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I will be leaving you guys at the end of September!


rodentraiser

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After a lot of fits and starts, I FINALLY met the contractor who is going to put the water in on my lot on Tuesday. He also wants to bulldoze, level, and terrace my lot and he will bring in 2 tons of crushed rock for a driveway as long as he has his machines up there. He thinks the water will be in by the 23rd and the rest done by the end of the month. Naturally, this is all costing more than I had planned for (and have), but he will let me pay it off per month. I will say, I've had other people up there to see about getting gravel in for the trailer and his costs are more than reasonable.

It may be because the sole on one shoe finally came half off and I taped it back with duct tape, so I look like a beggar. I need new shoes. I just hate shopping for them, though. I think I'd have to be barefoot before I actually overcome my hatred of shopping for shoes and go buy some. I was gonna say I'm make a great wife because I hate shopping for clothes, too, but I can more than make up for that by shopping for miniatures and dollhouses.

Anyway, I had just renewed my contract for internet for another year, but if I cancel within 30 days, there won't be any penalty. So I'll be doing that by the end of the September. After that, I will give notice where I'm at and maybe move my stuff into a storage locker until I have a shed up on my lot. I'll be taking the  month of October to do that, clean my room, and outfit my car out.

Yes, I'll be living out of my car for the first year or so and I will admit, it will be a long, cold, boring winter this year. I expect to get to the library and I'll let you know how I'm doing. Be prepared for a lot of complaints and how-could-I-have-been-so-stupids and you guys are totally justified to tell me this was what I wanted.

By the end of 2020 I expect to have electricity on the lot. By the end of 2021 I will have the septic put in. Meantime, I may or may not have a small shed or a canvas tent set up to live in. After I get electricity, though, it'll be like living in heaven. I'll put in an outside outlet and run an extension cord into my car if I'm still in it.

I expect to save for another 5 years after that and be able to put a used manufactured home on the lot. In less than ten years I expect to be living in my own place mortgage free. If this all comes crashing down, at least I'll have a nice lot I can sell that will have appreciated in value to almost double its original cost.

If you all are wondering why I don't stay here, it's because I can save almost $1000 a month if I move out into my car. Here, I can only save half of that and they're already telling me I need to put my stuff in storage and that cost will eat into what I could save then.

I didn't want to move out this time of the year, but you take what you can get. Now if on the 23rd, I see that Mr. Contractor hasn't done anything (this is the guy who took 1 1/2 years just to mow the lot), I will just put my stuff in storage, suck it up and stay here through the winter, and move out in the spring, after a different contractor has put in the water. But I'm really hoping I can move by the end of October! (Remind me I said that).

 

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Wow! That is some plan you have laid out there. I admire your goal to be mortgage free and I really hope you succeed. It sounds like you are determined to and that's half the battle. Agree with you that it's a bad time of year take care of yourself!

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Lisa, I'm actually pretty thrilled to be out of here. I wanted to move June before last. So I'm already a year behind and I'm not getting any younger.

Thank you, Holly. This year when Lisa_F invites me over for Christmas, she may have to get the cops to shove me out the door again. LOL

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I thought you bought a small caravan/trailer??  What happened to that?  I just think that you are utterly nutty - but boy do I respect you for it! :D  What an incredible adventure you have before you - who knows what experiences, good and bad, you'll have.  What a huge opportunity for growth within yourself!!  It does worry me that you'll be living in your car on a snowed in lot - but given that I've probably only seen snow about 5 times in my life, I really have no idea of what you'll be dealing with.  I'll be so excited for you and hope you have the opportunity to update us on a reasonably regular basis!  In the meantime I'll cross fingers and toes that your contractor does what he's agreed to sooner rather than later.  

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What about the trailer? I thought you had that on your property.

I hope everything works out for you Kelly. I know you hate where you are now, but I think living in a car would be worse. I am worried for you and hope you will reconsider.

Sending (((hugs))) your way.

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I’m worried for you too Kelly... if getting in and out of your lot in the winter is hard, staying up there in your car could be treacherous. I understand you want to save money and I commend your commitment.. but.. your safety is more important. Is the trailer not habitable? I actually do love hearing about this adventure you are on.. the end result sounds like it will be idyllic, just stay safe in the process. Sending you big hugs and warm thoughts. Please check in from time to time, if you find yourself at the library.. we will all be wondering about you. 

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On 9/12/2019, 3:38:53, rodentraiser said:

If you all are wondering why I don't stay here, it's because I can save almost $1000 a month if I move out into my car. Here, I can only save half of that

It sounds like the difference is a savings of $500/month? Is that worth risking one's life? I know we don't know each other and this is absolutely none of my business, but your plan terrifies me. I've read a number of your posts, you have assisted me with several questions on this forum, and you sound like a genuinely wonderful lady. Forgive me for saying, but I am more than a little frightened for you. You will be in my thoughts.

