Should YOU Buy Land as a HOMEBASE for Van Life?

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Thanks for watching!

[davidmiller]

Shelter idea: Buy 2 sea-land containers, place them about 30 feet apart and put a truss system on them with metal roofing. You have a drive in, drive out shady area, and a 46 x 40 rain catchment area without building a single wall or setting a single post. Add solar panels, and you have a colossal amount of electric.

[livingandlovingit]

Been a nomad for about 8 years now just bought 10 acres in Mojave County for $650.00 down and $200.00 a month, love the property plan to make it base camp, has a decent road in no power, no water but can do rain harvesting and haul . I've been living with only solar all this time, I'm 73 and really looking forward to the challenge.

[designlifeliving]

Having a home base is a great ideafor all the reasons Bob gave but here’s another one: shring your home base with others. Imagine if a group of nomads each had a home base at different altitudes and latitudes. They could travel around to each other’s home base and benefit from the advantages of each, depending on the season. That would ensure some degree of security as there might be someone present for most of the year. And you would all benefit from having semi-permanent installations. No more wandering around wondering where you can camp, counting days…etc.

[oldscout]

I guess you could have called me a nomad until I got married at 45. I lived in 7 states from West Virginia to Hawaii for no less than 2 yrs. each. When ever I made a move I had guaranteed work, and liked the idea of feeling free to get up and go if I wanted to see a new place. I always had my fishing poles and a dirt bike in the back of my pickup here on the mainland, and did a lot of spear fishing and hunting on the big Island of Ha. I never lived in a big city. When my beautiful wife of 25 years passed on 9 yrs. ago I bought a place 6 miles from a V.A. medical facility. Its a small town I'm in, but has everything I need and within reach of the Minneapolis Metro. There's no way I could get back into the nomad life with my minor physical problems. I had my fun, now I'm kickin' back enjoying the memories in my little home. I just turned 79 in Feb. and like your channel a lot. Thanks, from Minnesota

[crazyduck]

I’m glad someone came out and said this. Human beings will eventually be drawn to a “familiar place”.

[peterchristian]

And just like that, the price of land in Bobs town went through the roof! 🤣✌️

[alchristensen]

As for age, health and medical reasons for having land: One reason cheap land is cheap is that it's far from civilization and services — including medical services. Right now I'm with an ex-nomad friend living in a tiny town in southwest New Mexico. He's dealing with cancer, heart problems and a bad hip. The nearest medical services — which are limited and of dubious quality — are 20 miles away. There's talk of closing the hospital. All over the country they're having a hard time attracting and keeping doctors — particularly specialists — in rural areas. So you might want to think twice about spending your post-nomad years too remotely — especially where dirt roads might become impassible when you need them most. Don't let the price of the land be your only criteria.

[catherinebrady]

I have a small house as far south as you can get, on the east coast. And a house in the Pacific northwest. Small houses that are rented, with big yards. Renters know I will be occuping a portion of the yard 6 months of the year. It works out perfectly. I zig zag across this country seeing sights, meeting beautiful people and simply experiancing life. I hope someone gets inspiration from this post.

[ExclusiveLM]

If you own land and go away from it once in a while, dig a big hole in a secret area on your property to store your valuables while you are away. Don't mark the secret spot or put anything on it that will attract attention.

[raymonddon]

i just brought 50 AC land at 29 palms, CA. and this is my new base camp in my van life. price was $70K but i put $5K down and $800. per month. i just love it and now to start making it home - ee.... all i need is a girlfriend!

[davidleigh]

Never buy Arizona land site unseen. Make sure it is not land locked so can access it through a road. Also, I would recommend a title atty, usually a $100 fee, to make sure there no liens on the property.

[adventureswithgnomie]

Never a bad idea to own land - a home base can be a place to recharge, fix your rig or ride out a crisis.

[livinginthenow]

Being disabled and having a poor credit rating, my chances of buying a house with a mortgage are slim to none, and Slim just left town. But I'm not gonna let that stop me. My plan is to save up while being a nomad and buy some land in New Mexico so I can "camp" there in my van part of the year. Long term, I intend to save up some more and build a tiny home on the land. I can still travel if I want to, but I'd have a home to come back to. The only way I can do all this saving up of money is to live full time in my van and put away the money I'd be spending on rent. That's my version of the American dream at this point, and I'm fine with it.

[patricklee]

I bought 2.08 acres about 3 miles from Concho, AZ. in Apache County for $3200. I will be going out there in the near future to homestead, it's doable.

[debbiedebbie]

I keep thinking it would be great for a handful of people (who are responsible) to each buy land in different states, and share like a co-op situation, so you all agree that you can visit all of those pieces of land, so you have a handful of designated spots to park, without worrying about where to go.

[priola]

Just to echo Bob’s comment on the local government. They may have one set of rules about rv parking, such as Bob described. But once you start putting in anything that meets that counties description of a “structure” or especially a “dwelling”, off you go. So if you want to spend money improving the land, even with a road, do your homework so you don’t have issues.

[traveltimewithtim]

My opinion is it’s never a bad idea to own land if you can afford it no matter if you’re a nomad or not. I’ve been trying to get my wife to sell our house and full time but I definitely wouldn’t be without a piece of property.

[michelelovesfreedom]

another great thing you can do with Nomad neighbors is to look out for each other and stay home every 2-6 months while your neighbor travels and vice versa.

[microcolonel]

A little point about water on your land: you can dramatically improve the retention of water on land, even flat land like that, by slightly intervening with a shovel. The more water you retain, the more organic material goes into the soil, and the more water it will retain.

[QuietLight_Studio]

Great advice. I have been saying this for many years. The real issue is finding land in this country near a place that you enjoy that isn't regulated to the point of making the land unusable. Based on experience, I can verify that once you put up any kind of building (shed, tiny house, garage, etc.), several things happen. 1 - Maintenance is required on a regular basis. Letting any type of building stand unattended is a really bad idea as I learned the hard way. 2 - Finding affordable land in a desirable area is more difficult than you may think. Finding cheap land in very rural areas and more undesirable areas is much easier, but don't think it is simple. I first purchased land that I consider affordable, but the medical service was worse than a vet clinic. Long story short, finding a small piece of land that is near a desirable area that is not heavily restricted is not an easy task.