We're selling our dream farm

[keeperofthehorses]

I bought this place 11 years ago next week. The population of the nearest town, only 2 miles away, was 500 then. It was nearly 2,000 last census, and over a thousand building permits have been issued since then. 800 sewer permits in the last couple of years alone.

I took this land from a row-crop raspberry farm to my little dream organic food and horse farm. It's everything I've ever wanted. I got to put the house right where I wanted it, away from the road with a perfect view of the ski hill. I put the barn that I designed when I was 8 years old right where I wanted it, so I could see it from my bathroom window, or from bed in the reflection of the dresser mirror. It's perfect for us. I planted a living Christmas tree in the front yard. I buried three dogs here. I said when I moved in that I will never leave, I'll die here. It's my haven.

Well, a bunch of city council people have (is there a polite word for prostituted?) themselves to a California developer who will build apartments, condos and 'light industry' (what the heck is that?) across the road, on what is now 500 acres of prime farm land. My next-door neighbors sold their 40 to another developer. The highway that's 1/4 mile away is going to be widened to 5 lanes. It's heartbreaking. No more quiet mornings listening to the cows sing to their calves. No more dark nights for stargazing. No more riding Guy, or driving the ponies up the road to the Mill Ditch and back.

So we've decided the time has come to move on. My parents also have a small farm one town over that is being surrounded by the same type of mess and they've decided the same thing. The fortunate thing about all of this is that my parents (both in their 70's) are open to the idea of us buying one big farm together and putting two houses on it, so that we can be close enough to help them out and check on them every day, as well as drive them around when it's time for them to hang up the keys. That way I don't have to put them in a home when they get more frail, they'll be right next door. This may also give us the opportunity to grow more than enough hay for my own animals, with some to sell too. I'm lucky enough that my job is run out of my home, so as long as I don't move out of my territory, I should be OK with work. So although it's a great opportunity, and I should be excited, I'm sad as heck to leave this place. It's actually making me physically ill. Every tree, every brick has my sweat on it and it will be very hard to let it go. :no:

 

[EAD Minis]

That is so sad.I am always thinking about it gettingto over populated or my little rd being built around. I will pray that maybe they wont build there, and if they do that you could find the right place to move to. :no:

 

[Happy Valley]

I feel deeply for you. I too live in an idyllic situation, and I know that one of these days, hopefully after I am old and spent, that this will probably happen here, as well. Perhaps not...but you never know. Bless your heart. I hope you find another spot to love.

Stacye

 

[Miniv]

I'm afraid your situation is getting very common. We've already experienced it once and now it looks like we may be experiencing it again soon......

It's getting to a point of --- WHERE DO WE GO????

Just remember......don't let the developers off easy. Be sure to get your pound of flesh (so to speak). If they really want the property, they will PAY.

MA

 

[Gini]

I'm sorry this has happened to you!

Five years ago a developer came in and bought 150 acres

at the end of our road. He tried to change the zoning to 8 homes per acre. We live in a rural

community of 1500 about 20 miles north of Tucson. Believe it or not 900 of us came together

and we begged, borrowed and came up with every penny we could. It took us over a year

but we have held them to the current zoning of 1 home per acre. We put signs out held, meetings

put up a web site www.savecatalina.com. Some of our signs were the crudest you have ever seen

but it worked. Since the developer hasn't started the development, we are watching every day

to see if new postings go onto the property. We still have a small war chest to battle him again if

we need to. :aktion033: :aktion033:

Most of us out here have 2-5 acres which isn't much. However, the majority of us have multiple

horses, and other livestock. What are those citified folks gonna want to do. Certainly not want to

live next to us with smell of our animals. They will try and get us out!!! :no: :no: They'll want to put in their swimming pools, golf courses, tennis courts and recreation center. Good luck to you and

your parents.. I think a family land with two homes sounds wonderful..

I do agree with MA don't let them off easily!!

 

[Sterling]

I feel so sad reading the beginning of your post...the last part of it actually made me smile. Good for you and your folks to find a solution to an ongoing problem everywhere you turn. That in my mind's eye too is the perfect solution to have them with you.

