Ever since leaving my parent's house and setting out on my own I have had an eye towards acquiring land.  The typical person in their late teens and early twenties is usually more focused on school, the opposite sex, their first car, the opposite sex, their first house, the opposite sex, their first job, the opposite sex - well you get the idea.  Most are not casting their eyes about and fantasizing about owning acres of land and what could be accomplished said land.  While this wasn't my primary focus is was definitely one that was always percolating in the back of mind.  I constantly reviewed places I had lived, places I had visited, and where I was currently for their applicability with regards to acquiring land and potentially living there long term.   

I am drawn to open spaces like the sea, the desert, open mountain vistas, sweeping shorelines on lakes, and the rambling courses of rivers.  I look for isolation.  Not so much because I want separation from every one else but rather that I want a buffer zone of silence that allows me to hear myself.   To stretch my boundaries where others can neither stop or help me in that process.   These spaces allow that unhinging to occur in my universe where thoughts and actions are less limiting. 

 Surprisingly, I came to find that I could define the minimum amount of space necessary to achieve this step from every day normality to unbounded imagination.  This doesn't mean that my typical days are not wondrous but that I have my own mechanism for amplifying all the I find momentous about life when I cross that threshold.  

Back to the specifying of size though.  For me it seems that 5 acres is about the minimum and it is the ragged edge of minimum.  It is at this point in most parts of the US that you have to cast a wide net to find parcels of this size.  Having said that, you can find 5 acres in suburban and semi-rural areas with difficulty.  I found 5 acres surrounded by park land only 1.5 miles from where I currently live.  Unfortunately, my wife and I were out bid when trying to acquire it.  I don't expect to see another 5 acre parcel appear near San Francisco any time soon that I can afford or would be willing to pay the premium to acquire.   On the other end of the spectrum I am not sure there is a maximum.  There probably is with regard to usability but depending on your vision and ideology,  stewardship might offset that.  For example, I can't realistically use 640 acres (1 square mile) but the thought of preserving that much land from development and allowing reasonable access to the public seems like a worthy goal to me.  In the end I figured, 5 acres on the low end and probably 80 acres on the high end with 10-50 acres really being my target goal.

Size was important to me because of the separation factor from others as I said earlier but it brings its own set of issues.  More than likely you will have no in-place utilities on a parcel of that size.  All of sudden you have to deal with wells, septic systems, electricity, propane tanks, building a road to the final build site, fire protection, etc.  If that bothers you, don't look for a large parcel (or raw land in general) or be willing to pay the high price that all those services command if they are already in-place.  You also can not just walk down the block to your local store for supplies either.  It may not be far either but more often than not entail a 15-20 bike or 5-10 car ride.  You probably don't walk out your door and have a drink at the local brew pub either.  If any of this sounds problematic to you than buying a large parcel of land, especially raw land, is probably not what you want to do.

Some people want a quant cabin surrounded by other quant cabins with in walking distance of a quant old town.  Great!  There are plenty of places where you can find that and be happy.  My point, is decide what you want before you start looking.  It will set your expectations and make your search for your perfect property so much easier and enjoyable.  Otherwise, you are likely to end up with something you don't want and don't enjoy.  Life is too short for that to be the case.

Everyone dreams of sitting (choose one of the following):

• on the beach
• on the bank of a river
• on the shore of a lake
• on top of a mountain with great vistas
• surrounded by ephemeral beauty
• all of the above 

when they envision the perfect location for their (hut, cabin, house, mansion, villa, estate).  In most of these visions there is no one nearby and the wildlife is quietly standing by the observer or eating wild berries from their hands.  If it is the ocean than dolphins are surfing the waves while whales breach in unison.  In the mountains the eagles and condors soar within inches of their faces and they feel the vortexes spinning off their wings.  The eternal dream of being one with nature while none of the modern world intrudes on our existence!  Well, prepare to be disillusioned.  While this is obtainable in theory, it is only possible for the .001% of the population of the world with regard to a residence they can own and utilize (*)   For the remainder of us we only experience these moments in the shared land trusts of our countries/states/cities. That isn't a bad thing.  It is just reality.

So, here we are in reality and we want to find a place that mimics these characteristics as much as possible but most likely also needs to fulfill the majority of these requirements:

• It is affordable
• It is within a reasonable travel distance from our primary dwelling if it is occasional use, family if it is a primary dwelling, necessary services, work, etc.
• It can be developed.  You would be surprised how many places actually don't meet this criteria with the primary reasons in my experience being an abundance of government (city, county, state, national) regulation and the relatively litigious nature of our modern society.
• Has a purpose (more on this later since to a great extent it drives our decision on location)
• It touches our heart or soul in some way

I live in of the more desirable metropolitan areas of the United States - the San Francisco Bay Area.  It turns out that I also live in probably what is not the prime location for someone involved in technology startups in that area.  Most startups are located in the south bay between Palo Alto and San Jose with some inroads being made in San Francisco in recent years.  I live in the east bay north of Berkeley on the border of Richmond.  While this addresses the affordability portion of the equation above it  certainly doesn't meet the reasonable traveling distance.  Its' purpose is relatively mundane in that it must function as my primary dwelling but I do have some beautiful views of San Francisco and can quickly access many of the regional parks that populate the landscape here.  It can obviously be developed but you would hard pressed to get me to admit it makes my heart sing.  So, it is a compromise, as most things are, that is fairly satisfying.  

We all want to chase our dreams and the part of life that quickens our heartbeat though.  For me that is adventure and having space between me and the rest of the world.  Space brings freedom in my world so it is important to me.  With this in mind my wife and I began looking for a property which would provide some of the aspects lacking from our primary dwelling.  It might end up becoming our primary dwelling someday but for the near term was likely to be utilized as a weekend getaway or vacation house/property.  Having set some ground work surrounding my thought process I will delve deeper into how we decided on building an off-grid cabin on raw land versus pursuing some of the more common options.  It will be a wandering path so be prepared to weave the next couple of post together to get a complete picture. in my next post.

(*) I actually have a relative who does live in such an idyllic situation which was achieved thru hard work and love.  So, it can happen but the odds are stacked against us all given that the vistas I described are limited in number and desired by many.  The result is a small supply that commands a high price (i.e. lake front property is not unlimited which is why it commands such a high price).

They are hard.  Period.  No matter who or what they involve or are intertwined with.  Some of this stems from overcoming inertia.  The rest from the unknown that accompanies all change.  Beginnings represent the primordial ooze of change and chaos.  These are elements which we typically avoid at all costs in our daily lives which is unfortunate since they are constantly seeking us out no matter how well we hide.  Better to embrace them and learn to navigate the complexity and richness they bring to our lives then try to resist what can be their overwhelming forces.

Having waxed poetically it is now time to start something anew.  In this case, I am going to start blogging about the entire unbelievable world of trying to build an off-grid house.  This really shouldn't be a topic of much complexity but it has turned out to be one that makes the navigation of the Labyrinth of ancient myth seem like a walk in the park. 

I am sure other topics will bubble up during my discourse and musings but for the most part I will try to keep them related to the subject at hand ;-)