Like many others SurivivalBlog readers, I hope to one day move to the American Redoubt. In the summer of 2018, my wife and I took the first step: an eight-day trip to Montana and Idaho to look at properties, get a feel for the places in which we were interested, and to meet people. Our goal was not to buy a house or property this trip, but to start what may be a multi-year process that ensures that when we pull the trigger we hit our target rather than making a decision we come to regret. We also want to make sure a couple of Easterners like ourselves would be comfortable out there.
This is a report on that first trip, along with observations and lessons learned. Some of this may be obvious, but we hope it will help someone planning a similar trip next year.
Some Background
I’ve been a survivalist since my daughter was born some 23 years ago. We’ve been in a multi-family prepper group, we have a retreat in the mountains several hours away, and we have a good supply of beans, bullets and band aids. My wife is an avid gardener and very well organized. We’ve checked most of the prepper boxes, but while we live beyond the sidewalks on a couple of fenced acres with a well and septic, we’ve never lived on our retreat. Having the kids out of house and getting close to a potential early retirement presents an opportunity to address that.
When evaluating property, our objectives were as follows:
- Privacy – we wanted at least 10 acres with no neighbors in our faces. A neighbor down the road is fine. A neighbor out the side window is a non-starter. Less acreage would be OK if we abutted federal or state land. The properties we looked at were from five to 27 acres.
- Remote – We don’t want to be too near town and we don’t want to be on an Interstate or primary road. How far from town is “far enough” depends on how big the town is. We were shocked and the size and commercialism of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and would not want to live within 30+ miles of it. Whitefish, Montana, on the other hand, was not only smaller but quieter and far less built up; we would be comfortable being closer to it. We were also fine with long dirt driveways and needing to do our own snowplowing, but we didn’t want property that offered only snow machine access during the winter. We’re comfortable being 30 or 45 minutes away from the nearest grocery store, but would prefer not to be more than 90 minutes from civilization.
- Not too Flat – We aren’t horse people and we don’t want to farm or raise hay. Yes, we want a garden and some space for small livestock, but we don’t need 20 acres of pasture. We found out on this trip that we don’t want straight steep mountainside either! I also want a hill or berm I can safely use as an on-site firing range.
- Prepping Infrastructure – Our minimum requirement was a wood stove or a good fireplace insert, storage space, and a generator hook up (most rural homes where we looked are equipped with the latter). We were fine with solar and off grid, but it was not a requirement as we can add that later. We also considered outbuildings a big plus. Luckily, outbuildings are common in Idaho and Montana, and all but one property we saw had them. We also didn’t seek out a property with a bunker, but we would not turn one down.
- A Nice Master Bath and Kitchen – This falls under the “happy wife, happy life” heading. During our trip, I observed that a kitchen that was well laid out and usable was more important to her than a poorly designed kitchen with new, top of the line appliances. So we’re talking functional, but not ugly is certainly a plus. A propane stove is preferred over electric.
- Budget – We were comfortable spending $300,000 to $500,000. I don’t think we saw anything in person that was under $400,000.
Planning
We booked our flights and reservations about eight months ahead of our trip, staying mostly in bed and breakfasts. We concentrated on three areas that our preliminary research lead us to believe met our criteria: Missoula, Montana, and the area North and West along 93; Whitefish/Kalispell, Montana; and the panhandle of Idaho, specifically between Athol and Bonners Ferry, although we went as far east as Clark Fork. Yes, we skipped huge chunks of both states, but you can only do so much in a week and we wanted to be able to drive from place to place in a reasonable timeframe. For example, when driving from Whitefish to Idaho, we went through Troy, Montana, which is a location where several nice houses have appeared on SurvivalRealty over the years, so we were able to check it out. We also stopped at a property in Naples, Idaho, which is north of Sandpoint.
I have been visiting SurvivalRealty.com weekly since the site was launched. As we got six weeks out from our trip, I started looking at other sites as well, including Black Rifle Realty. I reached out to realtors that had property we wanted to see. I also ended up creating account on realtor.com and was able to save properties there so we could access them on an iPad or phone as we drove around. This proved to be a useful feature. You can also set up multiple criteria and then and save searches for particular geographic areas.