Seventeen years ago we too bought this farm...our first farm where we had our own barn, horses, corrals, pasture, quiet, long road, trails to ride on ...well you get the picture. All that has changed. Altho we are not built up around our area, other houses have been erected which took away our rights to access the trails from directly behind our property. We would now have to cross over a busy road or highway. They paved our long road and we get hotrods going down at xxx miles an hour revving their engines and there's a trucking produce company down the road where their big semis go back and forth daily. On the bright side it is "the" place to live if you want to have a little business...Everyone will see you. There's quick access to the major highway and the Atlantic City Expressway and then to Philly. But for us, who were looking for the serene country living, well that has changed.

We too are looking at moving on. With thoughts of having to probably buy many, many acres surrounding us to prevent this from happening again.

 

[Miniv]

I agree Sterling........the only way to protect yourself is to buy yourself a buffer of property.

At this point, if we DO have to move, we are looking at a region where the entire area is considered "historic farm land" and from what I've been told, would never be developed.

MA

 

[Reble]

This is not easy for you's I know.

I

: the new place will have more to offer, which at this time you cannot see.

Just having your parents so close, will be a blessing.

:

Better things must be ahead for you. Hope you sale for more than you expect and find that dream place.

Thinking of you :saludando:

 

[strass]

This is the sad fate that most of the land on our planet will eventually face.

It kills me, living close to Houston, to see how many ranches have vanished around here. Every time I blink, there are more apartments and strip malls going in. My drive home takes me through a housing development that used to be a ranch for people who own horses. Everyday I think about how much more beautiful it would be if it were still a ranch and I could see horses on my way home instead of getting flipped off by some road-rage jerk in a gas-guzzling SUV that's never seen a road that wasn't paved.

I don't want to see the land keep vanishing, but until we as a species recognize that it's our own over-population that is destroying this planet, the problems will just get worse.

Most of us know that we should get our pets fixed. What we never stop to think about is that we need to STOP HUMAN BREEDING. Soon, there will be 7 Billion people on the planet. The more there are, the fewer resources there are to go around.

We've all been approached by charities to help feed people in need...ever offer to pay to have someone sterilized? I have. I tried to explain to them that feeding them was like giving them a fish, but fixing them was more like teaching them to fish. I got hung up on.

Sorry, I'm grumpy tonight.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Well I am sad for you I know how much you have put into your farm. Of course the selfish part of me is SO GLAD you will stay with your job which means staying pretty close

:

It is growing so much around here to you have seen the monstrosity that is being built right behind my pasture :no:

 

[Feather1414]

I know how you all are feeling.

We had 38 acres. They decided to put in a resevoir behind our house, with the end of our property being the dam. We are going to have a 50 foot wall of dirt too look at now instead of the pretty feild and hills we looked at before. We have been fighting this for years, and construction is going up right now. Now we only have around 32 acres since they took so much for their stupid resevoir. They are spending more to put it on the flat land then if they went into a canyon.

 

[Denise]

I feel for you. We just went thru a 2 year battle trying to keep our local electric company from putting high voltage lines on cement poles that are about 70 feet high across our property. Well we lost and now they get approx. 4 acres of our land. Thanks to the government and the emminent domain rule they took it against our will. Do I care to have my horses under that garbage? NO WAY! They don't care, they just need the power because of the rapid growth of the area.

All you can do is buy a large tract of land and pray they don't need part of your land in the future, because they will and do take it when it pleases them.

 

[coopermini]

We are not that far from the same situation here. I grew up in this town that had been a mix of farms and residental houses. some business. Not a bad place for many years. Now we are being run over from people from Mass and CT. Not that they are all bad but we seem to get more than our share here. First thing they want is a nice quiet country home. Then they want everything they had where ever they left. Then they want us "illiterate hicks" to leave take the manure and livestock with us and give them the land so thier freinds can join them. The ultimate goal must be to recreate the "%@%%*&*$%" they ran away from in the first place. You guessed it next step is to find another place!

