There's a good chance that my husband's company will transfer him to another city this summer. Even though nothing is confirmed yet, I've started an informal house hunt while he's out of town. If nothing else, it'll kill a few hours after the kid is in bed, and will help me help our real estate agent.

We'll be staying in Ontario, somewhere in the Canadian Shield between Kingston and the Quebec border, within an hour or so of the great lake. That's a bit of a snowbelt in the winter, with temps into the 30s in the summer. No tornadoes, but thunderstorms and icestorms for sure. Only tiny tremors once in a while and no more nuke plants immediately next door. There are some major chemical plants like Dupont though, and the major provincial highway and railways are in the neighbourhood. We'll go as far North from them as is reasonable.

I think I'm looking forward to it. I'm working on my wish list. Any suggestions? If you were going to uproot and replant your family, what would you be looking for?

Ideally, we'd prefer to be rural not urban. There are lots of great little communities and farm land in the area and we're going to concentrate on those. We've got property out there but are nowhere near ready to build yet.

I'd like some land for my son to roam and for a big garden, a large pantry and storm/root celler, and I think I'd prefer a well to city water. Hydro and natural gas are absolute musts. I'd rather not see my neighbours, (either via distance or trees, preferably both) and a stream, river or pond would be an added bonus.

EDIT: I also want to be able to have rain and burn barrels, compost and a firepit, things strictly outlawed where we live now.

My hubby wants a garage, the bigger the better, and needs a high-speed internet conection.

My son wants trees big enough for a tree house, and cable tv or a satellite. He'd love to be bussed and I'd like him to go to school between home and my hubby's job, no more than a 20 min drive away.

Our daughter wants to be close enough for college and far away enough so my in-laws aren't popping in every day, and high-speed internet is a must for her just like her dad.

What's on your personal housing wish list?

A large garage/workshop - sort of a working man cave...I realize that ladies can use tools, as well, but that doesn't happen very much in my family.

Bad experiences with wells in my youth (pollution from phosphate detergents hit 300 feet down!) makes me very hesitant about well water in today's environment. What tests OK today may be very bad tomorrow. So I prefer municipal water supply.

Also, a co-worker and her husband moved into their brand new home last year. It had well water. The well went dry 5 months later. They were not happy to say the least, and major problems between them and the builder ensued. Not what you want.

This year we put in an automatic stand-by natural gas powered generator, which has already been in operation 3 times. In any future home, it is something I would want to have the option to retrofit. They can also run off tanked propane.

Otherwise, it sounds like you pretty much have your dream house already designed...

Good luck!

I've been thinking about that too, bws48. Maybe we'll be lucky and find a place with both city and well water. Probably wishful thinking.

That's out thinking too, Hikermor. He needs his man space to putter around, work on the vehicles, fix stuff, build stuff, scratch... We saw one on-line that's got an old barn and I think it made the caveman drool a little bit.

Cellar?

Right on, Dewest. We've got a very limited budget so might not get a basement, but a storm/root cellar is something I'm looking for. Water could be a problem so we'll have to do our homework.

My list is similar. It would include high-speed Internet, municipal water and sewer, a professional fire department, big garage, full basement, plenty of storage space, a home office for me, and a kitchen that pleases my wife.

We're definitely simplying in this move! We're not going off the grid but are hoping to get more self-sufficient and basic.

I think that is how I would approach it. It's very similar to the list I had looking for a house in 2004, though in the desert SW. Unfortunately price point put us in a great house but as suburban as it gets.

I've had time to think about how I would do it differently, how some friends have done what you're thinking about and maybe I can give you some of that as a way to approach this.

Property. It is generally not hard to find 3-5 acres of rural land like you're thinking except the concession is you'll most likely see your neighbors to some extent. And really thats not a bad thing. In fact with some tree planting in a few years that would be moot. Friends in the PNW have set up lines of blackberry bushes that grow to shield the view of neighbors and offer some protection thank to the thorns. Plus great summer treat.

Well water. I would go well if I could. I believe you can get water table info and history pretty easily as part of your preliminary searches to narrow down the areas you'll look in. Then upgrade the pump to include solar.

ManCave. If a room, garage or building on the property you're looking at can't be converted, then get enough property to build one. Building would be best as you can build the man cave downstairs, say 1000-1500 sq feet with a guest room on the 2nd floor. It is really not a lot of money to do since plumbing and power are above ground. It's is a nice retreat for the kids or kids sleepover, company and DH can has a bathroom to wash up, not track in stuff. Going with a just a basic metal frame structure is even cheaper.