Summer is prime buying time and a number of listings we wanted to see had been placed under contract by the time we got there. Our realtor in Idaho told us that Californians looking to escape sell their houses for big profits and then make cash offers on properties in Idaho. I wish that I could do that!
Speaking of Realtors, let me call out Theresa Mondale with the Western Montana Group of United Country Realty, who we initially contacted through SurvivalRealty.com. Theresa was the best realtor we dealt with – well prepared, knowledgeable, and experienced. (Plus, she and my wife hit it off, which is never a bad thing.) When we go back, we expect to be working with her again.
By the end of our trip, we were leaning towards Western Montana more than Idaho. We liked Sandpoint and spent some quality time on Lake Pend Orielle, but we felt more at home in Montana.
Key Take Aways
Here are a few lessons learned:
Nothing beats a site visit. Take everything you see in an online real estate listing with a grain of salt. Realtors go out of their way to show a property off to its best advantage, and you can’t really blame them – that’s their job. But with some property listings having up to 80 photos online, if they don’t show you the shower in the master bedroom, then you can safely assume it is small, ugly, or something is wrong with it.
Google Earth is better than nothing, but boots on the ground beats an eye in the sky. For example, one house we saw had 10 acres of land. However, eight of the 10 were so steep it would be useless unless you were grazing mountain goats. It took an in-person visit to see that. We also saw properties that had swaths of dead trees from bark beetles. On the plus side, one property had radiant floor heating, and the listing made no mention of it.
No zoning can mean surprises. We saw lots of decks and a stair or two without railings because they were not required by code. I’m comfortable with heights, but I still want a sturdy railing on my deck, just for safety’s sake. We also saw wood stoves that were installed pretty close to walls and had no stone or metal protecting the flammable material, which made me wince. A number of structures were just weird – designed by someone who clearly had no design experience and didn’t really think about resale when they stuck on that extra room. No zoning can also mean your neighbors can have a junk yard or a business, so scope this out before you buy, if that would bother you. While looking online, there were a number of properties where the commercial business run out of the shop was larger than the house behind it. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it wasn’t what we were looking for.
Take notes. Discuss the pluses and minuses of each property right away and take notes. This will be helpful when you’ve seen four in one day and are trying to keep them straight a day or two later. It also helps the realtor to hone in on your thinking.
Don’t be afraid to walk away. If you pull up to a property and see an immediate deal breaker, just keep going. No need to waste time going inside if you already know it’s off the list. Same thing online. You may see something that seems perfect, but then you look at Google Earth and it’s on a four-lane highway. If that’s a deal breaker, save yourself the time and trouble and cross it off the list.
Our trip was also helpful in recognizing differences between the southeast and northwest, including culture, weather and geology. We were very comfortable in both Idaho and Montana and met many friendly folks, often in the booth across from us at a restaurant. I’d have to say that we met at least as many transplants as we did natives. The most noticeable differences were regional differences in menus, the much greater emphasis on fishing and hunting than anywhere I have lived, and the lack of humidity in the air. The forests themselves are also different: Eastern forests have much more undergrowth and shorter site lines than the ones we visited in Montana and Idaho, and far more deciduous trees. I don’t think I saw a single oak tree our entire trip.
We figure we have a few more trips ahead of us and may also look at Maine and the mountain along the Tennessee/North Carolina border.
While looking for property in Tennessee, I walked all 36 properties I looked at. One that I looked at had a large barn but the path to it was overgrown with 4-5 ft high brush. My realtor refused to walk through it, but I did my recon anyway. I got to the barn, and as I walked around the first 2 corners I ran out of barn. The rear wall and one side wall had been destroyed by weather or thieves and 2/4ths were completely gone. So the big barn was only a lean too. Boots on the ground is a must.
