Good thread.
Purchased 150 acres in January of this year after searching for almost a full year and a half. I must have looked at 20 different places over the course of that time in person. I inquired on hundreds. Literally hundreds. That investigative effort gave me an excellent understanding of what I wanted and what was out there. We even made an offer on a place that was not accepted which ended up being a blessing because 2 weeks later I found my current place and I knew it was the perfect fit the moment I drove up. Had no doubt in my mind.
2 hour drive from the city, fairly remote, one access point into the property via a dead-end road that runs past a neighbor. My place is surrounded on three sides by a 6000 acre ranch. The forth side is a neighbor that runs cattle.
Three large tanks on the property. The largest has bass and catfish - good fishing.
Good selection of game - deer, pigs, ducks, etc. A couple of copperheads that I've seen so far but they hauled ass as soon as they sensed me.
Half the acreage is heavy timber - the other half is nice pasture with a mixture of bermuda and rye.
From a tactical perspective, the entrance to the place is a choke point and is easily defended/blockaded.
I've got a double-wide being delivered this month that will sit right on the largest tank. We have water and power from the rural services but I'll be organizing both solar and rain-water collection systems to augment these utilities. We did investigate having a well done but the h20 experts in the area have confirmed there is no water under us so we will adapt with the secondary h20 option. (We were originally told by the agent representing the seller that there was a spring under the property that fed all the tanks...not so...make sure you do your due diligence in the purchase. So far, this has been the only "gotcha" we've suffered...)
I financed half of the purchase price. For the half I laid down, I cleared out
some of my 401k funds. The thought being that those funds really do have a defacto lien by the government for a future tax and well, I'd rather render unto Caesar what is his right now instead of waiting another 20 years and running the risk of the dollars not even existing or some exorbitant tax rate exceeding 50%?
I must admit that this has been the most calming purchase of my adult life. My stress level reduced substantially knowing that I was providing a bail-out option for my family (worst case) and opting to re-allocate funds into demonstrable hard assets even if it was just a "recreation" property in the near term (best case).
I am convinced we're in for a very rough ride over the next 5-10 years. It's gonna get much worse before it gets any better - this past election has confirmed my suspicions on many fronts.
Frank and Jefferson both said it best for me:
When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic. - Benjamin Franklin
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. - Thomas Jefferson
Egress: I highly recommend a properly researched and carefully considered land purchase to anyone who is capable and willing. It is a blast and there is nothing like owning _real_ property. This has been my experience.