I'm on 5 acres. Takes a couple-three hours with a ZTR or big tractor. Heat is a factor with the push mower in summer here, so some bits just don't get done.

If you break it into chunks and do a bit every couple of days it's fun, to the extent 96 degrees and humid is ever fun...

I wouldn't want to live on less, and we have a 30 acre place ready to build a house on. Nearest neighbor here is 400 feet. There, it will be 700 to 1k feet. Ah, bliss...

Go for it!

We live on about 5.3 acres, mostly wooded. In a housing complex where the minimum lot size is 2 acres. As one post noted leaves could be a problem, but there are ways to deal with it.

A good riding mower and a weed whacker for lawn maintenance. A Backpack quality blower (if you have lots of trees that drop cubic miles of leaves) and you are good to go. Been doing it for more than 30 years.

Great looking place. And putting in a veggie garden is not a bad idea, either.

We tried that a couple times, finally gave up because the damned deer kept eating it before it got old enough to produce. Tried tomato plants next to the house, no deer, but the damned tree rats got the produce before it was ripe.

You will want a commercial or pro-sumer type mower. I would estimate an hour to 1.5 hr just to cut with a zero turn variety if few trees and no trimming.

How deep is the well and what is the GPH flow rate.What is the field system area and how often has the system main tank be pumped out over the years of usage. If the septic system has not been properly maintained it can be problematic.

I moved out of Suburban Chicago in 1968 to 22 acres in Southern Illinois near St Louis. This allowed me to have horses on my property and a nice shooting range and not hear the neighbor's toilet flush. For me it has been an ideal place to live. I was also 24 when I started it so the work involved and the adaptation was much easier at that age. Well and septic can have their own problems and issues. I like the feeling of being somewhat self sufficient. I married a lady from a farm background and she enjoys the life too. It would be hard/impossible for her the maintain it if I were gone. We just installed a whole house generator due to the power outages in the country. Your lot size would certainly require much less work than mine. A quality small tractor with a loader is like a hired man and can be found, clean used, for under 10k. You say "I think I would enjoy the work". You had better make sure! I did but I started out pretty young.

Good excuse as any to get yourself a Kabota tractor

Can't imagine what the thrills of pavement could be to make it worth living in the jaws of hell. My 1+ acre provides serenity beyond description.

3.5 acres can be a lot or a little. Just depends on you. If you have 3.5 acres that is entirely lawn, you really need to enjoy lawn care. That is going to be 4 or 5 hours of work every week. I would suggest a 60" zero turn mower and mount a weed eater to the side of the mower (cost is about $300). Also the weed killer round-up is your friend. You have room for a really nice garden & orchard. Nothing like a fresh raised apple, peach or pear off your own tree. If the lay of your land will allow it, I would suggest putting in a 1/4 acre pond. Raising fish is a lot fun. For a pond that size you will want catfish & bluegills - no bass. Enjoy your version of paradise, it looks pretty.

quote:

Originally posted by kingfish007:

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
3.5 acres of land and 3.5 acres of lawn are two different animals. If all manicured lawn and you love yard work it won't be an issue. If you cost in the price of having it done professionally it won't be an issue. If neither of those apply, it might not be a good idea.

It is 3.5 acres of flat lawn ...

It may or may not be a problem, that depends on you. I would rather have my ass beat than maintain a lawn so if I couldn't afford to hire it out it wouldn't be a good fit for me.

I dont even consider 3.5 "acreage" at this point. My 60+ year old folks are maintaining their 2 acre spread and the 5+ they inherited from my Grandparents. My grandfather was able to ride his tractor and maintain that 5 acre yard well into his 80's. If it's something you enjoy, have at it. With modern mowers, you can cut 3.5 acres in probably less time than it takes me to push mow my 1/4 acre lot.

I'm thinking the same as you. We've lived in suburbia for 20+ years and I'm ready to get out. There is a 20 acre parcel not far from us that has my eye. Mostly field as it was farmed 15+ years back. There are enough trees around it to know you are in the country.

Only problem is that frontage land is low and possibly "wetland". Didn't stop the previous owner from putting in a logging road but that road would need to be built up a good 2 feet to stay dry during the flooding season.

If I can build that road, I'm seriously thinking it's time to move.

the pleasures of season/weather/daily activities/CHOICE and notion of timeliness of 'chores' all improve my enjoyment in retirement.

The recent ice storms left us with a couple locust & wild cherry trees down in the drive way.

Further trimming/cutting by pro tree crew cost us just enough to not quite make the homeowner insurance deductible....on the other hand, we now have a mound of 'free' firewood for next season to go with the old growth apple/plum/cherry/cedar/maple/ash/oak already in the wood shed.

Why is that important? Well...some days I don't make it to the range and I'm not much of a fisherman any more.

Caring for the disturbed blueberry bed, tending the garlic and asparagus patch, and planning the coming season garden far exceeds any of the pleasures of city life I ever had, decades ago when such seemed to be important.

Even building 300' feet of fence last summer was a joy, and the resultant kindling added to the bonus of 'free heat' along with pleasant geezer-paced work-out without driving to a gym.

Landowners notion of order & chaos can be observed depending on just what chores they choose to tend their property.

A small cluster of outbuildings allows variety of chores/hobbies/goofing off at your leisure.