I am adding to my original comment. The place I did buy (#16 on my research list, which is the national average buy according to realtors) was 45 miles from Nashville International Airport, 55 miles from downtown, 70 miles from the richest county in the state, and 8 miles from the Kentucky border. That was 1999. I had 5 houses within a 2-mile area. 2019: We have about 50 new homes in a 5-mile radius, and right behind my property line are orange stakes marked off for 150 new homes to be built. The city has surrounded my 10 acres. We have phone, cable, internet, and city water. Internet & City water are all new to the area. If you want to build a dog house, you are supposed to pay the county a fee for permission. The county “mayor” is paid $96,000 a year. Taxes are low, but that is changing fast with a 24% increase 3 years ago, and the desire for another 24% property tax increase again next year (48% in 8 years property tax increase). Thankful that Tennessee has passed a ZERO income tax amendment to the State Constitution. Sales tax is 9.5% on merchandise, including a new car ($50,000 car = $5000 just to put plates on it, then $75/year).
I think we share the same area. Lots of new Korean Factories and a large flock of one hundred and one screaming birds flying about?
Actually, Tennessee’s tax rate falls to 6% after the first $1600. Tag Renewal base is $29 and is higher based upon the county add-ons. Sales tax is also based upon the county add-ons. My county+state is 9.25%
Being familiar with West Virginia living there in the 1990’s, and now with the Google maps, aerial views, I do see areas in the Eastern counties – NOT the Panhandle, but close to the mountains, and away from the major interstates where bugging out would be doable. There are small towns, good folks, 4 seasons, hilly, but enough flatter land to grow crops, have grazing animals, and it is a real Hunting Culture! Satellite maps at night show dark areas and that is much of West Virginia. The mountains adjoining Virginia are NOT the Rockies, but they are steep, many creeks (flooding is a problem in WV UNLESS you put your house/barns UP away from that TINY creek which can become a problem with wet season topped off by 3 or more inches of rain). But, then a prepper would not need to run out to the grocery store, or buy more gasoline, etc. Sometimes property has another way OUT to a rural road (I lived on such a place high on a hill). Property is relatively inexpensive and property taxes are SMALL. I left my 32 hilly acres, a restored 10 room historic home, in 2001 and the taxes were $450 a YEAR! http://www.landandfarm.com is national and has all kinds of properties and filters to select what you might want. The folks are welcoming, mostly descended from Scot/Irish, with some Germans. Property crime is up, and there is opiod use, the war on the coal industry has eliminated many good paying jobs, BUT most of these folks know how to survive. The old ways, the Granny ways, still reside in their minds and hearts. They were very welcoming to this Connecticut Yankee, former farm girl, who wanted OUT of so-called civilization, high tax turning BLUE State. I suspect that in a serious economic collapse, most Americans – OUT OF SHAPE – would not be able to walk the many miles to get to these small towns, and country homes. Those that did would most likely find Ma & Pa Kettle and the “young-uns” armed and dangerous, but generous IF one approached in a non-threatening way.
Great article! The points you raise are applicable not only to retreat properties but to everyday home buying as well. I wish you well in your search.
A word about Eastern Tennessee:
I lived and worked in that area for over 10 years. I also built a retreat near the Cumberland Plateau region. In 2015, I wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper voicing my concern over the production of tritium gas for use in nuclear weapons at the nearby Watts Bar nuclear plant. As an outspoken critic of the Tennessee Valley Authority (arguably, one of the largest government welfare programs ever created), I wasn’t surprised when my letter wasn’t published, but I was surprised by a visit from a “representative” of the Department of Homeland Security.
Once I explained my concern over the potential environmental issues (leakage into the Tennessee River), legal issues (production of material for nuclear weapons is prohibited in a commercial reactor by international treaties and could possibly make it a target in a nuclear exchange), he determined that I was merely a “concerned citizen”. Before he left, he did offer the following opinion: “If we ever have a nuclear war, by the time they finish with Fort Campbell, Oakridge, and Alcoa, everything east of 27 (State Route 27) will glow in the dark anyway.”
If that’s of no concern to you, Eastern Tennessee is one of the most beautiful, friendly, and low-cost places to live in the country.
