Interesting question here that is OB related as well as financial.

I feel like most the older and wiser generation would rightly give financial advice to the younger generation regarding living below your means. Not upgrading house to keep up with the jones would likely be one of those pieces of advice.

However, what is the OB advice on stretching to raise children on land? There is basically no way to do that without having a significant "house" payment.

Could stay in our starter home for a good while longer, throw lots more into investments, and set ourselves up very well. However I can't help but see how fast a year goes now. 18 of them with a kid is nothing…

I guess my question would be, has anyone regretted the financial undertaking and possible setback that is required to buy land with a young family? I've always thought I was firmly in the "delayed gratification" camp when it came to purchasing a dream like land, but the speed at which kids grow up has really caught me off guard.

Thanks!

Regret that we did not do it, but no regrets for what we did not do at the same time.

Land will always go up in value and with enough the taxes are less than the city for having more (e.g. ag exemption). "Cost" should not be the consideration.

One of the main reasons we never did it was the concern about education and how it could impact them (we were in a great school system and it paid dividends to them).

Sorry that it is probably not much more help then where you currently are thinking.

What's the goal with living on land? How much land are you talking about?

We are literally in this exact same boat with a 3yr old and 8mo old. Already purchased the land, would make my commute over an hour. Still need to build a house.

10andBOUNCE said:

---

What's the goal with living on land? How much land are you talking about?

---

The goal would just be a small hobby farm. Chickens, bees, large garden, etc. Would be very small <10acres. As other have brought up, just not sure if that is worth having to keep a certain level of income to buy something so expensive. Commute is not a factor really as I have great flexibility. Our kids do have great access to the outdoors, as my parents have a ranch. Just don't know if day to day "rural" lifestyle really makes for that much more of a memorable and fond childhood. Thanks everyone so far!

aggiebrad16 said:

---

We are literally in this exact same boat with a 3yr old and 8mo old. Already purchased the land, would make my commute over an hour. Still need to build a house.

---

Congrats! That's awesome!

coolerguy12 said:

---

We moved onto 6 acres when my kids were 5, 3, 6mo. Now 9, 7, 4, and 1.5. We have bees, chickens, cows, and a donkey. It's a ton of fun and we have zero regrets about doing it. It's a ton of work also and I know my kids don't always appreciate it. Also super fortunate that it made my commute shorter and we're still in a neighborhood and have good schools.

My son was driving a tractor by himself at age 4. I could be working on something, ask him to go get the tractor and it would show up. It's amazing

That same son at 7 told me that he would rather watch me work the tractor when I asked him to help me pull up fence posts. I told him that's not an option because I'll be working the chain and I need him on the tractor. I lectured him that most 7 year old boys would lose their mind at the chance to drive a tractor and instead their chores are to pull weeds and rake the lawn if they even have chores at all.

He also complained all day one Saturday because none of his friends could play and he was so bored. He has a fishing pond, creek, side by side, and 1,000 other things to do…

Long story short, we love it and 4 years in my wife and I still sit on our back porch watching the sun set in disbelief about where we live. My kids also don't fully appreciate what they have but I'm hopeful that one day they will.

---

Really appreciate this. Definitely can romanticize my kids loving what I love. But I know that likely won't be the case. Sounds like yall have a fantastic life and know your kids will smile looking back on those years.

While I appreciate the congrats message… it's really weighing on us. Better schools where we purchased the land so that's a big factor.

A previous poster mentioned the time spent with kids. He's 100% right about what's holding me back.

I am mentally wrestling with this every day. Honestly, it probably only adds 20 minutes to the commute.

aggiebrad16 said:

---

While I appreciate the congrats message… it's really weighing on us. Better schools where we purchased the land so that's a big factor.

A previous poster mentioned the time spent with kids. He's 100% right about what's holding me back.

I am mentally wrestling with this every day. Honestly, it probably only adds 20 minutes to the commute.

---

I am in the "do it" camp. We did when our girls were 10 & 8. We had to build our guest house 1st and live in it and a small cabin that was used for our living room and kitchen until we could build our main house but I don't regret any of it. It was definitely a financial challenge and still is but we make it work. Getting them out of the city and into the sticks has been wonderful. My oldest would much prefer being in town but my youngest loves hopping on the side-by-side and going for a long ride down the back roads. I just wish we were home more where they could experience it even more.

I made the move to a lake house instead of land. Downsized houses quiet a bit to make it financially feasible, but have an acre now instead of a 1/4 of an acre. Lake house is less work and more fun and a bigger yard to play in. Nature trails across the street for short hikes, Short cart ride to a 9 hole golf course. Slowly making improvements to the house using my own labor.

The kids have a blast and spend a lot of time in the outdoors that would likely be spent indoors if we still lived in town. Fishing, wakeboarding, tubing, boat rides, and swimming are much preferable to tick tok and minecraft.

My folks sold their lake house and built a house on acreage about the same time. My Dad's tired of working on the land and trying to sell it and move back to the lake. I do dread having to go back to a range to shoot. Four wheeler and dirt bike trails will be missed, but we can still cruise lake roads without being hassled by cops. Have a buddy with a bad ass ranch in south Texas we visit a couple of times a year to get our hunting and Hummer ride fixes.

We did this recently. We bought 10 acres in 2023, soon after our first son's first birthday. We built and moved in February of 2025, just after our second son's first birthday (we intended to have him after we built, but umm things happened).

We love it. We know more of our neighbors (most have young kids of their own) than we did in the cookie cutter neighborhood we came from. The small town nearby has great schools. My wife has made so many friends locally. We spend all the time outside. The main attraction the last week or two has been a dirt pile I pushed up with my tractor. The boys will want to go "frog hunting" every night as soon as it warms up a little more.

The downsides are primarily financial. I took on about $1500 more home related expense monthly. I've just got to keep my head above water a few more years until the kids get a little older and my wife goes back to work. It added about 30 minutes each way to my commute. I don't count the mornings because I'm usually gone before the kids wake up either way, but that's still 2.5 hrs/wk spent on the road instead of home. I'm considering work from home roles or starting my own business, so the commute may not always be a problem.

My boys had lots of "country" exposure before we moved. All these things considered, we'd do it again in a heartbeat. We know we'll just have a little ground to make up once wife goes back to work.

ETA: In our case, I think the awesome community was every bit as important as the land. Moving to BFE or somewhere we couldn't integrate would not be as great as our move has been.

If it was only 1500/month extra for us, I wouldn't even pose the question. That's a no brainer. Congrats! We also have a very good community in the town we currently live. So have to stay very close to it.

Random thoughts...

I don't know if I would ever advise someone to take a large financial hit to try and live out some kind of dream life that they think that can attain.

If you can do it financially, great. It also will likely be more expensive than you thought. We only have 2 acres and don't have any farming or agriculture, and it keeps me plenty busy just to maintain the property.

Don't over-romanticize the idea of your family enjoying pure bliss just because you own land and some animals. It can be great, and I have a friend that does a lot of homesteading type of activities, and it really does work out for them quite nicely.

I would look into homeschooling if this ends up being something you do pursue.