Consider investigating small rural communities with lax building codes for homesteading. Many of these communities are in slow decline and eager for new community members. Keep an eye out for properties for sale and related community information online. Many properties come on the market when seniors pass away and children want to live in big cities. Look for areas with good water and established gardens with good soil.
Image source: Pew Trusts.org
Also it is important to be able to make a living once there. Will there be a market for your produce, or a business offering employment ? It is probably more important to do some research in a community in decline than one which is thriving. Will there be investment in infrastructure such as highways and telecommunications ? Many people in the UK go out into the countryside to “live the dream” only to return to the city a few years later because they become too cut off. So a great idea, but please do lots of research into what life will be like once in a declining area.
Am I missing something? A link to the real article? There is no list of “Best Places to Live with Minimal Building Codes” There is no info here.
We have about 15 previous articles on this. Use the search engine on the right side of the page.
You might want to make sure the ‘small community in decline’ includes the county seat, and that it’s been declining since before county building codes became the norm in the U.S. Otherwise, even if the town is welcoming you with open arms, you’ll still need engineer stamped blueprints, studies, and special code exemptions, which will make your sustainable little natural home cost more than a mansion and take twice as long to build.
Right. I’m mostly talking about areas with few or no building codes. See previous related articles here on our blog about “areas with few or no building codes”. Also note, when I say “communities in decline’ I’m talking about places that are gradually losing their population in a slow decline, not communities that are falling apart from gangbangers, crime, drugs, etc.