Great article and helpful comments too . I’m looking and getting anxious to get out of my central Ohio homestead . When I started building this place 40 years ago I never dreamed it would be so populated and troublesome . While trimming the fence a couple weeks ago someone [liberal] driving by called the sheriff and he started cruising by staring at my .45 tucked in my back . Pigs got into the neighbors manicured lawn and I had to buy him some new grass . It is nothing more than a good investment now and I can’t wait to get me some true wilderness once again . West By G-d or Tennessee parts of the Appalachian Redoubt is my next homestead probably . At least the liberal horde that moved in caused my property values to escalate but they also vote for every new tax you can dream up .
One key factor is a point driven home to us after living in MT and WY for 30 years. Water.
Both the abundance and water quality are critical.
Some folks don’t mind water with softening chemicals added to it, or water treatment/reverse osmosis/other of their household water. Having tried it, we don’t like those methods.
We had a beautiful 10 acres and homestead in WY with flowing artesian well, a creek, and pond. But the well was so full of mineral we had to distill the water for consumption and it wouldn’t grow good garden produce.
In other areas, arsenic is found in well water at levels which may or may not be dangerous.
Friends in Wyoming had methane gas in their water at dangerous levels.
If you want to have livestock water and grow anything, I suggest one criteria of the on line search would be to have your realtor send you a water test of any drinking water source on the property. Before you look at the property
Another good resource is to have your realtor send you the well and pumping test information for that property and immediately adjacent properties. Before you go to the property.
A good realtor will explain any water rights of a property to you, under that state law, any specific area limitations (we bought in one of those ‘special rule’ areas), and most important she’ll get you detailed information on the specific irrigation district you would be in… both the official rules and what people are actually doing. The dichotomy can be eyebrow-raising.
I very carefully screen and release realtors from representing me. I do the release by actually notifying them in writing emails that they do not represent me, and tell them who does. Many realtors won’t put in the effort to get you detailed water information.
Best wishes on all property searches.
As a retired motorhome traveler I find that water quality varies a lot. The minerals will make it unpalatable and really ruins the taste of coffee. So with some doubt I tried the zero water filter and was surprised to discover it really works. The minerals are gone. We only use it for water we consume as in drinking it, ice cubes, cooking of foods that absorb the water (like rice). So the filters last a long time. I bought the cheapest table top model for $20 something and the filters in Walmart are pretty cheap. Not to be mistaken for a filter capable of filtering out bacteria or viruses.
We were interested in the same area of Idaho and Montana as you. Since we were living 2,000 miles away we decided to move and rent in town for a year. Looking at properties was so easy with all being within a few hour drive. Meanwhile we were close to facilities to get new vehicle registrations, driver licenses, concealed carry permits etc. Property searching while being fun, became literally a part-time job. It actually took almost two years to find what we wanted. It was a private sale through a friend at church. The property met every criteria including budget. My point: I’m so glad we chose to rent before buying.
Lastly, we lived in Maine 21 years. Great people. Dreadful politics.
Thanks for sharing. Boots on the ground beats eyes in the sky, very true. Couple of suggestions on locations: Take the time to drive from Missoula to Salmon ID. Second I know that Washington is not on the “list”, but if you were to look at Ferry county and Pend Oreille county, you may find what you are looking for and people who agree with you. Again, appreciate you sharing.
I moved to eastern Washington 33 years ago while in the Air Force. Then It was paradise: low cost of living (gone), cheap housing (gone), Great schools (now hit and miss), very low crime rate (began rising 10 years ago, conservative politicians (liberals now control Spokane), taxes continue to go up even when residents vote them down) etc, etc.. I am moving to Idaho as soon as I can find the property I want. Good luck.
Great article, thanks for the time in writing. Another research tool that some counties have is a property search feature with aerial photos. It certainly does not replace onsite visits, but it can tell you who your neighbors are, and thus your ability to do some detective work on your own.
As another person wrote, there are several great locations and people in various states, but the politics are terrible. That truth is unfortunately spreading to all states.
