Hi Everyone,

My wife and are both 25 and and have lived in Cincinnati,OH all our lives. We have been wannabe homesteaders since we met in college. Right now, with a 14-month old baby, we are itching more than ever to get out there into the country before we have more children and become too tied to city ways. Because we want to remain close to our family in the city, and because my wife is very happy with her job teaching on Cincinnati's west side, we are somewhat limited to rural areas not too far a commute from the city. We are also limited financially, and consider a big mortgage contradictory to homesteading/simple living anyway. We are mostly looking in south east Indiana and northern Kentucky, and we noticed a few people in the forum seemed to be from places in SE Indiana. Can anyone offer any information on or experiences of pursuing simple/sustainable/self-sufficient lifestyles in the Greater Cincinnati area? Does anyone know of any intentional communities that support these values in the area, or at least where clusters of like-minded people live? We'd also like to know if there are any good places to get cheaper land that aren't too far away, or where the likelihood for development is low. Any information you could give would help us so much. God bless anyone who takes the time to read this long e-mail!

Brian from Cincinnati

-- Brian (margieametz@yahoo.com), June 05, 2001

Answers

Hi Brian, I'm from the other side of the state, in southeastern Ohio, and hope you will look into land prices around this area or just to the west of here in Noble and Guernsey county. Our land is so cheap we are where the Amish are moving to from all over the east coast! And from the Cambridge area is still about 3-4 hours back to visit your family in Cinci, not bad, and you still get to live on dirt roads and be in the boondocks, yes, Ohio certainly has boondocks!!! There is an excellent realty website, www.swisslands.com, that tells all about the area, and has many listings to show you, and they have property that starts at less than 40,000 dollars, with some acreage. A low mortgage at your point in life is so important, as well as living in the REAL country where people still stop to wave hello to you! Your chidren will grow up in a rural environment, and learn respect for Mother Nature right from the start, as well as respect for their neighbors, who are very friendly around here.

Don't overlook the "otherside" of Ohio, check it out!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), June 05, 2001.

Hi Brian!

I'm from Chillicothe, but come to Cinncinnatti to dance. And I was going to suggest looking East like Annie suggests (seems I agree with her ALOT!). I know things up towards Hillsboro and West Union tend to be less expensive than Cincy. Also thought about East along the river. Portsmouth has unrealised potential and the people have always been friendly. Route 33 is really a good road and I ALWAYS make good time when coming that way to Cincy!

I'm really intrigued with Annie's info though.... *smile* I'd also be interested in what You find out.

Thanks and Good Luck!!

Randle

-- Randle Gay (rangay@hotmail.com), June 05, 2001.

Well, thank you very much Annie and Randle for your suggestions. It's just that, we like our parents to be able to see our daughter (and our future children) fairly often, and my wife has to commute every day to western Cincinnati to her school (a rare art teaching position that she is very committed to and fulfilled in), so we're kind of realistically limited to about a maximum hour-and-half commute to town...

-- Brian (margieametz@yahoo.com), June 06, 2001.

im very close in northern ky and believe me land isnt cheep anywhere around here i work in construction and it is unbelievable how muchbuilding is going on in this area . land is always cheeper where its too far to drive for a decent job. i was in eastern ohio last week for the flea market in lucasville and passed a lot of nice farm sites but there are no jobs in that area .you might be close enough around harrison on the indiana side to find reasonable priced land sunman and south lawrenceburge area has increased in price the last few yearseveryone tells me to sell some of my land LOL if i had the money i would buy a few of the neighbors out,and so far i dont have many and those i have dont bother me .i wish i didnt have to watch my income then i could farm full time this farm suported 2familys and built improvements in the 50S now i have to work off farm to suport it!on a small homestead is the only place to raise children they are the most valuble crop and one you can take pride in over the years

-- george darby (windwillow@fuse.net), June 06, 2001.

Hello Brian,

Our family lives in southeastern Indiana (Riply County). We are about 45 min. from downtown Cin. We know quite a few families who live simple, intentional lifestyles around the area. Our group are mostly conservative Roman Catholics but I know folks from other backgrounds as well. There are many people in our area who are homesteaders but just don't call themselves by that title. You may want to check out Brookville, Indiana. Also, Holton, Milan, Friendship and areas like this. Obviously, you are probably going to have to drive at least 35 - 45 min. to get affordable land. We have lived simply for a number of years. I don't claim to be an expert but we have learned a thing or two over the years (most of it the hard way). We have had goats, chickens, cows, rabbits, work horses etc. I would be happy to help in any way I can. One resource I would highly recomend is "The Have More Plan" by Ed and Carolyn Robinson. Sounds like this is right up your ally. Beware of the desire to own too much land. We raised quite a few animals and organic market gardens on less than 7 acres. Not only is land expensive, it takes a lot of work to keep it up. Well, I'm rambling. God bless you and your family.

-- David (daoelker@seidata.com), December 30, 2001.