Is your county here ?

I found this article in a new magazine I just got my first copy of yesterday.
http://www.progressivefarmer.com/farmer/bestplaces/
Click on "The Top 200 Places".
Very interesting. The magazine has lots of good stuff to read for us farm/garden types.
Bernie

This message was edited Feb 5, 2006 8:45 AM

my county's not in there in anyway :(
not really known for too much
Al

Great news! No one's found us yet.

That's the best indicator of quality of life for me. Let everyone flock to those other places and leave us in peace.

I see several Ohio counties on there but not either of mine. LOL

They missed me too....hurrah!?!?

I'll tell you, Indy---

It is appalling and disgusting what is happening all around where I live. We have acres and acres of some of the DARKEST, RICHEST, GROW-ANYTHINGEST KIND OF SOIL ANYONE COULD EVER WISH FOR in this area just outside of Peoria, Illinois, and the realtors are subdividing it and putting concrete and houses and condominiums over it at a mile-a-minute.

Of course, once it's gone, once it's been built on and concreted, asphalted and otherwise subdued, it will NEVER be any good anymore.

It makes me wonder two things:

1) WHERE are all these people COMING FROM who are buying and living in these houses and condos? They ARE coming from somewhere!

2) WHAT will people do when they find out that they cannot eat or breathe MONEY$$$?

It may not be nice to say, but I wish a few of these builders would get in over their heads and go bankrupt so as to put a scare into others of them who are looking for the "fast buck!"

This message was edited Feb 5, 2006 9:27 PM

A very interesting magazine Bernie.
I see my county is # 4 in the top 10.
I don't know if that's good or bad. It seems that each day we are losing more and more of our beautiful woods to new homes and condos.
Wonder what number we will be when the woods and the crystal clear rivers and streams are all gone.
I think it's a magazine I would enjoy reading.

I want to know where they are coming from. Everywhere in America the small town and especially big cities are going nuts! Where I live no one would like to live here because all winter it is cloudy, cold, snow is up to 50 feet deep and summers are horrible due to the bugs, snakes, forest fires, and hot tempered cowboys. You need to get a gun or you will be shot in about 1 to 5 months of moving here. We haven't built any schools for our children........

Are you serious about all of that, Soferdig?

Here and there, a few states are attempting to do a little something to preserve some green...

In Maryland, for instance, I read that they were working out some kind of deal where good, green countryish areas are passed up by developers in exchange for something or other. I cannot begin to remember just what the deal is.

Incidentally, the critters who live on the planet Mars do not call the critters who live on Earth "earthlings." They call us "realtors!"

There's a few of us that have finally engaged the sense, to realize that earth is not as much the renewable resource, as first believed. Mankind, is seemingly determinedly bent on flushing [her] and the wonderful resources she's long provided .. down the proverbial toilet.

However, I beg to differ with you a bit, on your comment, persevere1...

The realtors are merely doing their expected (& well-paid) jobs. It's the land owners (and/or perhaps the heirs) that seem to lack the capability to see anything beyond their extended open hand: anxious to reap the monetary rewards of the pay-out .. NOW.

Of course, we all have quite a diversification of ideas as to what we may 'investment' in, the potential, and any incomes associated. Not all of our forefathers shared the same ideas about the future. For as many that came and sought the land for its productive ‘soil’ potential - others came with far expanding ‘foundational’ potential. There's money to be sought and money to be gained - but it seems that most folks feel that it may as well be 'them', as the next person! Little has changed ...

Besides, the 'realtors' are now moving on to much larger and lucrative markets: space! Our respective gov'ts of course, has had the bigger hand already dunked into the ‘air’ pocket. However, fertile 'soil' will not be a selling point. Just a good thing, that physical measurement has progressed from the use of 'rods and chains'. .. ha ..

Bernie .. The Progressive Farmer is an excellent publication, and is chock-full of valuable info. Glad you found and shared it.

- Magpye

Looking at the messages above makes me even more thrilled I have moved to my new place. I am between two highways and the traffic here is not too bad. About the only cars you see are cutting from one road to another or are people that live here or work for Airborne. I live about a mile away from the little city/town and it only has one stoplight. You cannot imagine how thrilled I was to find out that they do not like new businesses or big businesses down there in what they call 'the village'. I heard it was a major act to get permission to build a dollar store down there and it was only allowed because another store had burned down or something. So, I can hide here in my rural setting with all my modern technology and maybe not have to worry about big builders and condos for quite awhile. The only thing that makes me flinch is the 113 acres down the road for sale. Hope that is not too appealing to anybody but a recluse. :)

What I noticed in the listings for my state was that these counties are not the more sophisicated areas but rather the ones which are on the "doorstep" of being the "chic" in the near future.

I doubt that the western counties of Nebraska, Kansas, or Utah would soon find themselves on the list. I suspect that the list is for the counties with a charming mix of good farming, schools, and not overly far from access to city life drawing points.

I was doing my usual description of my beautiful valley that I want to preserve. If people really saw this place it would be overrun by people moving in. Hence the description. We are currently having the same problem here that is everywhere. All of the farmers are selling to the developer and ......... I came from Seattle in the 70's and 80's it was wonderful now eeee gads! My 3 acres has 2 dedicated acres to 3 natural areas. Ponderosa forest/meadows and woodland garden. I am planting and placing native species that have been here since the big fire in 1910. That is when all of western montana became new after the fire and established what we all see today.
I am afraid that when boomers retire they are going to want the small comunities where there dollar will go a long way and be moving to Missouri, Kansas, etc.

Magpye, you took my line of thought.

People want to rant and spit at the easy target: developers and Realtors (I want to pay somebody to capitalize my profession! And not just the first letter... LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT!). Realtors and developers would be less good targets if landowners didn't make it easy for them to gain access. If you don't sell your land for the big bucks, it stays the way it is.