When moving to a new place it’s important to know what kind of lifestyle you’re looking to live. Many people who move here to N.W. Montana seem to want to replicate what they’ve already been living. So when they move into their new place they suddenly want to change the living styles of those around them . This doesn’t set well with their new neighbors. I totally agree that you need to walk the area. Check out the water situation. Is the well deep or is there a lot of water run off in the spring. Check to see how much snow there usually is and how cold it gets in the winter. Also plan to be able to plow yourself out in the winters. If you’re older consider if your wife can handle living there if something were to happen to you. It takes a lot of work to set up a homestead so consider your priorities , time , energy , physical abilities and finances.
tru dat-hard water all over western Idaho and eastern Oregon, you will need to install at minimum a mang-ox water filter about $2500, and possibly a water softener as well for an additional $2000, plus you will need power to run it. Look for red streaks in the sinks and toilets. In Idaho there are 4 seasons, fishing season, hunting season, football season and gardening season, and most small businesses are run on the “Maybe I’ll come out next week, maybe not and maybe I just won’t ever get back to you” lines so you have to have a lot of patience or be able to do plumbing, electrical and construction yourself.
Yup to all.
For a water filter for that hard water, it doesn’t have to be $2,500. We were able to buy a Filox-based water filter on Amazon for only around $700. It removes iron, manganese and sulfur, takes away the rotten egg smell…works great!
Wow, this article sounds like a ‘future itinerary’ of what my wife and I are planning later this year. I almost moved my family to Idaho 25 years ago, but stayed in SoCal due to my job (which I’m very blessed to have). But the wife is finally open to the idea of leaving CA due to the decreasing quality of life here, plus the fact that most of our friends and family have already gone themselves (to other areas of the U.S.).
We’ll be taking two weeks for a similar “boots on the ground” drive through Idaho, northern Utah, and perhaps Montana. I would love 10 acres of rural acreage, but Mrs. Guesterson wants to be within a reasonable drive of the niceties we’re accustomed to in SoCal (a gym, restaurants, city parks, perhaps a shopping mall?). I have a feeling we’ll find a good compromise and settle on something several miles outside the city limits of Boise/Meridian or somesuch, though a personal drive-through will help with the decision tremendously.
Also, talk to the locals. I live in one of the best areas of SoCal (not wealthiest, but best standard of living overall), but the quality of neighborhoods vary wildly only a few miles from each other. You could drive through the nicest one and get an excellent assessment of it, thinking you’d get the same thing if you went home and remotely (online) chose a property five miles away. But that would be in a neighborhood locally known as the “armpit of the valley” with very undesirable people who treat their homes like trash. Only a conversation with a local would let you know this.
Best of luck to you moving to that area of Idaho. Depending on your budget the $250,000 to $400,000 range moves very quickly. Friends have been looking online, taking trips to the area and have returned very discouraged. Bidding wars, people paying cash with no contingencies are the norm. You might have to move out further for your ten acres. We had ten, bought adjoining ten and will be looking for two to five acres in the next 10 years with less upkeep but still out in the country. Maybe we can pick something up with the next crash (like 2008). Took us many trips and four years to find our place. Be open-minded, tenacious but don’t compromise too much our you might end up hating the place.
Agreed. We’re expecting we’ll end up outside of Ada County, and will rent for a year or two to allow for time to hunt/wait for the right property.
Thanks for the advice.
My husband and I are in the same position as you – trying to find a redoubt-area home while living out of state. Your criteria are very similar to ours too! Over the last year, we have been working with a guy in Sandpoint who has scouted almost a dozen properties for us. It has been SO helpful having someone up there who can visit the site and let us know the pros and cons, tell us any “surprises” that weren’t in the listing, and be the “boots on the ground” for us. He has saved us so much time and money! In fact, last month we made the mistake of making an offer on a house sight unseen and completely regretted it. The photos made the house look perfect, but they didn’t show all of the neglect and poor maintenance. We went up there to see it once we had it under contract and were very disappointed – time and money lost. I highly recommend him – Redoubt Scout, 208-254-0558 or info@redoubtscout.com. We’re hoping to close on our dream house next month!
