How possible is it to subdivide parcels with friends? I have no background knowledge on this, but I am genuinely curious. Would it be possible to go in on a larger lot with 2-4 other couples or individuals, build several yurts (more flexible to permafrost shifts), perhaps have a communal building for everyone to use for kitchen and gathering, and go in together on other infrastructure such as roads, solar, and electricity connections?
I have a couple of friends (Jay and Nancy Cable) who live communally in the Goldstream Valley with a few other families. I've never asked them about the logistics of their living situation, but it seems like Alaska is the place to achieve such a thing.
Are you considering moving to Fairbanks?! I mean why Europe when you can live in the Alaskan interior! 🤓 I don't know much about communal land ownership either, but it seems like at least buying parcels next to each other and splitting the cost of the road would make sense. One of the spots I looked at was 4 parcels that would need a mile of road- maybe I should find ppl to go in on it with
Fairbanks is still part of the dream. But I admit, I've gone soft in my old age and I'm not sure I could handle dry cabin life. (I admire it immensely, though!)
I know of at least one large parcel of land in my area (SW BC) that's jointly owned by five people. I don't know exactly how they set it up, but it involves shares (so each owner has 1/5 of the shares). I'm not sure of the details but I'm sure you could draw up a legal agreement for joint ownership so everyone's protected and knows what happens if someone wants to sell their share, etc.
Thanks for taking us along for this budding adventure! When I was getting up the nerve to do something similar, I got a lot of inspiration from "Cabin Journal" by Yvonne Pepin.
Midcoast Maine is where it came together for me - the key was finding a place that has relaxed building codes. If you have a dry cabin in rural Maine, they still allow an outhouse instead of a full septic. And there are a fair number of community-minded people in the area.
Thanks for sharing, I totally relate! I've been traveling/living around the US for over a decade looking for a semi affordable place to homestead in a place that I vibe with, but haven't had much success.
I also really long to build a little cabin but don't have much in the way of building skills or know how to use a chainsaw, so it was a relief to hear that I'm not alone in this! I'm in my late 30's now and have started to feel quite discouraged that I'll make this homestead-cabin dream happen, but I'm trying to think up creative approaches like securing a long term lease on an established farm where I can build a small cabin, and taking a hands-on building workshop at a school.
I'm in Vermont and homesteading here definitely doesn't feel accessible, so I'm continuing to travel and keep my ear to the ground for a good place I can thrive.
I’m 42 and one of the things I feel most shameful about is never having used a chainsaw- I love that that’s where our priorities are, ha. And I believe in yr dream!! I mean how hard can cabin building be? Ppl do it all the time (on youtube)!
Thank you for sharing your experience with this process! Everything about it interests me. I’m 45, not a homeowner, went through years of fear, shame and grief about that and am now in some ways glad… I live just a couple miles from a major burn area in SoCal. The burned area was the area I’d hoped to be able to scrimp and squeeze myself into. I couldn’t, it turns out. Not even close. Tried looking at land with the thought of building over time but it’s been overwhelming to think about, plus at least in So Cal, I think everything is at risk of burning. On the other hand, the idea of building a small cabin is still of interest… and what I’d really love is to build a bottle house. So, if you do get your land and you’re open to the idea of a bottle house on it, I’d be so thrilled to help out.
Also, totally tangentially, I’ve enjoyed watching YTs of people in Ireland buying old historic ruins, obtaining grants from the government and then fixing them up to be habitable dwellings.
Oh and I have kind of read through A Pattern Language and really liked its structure and approach to building with community and psychological needs in mind.
I’ve also had this dream and looked at parcels near Three Forks, Montana that were subdivided sight unseen to rip off veterans of the Pacific War (similar to the subdivisions in Cheap Land Colorado), but even the price of those went up dramatically during the pandemic.
Last Friday I was walking my dog around my neighborhood in Driggs, ID and there was a For Sale sign with a QR code in front of a cabin. I scanned it and immediately regretted it. $800,000+ when Zillow says the home value was less than $200,000 in 2018. 😭
The upside is I apparently live in a million dollar home right now (broken windows and everything) and pay below market rent.
But even going back to lawyering, it’s pretty futile to try to struggle to make enough money to live in this community long term.
Wow, I hate that story so much. I'm sorry :( The lack of regulations around housing prices makes me feel lowkey homicidal. And the way so many places have changed so fast too. It's like how things must've been in this country before labor regulations, but with housing...
did you change your newsletter title to "yammerings"?! 😂 anyway, relating quite hard all the way in the san francisco bay area. saw a house in a nice patch of oakland near friends but intimidated by the amount of reno needed. pls show us the way!
I did change it! Trying to be more unserious about the newsletter I suppose. Renovation is a whole other thing! Hauling lumber on a four-wheeler into the bog to build a cabin is nothing compared to people who renovate falling down houses, oh my god.
There’s a show called “ Homestead Rescue” - this Alaskan family of Marty Rainy et al have a gig ( sponsored in some fashion ) driving to people’s flailing homesteads and helping them turn things around. One can learn a huge amount by watching and perhaps getting a sense of what to even look for in a cabin site? Just a thought and they are local between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
I wonder if you can crowd fund your own land project? Depends how much we are all willing to contribute and how many of us there are and how well off / generous we all are too. But still owning something is a big draw on the £££ to build / upkeep / heat/ get to and from….. so maybe rest easy where you are for now…. 🐕🦺🐴🐴🏡
How possible is it to subdivide parcels with friends? I have no background knowledge on this, but I am genuinely curious. Would it be possible to go in on a larger lot with 2-4 other couples or individuals, build several yurts (more flexible to permafrost shifts), perhaps have a communal building for everyone to use for kitchen and gathering, and go in together on other infrastructure such as roads, solar, and electricity connections?
