Buying Land

twomountainlions · Dec 12, 2024

rruff said:
^They were expecting to meet "John Doe" there...

My approach is always "wassup?" and be friendly, especially if they are acting scary... like have guns out and pointed in my direction. Never had any problems. Aholes generally get confused if you treat them like a friend and aren't afraid.

Those dudes were shady. It happened in 3 different states.
Why would they be expecting to meet John Doe out there in some isolated spot??
Drug deals?
Nah I think they were scoping the camp
They were blocking the inly exit route too with their trucks.
I'm not going to be friendy in such scenario, always just say I dont know you in harsh voice shut myself inside the rig so they cant see if I'm aiming at them already
If they were openly aggresseve Id be really mean

twomountainlions · Dec 12, 2024

rruff said:
What's it like there?

I'm not even sure yet...it will be an exporation of several different regions first and then a search for an old cheap log cabin.

Gr8ful · Dec 12, 2024

twomountainlions said:
What can make someone pull into very isolated occupied site and ask: do you know "John Doe" or similar?? Never really figured that out. Seems like scoping the rig for robbery to me

Is there anything you're not afraid of? You might consider a solar driveway alarm.They have a range of 1 mile or more to let you know well before someone walking or driving gets to your camp. These things could happen on your land or public land.

rruff · Dec 12, 2024

twomountainlions said:
I'm not even sure yet...it will be an exporation of several different regions first and then a search for an old cheap log cabin.

I thought you already had it...

rruff · Dec 12, 2024

twomountainlions said:
Those dudes were shady.

If they left you alone after that, seems like they weren't out to harm you or steal your stuff... else why would they not follow through?

twomountainlions · Dec 12, 2024

rruff said:
If they left you alone after that, seems like they weren't out to harm you or steal your stuff... else why would they not follow through?

Because I didnt engage with them. They wanted to engage and either use it to rob me or to gather more info about who is camping.
Or to check if anyone is in the camp and steal stuff if no one.
They pull in to check and take it from there, do you know John Foe BS is just a ruse
I always setup 4 camping chairs.
RV couple were attacked in Nebraska this year, one killed, one wounded in the robbery

twomountainlions · Monday at 11:12 AM

This van dweller gal on 40 acres just got reported to the county by a neighbor.
Got a letter to install septic.
She doesnt even have running water and is there in her van part time and stays in the middle of the parcel. No composting toilets allowed, I guess.
Septics in the West can cost 35k and more now if engineered system is required after the perc test.
She had to file for septic permit with 6 months to install and thinks this opens door for even more enfircement now, like building codes.

That's one reason I like Alaska.
Much less overrun by people than lower 48, much more live and let live mentality and outhouses all over. I'll be moving where outhouses are the normal thing too.
I would never want to live in Colorado, they have particulary strong rules and enforcement.
No amount of nice climate can justify living in such nousy and overpopulated state.
Drove through Alamosa valley and overnighted there this year, it's insufferable zoo just like Front Range now!
One can do outhouse in Maine, I know, if there is no running water, but one got to be in Unorganized townships with no building codes or taxes, and its very hard to buy land in those townships now.
It's all about sucking property taxes out of people.
She had shelled out 100k for the land, 40k for the well and it's just the starters the leeches will come soon sucking blood, septic, building, codes and all. Wait till she sees a tax bill for "developed" propery where they will tax every shed and gazeboo. I take mosquitoes and grizzlies over that

Gr8ful · Monday at 12:00 PM

Check out the western upper peninsula of Michigan. Very laid back & great honest people.

rruff · Monday at 12:11 PM

^Ya, I saw that. She is definitely not isolated or hidden; mentions people driving by and it's just scrub vegetation so everyone can see what she's doing.

So silly to need a damn septic for one person on 40 acres! Cochise County AZ started pulling crap like that as well. It's just BS to keep out the riffraff. Gotta move some place where riffraff is all their is...

There are parts of CO that don't enforce codes, but only places where no one wants to live. Alaska... damn... too cold, no sun, too many bugs, too much of the time.

There are still cheap places in AZ, NM, and TX with good climates and no enforcement.

twomountainlions · Monday at 12:12 PM

Gr8ful said:
Check out the western upper peninsula of Michigan. Very laid back & great honest people.

I've been to the Western UP, camped there. It's a very good place. Feels peaceful and unpopulated. Lots of nice tall trees and lakes too, National Forest land. Lots of log off grid cabin camps. Taxes are pretty high though. Also, there are building codes now, though they probably leave existing old camps alone. New outhouses can be allowed with a permit but lots of rules attached to that, I think have to install concrete container. Moving to a cheaper place with almost no tax no permits. But yes the UP is a nice place.

twomountainlions · Monday at 12:18 PM

rruff said:
^Ya, I saw that. She is definitely not isolated or hidden; mentions people driving by and it's just scrub vegetation so everyone can see what she's doing.

So silly to need a damn septic for one person on 40 acres! Cochise County AZ started pulling crap like that as well. It's just BS to keep out the riffraff. Gotta move some place where riffraff is all their is...

There are parts of CO that don't enforce codes, but only places where no one wants to live. Alaska... damn... too cold, no sun, too many bugs, too much of the time.

There are still cheap places in AZ, NM, and TX with good climates and no enforcement.