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Wow, I didn't expect people to be so worried! Thank you so much for your concern. If it helps any, my mom thinks I'm nuts, too.

Yes, I have a trailer on the lot. What happened was that the guy who was supposed to bring in the water actually met me on the lot and agreed to do the work by the end of September. Remember, this is the guy who took a year and a half to mow this lot.

That sort of caught me flat footed - I was expecting him to put me off until next year. And of course, now it's raining like h e double hockey sticks, so he may still not be able to put the water in next week which would make this whole thread moot.

Anyway, he also said while his equipment was up there, he'd terrace the lot and bring in some crushed stone for a driveway so I wouldn't get stuck up there if (HA!) it rained. He is willing to take payments, but wants the water to be paid off to begin with, so I want to sell the trailer to get some extra money so I won't be caught out if something happens to my car. Plus, I need to still pay a bill and outfit out my car, so there's that.

The trailer is a long, long way from being habitable. Besides, it's sitting on an area I especially want leveled for a garden. I'm taking a huge loss on it, but I realize now I never should have gotten it and that was an expensive mistake I have learned. Next time I will save up some more money and buy something I can actually live in.

I've lived in my truck before in the early 90s for 6 years while I worked and went to college, and I lived in my car for a couple months in 2012 when I came back from Minnesota. So it's not something I haven't done before and I know what I'll need to do. There is no denying that without electricity, the first year is going to suck big time. Yes, the trailer would be nicer, but I also have to contend with the state here. It's against the law to camp on land for more than 6 months, even if it's your own land. If I am kicked off, I want to be able to just pack and go and not have to leave a comfy trailer. I'm not really too worried about that. I'm in an area of a lot of houses, so I feel safe, but I am also secluded behind trees and I actually owned a house up around the corner from my current lot about 15 years ago. I know the people and they don't tend to mind what people do with their lots.

I will put up a mailbox and have garbage collection, and I'm hoping to put a chain across the lot "driveway" so I will be safe from people casually driving by and wanting to explore. And of course I'll be going into the library on a regular basis and getting on a computer to let you all know what's going on.

Kells, I will be saving less than $500 now if I stay here. The management has decided I have too much stuff and that I need to put it into storage. So that will cut into what I'm able to save if I stay. Plus, I am so tired of the noise, the cigarette and pot smoking (which people do after management has gone home), and always having someone tell me what I can and can't do with the room.Plus I can't work on a dollhouse. I can work on some stuff in my car and when I get a shed to put my things in, maybe then I can finally get to work on a dollhouse. So it's time to move out and let someone else move in who needs the shelter.

I have a couple pics of my lot, so you guys can see the houses around it. I really appreciate everyone's concern, but please don't worry. I'll be fine. If nothing else, if I get water and septic on this lot and then have to sell it, it will have doubled in price and be a fairly valuable piece of land. So it will all work out.

lot2.jpg.1a16432f107f1765028eaefed09cce5

 

lot3.png.000d8673725a02fc6597e8cddf64da5

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Quick update: I decided to leave my computer on through the end of October and just eat the early termination fee. That was mainly because I couldn't resist the nearly 30 hours of jumping competitions in 4 days this last weekend. Schedule went as follows: bed at 2am, up at 6am to see show, back to bed at 9am after show, up at 11 to see another show, back to bed at 2pm, up at 5pm for another show. For the last 3 days. Zowie!

The trailer is gone, finally!

The water was supposed to be done on the 23rd, but it wasn't. Then I called and the guy promised to finish it on the 30th. I went up to the lot late Monday on the 30th and he hadn't been there. So I got ready to stay another winter here.

Then the following Wednesday he called me. He had the driveway partially in and the lower lot cleared and terraced. By last Friday the whole driveway is in, the water is in (2 spigots), and the entire lot is (supposedly) cleared and terraced. I haven't been up there to see it yet (too busy watching horse shows) and now it's supposed to rain again for 2 more days. But I will probably go up on Tuesday to see what the looks like and take more pictures. Meantime, here are some (exciting dirt) pics of the lot partially done:

Yes, this is actually a truck dumping rock for my driveway!

5d9b2e51de792_dumpingthegravel.JPG.bf6b6

 

The first part of the driveway laid.

5d9b2e5c45e2a_mydriveway.JPG.aeb5c18a7ff

 

The lower part of my lot terraced.

5d9b2e6c95fe7_thebottomportionofthelotcl

 

Looking to the right...

5d9b2e7ce9ead_bottomofthelotlookingtothe

 

to the left...

5d9b2e81b0b26_bottomofthelotlookingtothe

 

and to the middle of the terraced part. LOL

5d9b2e8782eba_bottomofthelotlookingatthe

 

I'll be stopping in as often as I can but there's a lot to do this month, so it may not be often. But I'll keep you guys up to date on what's going on.

