I know, I know....first world problems.

We have saved some money and are debt free.

We are debating about a BOL....although she really does not know it.

I want some acreage (25-70) that will be somewhat remote, with a stream, fields and woodlands.

Reasoning is that it will be spacious, secluded, low taxes, low cost and I can hunt on it. We would put a single story home on it. It would be father away and we would not be able to use it as often. She states that she would probably get bored there whenever we go up.....hence, she won't want to go.  

She wants an existing camp on a lake. It will be much more expensive and higher taxes. It would be closer and we would get more use out of it (boating, kayaking, swimming, possible renters income and fishing etc.) It would have more people around it, and it would be a small parcel of land.

I want inland, she wants waterfront.

I do not see this a long term retreat........more for short or mid length disasters. Weeks to months. It would be used recreationally until then.

Thoughts?

What are the chances of using the lake property, you AND your wife would enjoy??

100%?

What are the chances of needing a BOL location?

10% if ever?

That's your answer, right there.

If you don't have the disposable resources -AND TIME- for a BOL, and if your wife if you intend to keep her, isn't going to enjoy it, it will become a millstone around your neck.

I have a friend who has a great BOL and his wife maybe visits a couple times a year, sorta lays around, bored out of her mind. She's a typical Sheeple and gets bored w/out the flatscreen 24/7 and Oprey and wine.



On the other hand, I picked an SO [so far] who likes projects and is constantly busy with projects and exploring on our property.



She dishposes of the dead critters, so I don't have to touch them,    fixes samwiches, etc, stays sober, and rarely complains.

nvm

Andrew Henry,

If it's a girlfriend of likely short duration, do what YOU want to do. [Assuming you have good judgment and common sense backing up your decisions]

Let her adjust or take a hike.

That's how I started training mine many years ago, with kindness.

How long will it last, so far decades, but no one can reliably predict the evolution of human relationships.


A couple indicators, I think, is if the lady is always texting, or consumes copious amts of alcohol or drugs, and doesn't have a seriousness of purpose. If so eject before you get into deep dodo.



So many men wind up primarily being used as a meal ticket, having enjoyed a couple half-assed BJ's, before the legal docs enslaved them.

Well he did say wife so I'm assuming he's planning on keeping her.

I know it's silly but you might just want to be honest why you want the camp as you want it.   Perhaps you can compromise and buy a camp within a mile of a lake but not on it but with public access on the lake.  Not the best of either options but that's how compromises generally go.  

IF she is a city girl, she won't EVER want a BOL.

Buy acreage
Rent dozer
Build 5 acre pond
???????????????
Profit

You get the rural land that you wanted. She gets the waterfront that she wanted. Stock it and you'll have a nice fishing place as well as drawing in more wildlife. Everyone wins.

As above - rural property with big pond.

Hit google and find something that will woo her.

She wants a resort getaway - you have to help her get one.  

ETA:  Would she be happy with something like one of these?  She probably needs to be able to picture you all enjoying the property, not just defending it!



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We are moving permanently to our BOL next month. It's on a lake up north. We can't be happier.

I am glad I live @ my BOL.

OP- if it were me I would try to find some type of property that is a compromise and makes both of you happy.

I would go for the larger parcel of land further removed from population. Start with a house trailer. Think about having a connex or similar container concealed and away from the "main" area to store possibles.

The moment you live there, by definition alone its no longer your bug out location.

OP, you mention recreational use. I think you'll make much better use of (and have a property easier to sell eventually)  a closer place that you and your wife can enjoy, use to relax in and have as a plan B/BOL than buying land for farming when the world ends... which is kinda unlikely to say the least.
FerFAL

I remote location doesn't necessarily make it a good bug out location. Having people around doesn't make it bad, especially in a place like you describe. What are the chances of hood rats storming the resort?



Plus it would generate income if you wanted to rent it out.



I know people that live in rural areas, it's not the utopia it's made out to be. Go to a homesteading forum and find out how much help the law gives people when locals trespass and hunt on their land. Check out the extent and outcome of neighborhood disputes in the boonies where there are no witnesses when people shoot your dog and steal your atvs, and more than one household is in cahoots.



If you think you are going to go to a rural close knit community if tshtf and be welcomed with open arms you are reading too much arfcom fiction.



I have friends that live in the NC mountains, they have a cabin on a lake, and a brother has a cabin in the mountains. They are surrounded by stable like minded people when they are there. They can enjoy their property as it is now and the cabin is rented out sometimes.



