In the previous issues, we explored intentional rural communities, and we looked at ways to finance your independent homestead. Now, we'll take a look at where you want to homestead. Do you want to give it a go out West? Maybe the mists of Appalachia beckon you. Or maybe, just maybe, you have it in your head that you'll begin your homesteading adventure wherever the land is cheapest and there's plenty of it.

I hate to be the one that breaks it to you, Greenhorn, but the days of cheap and abundant land are tucked away in the corners of the past. The Homestead Act of 1862, which provided U.S. citizens with as much as 160 acres of land as long as they agreed to live on it for five years, was repealed in 1976. These days, a 160-acre parcel anywhere in the U.S. comes with a hefty price tag. Even the most barren, neglected parcels are expensive.

Inn Serendipity is a highly sustainable bed-and-breakfast nestled on 5-1/2 acres in southern Wisconsin.

You'll soon discover that the quality of the land you buy is far more important to your homesteading success than the quantity. You'll also discover that the location you choose will play an integral part in your homesteading experience.

Over the years, Countryside has received countless letters from readers eager to share their homesteading successes, and failures. Most of the defeated made the same mistakes: they bought land in the wrong location; and they bought more land than their budgets and experience could support, mistakenly believing that to be a proper homesteader, you have to have a couple hundred acres and a mule if you can find one. Often they moved far away from their family and friends, only to find themselves in a community that wasn't the right fit for them.

Skipping down the yellow brick road didn't make them homesteaders; it just disillusioned them. So, let's pull back the curtain on the Wizard and expose a couple of myths: 1. You need a lot of land in the country to be self-sufficient, and 2. Rural communities are the friendliest places on Earth.

Discovering Serendipity

Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko, authors of Rural Renaissance, started their search for self-reliance 12 years ago. Today, they live a highly sustainable lifestyle in Green County, Wisconsin, on five and a half acres. The old farmhouse has been remodeled into a welcoming bed-and-breakfast, Inn Serendipity. The couple and their friends remodeled the granary, turning it into a solar-powered, year-round greenhouse. The inn itself is fitted with PV panels to supplement power from the grid.

Their homesteading dream began like everyone else's: with a steep learning curve. One of the first things the couple learned is that not all property is created or priced equally. "We looked at a range of places and found that things vary a lot. When we were looking for land we learned quickly that landscape is the one thing that really can't be changed in a real estate transaction. You can change a house; you can put on an addition; you can build a house, but the actual lay of the land is pretty intrinsic. You can plant trees, and we've been doing that, but in general what you see in the landscape is what one will live with."

"There was a lot of learning along the way," says Lisa. "As far as types of property, what we really wanted, what we could afford and all those other real estate factors, the only things we had in mind were the general area, Green County, Wisconsin. And we knew we wanted to buy existing property. We did not want to build. We wanted to find an old farmstead that needed a new generation, some revitalization. We also knew that we did not want a major fixer-upper. We didn't have the resources or the expertise for that kind of undertaking."

Lisa advises those looking for rural land to be flexible. "Sure we have wide-open spaces, but we're in the middle of thousands of acres of conventional agriculture. It's much more chemical intensive agriculture than we would choose to be around. We're adding buffers to our property to alleviate some of those concerns.

"You have to take some time and ask yourself what it is about the land that does or doesn't draw you in. Through this process we learned to broaden our expectations of what a perfect piece of property is. The odds are you probably won't find everything in the price range you're looking at. It's like Murphy's Law of real estate. That said, if you give yourself some time to look, I think you can meet about 80% of your expectations. Sure, we would have liked to have more land, and more wooded acreage, but we were drawn to the old farmhouse and the general lay of the land. We realized that this was the right place at the right time."

What they did right

After looking at numerous properties, John and Lisa settled on this piece of land in southern Wisconsin, not far from the Illinois border. The climate here is similar to the Chicago climate they were accustomed to. They have added numerous updates to their homestead, including solar panels and a wind turbine.

According to Les and Carol Scher, authors of Finding & Buying Your Place in the Country, John and Lisa made all the right moves when they were looking for land:

They viewed a variety of different properties while staying within their budget. "The more land you see, the more you will learn about the differences in value and about your expectations," says Les Scher. Lisa and John allowed their expectations to change, giving them a better idea of what they were really looking for. They didn't buy the first place that they could afford.

They visited the property several times. This is critical, as Scher points out, "Unless you spend some time on it, you can't begin to get an idea of whether the property will be right for you. Make an effort to see the property at its best and at its worst."

They were active in their search. Don't leave your search for land in the hands of one real estate agent or broker alone. Visit listings from several Realtors. Check the local paper for private listings. The Schers suggest that prospective buyers contact the tax collector in the area they are interested in and ask to see a list of those who are delinquent on their taxes. The owner may be willing to sell to prevent the property from being seized for unpaid taxes.

They didn't move to a climate they were unaccustomed to. This is one that sends many a new homesteader running back to the city. John and Lisa moved from Chicago to southern Wisconsin; there's not much of a difference in weather between the two areas, but winter in a rural area is different from winter in the city. The snow blows more in open spaces, making driving interesting, and there are fewer plows."The first winter was a challenge," admits Lisa. "We learned fast that out here, shovels are required. If you're not a fan of cold and snow in the city, you're definitely not going to like it in the country." Adjusting to life in the country is challenging enough without having to adjust to a new climate at the same time.

