What’s next in trucking?

Lol, hurry AI is already taking that industry over.

 

It's Capitalism, my friend. Profit above all.

 

You can still buy a house. Just have to pick somewhere that's still doable but it won't last long. The cancer is spreading everywhere and soon there will be nowhere left to escape it.

 

Good luck doing that buying land and hodge-podging together a compound "homestead" anywhere even remotely near civilization or any place worth living.

I tried to get the ball rolling on that, blocked by zoning, permits, septic, well, the county, and even the post office.

There are so many pitfalls in trying to do that. I know a few guys who have tried it in different states. It can be done but you'll be commuting 1-2 hours to the nearest walmart or spending more than it would cost to buy something.

Just getting a well and septic done in my case would have been 100k with the regulations and prices contractors demand. A neighbor put in a pool liner for his pool, charged 6k dollars. Another neighbor had a 10x25 foot deck installed about 2' off groundlevel... 35k dollars. Hell a hot water heater here is a 2k dollar job in labor alone and on a 3-4 week waiting list.

I'm unemployed and laid off atm, I think I'm going to say #### trucking and go into a trade. Hazmat tanker jobs here paying 25/hr. Regional gigs paying .45cpm. All of them plastic nanny trucks. Meanwhile rent for some mini-hotel 1br/1ba apartment is closing in on 2k/mo.

Juice just ain't worth the squeeze no mo'.

A nation of destitute renters, that's the future they want. You'll own nothing and [strike]be happy[/strike] be broke living paycheck to paycheck and mad at the world.

 

May be a regional thing... and the property/zoning is important. Also a cooperative permit process is key. Need to dig deep into the zoning regs. One of the reasons I purchased in this county is Site reviews take about a month to process. Next county north can be 6 months or more because of an "endangered" rodent.

Out here in WA if you have timber/ag property you can clear about an acre to use for "caretaker housing" and "shop space" while still maintaining the discounted property tax rate for ag and timber land.

Neighbor only did a preliminary site review with minimum details. Only stuff really included was a map showing where the well goes, where the Septic system goes, and location for a Mobile. Once they said it was going to be a mobile (mobile homes are administrated by the state in WA) the county was only concerned about the basic Infrastructure. Once the site plan was approved they could get an address from the Post office and could pull the permits for the well and septic.

He dropped in a 120 foot deep well, was in it about $20k including the power drop from the utility, Well allows him to get a power drop. His septic cost him another $20k. They are living in an RV bus for now. Washer and dryer are in the 12x16 well house along with a big freezer.

 

Where there's a will, there's a way. Your friends that are paying such high amounts of money for simple jobs aren't cut out for homesteading and it's obvious. Who homesteads or lives off grid with an inground pool lol?!

Hot water heaters are also easy to install and simple internet research can teach a man nearly everything these days.

The septic issues are definitely an issue though. Thanks to the feds, even places without official zoning demand expensive septic systems be installed. They've essentially banned outhouses.

There are other options though. Composting toilets are very feasible and lots of states are allowing part time residency if used for vacation purposes to get around the EPA nonsense.

A determined individual will make whatever happen by any means necessary. Sounds like your friend wasn't very determined and had too much money which took away his motivation.

 

The septic issue of 20k is still obsurd though. Especially when there are other options available. Aren't property owners allowed to install their own systems there? Lots of money can be saved if so.

 

I think it's still entirely possible to buy a home today, just not in fancy schmancy Colorado, where the cost of building a new home is teetering on just under a million bucks. I read, there were 322,103 home foreclosures last year. Many can be had for the back taxes. Before I came to Colorado, I looked into the UP of Michigan as a retirement prospect. There were several homes for sale. I could have had a home in Bessemer, Mich. a 3 bedroom house on a big city lot, with a NEW 2 stall garage,,,$8,000!!! The garage alone was worth that. Okay, the house was pretty bad, but if zoning permitted, a small mobile home and fix the house, or tear it down. Okay, Bessemer Mich. isn't for everyone, but this is going on all over America, and sadly, you can take advantage of someones misery.