I think your wife has the better plan in this case. I used to want a small farm. Now at my age I wouldn't have the strength to work it or take care of it without being dependent on others. My new plan is to move when I retire to a smaller town and get a house that meets my criteria, a large yard so I can garden and have chickens. A safe neighborhood far from hood rats. I would like to go back to beaufort someday.  

Wise words here. That's what a lot of my rural friends have to deal with. They can't even hunt on their own land without others riding around in it, or stealing their stand. Calling the law doesn't do any good, and they even know the Sherriff. This is 800+ acres off the Ogeechee river.



They have a borrow pit business in part of it and their equipment gets stolen all the time, AND THEY ACTUALLY LIVE THERE!



I don't have the mindset or disposition to live like that. I have less trouble here in Savannah.



I have another couple as friends that live in hardeville and have a farm in claxton. They have someone living there as kind of a caretaker. They have nice neighbors in their primary home in hardeville. They don't have much trouble, not like the ones in more isolated areas.

Few of my wife's accounts are like this. They have farms with live stock etc..but have on site carekeepers....with out that you have to manage it someway.
Large tracks are nice but honestly 20 acres or less is well suited.  Trust me...if I had cash id buy few hundred acres...but I wouldn't be working...and id be living there full time.

Lake cabins etc are nice...they are get aways and income sources...and secondary homes if need be.
Going large acres trying to make the perfect bol but not having the time or resources to drop on it means wasted dollars.

That said I relocated to no where hick town ...live here full time...commute to work and it puts us where we wanna be to things we like water...hiking ...biking ...hunting ..fishing etc. With out the hussle of being three minutes from the local fagbucks or mini mall.




Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

One of my coworkers family just sold the family farm in walterboro sc. 31 acres, pond, large chicken coop, barn, house, timber that could be sold, large garden, for under 250k

I don't have 250k :(
The nice thing is it is not so out in the boonies to be isolated, plus it could generate income.

The relatives of my coworker have been "hunting" on ot even though it had been sold so there's that to deal with. Still it would have been a nice piece of property in my younger days.

These days I would be happy in a hick town. When we lived in Ala we had a huge house in town, huge garden, pecan and fruit trees, large garden, and we raised rabbits. I will look for something similar when it's time to move.

The quality of an area is more important than the percieved location. There is plenty of trash in rural areas, just check out the thread of the brother and sister having sex in GD.

I haven't counted out my cabin in the mountain yet. I'm more of a big in type of person anyway, the notion of leaving my AO to go to a less familier area would only be done in weather circumstances. I'm pretty set up where I am at for now. I hate GA though and plan to excape someday.

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That's about the page I'm on git. Our place is small just over an acre. Portion of that is wooded. In other words a buffer.
But we've got a few hundred sq feet of garden (s) ...large 16*16 ft covered chicken coop /run...fruit tree planted etc. Going on year two but its a work in progress.
Town wise...its your basic UN -incorporated county town. No police sans sheriff ...small fire /ems station...and population under that 3 k mark (seasonal due to snow birds)  median age last I checked was 48 ...
Goal is to be ready for that ""cabin in the hills " before retiring ...whole place set me back well below 60 k ....long term...that means no house payment when I'm older...and opens things up for a rental income down the road.

Dream place would sit on 3-5 acres...water source and rural area like were in now...but down here that's a 150-300k investment ......

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On the hunting thing I've run into my share of "ma granddaddy owned (hunted)  here...." types...
Its common in rural areas I'm afraid and isn't just hunting (insert ATV and 4*4 trails ...upnorth snowmobiles) ....
We joke "what's yours is mine till you post it or kick me off " ...can't see how folks act that way...just more entitlement mentality I guess..

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Buy on the water first, then use your visits there to strike out and find more land nearby.  At first this may sound like a cluster fuck but many, many people in my area have done this and we live in a very remote area to begin with but it has plenty of waterfront and millions of wilderness acres for sale.  The more time you spend in the area, the more you will determine what you really need versus what you want.  You also get to know it better.  Then eventually you may find everything you want in one location.

That is how we did it, only difference is we also moved to the waterfront location.  We made a lifestyle choice, then found jobs in an area that worked for us then found a good place to start that we all enjoy.  Buying 100 acres around the corner is so easy that we are in no rush to do it until we find exactly what we want.

