I'm selling my house and moving to the mountains

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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My house has been for sale for the last 2 years. No one has cared. In the last 3 years, we have been through hell and then some.

My husband was left a house in the North Carolina mountains, it is on an acre of land and overlooks a beautiful view of a Smoky Mountain valley.

I dropped the price of the house we currently live in 75K today, and will drop it more. Our goal is to be there by Christmas. We are offering a 5k bonus if an agent brings us a contract that closes before November 30th.

My husband lost his job and has been unable to find work. I lost my job and found another one, but the pay sucks, it would improve if I stayed, but I’m 2 months away from being able to afford groceries. Yes, we both lost our jobs in a span of 3 weeks. Both were directly tied to the economic slow down/crisis/whatever. My job depended on discretionary income, his depended on available financing. The first time I asked for government help, food stamps, we’ve been denied.

We’ve survived drug addition, infidelity, threats of foreclosure, a premature child, going from making 90k a year to hoping to make 24. I actually felt the need to tell my husband that what we are going through now is not a deal breaker. In addition to our other fears, I didn’t want him to fear that him losing his job, might make him lose his family.

We are done. There is no possible way we can walk away from this house not ahead, we have tons of equity. If I sell it for less than I bought it for 9 years ago, I’ll still be ahead.

I’ll become a mountain momma, and may have time to make bread again. I’ll probably get access to fresh milk so I can learn to make cheese. I can get the goat I’ve wanted and it already has a burn pit.

There are bears however.

But honey too.

And an escape from our ghosts and a fresh start.

Wish me luck.

Oh, and if anyone has any idea how to live in a place where the trees change color and drop their leaves and the roads ice up and snow falls and bears come to visit and you can get snowed in and the power can go out and jesus christ, I’ll be on a mountain top.

I can’t wait.

2

Best of luck, Auntbeast, on a quick sale and a safe move.

I can’t help you with bears, other than to say if you think they are around, make lots of noise.

Seasons are great. I especially like autumn and spring. The colours in the fall, and the new life in the spring are life-affirming each and every year.

Oh yeah, and stockpile food and water. And candles, flashlights and kerosene lamps.

I hope you’ll post pics of your new home.

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In addition to the good advice posted by PastAllReason, you can add a generator to the list-- if you really have strong reasons to suspect that power goes out regularly in that area. The facts (house on a mountain, snow, ice) do not mean that you’ll have power failures. I live on the island of Montreal, and I have had more power failures than a couple of my sisters who live in the middle of nowhere in the Gaspé peninsula.

That sounds like a wonderful life change. Just make sure that you have internet connection so that you can keep us informed of your adventures. :slight_smile:

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Wishing you the best…

Can I come too?

tsfr

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When you move, we demand mountain pictures!

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I wish you luck and a more peaceful life than the one you’ve had lately. I just went through a huge pick-up-our-entire-lives move myself, and it’s a lot of work, but it can give you a great sense of renewal and a fresh start.

I also spent a good part of my childhood in the boonies, so here are a few tips:

  • if you have well water, make sure it’s good well water. It can be a shock transferring to that from city water. You may want to get a water cooler or something for your home. (Also, you can’t flush the toilet when the electricity is out!)

  • watch out for muddy gravel roads–they’re all slowly getting paved over, but they’re still common in lots of places. In the fall and spring, you can get really stuck in the mud–not fun. That’s why people in the country drive pickups. (not sure if you’ve ever lived in the country, but i’ll also add some suggestions for that, just in case)

  • stock up in bulk when you go to the store–running out of toilet paper when the nearest store is 45 minutes away sucks. Especially in the winter. Get a big freezer, too and stock food in it–if the electricity goes out in the winter, it’ll probably be fine for a while if it’s cold enough, so it shouldn’t go to waste. Same for canned and dried goods.

  • if you go for a walk in unfamiliar woods, take your dog and a big stick. Let someone know your route and keep yourself oriented. Heck, take a compass if you’re going far. (This is only if you’re a city girl–if you’re used to hiking and stuff, never mind.)

  • check if your cell phone (if you have one) has reception there before you move and discover, oh crap…no towers for miles.

  • make sure your mail box is visible (and sturdy) and that the local post office knows exactly where you are and have moved to, especially if the house hasn’t had any occupants for a while.

  • buy new boots, blankets, kerosene, and salt/sand BEFORE you need them. They won’t spoil.

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It sounds like a beautiful place to be, and I truly mean that. Watching the seasons change and the leaves fall is one of the beauties of life. It’s a reminder of change, loss, and gain.