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Yup, unfortunately, all those dang trees are on my lot. I would like to clear my lot of all the trees if I could. If you look at the bottom picture on my September 15 post above, you can see the outline of my property in red. If I clear all my trees off, there will still be a ring of trees around 3 sides of my lot because they're on the other lots. And on the 4th side (the south side), that's where the sun comes in, so I wouldn't mind it if there were no trees there at all.

There's a ton of brush under the trees. I will need to eventually clear that out by machine or goat, so I can eventually put a fence around the lot. Plus, it would remove a lot of fuel for fire if one ever rips through here. Landslides and fired are the two things that can happen here. I don't expect a landslide to cause any damage to my lot, but a fire is inevitable up here, so I just have to be prepared.

I'm going up to the lot today to see what's been done and I'll take pictures and post them.

I'm pretty jazzed about this. I can't believe it sometimes. I actually own a lot and it's starting to look like something.

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I'd have to be able to get into the forest to rake it. LOL A while back, I was driving down the road and a deer was in front of me. He kept trying to jump into the brush on either side, but it was too thick even for him. He ended up jumping into someone's front yard. That's how bad the brush is. All that brush around the trees in the following pictures is just impenetrable. On the other hand, it the brush wasn't behind the trees in front of the lot, I'd be seen from the road. So there's that as well.

Anyhoo, I went up to the lot yesterday and while I wasn't happy about some things that weren't done, I was mostly pleased. I wasn't able to get water out of the faucets, but that may be because I'm not hooked up yet and I know I still need a meter (it's being put in). My areas for the garden beds are leveled and that makes me happy. In addition, the way the water handle works, it's like a pump. Lift it and the water flows out. Lower it and the water drops in the faucet to the water line, so it won't freeze in winter. Besides that, when you drop the handle, it drops down next to a metal loop on the faucet. The handle also has a metal loop on it and when the two are aligned, I can snap a lock on them and no one else can use the water. Handy for when I'll take my summer road trip (one of these years).

So here are some more pictures:

 

The driveway going in

DSCN0252.JPG.c54424e524f3a6c57c9b318fa3e

 

Another driveway pic

DSCN0254.JPG.e764d4eefd1ef6747390a9f704c

 

From the driveway - it's hard to see, but the terraced lower part is beyond the upper part

DSCN0256.JPG.9f7ab969964b97b1b1ce6df7061

 

The upper part of the property leveled

DSCN0253.JPG.2febaefcd33b13dba28d5d11fc7

 

My water faucet. I have two of these, one here and one at the end of the driveway where the supposed trailer will be

DSCN0255.JPG.4d8f82906c37b94ead6033a6b88

 

So now its off to find a storage place for my stuff for the next 6 months or so.

 

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Oh my gosh that is freaking exciting for you!!!!!!  How amazing it is to have your own land and now finally things are happening on it.  I wish you all the very best and hope that your adventure won't be too arduous.  I for one will be gagging for each of your updates and will be living vicariously through you - I hope you don't mind, tough if you do! :D

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One of the things we have found handy for water pipes exposed to out of doors is a piece of black foam tubing that is split along one side to wrap around the pipe to keep it from freeqing in the winter; we even do that here for the rare times the temperatures drop low enough.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you, Lisa! Rebecca, I will post updates when I can. But warning in advance - I will probably be complaining a lot this winter! Holly, if I don't have a hose on the faucets, when I turn it off, the water drops back into the pipe which is 2 ft in the ground and below the frost line. I shouldn't have any problem with freezing pipes.

Just to give you guys an update, things are moving along. I now have a water meter and there is running water at my lot. I am supposed to have a small trailer on the lot soon, but I don't know when yet.

Yesterday Lisa (Lisa_F), her husband, and nephew helped me move all the heavy stuff into a storage locker. Oh, my aching back and thank you, Lisa! If you see this, you're the greatest! After we got done, I walked into my room last night and looked at the floor and decided I needed to get to Walmart to purchase some foam mattress pads so I could have something to sleep on. I'm now typing this to you guys sitting on the floor with the monitor and keyboard on a large tote.

Today I have a few bags of clothes and books that still need to go into totes and tomorrow I'll start taking the remaining boxes to storage. I also have a mailbox and sometime this week I need to go up to my lot and get it installed. Garbage pick up is now scheduled as well and for the first time in my life, I have to recycle. Not sure how I feel about that, but as the nice lady I talked to said when I told her I'm 62 and never recycled in my life: "Welcome to the modern world!" I forget how keeping one's self mentally young actually takes an effort sometimes.

Anyway, I'll stop by a couple more times before I disconnect myself sometime on the 30th or 31st.

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