You location, besides all the standard caviats, like not being near a large city, should be out of the hurricane zone- see the weather channel's worst hurricanes map- and avoid large river flood plains, mountains, etc. pick a village of normal people.

"Lakeside subdivision" or "footpath only to where you are"? The proverbial Biblical AR15 answer is obvious - Proverbs 22:3.

ETA: A BOL that is set up for two families is ideal.  A "younger" retired couple who has similar beliefs and inclinations to prep can help in one of two ways.  They can live on your place prepped for you and them and take care of the place or you can lease a spot on their place to include them attending to upkeep and security for your place.

Compromise. BOL on a lake with limited neighbors.  Don’t rent it unless you want everyone that ever rented it, their family and friends to show up when TSHTF.  Put in a sat. TV system if you are far enough out to not get cable.

Buy the acreage, and contract with a developer, major plumbing company, or local municipality to dig you a pond in exchange for the fill dirt.

Has your wife done any of the water sports at all? Or know how expensive just doing it (specially the boating)

Remember 2 things about being next to a waterfront, 2 things can and very possibly happen. 1.) the waterfront can dry up. So the amount of money you had to upfront can easily be gone. Look at Lake Mead (even though an extreme situation) because of the droughts in Cali, they keep draining Lake Mead (yes Vegas can be blamed for some of it but it does try to reuse its water as much as possible) or in the case of here in NM Elephant Butte keeps depleting or 2.) it can flood and damage property. It has happened to the best of us.

I also use my 4 hour rule. If from your location to your secondary location and it takes 4 hours or less, its worth  while to have. Why do I use the 4 hours? A typical job is 9-5 meaning a best case scenario takes you to 9 at night (bed time) wake up in the morning able to do and can typically do this on a weekend. Anything past 4 hours you need to start planning ahead possibly use vacation time but still means you will be there less and less. Now your wife said you could possibly rent it for extra income, bad idea specially if it is a lake front property and more than 4 hours away. 1.) waterfront properties seem to always attract the drunks. Drunks like to do stupid things potentially costing you more money for no reason. 2.) if its more than 4 hours away you'll need a property manager to keep on the up keep. And sadly you can get burned on it if you cannot check on your property manager regularly. My FIL owns property in Ruidoso (big tourist location in NM) He had a property manager. Manager would get paid but do none of the work. So FIL got burned and has tried the last 3 years to get it back to rentable condition (yeah that bad). 3.) and there is always the possibility that you need to bug out and there is people renting that week(end) you needed to bug out.

If your wife wants to do rentals mind as well get into buying foreclosed houses fixing them up and renting them out if your AO has a need for rental houses

If I were you find a location as you wanted and where its somewhere near the water (at least a half hour) to appease the wife but show her how expensive water sports are. BOAT stands for Bust Out Another Thousand

My vote is for the compromise with the lake house and a happy wife.  Move her to the sticks and your personal SHTF might be in the form of divorce in a few years.

Happy wife, happy life. You already know the answer.

Seems like most of the guys on here are saying compromise and go to the lake. Happy life happy wife etc. You give into what she wants.... how is that a compromise?

I'm lucky, I have a wife that LOVES our BOL. Granted its only 10 acres but she not like most women I've met. She actually enjoys splitting wood, cutting brush and planting fruit trees plus a garden..

We have a home in the city thats paid off and are planning on getting rid of the trailer thats on the land then building a house but thats in the future. Gotta take it in small bites.

We go to our BOL about two days a week plus my wife gets six weeks paid vacation so we are there quite a bit. I'm not into boating/fishing but if I were there's a large lake 20 miles from the BOL.

The two of us are happy with having a place on a dead end gravel road where we see about two cars a day and we know who's driving those cars.

If you can be happy with the lake place and your ok with not hunting your own land and giving in to what she thinks is best then more power to ya.

I'm with E hear. You're getting a high probability of enjoying a property somewhat away from the masses vs a place out in the woods. If true shtf happens your place at the lake is probably going to be far enough away from the real craziness to matter. The folks with you surrounding the lake are going to be highly motivated at controlling who enters the area.  Don't know much about where you're planning but, I'd focus on enjoying life first, that super remote place in the woods  while nice isn't going to give you orders of magnitude improvements over the crazies..

I've been prepping for 20 years and there have been 2, "this is it" events, that weren't. ....... shtf could happen tomorrow, but more likely than not,you'll die from old age.