And, frankly, I'd rent. You'll be gone in two years.

Anonymous wrote:Rural areas don’t tend to be liberal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You must have no friends.

They move around every couple of years. Of course they have no friends.

OP here, I just have to ask why someone would take the time to write this? I know you don't know me and all, and I won't justify my life to strangers, but for not one person but two to be nasty for no reason, I just don't get it. Is this how you want your children to behave? Is this who you're raising them to be? Try to do better.

OP, this is what we do here on DCUM. Sorry you encountered it so quickly.

We just moved to Purcellville. It's not really near a MARC train, so probably not what you're looking for. We enjoy the beauty, and we may eventually do something with the land, but right now we're just settling in and enjoying our slower pace of life. Highly recommend it, but not some place I'd want to make a daily commute from. However, there will soon be a Metro stop in Ashburn so that improves the commuting options.

Harper's Ferry is on MARC. Another place to consider.

Also, I will agree with others who've said if you're looking for liberal values, you generally won't find them in the places you have mentioned. Frederick is as redneck as hell.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rural areas don’t tend to be liberal.

Thank you, yes, that's why I'm asking if anyone has found anywhere that is somewhat liberal.

Anonymous wrote:Did OP say though a farm? Livestock? I was thinking just land. I live on 30 acres and we don't farm or have animals (other than two big dogs). Yes, we do have expenses that you don't have in a regular development, and things can get more complicated (e.g., getting trash and recycling down a 1/3 mile driveway). But it can be nice to just have a good amount of land and not have neighborhood gossip and neighborhood queen bees to deal with.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 20 acres in rural western Frederick county (close to the Point of Rocks MARC area). DH and I grew up on very big family farms (5K Acres) on the great plains, so knew what we were getting into when we bought our place. I think there are a lot of things you need to think hard about before you go all "Green Acres," especially if you have never, ever lived rurally before.

We are liberals and DH is retired military, (so I think we may have similar backgrounds as far as moving around) - but in our experience here - politics are not talked about, at least in depth, and DH and I usually avoid it if it does come up in conversations. I know in DC, politics are a fact of life, but in the world outside the beltway, people have other things to think and talk about.

We are active in the community, on some of the local town civic associations, and other social events here. People are friendly, and neighbors help neighbors (so liberal in practice, but vote conservative, whatever). We needed help putting new stall in our barn before winter, and two neighbors showed up with a Bobcat loader last Wednesday night to help DH get it together so one of our mares and her new foal are all set for the winter. That's just how farm life is.

If this is just a "temporary" next stop for you before moving again, I think you need to proceed with extreme caution here. These properties are hard to sell because people aren't really looking to buy them. They are also hard to find, we looked for over two years before finding the property we bought and the house needs a lot of updating - but we were looking for useable farm and pasture land to keep horses, cattle, beekeeping, poultry, and a large garden and orchard. Wooded land is easy to find here - good grazing land for livestock and crop farming is really hard to find here.

Farms are a lot of work. I am up at 4am most mornings making sure animals are checked, fed and watered before I log in for work (I telework most days, take the MARC one day a week) - and animals don't care if it's raining, snowing, cold, or hot, they just know they are hungry and where the heck is the lady with that hay??? After I log off for the day, I am on a horse, or cleaning stalls, feeding, checking fences, meeting with our veterinarian, or any other odds and ends that need done around here - and there is always something, but I LOVE living this way. If you don't love it, don't do it.

Do you have the expendable cash for equipment? A hobby tractor for 20 acres, is a NEED, not a want, costs upwards of 20K and then factor in maintenance and the attachments like a front-end loader, mower deck, back hoe, and possibly a baler. You will not have city service to plow your drive - you will need a tractor to do this for you. If your DH is in the city during the week and a storm hits - are you capable of doing this by yourself??? You will also probably want a Gator (a golf cart on steroids) to get around the place, move hay, yard implements, various other equipment instead of using your car. If you want outbuildings (barn, quonset for tractor/gator), factor that in, they aren't cheap either.

Are you comfortable having a rifle or shotgun in your house and using it? You will need it - we have plenty of critters that are known for killing chickens. We have a "shoot on sight" policy for red foxes and woodchucks out here. They cause too much property destruction to feel warm and fuzzy about them.

If the answer to any of those questions above is "No" then you need to slow the heck down and really think this through. I'm not saying don't do it, but you should go into this lifestyle with your eyes (and your pocketbook) very wide open.

NP here. THANK YOU for this post! Some days I think a life like yours would be idyllic. Rescue dogs and animals around the property, a brook running through it... and your post presents the time investment that would actually be required. And the financial investment as well! I'll stay here in my city