Based on the numbers you listed, I would do it if this was a potential retirement home for me.

I would absolutely have to include kids in this drastic a decision, but they also wouldn't get a full veto.

Do it.

Just do it, if it doesn't work out, in a couple years you can sell that place and move back to town. I'd bet it will work out, you will find a way to make it work.

Financially, it might be a tad bit less comfortable than you'd like. But it sounds like the quality of life and memories could far outweigh and potential discomfort along the way.

YOLO!

cs69ag said:

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I think interest rates will be coming down by next summer when Fed Chair Powell is gone!

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and the sales price of real estate will correspondingly rise

Ha! GIF wouldn't show on my phone, but I lol'd when I got it open on my iPad

LMCane said:

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cs69ag said:

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I think interest rates will be coming down by next summer when Fed Chair Powell is gone!

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and the sales price of real estate will correspondingly rise

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Could also see a scenario where they paradoxically fall.

Lower rates release owners trapped with sub 4% interest rates and allow them to go back onto the market...flood of houses back to the market where owners were previously rate trapped and now looking to move.

May be a net wash but I wouldn't be completely shocked to see prices fall temporarily on lower rates.

one safe place said:

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Will your wife go back to work, or start to work, once the kids are all in school? If so, maybe her income could cover the note on the new house.

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We homeschool our kids, so not a relevant option for us. If my wife needed to go back to work to pay the bills, she'd do it without hesitation. But beyond that, we both are big believers in our old-school single-breadwinner lifestyle. I've shared on this board before, and I'll share it again, but I think an important part of our success is how we support one another as a team .

I really believe that I have achieved more success in my career with her supporting me that we would have found separately in our respective careers. I realize our homeschool and single-income lifestyle isn't a fit most people. But it works for us and I'd encourage anyone considering it to give it a go.

ETA: before anyone asks, there's a lot we do to keep our kids socially active - Co-ops, church, sports, etc

What you're saying resonates with me a lot. I think in this case, I think there's not a bad answer. There are just some trade-offs and everyone has their own value proposition for what's important.

If we stayed where we are at, it wouldn't be a *bad* thing. It's still a great house. I still get to do the carpentry I enjoy. We have great cushion to continue to save for college for kids. I'm on pace to retire early.
If we moved to the country, it wouldn't be a *bad* thing. We still have a lot saved for college. We aren't giving up any of our current lifestyle, but I may have to work a few years later in my career.

One of the reasons that I asked this question on TA is that I know I'm very fiscally conservative - probably to a fault. Some of this is my nature, some of this is our SI5K lifestyle. But I want to challenge my natural inclination. I guess I'm not surprised there's a wide range of responses, but it helps me with the litmus test of "would it be a mistake to stretch ourselves?".

I don't think much about the exit strategy, so that's a good point.

Based on what I've read, I'd do it today! Running numbers through some of the FIRE calculators really opened my eyes on long term financial security.

We made this jump in 2019. Little scary when COVID came around, but my business jumped 30% that year. Some of that was market related and some was buckling down and working harder. The decision came down to investments. I have a decent size portfolio. I contributed 15% of my income for 20 years to 401k. For 10 years I added another 10% outside my 401k to a balanced fund. With this move, I would need that 10% to pay the mortgage so I lowered each by 5%. The way I look at it is I just diversified my portfolio though I was putting it in an illiquid asset in my mind.

Kids- 1 loved it and the other probably has missed out and things in neighborhood. The one that loved it started driving soon after and it became the place where all his friends hung out. The younger will love it in a couple more years.

Caution: lots of "needs and wants" come with this purchase. Took me 5 years before getting a tractor for pasture, pond maintenance, etc. pretty sure I took 5 years off my life with physical labor. Then there is the ATV need, 4 wheeler want, etc.

hunter2012 said:

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The Office is a TV show.

I'm in the don't do it camp. However, itdepends on your current ISD and kids. For us, we had a top 6A ISD and kids highly active in athletics and academics. Our kids loved the ranch from birth to double digits. By ten, baseball was year round for the oldest. We had no time for the ranch. I grew up a weekend (and every holiday rancher). We missed out on a lot. We experienced what few people get to experience. No complaints. My parents retired to their ranch and soon after were stuck there aging with no free labor and missing their home in Houston. They couldn't sell their white elephant ranch or afford their old neighborhood.

We just went through this discussion in our house, very similar homeschooling family with rural roots. My kids are more than halfway done being kids and has made me question some of this stuff myself. Ultimately, we decided to stay where we are at, work on paying off our current mortgage and saving for a big Universal Orlando trip.

