Advice re a Cabin

[Onomea]

Some great ideas here, guys. And info. Keep it up!

I currently work in Japan, and own a couple of houses -- just me and the bank, as my old man used to say -- in Hawaii, where I spend much of my summers and have long planned to retire. Recently my wife, who is Japanese, is thinking it would be nice to keepa place in Japan, too, afer retiring. I like Japan and Hawaii a lot, but I miss the rural life I knew as a kid in Virginia. And while I keep my guns in Hawaii, it is not a gun friendly place.

I have a brother I am close to, on the east coast, and we've been talking about the idea of going halves into a cabin somewhere, maybe out west. It would be more for us than for the wives. Since I am thinking Japan and Hawaii as a base, anywhere in the US would be equally inconvenient. But that is a very good point about Alaska, As is the point about 200 miles from home, in my bro's case.

(Like the guy said, Barb. You must know my wife!!)

 

[cincinnatijim]

Lots of pretty places in Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, and New Mexico. How much snow do you want?

If you're interested in New Mexico there's Ruidoso and Taos. Las Vegas, New Mexico seems nice. While driving from Taos to Las Vegas we encountered a man walking along the road with a nice string of Trout so we stopped to talk to him a bit.

The Black Hills area of South Dakota is very scenic. Our tour guide told us that the area is a favored retirement site for airmen who had served at the nearby AFB. She claimed that the area is South Dakota's "Banana Belt."

I lived at Worland, Wyoming one summer and really liked the area. Within easy driving distance you could go trout fishing or go pheasant, deer, or antelope hunting.

Good luck with your planning.

 

[460v LAC du FLAMBEAU]

Check out my real estate website in northern Wisconsin...

NorthwoodsSportsman.com

Play the video at the bottom of the home page.

Open-carry state. The "Northwoods of Wisconsin" is 750 square miles of 2,500 crystal clear lakes, national & state-owned forests with limited amount of private property and about 6 billion pine trees. Great for hunting, fishing, boating, quiet times etc...4-hour drive to Minneapolis and Milwaukee.

U.P. of Michigan is just 30 miles north...very remote!

Prices from $100K to $10 million.

 

[rburg]

Depends on how much work I can get out of GF.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Explain that one again! I guess living down near Cuba agrees with you! I see you have somehow used the words work and GF in the same sentence.

OK, back to the thread. I see a fallacy in the requirements. The easier a place is to get to, the more difficult the security will be. In some regions it would be nearly impossible. A paved road to your hideaway also means the dirtbags from the region will have easy access. The locals know the region better than any outsider, and they're not shy about helping themselves to your goodies. Anything not bolted down will be theirs.

With advancing age comes a need for easy access to hospital facilities and other health care. Also, since you're coming from far away, you want to consider both air access and a way to either rent a vehicle or store one near an airport. The more remote the hideaway is, the more you'll want the need for 4wd requirement.

One solution is to rent a storage garage near a small airport. Keep a minimal older Blazer or Bronco stored in the garage (they run the spectrum from wide open to pretty good security.) The deal is you fly to the airport (one with regularly scheduled commercial flights), catch a cab to the storage facility. Get your vehicle running (put the battery in that you've had on trickle charge). Drive to your hideaway.

My plan was similar, and included Grand Junction, CO airport. I considered Colorado Springs, but they've got enough crime to make it less attractive. Forget Denver.

 

[wyo-man]

I would suggest Northwest Wyoming.
Very gun friendly and very few neighbors (only 540,000 people in ENTIRE state!!).
wyo-man

 

[gizamo]

Out my back door. We are building a cabin this year for guests.

 

[Muley Gil]

You can still find cabins and land for sale here in the Blue Ridge mountains of Southwest Virginia at reasonable prices, especially in this economy.

Besides, you'll be among friends!

 

[Old 44 Guy]

Oh Boy; I had the same dream years ago. Built a cabin in the Sierras in 1959. County had 11,000 population. Nobody closer than 1/4 mile. Could shoot & hunt all around. Now it's surrounded by 2 subdivisions & a state hiway. Population 44,000.My advice is to get a trailer & go where you want to. Beware of staying in one place.

 

[Onomea]

Man, so much food for thought. Very useful perspectives, too, the guys who have done this, and the guys who have thought about doing this.

Much appreciated. More opinions welcome, too.

(And Giz, anything i can bring you from Japan or Hawaii?)

 

[deadin]

A number of years ago my sister and BIL had a small A-Frame up in the backwoods of Northern Idaho. As Dick said, they had a lot of problems with "break-ins". (No neighbors anywhere near to keep an eye on it.) They took to leaving the door unlocked so, at least they wouldn't be replacing it all the time. Still got trashed quite often. They even went so far as to ditching the road and felling trees across it so you had to hike in the last mile or so. Didn't help much, so they finally sold it.

 

[samuelrp]

Cabin.........a place to go when you're in the doghouse.