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There is relatively little of this in PA I think mainly because of restrictive septic rules. When each of these lots needs not only one but two passable sewage dispersal area sites under fairly strict rules the attractiveness of turning cheap land into rural sprawl diminishes.
Cheaper land (to buy, not to pay taxes on) and less strict septic rules means more of this in upstate NY other things being equal. In NY State if lots are 5 acres or more each many restrictions go away.
With that said it's not completely unknown in PA. Ward Township, Tioga County (east of Blossburg, or about 45 minutes north of Williamsport) is about half covered with these, created on old coal company land. Since the onset of economic recovery of gas from the Marcellus Shale I think the buyers of a few of these aren't too happy with the reservation of mineral rights for the previous owners.
When I lived in the Quad Cities of IA/IL more of this occurred on the IL side, I believe due to stronger ag preservation zoning in IA.
It's the distance from everything that gets to a lot of people. When you figure out having to pay for gas to go to town, and the time wasted, the cost of living isn't much different between city and country.
The lack of opportunities is a big turn off of rural areas also.
What time and money? What lack of opportunities.
It's 16 miles and a 20 minute drive to Duluth. Duluth isn't the biggest city by any means, but it's decently-sized with a number of opportunities. Obviously, you're giving up something in comparsion to NYC, Chicago, or LA. But this is rural Duluth. You aren't exactly giving up anything. It's just a preference.
My uncle lived in Boulder Creek and commuted to San Jose, not all that dissimilar. Considering he was an electric engineer, it's hard to imagine a place with more opportunity. And it's a lot of gas that can be made up for nearly a million dollars, considering what the cost of a basic house in a good part of SV costs.
It's 16 miles and a 20 minute drive to Duluth. Duluth isn't the biggest city by any means, but it's decently-sized with a number of opportunities. Obviously, you're giving up something in comparsion to NYC, Chicago, or LA. But this is rural Duluth. You aren't exactly giving up anything. It's just a preference.
My uncle lived in Boulder Creek and commuted to San Jose, not all that dissimilar. Considering he was an electric engineer, it's hard to imagine a place with more opportunity. And it's a lot of gas that can be made up for nearly a million dollars, considering what the cost of a basic house in a good part of SV costs.
There are a lot of people in northern Minnesota who drive 2 to 3 times as far as you do to work. I'm talking about the money they spend when they spend an hour in a car every day, and the gas money they spend, not just going to work, but all the stuff that requires an extra trip to town.
Not sure about that. I range from Butte County to Merced County, Sierras to the coast. I'd hate to see the poor sobs that drive 300+ miles one way with any regularity.
Regarding the places that the OP posted, it's only a few miles from Cloquet which has your basic services covered. You get better at not needing the modern convenience of running to a supermarket at midnight when you live in a rural area. There are (a few) more rural places, but they are not rural sprawl. Corn sprawl maybe, but not rural sprawl.
I'm talking 40 to 75 miles one way. Many people drive this every day. I know of a few people who were driving between 100 and 150 miles one way for a while.
I also don't need to run to the supermarket or convenience store at midnight. It's just nice to live close enough that I can run to the store whenever and not waste half a day and spend a bunch on gas. I know plenty of people who live far enough away from anything that they do grocery shopping once a month, and it's a half a day thing when you have to spend an hour and a half in a car that day. It takes half a day because they get all the stopping done in one day.
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