Having relocated to the redoubt (just south of the 45th. parallel and west to where the Snake river separates the states), some 8 years ago we found everything we could have dreamed of for a new lifestyle. I would concur with Wheatley Fisher that out west here, water is at the top of the list when searching out property securing a comprehensive water analysis report too, not one that you get from the local soft water shop but one from an analytical laboratory.
There are both good and bad aspects to the point on zoning; on the + side, a person has the freedom to construct whatever type of structure he sees fit without interference from any type of bureaucrat and if you don’t like the treasures that your neighbor finds of importance to him, don’t buy there because i highly doubt he would change their collection for new folks in town!
Another observation i have had, having been here a few years now is folks are self reliant out here if you can’t build it yourself, repair it yourself, weld it, fix it,whatever you could be in for quite a challenge ESP. if some of the first words said are “that’s not the way we did it where we came from”
Finding the perfect location, well there are trade offs to everything in this life but it’s what you can be content with that matters.
I like this article as it’s something I can relate directly too. We explored north Montana two summers ago and North Idaho last summer. For us, Northern Idaho was our pick with the Athol/Spirit Lake area being our favorites. We still want to be somewhat near the city at this point and for us it was a good mix. Having a good realtor does help, the one we had in North Idaho was fantastic and sent us all over the area to the exact type of places we said we wanted. We had said it was a scouting trip and not official yet. This Monday I asked my company if I can work full time remote and am now waiting for that answer, if it’s yes, then we will be headed that way and will rent for a little while till we find the specific place we want.
My 2 cents… I have lived in both Idaho and Montana.
I would highly recommend relocating but not buying anything right away. Rent for the first year, ideally 2 years. Put your stuff in storage. The only way to truly know an area is to live in it. Interact with the locals. Talk with people. Observe. Listen to the local radio stations, local news, read local papers. You will find out things you could never learn by visiting as a tourist for a couple days.
Be prepared for the “outsider” syndrome… there are places where the people consider you an outsider if your great grandfather didn’t come in a covered wagon… you could live there 30 years and still be considered a “new comer.” In some places there is an understandable resentment toward new comers (especially Californians)… they drive up real estate prices and come in and try to change things. Sometimes the resentment can be pretty apparent.
Be aware that Idaho has many different climates and a variety of topography. The north end is more like Montana. South of I-84 can be like desert. Craters of the Moon is volcanic. The eastern part of the state is more like Yellowstone. Large areas in the middle are sparsely populated… although you have Sun Valley which was historically a Ski/snow attraction to the rich and famous. There is even a wine growing region south of Boise. Your decision will primarily be based on whether you are retired or need to work. If you need to find work, be aware that rural areas are not going to have many jobs, and the locals will always have an advantage in getting them.
When you look around Tennessee/North Carolina, you might want to work with John Haynes of retreatrealty.net I worked with him when I bought property in Western North Carolina.
For those of you looking for property……… II have no connection with the owner other than reading one of the blog websites I frequent; the owners are selling their North Idaho property. http://www.rural-revolution.com/2019/04/huge-news.html
“Here are some of the amenities the property offers:
20 acres, fenced and cross-fenced (roughly two four-acre pastures on one side of house, seven acres in partial woods on the other side of the house, a half-acre wheat pasture, about an acre fenced garden area, three acres around house/barns/driveway)
3600 square-foot home (not counting an inside loft of another 300 sq. ft.)