Hot climates arent good climates to me...good for part of the year. Alaska got endless daylight in summer, huge vegetables can be grown.
AZ is full of people...this also means more rules are ahead.
NM has very strict septic rules statewide.
TX got tornadoes and no stoppers on taxes increase
No water
Then, there are property taxes, which will go up.
Where in CO they don't enforce codes?
I assume you don't mean around Alamosa/San Luis Valley area, because the karens there were going to outlaw staying in trailers for good and force construction

To be hidden one needs forest. Yes the neighbors and counties in those areas want "nice" 3000 sq homes built, collect more taxes and promote more crowds moving in/further development

twomountainlions · Monday at 12:54 PM

San Luis Valley hitting "decarbonization" trail:

https://www.alamosacitizen.com/new-energy-conservation-codes-in-store-for-local-builders/
The article mentions 3 CO counties without building codes (septic rules still apply) - it was a year ago, since then Conejo county had adopted building codes. 2 remaining free countries - the state us forcing them to now:
https://www.centerpostdispatch.com/stories/state-level-land-use-codes-loom,3034

Matter of time...
Alamosa county doesnt recognize woodstoves as source of heat, insanity.
Entire Colorado, won't be surprised if they try to ban wood and propane stoves like New York did. Not sure how all these NY offgrid camps are going go survive ...though NY had de facto outlawed living in offgrid cabins earlier, some still live in them full time. Thats why I earlier decided against getting offgrid camp in Maine, the state had been affected by newyorkers/bostoners moving there, shifting it to the left and might try to ban normal heating and cooling appliances.

Once the codes and taxes had planted themselves they are only getting bigger, as coastal states city transplants are pouring in.

Gr8ful · Monday at 12:56 PM

Buy an existing remote camp and you won't have any issues at all. I've never seen an outhouse be a problem here or in the UP.

twomountainlions · Monday at 12:58 PM

Gr8ful said:
Buy an existing remote camp and you won't have any issues at all. I've never seen an outhouse be a problem here or in the UP.

In Michigan they are not like in NY or New England neither MI is a coastal transplant destination, so they probably will leave those camps alone and won't be banning woodstoves in general

rruff · Monday at 1:14 PM

twomountainlions said:
Colorado does not have a statewide building code, so building codes are primarily enforced at the local level.

rruff · Monday at 1:21 PM

twomountainlions said:
Hot climates arent good climates to me...good for part of the year. Alaska got endless daylight in summer, huge vegetables can be grown.
AZ is full of people...this also means more rules are ahead.
NM has very strict septic rules statewide.
TX got tornadoes and no stoppers on taxes increase
No water

High altitude areas (5-7k ft) in those 3 states have a good year round climate, especially further south. If 90 and dry seems too hot then ya... but I'd rather have that than cold and snow in winter.

AZ has plenty of sparsely populated land.
NM has large areas that don't enforce anything... due to it being all riffraff...

There aren't tornadoes in the higher altitude parts N of Big Bend in TX.

twomountainlions said:
Where in CO they don't enforce codes?

Here is what the AI bot came up with, so probably a good place to start:
Colorado counties that do not have specifically listed building departments include:
Baca County, Cheyenne County, Custer County, Delta County, Dolores County, Kit Carson County, Mineral County, Prowers County, Saguache County, Sedgwick County, Washington County, and Yuma County.

twomountainlions · Monday at 1:24 PM

rruff said:
High altitude areas (5-7k ft) in those 3 states have a good year round climate, especially further south. If 90 and dry seems too hot then ya... but I'd rather have that than cold and snow in winter.

AZ has plenty of sparsely populated land.
NM has large areas that don't enforce anything... due to it being all riffraff...
There aren't tornadoes in the higher altitude parts N of Big Bend in TX.

Here is what the AI bot came up with, so probably a good place to start:
Colorado counties that do not have specifically listed building departments include:
Baca County, Cheyenne County, Custer County, Delta County, Dolores County, Kit Carson County, Mineral County, Prowers County, Saguache County, Sedgwick County, Washington County, and Yuma County.

See the article I posed above, CO does not have any more such counties. Google AI is spreading misinformation as usual. The state of CO is making sure all counties will have enforcement and also will enforce single statewide code not own codes. Given political climate in CO I have a good guess what that code will be

AZ is overrun all over. Also tx, nm and az are turning into Mexico I dk for that. There tons of people all over AZ now very overpopulated state and I go everywhere and seek most remote parts. Its a major tourist and transplant mecca, if something is still less discovered here it soon will ve

rruff · Monday at 9:23 PM

twomountainlions said:
See the article I posed above, CO does not have any more such counties

Wow... the enforcement of statewide codes is "looming" though.

Amazing that the rush to inflict strict codes is coinciding with the wishes of more people to live simply off grid... land of the free, baby!

Happy Camper · Tuesday at 12:09 AM

rruff said:
Wow... the enforcement of statewide codes is "looming" though.

Amazing that the rush to inflict strict codes is coinciding with the wishes of more people to live simply off grid... land of the free, baby!

Significant loss of revenue is probably the go to reasoning if they were pressed for an actual answer.

rruff · Tuesday at 12:21 AM

They aren't suffering from a loss of revenue they never had.

Buying Land

Help Support Van Living Forum:

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Similar threads

Join the conversation!

Join today and get all the highlights of this community direct to your inbox. It's FREE!