Having Property
I grew up on a ranch and just assumed my kids would as well. But as they say about the best laid plans. Lots of inward questioning of what is really important to me. How much time would I spend keeping things up, I like farm animals, but they do make it tough to travel and are always more expensive than you anticipate. We rarely traveled when I was a kid, the thought of easily traveling sounds pretty good as well. I have a good garage and a nice shed. I do miss having a large garden, instead I did set up raised beds for the kids and let them pick out what to grow, has been a fun experience for them.

Country vs Neighborhood
I have had bad experiences living in the country as well, there is a greater risk for what your neighbors might do with their property. We currently like all of our neighbors to the point where I'd feel safe if my kids knocked on any of their doors for help. We have also had some unexpected medical conditions and it is great piece of mind to be a few minutes from a hospital. I will acknowledged that if I had the money to live in the country surrounded by cows and not have to work my day job, I'd do it in a heart beat.

Money
Several times I have thought I was well on my way to making a large income, to just have life punch me in the face. I currently have a good job, but I don't see much advancement out of my technical role. I've decided to just stay put and try to maximize my time with my kids. Currently we only owe on the house, and we are over halfway on our 15yr mortgage. Everyone was on board with paying more towards the mortgage. The family agreed to cut expenses, pay on the house, and save for that big Orlando vacation. I will say we are unique in that medical has been a huge hit to us, we have basically hit our max out of pocket every year since 2017.

Oh and if you are leaning towards moving, don't watch the The Sign Bluey episode!

I am not usually in this forum but saw this and it's an interesting discussion. Take everything I say from the POV of someone who loves to save because of the safety it brings.
As someone said, the percent of your slack it would eat up is important. But I would be in the no camp for two reasons, one real one potential. First, as a single income household with a large family, there's a lot more pressure on your finances should something happen in your job. Having that extra cushion would be a big thing for me. Second, and related, would this make you a remote employee? My company had allowed it for years and sent notes last month to hundreds of them company wide that they had to move to an office or get let go.
And then additionally, without knowing your finances, again I would prioritize saving until you are comfortable over a new house, in case something happened to you. Your wife maybe smarter and more motivated than most, but without work experience would have a tough time.
Jmo.

bearcat said:

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Caution: lots of "needs and wants" come with this purchase. Took me 5 years before getting a tractor for pasture, pond maintenance, etc. pretty sure I took 5 years off my life with physical labor. Then there is the ATV need, 4 wheeler want, etc.

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It's a good point to consider. I'm not going to say I'm perfect at it, but I've tried to account for the other costs in a move like this, so a tractor is on my spreadsheet. But I haven't thought much about toys.

Quote:

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Second, and related, would this make you a remote employee? My company had allowed it for years and sent notes last month to hundreds of them company wide that they had to move to an office or get let go.

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Thanks for the perspective on saving. My remote work is pretty limited and I've got to be on site most days, so no change there. My commute could be shorter in some cases, and add 10-15 minutes in others, depending on where we look at.

Jason - thanks for the perspective.

Thanks all for your thoughts and perspective.

We've decided to keep our eyes open for an opportunity. We're also going to look at a few other properties to see what's out there and have a better idea of what the market really looks like. It wouldn't be wise to make a decision having only looked at a single property. Even the property we looked at will probably be on the market for a while. The owner's have already lowered the price since I posted this topic. We're keeping our eyes on the interest rates and other factors.

One other recent data point - there was an announcement for a huge 11 Gigawatt data, AI, and energy complex that will be going into our area. The number of construction jobs and long term jobs will certainly affect the housing market and the local job market for the next few years. I think being aware of how all these various factors change is only a good thing for us.

But we've also got a lot of patience and don't feel the urge to make a jump if we're not comfortable with it. Patience is our friend.

As someone in a similar situation:

3 kids
Single income
Built on acreage

Make sure you consider all the expense that comes with it, not just the mortgage. Depending on what you want to do:

Fences
Tractor
Equipment
Side by side
Livestock
Feed
Dirt bikes
Four wheelers
Etc….


It's inevitable

Sounds like you are forward thinking and responsible with your finances. You get one shot with your kids at home and 18 years goes by faster than you think….
Move to the country, buy the land, build the pool, buy the boat. Spend some of your hard earned resources on the things that bring you PRICELESS memories and time with your family. Why the hell else do we work so hard?

RangerRick9211 said:

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Where are you in the timeline of FI?

We took on a major expense and the wife with part-time this year. But we've been heavy savers are are .75 to FI at 37.

At some point the portfolio lifts more than you save. You've won then. Have fun.

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I agree with the bolded and I think we're past that inflection point where the portfolio is contributing to net worth faster than income.

I've got my own custom spreadsheet for what I think I need to retire based on inflation, projected growth, projected expenses, etc, and I've got a good sense of when we'd be financially independent. But I'm not familiar with that .75 number you shared as it relates to FI. What are you calculating there?

God's country.

Pretty sure he means they are 75% of the way to FI. I.E. their investments today would cover 75% of what they want to have annually to retire on.