Or, there are myriad ways to conserve the land and still make money. Visit with any Land Trust or conservation group; they are looking at and buying up preservation rights, conservation easements, and/or development rights all over the US. That's another way to ensure that it stays the way it is. None are foolproof; I've seen the articles, stories, and examples of failures but it's far better than not doing anything.

If you want to see change, get involved in your local government activities regarding land development and ordinances. Join like-minded individuals in organizations (like you do here at DG) that have the drive to effect change. I wrote this on another thread, but it's applicable here:

Or, you can just dodge bulldozers and curse the darkness.

Badseed,.......113 acres huh? Let's see ...the progressive community on 113 could handle maybe 40 single homes, 20 condos, one MacDonalds, one Richards Steak House, and of course a Dairy Queen.

Bernie the #1 County, Ontario County in NY,on the first page of the article is just 15 miles north of us . We heard about it on the news over the weekend and were kinda dumbfounded by the whole thing.

Yes, it is somewhat rural but even more it has many colleges and New York State Experimental Station which is a part of Cornell University. The Station has lots of land planted with fruit trees and much investigation into insects and pests.

Ontario County also used to be know as the sauerkraut capital of the state, world? I can tell you one thing they grow a LOT of cabbage up there.

I think everyone has got the wrong idea of what the article is about.
It is about a way of life, probably fitting to the kind of people here on Dave's. I didn't see anything in the article that said these counties were being developed. The one not far from me is an urban county, close to the Twin Cities. It is rolling, hilly land, mostly unfit for farming. It has been farmed for years & most of the topsoil is at the bottom of the hills. This land is now being used for urban/rural houses. I don't know what the zoning is there, but driving through it looks like at least 10 acre lots. At least with houses & lawns, the erosion has stopped.
This county made the list because of the quality of life there. There are some small towns with good small schools, churches, parks, hospitals, etc. There are also some very nice lakes for recreation.
I don't think people will be rushing out to live in these areas. Probably not a lot of employment oppertunities in most of these counties.
So anybody that lives in or near these counties please comment on the quality of your county.
Bernie

Well, Bernie,
The ones I'm nearest [one next county west] are pretty good farming ground. However most of the counties from Indiana listed are not as good land....Brown co. would have almost zero good land. It seems a little strange for a Farming Magazine[?] to list the more quaint. I guess like you said. It's more about people in the country than farmers per se.

One aspect that hadn't been mentioned, and one which haunts us around here is the County Assessor's ability to increase the assessed value of our property, and then blame it on the Legislature saying 'they made us do it'. Then of course the taxes are increased considerably making it harder and harder to hold onto a large piece of property. We used to be surrounded by acres and acres of strawberry fields, now they are all ticky-tacky houses.True, the landowner is as responsible as the developer in the destruction of farmland and forest, but personally I feel the State, County and Local governments with their neverending search for more money to waste bears the greatest responsibility. End of soapboxing.

I'll pick the box up a little. When someone sells to the developers, they need to reinvest soon for tax purposes I reckon. So those people move further out away from the big city with all that cash and bid and buy land and run the price of land up out-landishly for farming purposes.

I was just looking at the Kansas counties and couldn't help but wonder why they picked so many Western Kansas ones- from what I've heard, they've been having drought problems and bickering with Eastern Colorado over water rights. But those places are ideal??? Hmmm...who would've thought...

Good point, balvenie. Out in NJ, there were large nurseries and farms, which, when the nursery closed, or the farmer retired, were ONLY able to be bought by dewallopers because of high taxes and high price. NJ is one state in particular in which it seems every single bit of land is privately owned and every square foot of land will eventually be built on. They were even building houses on hill-sides made of mostly rock while I was living there!

Hi balvenie and perservere1:

Your points regarding tax rate assessment apply ONLY if one does nothing and leaves the land eligible for development. That's usually the case, with the landowner all too willing to cash out. For those determined to retain the land and its character (woodland, farm, meadow, swamp, hillsides of rock, whatever), look into the option of conservation easements or other methods mentioned above.

When the land is no longer eligible for development, then the tax rates assessed must change. If somehow NJ (or other places) have found a way around this, then like-minded people just have to get out and vote for elected officials that support a different position.

Pardons if I've strayed too far into the political realm (cyber-slapping self).

I give up! You people do not get the point of this article.
This was not a thread on TAXES, LAND VALUES, POPULATION DENSITY, or any other political topic!
Bernie

Sorry Bernie. :( I think you were going for a most popular city kind of thing as in best places to live or visit? I'm just so happy to be out here rolling in my ruralness! I can't say that where I live now would be a huge tourist attraction as there is not much out here. It would be a great place to visit if you were only looking for a quiet country setting. I am happy to say crime is low, cost of living is decent, schools are good and I am happy to be here.

You're right Bernie. I apologize for straying from the subject matter. No excuses, I got carried away on a personal complaint. Just wish our County was a more livable place.

My county wasn't listed but counties all around me were. At least my State was well represented. ;)



Lin

The county right next to us (Hardin County, KY #154) was there. The county we moved from in Massachusetts (Berkshire County #24) was there :)

I heard about this last week on the radio and t.v. My county is listed as 5th in the midwest. 21st over all. The article is about cost of living, crime....that sort of stuff. We're just some hick rural county that doesn't offer much, except low crime, low housing costs..etc. It's about time we got noticed!

I agree with Viburnum! Nichols has always had about 375 people. We have very little crime or tragedies. I never want my town to get bigger. (We're just waiting for a huge hog corporation to find us and plop a confinement down on some farmland.) Nichols is surrounded by fields, and in a small town you know everyone. I'm happy to be a hick in an unknown town.