New Guy in South Carolina has questions

Toffler

I started reading about peak oil 2 months ago. I have a wife and 3 children. So far I have saved 1 month of food, 1 month of gasoline and have stockpiled a few basic survival items, a .22 rifle (1000 rounds) and a .270 rifle (80 rounds) and have learned some about vegetable growing and started building earth boxes for a container garden.

Currently we rent a home for $600 dollars per month and I have $26,000 saved. This would just about pay off my debt. I have a Honda Insight and have to drive about 20 miles per day for work. 1 year ago we had nothing saved, but cut our budget to the bone.

I have an opportunity to buy a small 1300 sq foot home on 2 acres with a small pond for on $113,000 or 20 acres hardwood with an 1800 sq ft home for $249,000 or a small 2 BR home on 8 acres for $137,000. I could pay off the small home quickly and the large home would take about 15 years to pay off. Convincing my family to live in a small home is a struggle, but they are coming around after I explained the peak oil concept to them and showed them "The END OF SUBURBIA."

I am paralyed with fear. I can relocate to any state in 1.5 years. Currently I live in the foothills of western SC, low population density, good soil and adequate rain. Infrastructure is really spread out here so if gas was in short supply, travel for goods would be a major problem. I do live near a small town, Liberty SC and a grocery store, but I don't know if grocery stores will be viable in the future. There are a lot of small farms in the area.

Is this a good spot? Should I move? We have even considered joining an intentional community (boy would I hate living with all those rules and very small homes). Any suggestions?

Toffler

drew

I think you have time, but nonetheless, buy the smaller home. If the econ tanks, you'lll be thanking yourself in a big way.

I believe a nasty recession will put off p.o. for many years to come.

Drew

LadyRuby

I have to agree that either of the less expensive homes would be a better choice. The only thing you could buy for that money where I live would be a trailer home on a small plot.

Kind of hard choice between more acreage or a pond. Does the 8 acre property have a stream or anything? Probably, all else being equal, I'd go for the additional acreage. If nothing else it could be a very good investment (sometime in the future, for your kids perhaps).

Try not to worry too much, no one knows how this may play out. But if you can pay off your home that would be fantastic. I like to think of this being like the Great Depression, a lot of hard ship for a lot of people but not a total apocalypse.

Wednesday

I think drew is right. Peak Oil is not an event, its an era. Recession is now. Debt is scary.

pup55 · Expert Joined: May 26, 2004 Posts: 3811

Aaron

Continue renting until the housing bubble pops...

Then purchase what you want for dimes on the dollar.
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Cynus · Intermediate Crude Joined: Aug 13, 2004 Posts: 608

I wish I was in the situation you are. The idea of being able to choose between a small 1300 sq foot home on 2 acres with a small pond for on $113,000 or 20 acres hardwood with an 1800 sq ft home for $249,000 or a small 2 BR home on 8 acres for $137,000 is mind-boggling to me. That much acreage would cost in the millions where I am.
Relax a bit. No use ruining life for you and your family by freaking out about it. You only became peak-aware 2 months ago, you're in the panic stage. Let it settle in for another 6 months or so and you'll begin to think more clearly.

Pops

At this point I also think cash is king, how ever you decide to hold it. As mentioned above, it is really hard to tell what the future holds in regards to the economy – the big one and your own little one as well.

But I don’t think this is the time to buy RE unless you are strapped with a big new mortgage on a big house in commuterville and can sell for a big price and trade down. Of course the market may just be taking a breather; smarter people than me have been wrong before so remember that any advice you get on a message board is probably worth even less than you paid for it.

As far as what to buy when you decide the time is right depends entirely on what you want to do with the land – I think you’ll know it when you see it.

Relax a little! Trimming your spending is a good thing I think, but do it in a way you and your family can live with in the long run. Same with the other things you are doing to be more independent, changing lifestyles takes time and dedication and has little to do with where you live. Store what you eat – eat what you store, take the kids plinking and squirrel hunting when they are old enough instead of to Chucky Cheese, let them help as you learn to garden, teach them happiness doesn’t come from an ATM.

Like Wednesday said: Peak Oil is not an event, its an era.
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Make a plan and work it:

nero

(I'll put my doomer hat on for a moment)

It has been mentioned plenty of times in these fora but not in this thread that your support network of friends and family will be very important. Try to live close to the people that you can rely on (and who can rely on you) when the going gets tough. If you're living out in the country a good network of neighbours is even more critical since the government would cut their services to these places first. I have no idea how you can assess how you will fit into the neighbourhood but here are some things to consider.

1.Do you go to church, will you be going to the local church?
2. Are there alot of cottages or secondary residences in the area, leaving the number of permanent residents who you can get to know well relatively few.
3. Is the area developing an exurb like growth of new houses? What kind of neighbours will you have, will you be able to connect with your neighbours socially or will they be sticking to their country club set.
4. What is the age mix in the area. Are you going to be the only family in your age bracket for miles around? The pensioner down the road is a good resource for country knowledge but she probably won't be helping you put in a fence.
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Biofuels: The "What else we got to burn?" answer to peak oil.

PeakOiler

LadyRuby

I also like the idea of getting a bigger trailer home on a larger piece of property, but if it was on raw land, that would take a lot of permitting, installation of utilities, etc. that could take a lot of effort on your part.

I know what people are saying about waiting until the RE bubble bursts, but who knows when that will happen. Next week? Or maybe it will be like a plateua for some years. I don't blame you in wanting to get something sooner so you can start to set up your home, garden, etc. If you could really pay most of it off now, I'd be inclined to go with it although be careful at what you're buying and don't rush into buying something that's not quite right.

Running water is a good idea.

pup55 · Expert Joined: May 26, 2004 Posts: 3811

pup55 · Expert Joined: May 26, 2004 Posts: 3811

Liberty SC via Wikipedia

Here it is. For every 100 females over 18, there are only 85 males.

strider3700

I'm all for small houses but 5 people in a place only slightly larger then mine seems damn tight. You won't freeze at night with that man kids crammed in one room though Wink

I'm not sure what water is like down there so I'm not sure how much a pond is necessary. 2 bdr with 8 acres sounds pretty nice and only slightly more then my 1/2 acre with a mobile up here...
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shame on us, doomed from the start
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peaked7777 · Coal Joined: Feb 21, 2006 Posts: 1

First, I'd recommend you do nothing for a while. Acting out of abject
fear is not a good thing. Also try not to freak out your family. This
is something to be handled with a clear head. Don't try to do everything
all at once. Make sure you have a well of your own. Also if you don't
have a pump, you can buy one pretty cheaply. Just get a hand pump
you can attach to pipe and stick down your casing. Also be sure to
brush up on gardening, canning, and hunting for food. Be preparing
for a life of simple and humble means. The hardwood will come in handy
for heating your place. Something to consider... Also be sure to love
your family and enjoy them. This gets back to not freaking them out.
Make your plan a longer term one and dont try to do it overnight.
Good luck