I won’t lie, making the jump to an outskirt home is not as easy as buying a house in the suburbs. Being responsible for a piece of land (that probably has a septic system) may seem intimidating at first but if you have dreamed of wide open views, don’t let the unknown frighten you. What I needed to know was easier to learn than I thought.
Finding the Courage to Make a Move to the Country: Beginning a Farmhouse Hunt
As we drove to the very first country house we ever looked at, I began to squirm in the front seat with every turn that took us further down winding, tree-lined country lanes with not a store in sight. It was quite rural. Almost too rural. Things were dusty, dirty, wild, natural and beautiful. I wondered if we could really pull ourselves away from the conveniences of the suburbs for a quiet country life. With each subsequent house showing, the prospect of moving to the country became less scary. The drive became familiar. The distant roads didn’t feel as isolated once I realized the main shopping centers were a doable 28 minutes away. Our son begged us to please buy a house on land with trees he could climb. In February of 2018 we found an area we loved and decided we were going to take the leap.
To be fair, we had some experiences that helped make our move to the country easier:
1. We were living only an hour away from the geographic area we were house hunting in. Driving the roads over and over as we viewed houses every weekend made them more familiar, which gave us a big confidence boost that we could do this.
2. My family owned land in the country. I had been playing on raw country land my entire life. I’d spent enough weekends outdoors to know a bit about what to expect and I had lost my fear of snakes. Land, wildlife and riding lawnmowers were not intimidating.
3. My in-laws built a house in the country 45 minutes away from the nearest grocery store. This was hands-down the best preparation for us. For the last five years we had learned that visiting them meant bringing everything we needed, ensuring our vehicle was gassed up at the last stop and making do without if something was forgotten. I would observe my mother-in-law’s deep pantry, extra freezers and how she always kept the house well-stocked. Our visits taught us useful skills we would use when it came time to make our own move.
What Happened Next?
My husband provided the miracle our country dreams needed: he was willing to make a commute that was a dozen miles longer – but amazingly – 15 minutes shorter than his current drive.
Now all we had to do was find a house and sell our 1500 square foot suburban home. This is always easier said than done. And country homes, where people often own them for longer periods of time, come on the market more slowly than other property types. We were afraid our reasonably priced one story would sell too quickly. (It sold twice in 120 hours.) While we spruced up our current house, we watched and waited.
We had been house hunting for five months without much luck. One sunny Saturday in late May we decided to go check out a house with melancholy, unappealingly bland listing pictures that had been sitting on the market since December.
When we pulled into the driveway, I gasped. It was the darling, dormer window-peaked cottage of our dreams! In front of our eyes stood a hidden gem of a farmhouse, in need of a coat of paint and some minor upkeep but with good bones and great features. It had everything we wanted and backed up to 27 acres of horse farm pasture, making the single acre lot feel huge because of the sprawling view.
Forty days later we closed on the sale of our suburban home and the purchase of our country home on the same morning. Our dreams had begun!
encouragement for those wanting to make a move:
Tip 1: Do not let your current circumstances limit you.
Whether it is finances, the stress of changing your commute or feeling overwhelmed about fixing up your current home, recognize that all of these things can be worked with and improved in a relaxed time frame.
Tip 2: Homes with acreage and the ability to keep chickens are likely around you now.
Acreage homes are in pockets here and there, around you already. Look for these areas if you need to keep your commute to a minimum. (I overlooked the area we moved to for months, unaware it existed.) Another trick is to find local state parks and search the neighborhoods that butt up to them. These are often acreage homes. Using a real estate app to view homes for sale in an area (even if you don’t like the look of the house) will reveal if there is a Home or Property Owner’s Association, or if the land is unrestricted. If there is an association, a quick online search should allow you to view their bylaws to determine what livestock is permitted. If good schools are a must-have, look for small townships where class sizes are naturally smaller, which tends to attract quality teachers.
Tip 3: Begin to take active steps but do not rush yourself.
Go ahead and start squirreling away cash in your account for a future earnest money payment. Pick the easiest area of your home to declutter and start there, cleaning out one drawer or cabinet at a time. When you have an empty shipping box, fill it up with items to donate to charity and drop it off instead of putting the empty box out with the trash. These, and other small but wise tasks, will reduce the feeling of overwhelm when you find a house you love and want to sell your current home.
Tip 4: Create a wish list of what you want.
Is a big, sunny farmhouse kitchen one of your dreams? Would you love to have a workshop? Do you need quiet home office space with a door that closes? Want a house with existing stables or a chicken coop? Writing these down can help you remember important considerations when you’re swooning over a new listing. Such a list will also assist your realtor in finding phenomenal, tucked-away properties. If you want help, download our printable and digitally editable PDF Country House Wish List here that includes several nice-to-have and must-have items that are often overlooked.
Online research is the first step. Reddit.com can be a surprisingly useful tool, putting you directly in touch with locals who can give you advice within subreddits for the state you’re interested in. Once you have narrowed your search down to a smaller geographic area, vacation travel to that area with the intent to see as much of the land and towns as possible is a smart next step! This can feel expensive at the time, like it is cutting into down payment money, but spending $1,000 to know for sure that you’re looking in the right place can save hundreds of thousands (the entire price of the house) in regret later.
If there is a home you want to view in person, you’re going to need a realtor and proof of loan pre-approval for the price range the home falls within. With so much being done online, through apps and even through realtor YouTube channels, you won’t need a realtor until you’re serious about viewing a home to buy or ready to list your own home.
There is genuinely not a single thing we regret about moving EXCEPT THAT WE DID NOT DO IT SOONER! We moved in 2018 and I wish we would have done it in 2015. Our family has absolutely thrived in a smaller town on our one acre mini homestead. I’m surrounded by families of all different ages and stages – some with babies, some with middle schoolers and some empty nesters – who all feel the same way we do. A country move was the best decision and we all regret not doing it sooner!
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