It is quite amazing to look back at the little circumstances that led to our North Carolina adventure.
It all began a few years ago.
Stephen and I started talking about where we might want to settle down after Stephen gets out of the military.
We both grew up in Napa, California and our families are there.
As much as we love CA and want to live close to family, we knew we never wanted to raise a family there.
With the immigration problems, the state going bankrupt and how liberal it is there, it just isn't the place for us.
Not to mention we could never afford to buy land there.
So we started talking about finding a part of the country that was more conservative but not too redneck, where the weather wasn’t too cold or too hot and where it was pretty and farmland would be more affordable.
That is when we decided North Carolina was a good fit and everyone we ever talked to that had been there loved it.
Then we came across the Duckweed farm (I blogged about it in Sept) and we were sold.
Unfortunately the Duckweed farm was bought already but it started us thinking and we began researching living there.
We figured out that after our time in Missouri we would have one more station until Stephen gets out of the military.
So we knew he could try to get Ft Bragg in NC but after he got out of the military he would need to be close enough to a school to get his Ph. D and possibly to teach at.
That led us to an area that was right in between Ft Bragg and Chapel Hill University.
Then Stephen came across an organization that was starting sustainable agriculture communities around different preserves.
There was a 10 acre property that was right in between both places and we could buy it and build a house there.
Somehow or another this led to some tunnel vision on our parts because we never looked around at anything else, we just worked on figuring out all the details of getting that property.
So with this in mind we flew to NC for a few days to check out the town and property.
We landed Wednesday night and Thursday morning we went to check out the town and the property.
The town was ok.
A typical small town America place that was a little run down but had a few cute shops and buildings.
The chicken farms and processing plants had been the main source of work for most of the town but they were starting to shut down so you could see that the town was struggling with that.
Then we drove out to the property.
Heartbreak.
The first thing we noticed when we got out of the car was the smell of the nearby chicken farm.
The realtor had said over the phone that it didn't smell...yeah right.
We walked around the property and realized that it would be a lot of work and money to clear the trees and put in a house and the land was really nothing special.
So we stood there while our dreams crashed around us (that was a little melodramatic, it wasn't all that bad)
So we got back in the car and tried to drive away but we were stuck in the mud!
I started freaking out as the tires spun more and more.
Then Stephen made me get in the drivers seat while he pushed.
I had the window open so I could hear his directions and when he said “Go!” I stepped on it.
In my anxiety to get out and clear of the mud I must not have heard Stephen yell “Stop!”
As soon as I was safe on the gravel road I stopped and looked behind me and Stephen was covered in mud.
Then we both started laughing hysterically.
We were driving down the road back to the hotel trying to figure out if we should call Stephen's dad, who was going to fly in that evening, to tell him not to bother coming when we drove past a house with a “For Sale” sign.
I said “That's a cute house.” and completely on a whim we turned around and pulling into the driveway.
We had no idea how much it cost or even if it came with any land but we called the realtor anyways and she told us the house was being sold with 26 acres and that we could walk around and check it out.
It used to be a campsite and RV camp.
It was perfect.
I had this adorable check in house that I wanted to turn into a craft room or something fun.
There was lots of cleared land as well as forest.
There was a building that was used as a bathroom facility for the campers that could easily be turned into a guesthouse.
And a barn.
There was a man made pond (had some fixable drainage problems).
And the house was cute with 3 bedrooms and a big attic room that could be used for anything.
It was secluded enough that we couldn't see any of the neighbors, which was something we really wanted. Or as I always said, I want to be able to walk around the house naked without having to worry about having the blinds down, not that I would necessarily be doing that, but that we would have that amount of privacy ;o)
It was everything we could want and more.
So we scheduled to meet with the realtor the next morning with Stephen's dad.
We went out and looked again and Stephen's dad wasn't sold on it.
His opinion was important to us and with the property being a good bit out of our price range, we would need his help to get it.
He wanted to look at other similar properties.
So we looked at this property that the land was nice but the house was awful inside.
I mean like magenta shag carpet and gross smelling and would need to be gutted.
Another place the property was beautiful but the house was not very nice and our neighbors had junky mobile homes.
Another place the house was nice but the land was too close to a highway.
Though there was this cute cow in the field, maybe if it had come with the property...
Another place the land was nice and the house was ok (though a little dreary looking with the brick and the shade) but it was 20 minutes from town and I didn't want to be that far in the boonies.
That was all the properties in that area (Siler City) so we went the next morning to see 2 properties in the town of Pittsboro.
We were very interested in finding something here because it was only 20 minutes from Chapel Hill University.
We first checked out the town.
It is adorable!
I absolutely loved it.
It is the perfect mix of conservative small country town and the liberal arts that we enjoy.
Or as Stephen described it, a rural Berkeley, only not so liberal.
It has cute old brick buildings with cute little shops in them.
There was a school for woodworking with hand tools (so cool right?)
There was even an old fashion soda shop that we went to lunch at.
Everyone was really friendly and seemed to know each other.
It really felt like the small close-knit community we had been looking for.
It also seemed more somewhat artsy which we like.
There is a beautiful new community college there that offers a degree in sustainable agriculture.
We really wanted to live near there.
The first house we looked at was a 100 year old farm house.
We drove up and it looked 100 years old...and not in a good way.
We didn't even bother to look inside.
So then we went to our last house.
The road leading to it was lined with pastures and beautiful houses.
Then we turned down a gravel driveway between the trees and there it was...
our house.
It was a cute little modular home nestled into the woods.
It was very quiet and no neighbors in sight.
Most of the 10 acres is forest but there is some cleared space and we could always clear more.
I can’t say it gave me the same warm fuzzies as the first property we looked at but this fit much better.
The house is really new and won't need any work.
The kitchen:
The living room:
The hallway to the 3 bedrooms:
The backyard:
The back of the house:
The land isn't breathtaking or have a pond but it is much more manageable a size then the 26 acres.
The cleared pasture land that we plan to turn into an orchard and keep our honey bees:
The view from the forrest looking towards the back of the house:
It has a nice big garage that has enough room for Stephen to do his beer brewing.
The view from the house up our gravel road to the main road:
It is only 8 miles from downtown and even closer to the community college which Stephen could maybe teach at someday.
Also the price was significantly lower than the other property and a better financial fit for our future (professors don't tend to make the big bucks ;o)
Across the street there was a whole group of people planting trees so Stephen's dad, who is really into talking to the locals to find out more about the community, walked over with us in tow and we talked to them.
They were doing a workshop on making an edible forest (planting fruit and nut tress etc.).
They were a part of a community called Blue Heron Farm that has about 15 houses on 64 acres across the street from our house.
They call themselves an “intentional community” or as Stephen's dad called it “a commune”.
They were pretty hippie looking but very nice and obviously devoted to the sustainable agriculture movement and living off the land, which is the whole reason we wanted to move to the country.
We were excited that our neighbors are people we could get help and information from for our farm...since we don't have a clue what we are doing :o)
I am also hoping we can barter with them, like I'll give them some of my goats milk and they can give me some apples.
So we were sold.
We put in the offer for the house on Tuesday and waited very impatiently to hear if we got it and we got a call Wednesday afternoon saying we got it!
We’ve had many conversations since like the one we had last night as we were laying in bed;
M: Stephen
S: Yeah?
M: We’re buying a house and 10 acres in North Carolina
S: Yep
M: We’re crazy
S: Yep
M: I’m so excited!
So now we have to wait the long 4 months till we actually get to move there.
I guess it gives us time to read up about farming :o)
