TL/DR: Just isnt practical. Land and material prices skyrocketed and Im not getting any younger.
Longer version:
We talked ourselves out of this idea over the course of several trips to WV and PA but it was one conversation with a buddy of mine who really ended it for me. After I told him my idea of having this beautiful home up in the mountains away from all of civilization with horses and livestock he says, "Yeah, but then you'll be old. You wont want to have to do all that stuff".
I know it sounds obvious but it kinda blew my mind. It dawned on me that Im not a young man anymore. (45) I dont want any of that responsibility and having a mansion in the mountains wont be anything but problems for my kids to deal with later.
Additionally, Houses are meant to be lived in. Leaving the house empty for months is a bad idea. Security is another. I'd stay there by myself, but my wife and girls would never. Access to medical care in our older years would also be a concern.
The reason I asked…my wife and I have similar dreams, on a much smaller scale. I missed this thread when you first posted but saw it listed as a “similar” thread in another post recently. Read through it and gained some good ideas. I agree with you, your big house dreams were far bigger than what we are thinking or could handle.
I live in the same region as you (25 miles south of DC in Virginia). Wife, me and my two adult sons have fallen in love with southern Virginia or even sneaking into eastern WV. South of Harrisonburg, north of Roanoke region.
The dream is to cash in on our overpriced Northern Virginia home in 10-15 years from now and turn that into a 2500 sq foot house on 5-10 acres in the dream region. We only want that much acreage to keep some distance from our neighbors. Want much of the property to be woods with just a small portion cleared for the house. A big creek or small river is high on our priority list.
We are casually watching for properties for sale now and may move on something if the right one became available.
I’m 52 now and plan to work till I’m 65 but I’ve been told these next 15 years are going to be much quicker than the last 15 years were.
Thanks for the thread and the ideas!