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My boyfriend and I are trying to decide on the best place to settle down and start a family and I'm attracted to the idea of Northern Idaho, Western Montana or Northwest Wyoming. I am currently living in Maine and have never been to any of these states, but have been in pretty much every other western state at least once.
We would be looking for a large plot of land (Ideally 10 acres or more) to build a house and preferably many smaller outbuildings or tiny houses or yurts we could use for relatives/friends/airbnb, raise grazing animals, and generally be our own undisturbed off grid bubble.
The reason we are attracted to these 3 regions is
-Red states, most people will be generally more politically aligned with us (we consider ourselves dissident right, new right, alternative, independent, etc.)
-Lots of nature and open spaces and mountains (we love hiking, hunting, camping, general solitude and hate cities)
-Horse culture (I am an avid trail rider)
-Less monoculture agriculture than the midwest (and therefore less environmental toxins and exposure to pesticides)
-Less people and less ticks and less mold than the East
-Generally cheaper than coastal states (we are comfortable and don't mind paying for quality, but no one likes to spend needlessly)
All these states seem to fit the bill, but I have a few very specific preferences that I'm not sure which will best meet:
-We plan to homeschool, and want a good homeschool community that is not exclusively christian (our beliefs are.. very nuanced)
-We prioritize organic produce and grass-fed meats in our diet, so we would prefer an area with a farmers market, CSA, health food store, and general organic farming community near by that we can be a part of. The less barriers to getting local food/products from producer to consumer, the better.
-A very SAFE town that we can go to for some shopping or special treats (a yoga class, a good lunch, music in the park, etc)
-Somewhere not being taken over by the woke crowd (The idea of lots of cali transplants doesn't bother me as long as they are also escaping blue state madness, they may actually be my crowd. Do the cali people like organic food and also small government? Yoga and also gun rights? Those are my peeps. Though I suspect the new people are probably dyed in the wool liberals moving somewhere cheaper and who can't figure out why blue states suck..)
-Somewhere with a lot of small, locally owned businesses (I hate big box stores) Maybe some history (I hate modern architecture/newly built cheap houses which the west seems to have a lot of compared to the east coast's historical buildings and housing)
-Good homesteading/survivalist/primitive skills community
I do like green and trees a lot, which is a bit of a luxury out west I know, and I'm not fond of wind. Longer growing season is nice. Being near water is very nice, it is pretty essential for the off grid stuff we want to do. We enjoy consuming raw milk and occasionally cannabis, and will probably do so whether or not it's legal, but it would be nice if it was.
Kinda of a niche culture I want to tap into, which do you think is my best bet?
Well... you picked three areas with pretty short outdoor growing seasons, so expect to do extensive heated greenhouse growing.
A couple questions.
- No budget mentioned but I'm assuming $1 mil+ is acceptable for your property?
- Are you looking to buy bare land and developing your living and growing property, or are you looking for an existing small/hobby farm that you can alter to your needs?
- You talk off-grid. Does that mean no access to public utilities and you'll figure it out all your own?
- Do you need reliable and fast internet access? (Not as much of a problem these days if you can get Starlink)
- Do you have any population desires in your local communities? Do you want to live 30 minutes from a town of 500, 1K, 5K, and 60 min from a town of 50K? Do you want to live within an hour of something bigger?
- Do you need close access to a major regional or international airport?
That's a good start at some questions for you. I'm sure if you answer them, and maybe some more from others, you will get some good answers and recommendations.
Farmer's markets are easy to find. Most any town with a few thousand people will have at least one per week from May to October. We buy our grass fed buffalo at one of the markets in the Boise area, as well as local produce. There are a lot of other local grown, baked and made goods in all the markets we visit. When we lived in Great Falls, MT we bought grass fed beef in the market there. Health food stores will be a tougher find. Only the bigger cities will have stores like Whole Food, Trader Joes or Naturel Grocers.
For your other criteria, east of Moscow ID might be a good area to explore. Moscow is a university town on the Washington boarder. It is a bit more liberal than other cities in SE Idaho, but it is certainly more conservative than Western Washington, Oregon or California. It is a big enough city to have the fun things you want to do. Not sure about homesteading or survivalist community, but that would be more likely in the small towns to the east. Maybe around Troy or other very small towns at the base of the mountains. Farming and horse culture would be good in these areas.