 

[Magic]

We are in the same type of situation too. We will be moving within the month to a nice rural area to a town that is against small lots in the town itself and in the outlying area one must have several acres to build on.

Here where we still currently are, it used to be "the boondocks" with just stop signs and big fields, but the city has allowed big developments to be built, and encouraged businesses until this doesn't even look like the place we bought all those years ago. We built this house thinking we would live here for the rest of our lives, but our new place is even nicer, and though it is difficult to let this place go, we are excited for our new start in a gorgeous new area in a gorgeous new home (and a bigger barn!) :bgrin

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I feel for you.

When I moved onto my land thirty years ago there was a steam railway just across the way, the river was so deep I could swim in it and the Village had a store and that's about it.

Now..... well, I don't want to live here anymore.

The bypass keeps me awake at night, the railway is long gone, the river is three inches deep and they are building MORE houses.

I get honked at for doing 20 in a 20 limit (and would go no faster anyway) by Hooray Henry's in Landrovers with no tow hitch on the back that have never seen mud- well, they'd have no idea how to put it in low ration gear anyway so I'd end up towing them out with my Van!!

I could no more drive the horses along the road now than fly, they go SO fast and absolutely NO thought for anyone.

You may be sad but you will be better off in the end...make them pay through the nose for the privilege of living on your land

:

 

[Black Magic]

Years and years ago, my parents were offered a nice piece of land for $2500 an acre.. now it's a half million an acre.... sigh.. that was in the Hollywood, Fl. area. Anyway, we live in Ocala, FL.. (Horse Capital of the World)... and I see the same thing happening here now. Twenty three mos ago, we purchased four acres of land in the $25K range, and a year later, it had tripled plus what the piece of land cost us. We did okay. However, we wanted to buy an adjoining acre a year later, and that little over an acre piece of land had gone up to $72K for just this one little parcel. We're building a new home there, and it's almost finished... finally. But, I gotta say.... hubby and I have already agreed, when the place is totally done, we're gonna sell and look for some land that is rural.... this place is growing too quick! We are zoned for residential.... and that's the only thing that is protecting us from developers... we're already packed in like Sardines... lol...

Hubby wants to go land hunting in Dothan, Al... anyone know anything about that part of the country???

God Bless... I'm so sorry to hear of your loss, but having two houses, might be a good thing, and I know, I'd love to have my parents nearby.

God Bless,

Lynn W

 

[backwoodsnanny]

Mark

This far north isnt far enough to escape the citiots. The same thing here. We have been here 33 years and when we came the road had just been tarred. But was still very rural. We now are what they call a bedroom community for our State capitol so there is development everywhere. We are lucky enough to have 25 acres so we are somewhat protected but lifestyle has completely changed from when my children were small. Cars go so fast here now there is no bike riding on our road . Kids cant walk from house to house like they used to. They call this progress I guess and never mind what all this development has done to our valuation and real estate taxes. We too have talked of moving but not sure where we could find a place where things are country and quiet.

 

[keeperofthehorses]

I'm beginning to think that farmland is going to need as much protecting as forest land. :no: It's so sad to hear about this happening all over the country.

Things are moving along. My dad is all fired up and going to look at a couple of ranches this week. Darrin and I are just kind of numb from the whole thing and trying to figure out what all needs to be done to get this place ready to sell. It's very overwhelming. Plus, this will be my first move with the horses, so I need to have a plan. Darrin thinks we should get some pack saddles and use them to haul stuff to the new place. :lol: Sorry hon, I'm no Laura Ingalls.

Yes, Lisa, we are definitely staying in SW Idaho, so I'll still be a member of the Supper Club. :bgrin We are looking in Gem, Payette and Washington counties. My dad really likes Weiser, but that's pushing it for my job. Dad has mentioned just farming/ranching for a living, but I'm vested in my retirement now and not comfortable risking what little security I have.

All this change and instability has me all disfuddled and stressed.

:

 

[Southern_Heart]

Thats really sad!

I have always told my better half that if the city gets to close I will start pig farming and hope the smell of it will keep the city people away! :lol: If they want the country then they will have to have the smell that goes along with it!!

:

Joyce