I have a couple of friends (Jay and Nancy Cable) who live communally in the Goldstream Valley with a few other families. I've never asked them about the logistics of their living situation, but it seems like Alaska is the place to achieve such a thing.
Are you considering moving to Fairbanks?! I mean why Europe when you can live in the Alaskan interior! 🤓 I don't know much about communal land ownership either, but it seems like at least buying parcels next to each other and splitting the cost of the road would make sense. One of the spots I looked at was 4 parcels that would need a mile of road- maybe I should find ppl to go in on it with
Fairbanks is still part of the dream. But I admit, I've gone soft in my old age and I'm not sure I could handle dry cabin life. (I admire it immensely, though!)
I know of at least one large parcel of land in my area (SW BC) that's jointly owned by five people. I don't know exactly how they set it up, but it involves shares (so each owner has 1/5 of the shares). I'm not sure of the details but I'm sure you could draw up a legal agreement for joint ownership so everyone's protected and knows what happens if someone wants to sell their share, etc.
Thanks for taking us along for this budding adventure! When I was getting up the nerve to do something similar, I got a lot of inspiration from "Cabin Journal" by Yvonne Pepin.
Midcoast Maine is where it came together for me - the key was finding a place that has relaxed building codes. If you have a dry cabin in rural Maine, they still allow an outhouse instead of a full septic. And there are a fair number of community-minded people in the area.
Thanks for sharing, I totally relate! I've been traveling/living around the US for over a decade looking for a semi affordable place to homestead in a place that I vibe with, but haven't had much success.
I also really long to build a little cabin but don't have much in the way of building skills or know how to use a chainsaw, so it was a relief to hear that I'm not alone in this! I'm in my late 30's now and have started to feel quite discouraged that I'll make this homestead-cabin dream happen, but I'm trying to think up creative approaches like securing a long term lease on an established farm where I can build a small cabin, and taking a hands-on building workshop at a school.
I'm in Vermont and homesteading here definitely doesn't feel accessible, so I'm continuing to travel and keep my ear to the ground for a good place I can thrive.
Thanks again for sharing!
I’m 42 and one of the things I feel most shameful about is never having used a chainsaw- I love that that’s where our priorities are, ha. And I believe in yr dream!! I mean how hard can cabin building be? Ppl do it all the time (on youtube)!
Thank you for sharing your experience with this process! Everything about it interests me. I’m 45, not a homeowner, went through years of fear, shame and grief about that and am now in some ways glad… I live just a couple miles from a major burn area in SoCal. The burned area was the area I’d hoped to be able to scrimp and squeeze myself into. I couldn’t, it turns out. Not even close. Tried looking at land with the thought of building over time but it’s been overwhelming to think about, plus at least in So Cal, I think everything is at risk of burning. On the other hand, the idea of building a small cabin is still of interest… and what I’d really love is to build a bottle house. So, if you do get your land and you’re open to the idea of a bottle house on it, I’d be so thrilled to help out.
Also, totally tangentially, I’ve enjoyed watching YTs of people in Ireland buying old historic ruins, obtaining grants from the government and then fixing them up to be habitable dwellings.
Oh and I have kind of read through A Pattern Language and really liked its structure and approach to building with community and psychological needs in mind.
I’ve also had this dream and looked at parcels near Three Forks, Montana that were subdivided sight unseen to rip off veterans of the Pacific War (similar to the subdivisions in Cheap Land Colorado), but even the price of those went up dramatically during the pandemic.
Last Friday I was walking my dog around my neighborhood in Driggs, ID and there was a For Sale sign with a QR code in front of a cabin. I scanned it and immediately regretted it. $800,000+ when Zillow says the home value was less than $200,000 in 2018. 😭
The upside is I apparently live in a million dollar home right now (broken windows and everything) and pay below market rent.
But even going back to lawyering, it’s pretty futile to try to struggle to make enough money to live in this community long term.
Wow, I hate that story so much. I'm sorry :( The lack of regulations around housing prices makes me feel lowkey homicidal. And the way so many places have changed so fast too. It's like how things must've been in this country before labor regulations, but with housing...
did you change your newsletter title to "yammerings"?! 😂 anyway, relating quite hard all the way in the san francisco bay area. saw a house in a nice patch of oakland near friends but intimidated by the amount of reno needed. pls show us the way!
I did change it! Trying to be more unserious about the newsletter I suppose. Renovation is a whole other thing! Hauling lumber on a four-wheeler into the bog to build a cabin is nothing compared to people who renovate falling down houses, oh my god.
There’s a show called “ Homestead Rescue” - this Alaskan family of Marty Rainy et al have a gig ( sponsored in some fashion ) driving to people’s flailing homesteads and helping them turn things around. One can learn a huge amount by watching and perhaps getting a sense of what to even look for in a cabin site? Just a thought and they are local between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
I wonder if you can crowd fund your own land project? Depends how much we are all willing to contribute and how many of us there are and how well off / generous we all are too. But still owning something is a big draw on the £££ to build / upkeep / heat/ get to and from….. so maybe rest easy where you are for now…. 🐕🦺🐴🐴🏡
I wouldn’t feel comfortable doin that but thank you!
Have you considered joining an intentional community, land trust, land-coop, etc? http://ic.org