it. It isn't generally volunteered by strangers at the hardware store. 

Another thing, when we head back home we know that nearly every house is armed in some way, but you don't see sidearms commonly. You may know they are there, but you don't usually see them. (Not talking about the parking lot of the breakfast diner during hunting season ) Here it is not unusual to see sidearms on more than half who are just out doing their regular business around town. I am sure that a big portion of that is attributable to the very high concentration of law enforcement and military trained in our direct area.

There are pros and cons for both places. 

I guess I grew up with that "southern hospitality" instilled in me, so I still do some things that are out of the norm here. If you come to work at my house, you are guaranteed to get sweet ice tea or hot coffee and a baked good or meal of some sort


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## sunflower-n-ks (Aug 7, 2006)

joejeep92 said:


> By feel what are you referring to? Well I would love to live in Alaska but the little lady wants somewhere warmer than that...I had to beg for the mountains haha


Check out South East Alaska. I have never been there, but my DS lives there and over the last couple of years, the temperatures there are better than here in East Central Kansas. From what he says, the weather is more mild, doesn't get as cold as it does here and the cold snaps don't last as long. And it doesn't get as hot as it does here either. The scenery looks wonderful, and it would seem the people are open and friendly. At least he has made some great friends. 

I obviously don't know, but I would assume that there would be a need for mechanics for boats and airplanes, since that is how people get from one place to another there.


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

I understand what you are saying on the southern hospitality and honestly I would agree with you. I might just have to do that sunflower...this I had not heard


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## mikec4193 (Oct 13, 2011)

Hey Joejeep

I gotta chime in here...funny how we all think...I have been born and raised in the foot hills of the Adirondacks Mountains for the last 50 plus years. I have seen more mountains than I care to say. A little word of the wise. Be prepared to shovel snow, snow blowers, and snow plows too. You seem to know how to work on stuff so thats a good thing. With mountains you have lots of ups and downs and right and lefts as far as getting from point A to Point B. There are no straight roads around here. Lots of really deep ditches to move all the water and snow away too.

My son moved to NE Kansas in 2003 and I have to tell you from the very first time I set foot out there I was in love with the whole state. Kansas city excluded of course. The skys are bigger and brighter...the roads are straighter...you can see storms before they come in..the air is even cleaner than where I am from....

If you can handle all those hills great go for it...

I personally cant wait to move to the great mid west area....those flat lands are calling my name. Nothing like seeing where you are going and where you have already been (when you are driving at least).

Just my 2 cents
MikeC


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## Gianni (Dec 9, 2009)

Eastern MT and ND are in the middle of an oil boom. Lots of trucks are busy. The average time to get a repair looked at by a shop is 6 weeks. I would head there for a few years and leave with a pile of cash to make a start.


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

mikec-I do love Kansas in many ways but I have always enjoyed the mountains. I have lived through a couple comparatively bad winters in Pinedale and enjoyed it. And yes KC is awful. Hmmm...eastern MT doesn't sound too bad


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## fordy (Sep 13, 2003)

...................Two of my all time favorites , Cody , Wy. and Red Lodge , Montana . Cody is very close jellystone and the wind rivers and other ranges as well . It is a very welcoming small town with everything that your wife would need to feel at home , In , should you decide to relocate . , fordy


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