Remote retirement or residential home areas how do you choose your areas to reside

Look at Nevada do you believe you could truly “own” most of this land no matter what you paid for the land.

No one seeking "free" land to reside

Thanks, you got me interested in this subject again.

I used to have books about buying land but couldn't keep everything and didn't think I would use them for a decade at least at the time.

Things have changed a lot as far as building codes, zoning, water rights, etc. since I was a teenager reading the Mother Earth News. At least, it seems that way.

Within the next five years my plan is to be self employed with a business that I could take with me if I moved. So it's interesting to think what the options might be - and better to think of all the options in advance instead of having to rush a decision about moving if it comes to that.

We have our free and clear title to our small ranch that we will build our retirement home on soon.There are no covenants or other BS associated with the property it is ours free and clear do hope others do their homework.

Think ancient native,where freshwater rivers are but inland.only safe place left.strategize for close to walmart and hospital with low amounts of obstruction points to access to the above.river for water,food,mobility.

Look for land without covenants. Other than actually owning the land, you should have a good source of water. In the west, water is very important. Having a river on your property doesn't necessarily mean you have a good source of water. The water rights to every drop of surface water have been litigated for over a hundred and fifty years. Natural springs are worth more than gold.

highland and bath county va. good land lots of rivers and lowest ppopulation density east of the mississippi river. no mining or fracking.

My lovely clear spring is quite toxic. Have your water tested as well.

Well, that bites.
Is it anything that can be filtered out or treated? What's it got in it?

I'm still trying to understand your original premise. Are you saying "Don't buy near Federal lands" or "Don't buy Federal land"? Your first sentence is kind of vaguely worded.

I recently bought a property in northern Idaho that is near hundreds of square miles of Federal and State wilderness, but I own the house and land outright. Are you saying this is unwise?

Can you be more detailed about what the problem is or could be?

I am surrounded by mountains, timber, wildlife, rivers and streams, and self sufficient neighbors, 12 minutes from hospital, six minutes from supermarket. I looked for four years for just the right spot. So I am very interested in what you have to say; I just can't figure out what your warning is.

Also, keep in mind that modern farming operations use a lot of toxic chemicals. If you are going use natural spring water, get it at the source, before it gets contaminated. The only problem with my spring water is the cows keeping it muddy all summer. I can't see the bottom of the stream until the cows are moved out, in the fall.

You can't buy federal land, you lease it, usually for 99 years. Buying next to federal land is a great idea, you wont have close neighbors. Most federal lands are reserved for nature and no building is allowed.

We live on an Indian reservation. But white people buy houses and live here all the time. One thing I don't like though, the Indians tell you when you can burn and you need to get a burn permit from them. We can only burn certain times of the year.

Distilling water is a Gotta Do. The benzines, chlorazines, lead content, and bombardment by Nuclear waste is inexorable, not to mention the one thousand and 1 other ZINES leaching into the above, and underground water sources.

I wouldn't buy mine further than 20 miles from a hospital when I was looking

Nice to see this pinned, it's a subject on a lot of people's minds.

nice thread

I have 40 acer;s near Terlingua, TX

Beautiful and no neighbors ... lol Totally OFF-Grid

Free & Clear? Do you pay property taxes yearly?

I would ideally like to live out in the country close enough to a town with medical facilities, but not too close. Definitely I would be off grid.

Make a mining claim on BLM land.. Do your $300 a year in improvements and it yours until you quit claim..

Arkansas Ozarks have a lot of natural springs

Great thread. My husband and I discuss this often.

OP, which state did you decide on, if you don't mind sharing?

Sounds very interesting.

Titles to lands out west come with less rights than those in the east. In the east we generally own to the center of the earth and up into the sky. So that means we can drill a well. Out west, you have to check everything. You have the right to look at the land and put up a small structure, maybe no more than that.

I am not OP ... but I am thinking of Puerto Rico once the bankruptcy gets cleared up and it starts being gentrified and rebuilt.

Wyoming.

What a hardship.

If you like the idea of being surrounded by lazy, entitled, talentless brown losers who can't speak English and hate you for being better than they will ever be, consider Detroit, or San Antonio.

Detroit's fucking freezing.

San Antonio is hot as fucking hell.

The people don't matter. I never interact with them anyway.

In fact 'bordering on national park' is a selling point in this area

As mentioned before, check the water and mineral rights.