In your search for land, you might find what appears to be the perfect homestead site only to find out later the groundwater is polluted or the area is slated for massive fracking. Therefore it’s prudent to do as much research as possible before buying your land and investing years of time, money and labor. Thankfully, there’s a vast amount of free information available on the Internet that can help. The maps below show just a few things to search for. There are many other considerations. This information is also available in print in Joel Skousen’s Strategic Relocation book.
Oil pipeline spills
Fracking map
Uranium contamination map
Radon zones
Arsenic groundwater pollution
US Murder rate
Nuclear fallout map
Previous blog post about avoiding large cities: Where You Don’t Want to Be When it Hits the Fan
After studying 20-30 maps of risks and climate considerations you’ll probably realize there aren’t very many safe, clean areas remaining that are suitable for homesteading and gardening. Finding good, affordable land is quite challenging.
https://www.water2drink.com/images/supporting/arsenic_map_usgs.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/c7/55/3d/c7553dadbd51158076c853556836626f.gif
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MEDIA/nrcs143_011430.gif
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-07/documents/zonemapcolor.pdf
Thanks. Spend enough time and you could probably find dozens of maps. Remember to also check your county very carefully. While the general area may have many favorable qualities, conditions change a lot from county to county. For instance, the affordable land you’ve located may be in paradise but have lots of meth labs.
I just want to say that I really appreciate the OP and this reply. I had no idea how to start researching viable long-term choices. Thanks for the information.