About 5 acres here. I love it. I have 2 CubCadets that I use to maintain the lawn and I enjoy it.
Country Road with not a lot of traffic. Deathly quiet most times, which I love also.
Well water and septic tank that I have checked regularly.
4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and an attached garage. I do everything myself. Another year and a half, daughter goes to college and then it's me and the dog.
Do it and don't look back.

Lots of good advice in this thread. From the OP's description of his potential property, it sounds like the best of both worlds. Rural living in town. Solitude and privacy is our main concern. My wife and I have lived outside of town for almost 40 years and can't imagine leaving here for a place in town. We've been at our present location for 28 years and have about 4 acres to deal with. We have had to drill a new well since living here. We have the septic pumped every 5 years. We can handle tree limbs dropping as we have the equipment to cut them up and haul them elsewhere. We've probably spent 6-8 thousand on large tree removal, though. It's all part of the cost of this lifestyle. We have a couple good mowers but I have gradually come to dislike mowing, though I still do it when we are here. We spend a great deal of time, between May and November, at our "camp" up north so it costs a bit to have the Ohio property maintained while we're gone. What it really boils down to is whether the perceived benefits exceed both physical and financial cost. For us it is an easy equation even with the prospect of having to pay for more help as we get older.

I have 4 acres in the county. I love it in the county. I like as few people telling me what to do. You will still have to deal with some permit, deed restriction issues living in the city limits. Its something to think about. Obviously it cuts both ways as far as what your neighbors are doing near you.

I also have a Scag turf tiger and, while expensive, they are built like a tank and making mowing acres easy and enjoyable.

What kind of septic system does it have, aerobic or conventional? I have had two properties with aerobic and think they are better from a maintenance standpoint and they are not dependent on soil conditions to work properly.

The question, and the responses point to how far this country has degenerated from its founding. 3.5 acres is either a waste, or a potential to build something that functions as it should.
When I was a boy growing up in Brooklyn my grandparents owned a good size piece of property. No lawn, but rather a few peach trees, a huge apricot tree, nut trees, berry trees and bushes, grape vines, along with enough vegetables to eat fresh throughout the summer, and store for the winter. It was what America was for generations.
With everything that has happened in agriculture over the past few decades, and the issues in California I'm amazed at how little we understand what is going on.
Our grandchildren will look at us one day and ask "Did you not have an inkling as to what was going on"?

quote:

Originally posted by lowflash:
How deep is the well and what is the GPH flow rate.What is the field system area and how often has the system main tank be pumped out over the years of usage. If the septic system has not been properly maintained it can be problematic.

Very good thoughts stated here. Does the city have any thoughts about changing the area where your property is located to city water and sewer? Also if they suddenly change septic system requirements or update the present regulations, could be costly and disruptive to the property owner.
We have had several instances around here of both, and costly to the property owner with no recourse except pay!

quote:

Originally posted by walkinghorse:

quote:

Originally posted by lowflash:
How deep is the well and what is the GPH flow rate.What is the field system area and how often has the system main tank be pumped out over the years of usage. If the septic system has not been properly maintained it can be problematic.

Very good thoughts stated here. Does the city have any thoughts about changing the area where your property is located to city water and sewer? Also if they suddenly change septic system requirements or update the present regulations, could be costly and disruptive to the property owner.
We have had several instances around here of both, and costly to the property owner with no recourse except pay!

Yep. The "city limits" part of the OP is the only thing that really gives me pause. My one experience (in 50+ years) of living inside city limits was a bad one. The city had lots of rules about what you could and could not do on your own property, and as you stated - most of the time you have no recourse when they decide that something will happen that involves you. You just have to suck it up and do what they say.

Thank you everyone for your responses.

The property is located in an unincorporated community at the moment but I can see at some point it will be annexed by the city. It has aerobic septic that was rebuilt 10 years ago (22 years old). Well pump was replaced 3 years ago but I don't know the flow rate. Will have septic and well fully inspected and serviced if we decided to acquire the property. Already done my research related to septic and well maintenance and think I can live with it.

I don't expect we will be doing much with the land except a couple gardens and may be a koi pond. I already looked into zero turn mowers and a couple of hrs to mow the lawn doesn't seem so bad. I spent an hour at the property a couple days ago and the peace and quiet really appeal to me. Our dogs will love it here . The more I talk about it, the more I like the idea. Just have to make sure the wife agrees and feels the same way ...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: kingfish007,

quote:

Originally posted by SBrooks:

quote:

Originally posted by walkinghorse:

quote:

Originally posted by lowflash:
How deep is the well and what is the GPH flow rate.What is the field system area and how often has the system main tank be pumped out over the years of usage. If the septic system has not been properly maintained it can be problematic.

Very good thoughts stated here. Does the city have any thoughts about changing the area where your property is located to city water and sewer? Also if they suddenly change septic system requirements or update the present regulations, could be costly and disruptive to the property owner.
We have had several instances around here of both, and costly to the property owner with no recourse except pay!

Yep. The "city limits" part of the OP is the only thing that really gives me pause. My one experience (in 50+ years) of living inside city limits was a bad one. The city had lots of rules about what you could and could not do on your own property, and as you stated - most of the time you have no recourse when they decide that something will happen that involves you. You just have to suck it up and do what they say.

Yep. My grandparents were annexed and forced to install 150 yards of sewer pipe and water pipe at a not so cheap cost even though they intended to stay on their well water. Now that my folks have inherited the place, the well has gone dry and they're fully on city water.

The other concern, and it may just be a local issue, but just finding people to work on the pump became problematic where my folks are.