Gardening, composting, burn/rain barrels. This can be done, very well, with even just 1.5 acres. In fact I'd expect a decent fire pit area to mature with seating and a fortified fire pit.

A recommendation for today. Pick up a copy of Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emory that goes through in great detail finding a suitable place like your looking at.

I gave a dog earred copy to some friends relocating to Idaho with your thinking and they have really taken it to heart.

Thanks Comms. Great ideas! I haven't heard of that book but will check it out.

I'd stick urban / suburban.

I was at our friends acreage out of town recently and there are definitely benefits: added isolation, space, closeness to nature and more self-sufficiency are all nice. However, the commute would kill me . I don't like spending lots of time driving so unless something significant changed job-wise I'll stick to the city.

For the house itself I'd love some more square footage, a nice garage and a different neighbourhood (closer to the kids' school). However, for location, I really don't even want to move to the outer suburbs - I like a more central, almost inner-city location (for our small city, that is).

But I also would love to stop paying a mortgage at some point in my life so staying where I am at and making do / adapting is also rather attractive.

Well water and DuPont may not be a good combination. Find out if there is some sort of local Water Board and have a list of questions for them. Have they done anything more than fecal coliform counts on the water? Chemical tests are very expensive to have done yourself, so see if they've done them as a matter of routine, or to keep an eye on DuPont or the other industries in the area. If they have done tests in that area, ask if you can have a printout of the results.

Also ask if there is any kind of truth disclosure laws on water sources, like if the well runs all year or dries up, contamination issues, etc. Water tables are dropping everywhere due to heavy use.

Streams, rivers and ponds flood. Some dry up in summer. If there is a river or stream nearby, get the water rights on paper. With some places, all you get is the view of the river and the flooding problems. A small spring or two would be far better (esp from a deep source, rather than groundwater) for survival purposes. Fecal coliform tests are usually cheap, $10 USD. Have every water source tested. Start with the springs, if any. Also, long ago I heard a man say, "If you find a spring on your property, dig it out with a spoon, not a backhoe", so maybe there are ways to ruin it if you have one.

If, by chance, the house needs to be re-roofed as part of the sales agreement, YOU choose the material, the safest for rainwater collection. If you have to pay the difference between what the owners want, do so. Baked-on painted metal in certain colors is safest.

In the U.S., there are more laws all the time about the limitations on what you can do with your land. Find out what restrictions are in place before you buy, regarding water, building, trees, burning, etc. Always ask, "Anything else?" just in case they don't say anything because you didn't ask about it.

Natural gas isn't piped everywhere, esp in the country, so if you want any gas at all, it has to be propane.

If you find a likely place, try to see it under the worst possible conditions.


Book: Finding & Buying Your Place in the Country by Les & Carol Scher. While the 1974 version is informative, get hold of the more recent edition (2000) for updated info.

Carla Emery's book is great, very useful.

Sue

Great advice, Sue, thanks! We've definitely got some homework to do.

I'm with you about hating the commute, Denis. I did my old one a few weeks ago, and can't believe I lasted seven years doing it. I hate being stuck in traffic. It's a definite consideration in this move. DH could end up in one of about five places between Kingston, Cornwall and Ottawa, which covers about 2 hours of highway in good weather. Buying something before his final destination is decided could be a big mistake.

All good points. In the area where I live water tests by the public utilities are required and paid for by the masses. The results are available on demand, and also published annually. Another tac you can use is to contact the local water filter companies. They will have their finger on the pulse and know exactly what's in the local water. You can get some good advice and take it with a grain of salt.

If it is really Canadian Shield (granite), OK, but, if not, make sure you are not buying / building on Quick Clay. (See Wikipedia article.)

Highway 416 between Prescott and Ottawa crosses over some unstable stretches, and you don't want to have your house collapse like what happened to a family living in St Jude, Qc on May 11, 2010. They had a nice, solid looking rural house, and it slid into a void, killing them all.

Thankd Byrd and Paul. Good points to keep in mind. Lots of research ahead!

Good advice. Welcome to ETS!

Find out where the high crime centers are. It may surprising at the number of neighborhoods that are "high target, high activity" areas. It is not just in the areas that you would consider obvious.

Check the school system reports for violence and the level of parent/teacher organization activity; unless you are homeschooling.

Get a map of the public transportation lines. It is nice to be close if you are a one-vehicle family. Actually, it is good either way.

My $.02

Though demographics can change suddenly,A good idea is to hang out in the general vicinity of a prospective residence,On a Friday or Saturday night,those two nights seem to produce the urge to frolick amongst humans,Most anywhere on the Planet!

Thanks Richlacal! Good idea!