Four bedrooms, two baths (additional bedrooms could be created from existing spaces currently used as offices)
On-demand hot water heater
Propane appliances (range, washing machine, dryer); electric fridge
30 gpm well, 610 ft. deep (static level 450 ft.); brand-new 5-gpm well pump installed June 2017
Wood and propane heat
Beautiful new Baker’s Choice wood cookstove installed December 2015
500-gallon propane tank
Large fenced yard for dogs
36×48 ft. barn with attached livestock awning, feed boxes, and 45×45 fenced feet lot
22×55 ft. bull pen with two-pen shed and feed boxes (attached to barn)
Three-bay machine shed with gravel floor
Three animal pens attached to machine shed with gravel floor
32×70 fenced corral adjacent to animal pens
25×30 ft. shop with concrete floor and double exterior doors attached to machine shed
10×25 ft. insulated shop room with concrete floors and heater attached to machine shed
Two-room chicken coop (10×20 ft.) with adjacent 6×10 ft. shed
Hugely productive quarter-acre tire garden
Mature pear trees
Young 1/10-acre orchard (4 peaches, 4 apples, 4 hazelnuts, 2 plums)
50×50 pond, 14 feet at deepest end, adjacent to garden
Garden, orchard, pond (7/10 acre total) surrounded by eight-foot deer fence
Terrific neighbors, with an automatic invitation to our legendary neighborhood potlucks
Off-road privacy, 1.3 miles down private road
One hour from both Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and Spokane, Washington
We ask for serious inquiries only (no realtors). When the time comes to put our homestead on the market, we’ll have a dedicated website available with loads of photos.”
Don’t discount Northwest Wyoming, in my many years of searching for a mountain location I too loved all of the above named towns in North Idaho and Northwest Montana, and even though I won’t disclose my location, I ended up in Northwest Wyoming and I love it here. I moved here about 10 years ago and have never regretted it for a minute. It kind of surprises me that I never hear Lander Wy mentioned when people are looking for a really nice small town to investigate for a move to location. Even though I don’t live there it has everything a person could ask for if interested in a small town in the Redoubt, that isn’t being over run by out of state immigrants.. Trekker Out
Thank you all for your feedback, suggestions and comments. I much appreciate the advice!
I left Massachusetts years ago for Maine. I lived (well, the wife lived) in southern Maine while I was doing my Navy time. We noticed immediately the numbers of Mass. residents that moved up because the laws, taxation, etc. was getting so bad in Mass. Then these same people, of course, get involved in local politics and vote for everything they just ran away from. The lower two counties of Maine are now northern Mass. in all but name.
Toward the end of my career, we moved to central Maine and it’s far more to our liking. Less intrusive codes and laws and far fewer HOAs make it a much more pleasant lifestyle. We are still looking for an even more rural location in one of the towns with 200 or so population where most are small to medium level farmers (by the Maine scale, not Kansas). Forty acres+ is my goal because land can be had for less than $5-600 per acre in some of those areas. Hopefully, by the end of this year we will begin actually going to look at the availables.
Good luck and God bless to all in the same boat.
Just FYI from someone who has lived all over the inland NW. Whitefish, Missoula, CdA and Sandpoint are all considered a joke by real locals. They are overrun with hipsters, yuppies and liberals. Missoula is also known as Ho Chi Minh city. Look outside of the yuppie centers. You will find better people to live near. Beware if you live in or near national forest or BLM managed property. They are mismanaged and you WILL have forest/range fires nearby. The air quality in WA, ID, MT sucks in the summer.
This thread is why I have been reading as many blogs as possible-so thank you Pickled Prepper. We will be following your tracks for two weeks this summer in conjunction with a ham radio class near Missoula. Thank you for sharing, and please keep us all posted on your journey.
Nice article. We held the same contempt you all had. You’re on the right track. We settled in Yellowstone. Love it there.
We do not support women in any role outside the home. Your realestate agent might be the best, but how many lawsuits, divorces, abortions, male terminations, and male incarcerations had to happen to get women into her role????? Stats show 75% of working women vote DEMOCRAT due to feeling like a victim in the workplace. Women were not victims in the home and were strong which made America great.
My wife and I have a ministry to bring women out of the workforce and into the family.
If a person loves liberal policies and lots of liberal do gooders, then Nissoula is the place. I used to live in Missoula and except for a few salt of the earth conservatives, the town is overrun by liberal Kommiefornia transplants. I would never live there again. The one thing the place has going for it is the beautiful scenery. But heck, Montana is full of places with beautiful scenery.