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It just so happens, I have pictures. I’ve been using a picture of the house as a bookmark for ages. It is a house that has been in the family for probably 40 years.
photobucket.com/auntbeast

I’ve been using The Grocery Game for years, however, with the current financial situation and my broken freezer, our current supplies are quite low. I’d like to get an additional freezer and maybe a spare fridge. I’ve talked to my husband about making me a cold cellar also.

No one has been in the house for at least 3 years, but it has always been sealed up pretty well after vacations.

What is the salt/sand for?

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Salt and sand are for ice issues. Salt melts it and sand will give you traction when you’re stuck (and it sounds like you will be).

Looks like a great (and roomy!) house. Have fun. I lived in the mountains in Colorado for a while. The weather can be isolating, but you’ll see that life goes on regardless of what Mother Nature throws at you. You’ll see how others navigate nature as you go along.

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http://www.lehmans.com/index.jsp

if you can at all get a wood burning cooking stove, and plunk it on the back porch, do so. Nothing sucks like not being able to get out a hot meal because the power went out …

Although they have a woodstove with the firebox over a baking oven and space for 4 pots on top … I am getting that the instant my dad’s will is probated to replace the decorative and inefficient woodstove we currently have.

They have a lot of books on farming, as does agway. Find your county agricultural extension officer, talk to neighbors.

If you depend on a pump for water to flush the toilet, consider getting a small generator to power it, or dig a hole and put a privy up fr when the power goes out. And it can go out summer or winter…

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I lived in southwest Colorado’s high country for 3 years and absolutely loved it! Do be prepared for the power going out, though. I found these to be much bettet and safer than candles. We used them all the time, just because we enjoyed them! And remember: don’t store the snow shovel in the shed!

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Congratulations! I’m so jealous. I’ve always wanted to live in the mountains.

Any feedback on why your house isn’t selling?

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You’re going to love it. But give yourself and the hubby time to get used to it.

I did a similar thing 6 years ago, albeit I’m not on a mountain. But I am in a place where the trees turn colors and the snow falls (it snowed on Monday, and is supposed to snow more today) and there’s bears (one took our birdfeeder last summer!) and the electricity sometimes goes out. I am, however, in a small town, not a mountaintop, so I have that comfort.

I adjusted pretty quick, having grown up here. Mr. Athena took a few years, but he’s so happy right now that he tells me at least 3 times a week that he never, ever, ever wants to live anywhere else.

Sure, we don’t have the job opportunities we would have if we lived in a big city, but hell if you don’t make do on what you can find. Plus we don’t live in a cookie cutter house on a fifth of an acre of land.

We saw an owl in the front yard two days ago.

You’ll love it.

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You should hope for lots of snow this year if you’re planning on having a vegetable garden. My mom’s in Asheville, and open fires and watering were/are prohibited. They collected rainwater in big barrels. Since you’ve vacationed there you already know where everything is, but I do know there’s a Manna food bank and the churches are very active in food collections, which is one of the reasons my mom loves it there. The other reason being she says the doctors are much better than here. If you want, I can give you my dad’s email address if you want to talk about the area.

Also, the snow isn’t as bad or last as long as it would here. 1-2 days and anything that’s appreciable has melted already. Summer sometimes has frost on the windows (they’re on the shady side of the mtn.) but by 11 am you’re in shorts.

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A tip for saving frozen food during power outages. Fill 2-4 empty plastic laundry bleach bottles or similar containers with water and stick them in the bottom of your freezer. They will keep things cold for along while if the power goes out, and if you freeze a couple of extras, you can use them in your fridge as well. (Credit to whoever posted this in another thread a while ago.)

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Seriously?

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I do this when there’s spare room in my freezer and/or deep freeze. Someone once told me that a fuller freezer is cheaper to run than a mostly empty freezer. Plus, when I go camping, I just pull out a couple milk jugs full of ice and use them instead of loose ice in my cooler! Stays frozen longer and no water in my cheese!

AuntBeast, I know this sounds crazy with everything you’ve been going through, but I’m kind of jealous! It looks like an adorable house, and you’re going to be living out my fantasy life for a while. Good luck!

18

WOW! Free heat in the living room! Put a solar panel on the roof and you’ve got free electric. People are thanking their lucky stars they invested in wind or solar or geothermal in this economy. Nice house by the way, you’ll get to cater to the more nature based side of your personality now. :slight_smile:

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Canadiangirl is in Canada. They are not experiencing the shitty housing market like the US is.

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You. Are. Living. My. Fantasy. (the mountain home part!)

Congrats and enjoy!