Further north a good place to look would be north of Sandpoint, ID. Winter lasts longer this far north, and it can be a bit gray and gloomy during the winter months. Growing season would be pretty short up there, but it is beautiful and green, with some rivers and big lakes to enjoy. Sandpoint can be a bit touristy with a ski resort for the winter, lake activities and an amusement park (think a small six flags type park). But finding your town to the north would mean you only come into Sandpoint, CDL or even over to Spokane, WA when you want to. Horses in this area will do fine, as long as you feed them plenty of hay year round, and supplement with oats for the winter. Farming not so much. Sure, it can be done, and those farmer's markets get their produce from somewhere, but it will be more work. But generally this would not be considered farm country. More ranch/dairy country. I'd guess the major crops are grass and alfalfa, probably some corn too, that support the cattle and horse industries, plus they grow with less effort than other table crops. You are likely to find your homesteading/survivalist neighbors up there. It's not an easy place to go off-grid, since solar doesn't work well most of the year due to the sun angle that far north. I'm not sure what the wind energy profile is, but you can investigate that if wanted.
Anyway, here are some 10ac plus properties listed in the area.
Any of those areas are great if you have the $$$. Finding 10+ acres these days is difficult for a reasonable piece of property with a good perc test and water well capability with the huge run on property the last 6~7 years. Be very cautious on property that's very cheap because chances are utilities will be tough to impossible to get. If I had to pick between those three I'd choose north Idaho, because, we did exactly that. I was also looking at those same areas (also around Dubois WY, Cameron MT, and Clark Fork ID). We ended up in north Idaho and couldn't be happier. We just avoid CDA and the immediate surrounding area because it's just becoming too much like a certain pacific coastal state that doesn't like liberty or personal responsibility. It isn't real bad...yet.
Most important bit of missing info: What's your budget?
And second: What do you and your boyfriend do for jobs/income?
Those were my first thoughts as well. This was my response in the other thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz
Yeah, I always find it hard to take a post like this serious when they list almost impossible demands, and no details about what they plan to contribute to make it work.
But the OP does give a few clues to price range.
"Generally cheaper than coastal states (we are comfortable and don't mind paying for quality, but no one likes to spend needlessly)"
My translation for that would be, we are broke asses living in a van down by the river. But we want to come out West and buy lots of cheap land to make our dreams come true. But don't worry, money is no issue.
I don't think any of the three states will work for them, and I don't think they will fit in in any of the three. But of the three I would have to pick Montana. Because that is where they will find the most "cali transplants" they are looking for, and their best chance to find a place to buy grass-fed meats. Although, I don't know why that is such a priority for them. Since they plan to raise their own grazing animals. I guess they don't want to eat their own livestock.
Those were my first thoughts as well. This was my response in the other thread.
10 acres with/near: Mountains, trees, nice scenery, natural food stores, decent restaurants, yoga, calm wind, long growing season, organic farms, grazing, arable land, water rights, quaint architecture. Essentially a multi-million dollar property out here.
Who knows, maybe they have the means. Though I kinda doubt it if they're asking here.
We get questions like this every few months, interesting that some of this is now coming from the East Coast, whereas West Coasters were formerly the most likely to have romantic notions about this area. Realistically, unless someone is very wealthy (in which case they can live the dream in almost any location), they end up living a normal life in a town/city, or make a lot of compromises to live in very isolated and rustic places without services or amenities.
Everyone apparently want the same thing that is on your list of what you are looking for. That is why the financial commitment is between 1 and 2 Million.
10 acres with/near: Mountains, trees, nice scenery, natural food stores, decent restaurants, yoga, calm wind, long growing season, organic farms, grazing, arable land, water rights, quaint architecture. Essentially a multi-million dollar property out here.
Who knows, maybe they have the means. Though I kinda doubt it if they're asking here.
We get questions like this every few months, interesting that some of this is now coming from the East Coast, whereas West Coasters were formerly the most likely to have romantic notions about this area. Realistically, unless someone is very wealthy (in which case they can live the dream in almost any location), they end up living a normal life in a town/city, or make a lot of compromises to live in very isolated and rustic places without services or amenities.
I think unrealistic posts like this are more fantasy than a serious request for help. There is so much with the OPs post that makes no sense. She has been to pretty much every Western state, except the three states she wants to move to. Which begs the question, why hasn't she visited these states that she is so interested in moving to? If they are as comfortable as she says they are, and have the means to buy real estate, it should be easy for them to drive out or fly out and rent a car and visit and see for themselves the places she wants to move to. But apparently that's too much trouble for her. She wants to use her keyboard instead. To me that's an indication of lack of seriousness or inability.
The western states are also huge in area and vary tremendously from region to region, in climate, terrain, and people. Like when people ask "Is it windy in Wyoming" or "Are there good yoga studios in Montana?" Ridiculous.
These wishful, detailed OP's always read like someone trying to define who they are and what they stand for to a bunch of random strangers. No one cares.
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