Finding Mayberry

Many newcomers to rural communities experience culture shock. It's amazing how many first-time homesteaders have over-idealized expectations of the rural community. They are genuinely baffled when they don't find Aunt Bea baking apple pie for Opie and Sheriff Taylor. Even worse, urban transplants often arrive with unconventional ideas about education and community action, meaning well, but causing a stir among the locals. To that, add the complex familial ties of rural areas, and you have a recipe for social disaster. No one is an island unto themselves. We are all part of a larger community, even in rural areas, especially in rural areas. If you're going to get along in the country, you'll need to understand the rural community.

While they were both well-traveled and embraced an ethnically diverse circle of friends and colleagues, they were concerned about their lack of a rural identity. "We have a natural tendency to surround ourselves with people similar to ourselves, people who mirror our life stages and perspectives, thereby validating our existence," say John and Lisa. The problem is that the divide between rural and urban culture is fairly wide. Bridging it can be quite the trick.

Lisa and John, having travelled extensively, understood that the rural culture would naturally be different from the urban culture they were used to. However, a good many people who move away from urban areas aren't at all prepared for life in rural America.

The Internet has nothing on gossip in the rural community, as most newcomers find out in a hurry. Before you ever close on your property, half the township knows who you are, where you come from, how much you paid for the property, how you paid for it and what color your couch is. That's all the information rural people need to figure out the rest of your life story. Of course, left to their own devices, they can come up with some wild scenarios.

One homesteader reports that soon after he and his family moved onto their new homestead, they were the subjects of erroneous conjecture. They didn't know anyone in the community, having moved there from out of state to escape life in the city. They kept to themselves; not because they were anti-social, but because that's what people in the city do—they keep to themselves. How else are hordes of people supposed to live together?

The neighbor they were buying hay from came over one morning after it had rained. The newcomers had left their sheets out on the line, so they were soaked. That's what the neighbor wanted to talk to them about—leaving their sheets on the line overnight. Apparently, they had done it more than once. What's the big deal, you ask? Well, because they didn't talk to anyone in the area, and the only people that came to visit had out-of-state license plates, some in the community decided that on the evenings when the sheets were left out, it was a signal to let drug dealers know that their supply had been replenished. No kidding. The rumor was rolling off every tongue in two counties: big-city drug dealers had moved into the area. Of course, nothing was further from the truth, but it took years to clear it up, and part of it is still there, locked in the history of the local rumor mill. It still surfaces on occasion. Welcome to the country. Aunt Bea doesn't live here.

Lisa and John were fortunate enough to use some of their social and professional networks to meet a retired couple in Green County. The couple, both doctors, had lived in the area most of their lives. They were able to answer Lisa's and John's questions, filling them in on the local lore and landscape. The transition into rural culture, although still bumpy, was much more bearable with the help of their new friends.

What they did right

After 12 years in the area, John and Lisa are known as "that interesting couple out on County Road P." They enjoy a unique place in their community, acting as a bridge between geographies and generations. This didn't happen by chance. Lisa and John took steps to make it happen:

The remodeled granary is now a year-round, solar-powered greenhouse. (If you look carefully, you can see the solar shower on the left.)

They spent their money locally. "By patronizing local and family-owned business—even if it may cost a bit more—we form relationships with shop owners; people learn about what we are doing, and community grows," says the couple.

They borrowed a cup of sugar. It was difficult for the couple to learn to borrow from neighbors. "'We weren't used to having neighbors that (a) we knew and (b) we could call on," they recall. They admit it took some time before they were comfortable borrowing a ladder or a cup of sugar, and they missed several opportunities to introduce themselves to their neighbors, opting instead to drive into town for the spare nail or roll of tape.

They invited people over. Lisa and John tell the story of one neighbor, who called to ask if they had ever had one of "those fancy cappuccino things." Instead of a simple confirmation, the caller, along with other neighbors, got an invitation. John worked at Starbucks for awhile, and was an accomplished barista. The couple treated their neighbors to an afternoon of conversation and big-city coffee. It was the talk of the town for weeks.

They learned how to barter and trade. This was difficult for Lisa and John, who were accustomed to paying for everything with credit cards or personal checks. They soon found out that in the rural community, the barter-and-trade system is very much alive. They learned to trade fresh eggs and produce for labor and other items. Lisa and John say the lesson they learned is "sometimes, currency comes in the form of gratitude, utility, compassion and smiles. "

There's no place like home

Of course, instead of moving to a new area, you could decide to live a self-reliant lifestyle where you are. Some of the most successful homesteaders don't live in rural areas; some live smack-dab in the heart of the city. The Dervaes family of Pasadena, California, farms (that's right, farms), on one-tenth of an acre. Their urban farm supplies the family with 6,000 lbs. of food each year. What they don't use, they sell.

Dubbed "eco-pioneers," by the community, the family admits the undertaking wasn't easy. The soil was poor; they had very little space, and no one had ever done such a thing in their neighborhood. The push towards self-sufficiency began in the 90s, when Jules Dervaes decided to turn the tiny front yard into a garden. It took a decade to get to where they are today, and they're not done yet. They hope to produce 10,000 lbs. of organic food on their urban micro-farm in the future.

Readers with Internet access can watch a video of the Dervaes homestead on my blog. Visit www.countrysidemag.com and click on "The Scarecrow Chronicles."

Jules Dervaes, like Lisa and John, was willing to work with what he had. He was willing to work hard to accomplish his goals. So, like Lisa and John, he's successful. True homesteaders know that it's less about where you are and more about how willing you are to try. Learning how to become more self-reliant as you search for your dream homestead might lead you to decide your perfect homestead has been right beneath you the whole time.

You have to start small, Greenhorn. Going whole hog on a piece of property or a lifestyle change doesn't work for most folks. Next time, we'll discuss small ways to increase your self-reliance right where you are.