Example of a Homestead Site

I wanted to see what I could come up with after cross referencing some of my data for homestead considerations. After some very minimal searching, I came up with something, which is encouraging. This place in Oklahoma fits a number of categories for a good homestead. Here is the map:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=E1020+and+N3710&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=N&tab=wl

The actual location is outlined in yellow here:

Here are it's assets:

1. Oklahoma is a great state for homeschooling.

2. The location is 1 hour west of Tulsa, and 1.5 hours east of OK City. So within distance to do a CSA or some selling to two large populations, yet not to close to either one.

3. The property is $2125/ac, which for arable land in the eastern half of OK is not a horrible price. And the terms seem good.

4. It has pasture, woods and a pond.

5. It is on a county highway.

6. 35-40 inches of rain a year.

7. 3 Catholic Churches within easy driving distance.


Problems:

1. Only 20 acres.

2. For someone who needs to work in a city while getting things going, the drive is too far for a commute. So this is an "all or nothing" location.

3. Not sure I like Oklahoma that much. Flat, and not enough winter. But who knows.


Anyway, that was fun. In about a half hour I came up with a place that fits a really good amount of my criteria. That gives me hope that there are probably loads of places out there just waiting for me.

"Fresh" documentary available free until Saturday, March 3rd.

"Fresh" documentary available free until Saturday, March 3rd. Joel Salatin is featured. I havent seen it yet but it looks to be good. See it here. Also highly recommended is Food, Inc. I think it can be seen full length on You Tube with a little looking.

Homestead Consideration: Homeschool Laws



Screen capture fromthe Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) website 2/28/12
http://www.hslda.org/laws/



In considering where to locate a homestead, I think a locations lack of intrusive regulations aimed at homeschooling is a key consideration. Even if you don't homeschool but use a good private school, will you always? Will your children? What if the school closes? What if you don't live close enough? If a government starts down the road of worrying about homeschoolers, you have a problem government, and chances are very good that they are overly intrusive in other areas as well.

I know in my state of Minnesota this is the case. Until recently, Minnesota was in red on the HSLDA homeschool freedom map. As parents without bachelors degrees, my wife and I were required to fill out forms each year informing the superintendent of our intent to homeschool, fill out quarterly report cards and submit them, and to do testing. There was even some insane language about home visits by state officials in the law. It was an egregious and unacceptable infringement on our rights as parents. Thankfully, those laws were recently improved so as to be more friendly to homeschoolers, but I am not fooled. Minnesota is a very liberal state, and I can easily see them taking one step forward and 2 steps back with homeschoolers.

So as far as Minnesota is considered for a future homestead, overall it fails. It has once gone down the path to the Dark Side of state over-reach, and I think it cannot be trusted. To be considered a good state for a homestead, it would need to really excel in other areas. The main thing is to have this in mind and to be deliberate. Even parents using a good Catholic school should have this one high on their list.

As far as the above map goes, I would consider the red states to be totally off limits, and most of the orange to be off limits to thoughtful homesteaders. But states do change for better or worse. Wisconsin, where I homeschooled myself through high school, was a green state a few years ago and sadly now it is yellow. And would it shock us if they went orange or red in 15 years? On the other hand I have always heard great things about Texas and Alaska, and I would be surprised if they changed from green to orange. Both states have a reputation and a tradition of having an "independent spirit". This is a key point. For some reason Big Brother still has a nostalgic forgiveness for places and groups that have roots. Texas, Alaska, and the Amish are good examples. They often get a "pass" for saying and doing things just because. The Amish in Pennsylvania (a Nazi-like Red state for homeschoolers) have almost zero regulations on their schools. If I were to move to Pennsylvania, you can bet I would get no such treatment for my homeschool. People just give the Amish a pass for whatever reason. I think getting into some of those situations or areas where that type of preferred treatment is a possibility is a very good idea. We need to seriously consider the possibility of a future in which there are national laws restricting homeschooling and how we can position ourselves like the Amish have so as to be "exempt" from the whims of Big Brother. And for that reason, a place like Texas gets extra points.

Click on the link below the map an explore particular states. It is very revealing.

UPDATE: Oklahoma seems to be pretty good. From the HSLDA website:
"Oklahoma is the only state with a constitutional provision guaranteeing the right to home school.

Section 4, Art. 13 of the Constitution of Oklahoma guarantees the home school exemption by stating that
the legislature “shall” provide for the “compulsory attendance at some public or other school, unless other means of education are provided of all children in the State who are sound in mind and body, between the ages of eight and sixteen, for at least three months each year.”

Location Considerations for a Homestead

Off the top of my head, and in no defined order as of yet, these are some things I thought of as serious considerations for where to look for an area to start a homestead. Not that I am doing any such thing next month, but gathering information is always a good idea. And hey, a guy can dream, right? So if you have any thoughts, whether new items or elaborations of current items, please comment and I will update the list!

1. Proximity to sacraments.


2. Proximity to a Catholic community that is traditional, and therefore less likely to change over time from a new priest, etc. Devin suggests: "Ideally a monastery or convent is close by that is a new evangelization/orthodox/traditional community."

3. Proximity to like minded families.

4. Close to a city large enough to support some selling of domestically produced products. (Salatin recommended within 40 miles of a city of 25,000 or more. So ideally, it would seem an area in the center of a 40 mile radius circle of 2 or more such cities on the perimeter would be perfect.)

5. Far enough away from metropolitan zones (starting at 50,000+ population) to be immune to urban sprawl. No closer than 60 miles from the center of a 0.5 Million+ metro area, perhaps adding ~10 miles for each additional 0.5 Million.

6. State or foreign country with liberal homeschooling laws that is likely to remain such.

7. State or foreign country with liberal agriculture laws that is likely to remain such.

8. Large variety of production types possible from the land.

9. Diversity of landscapes. Pasture, woods, water, hills.

10. Water --preferably rain fall that is over 35 inches annually. (From Devin)


11. A state that has a lower cost of living. Colorado and California are beautiful but everyone wants to live there, so everything is expensive. (From Devin)