As a back drop, my girlfriend and I have been looking for an economical home in the city (we happen to be in a Denver) and I'm not entirely enthused about what we are finding. We've been trying to incorporate some MMM concepts in our search (close to public transportation, bike or walk to markets and entertainment, etc..) and I would define economical as $200k and below...we'd like a single family with a yard for the dogs...
What I've noticed is that generally the further you go out from the city, the nicer and more you can get for your money. And through the handy realtor.com iPad app it's pretty apparent that there are large tracts of cheap land and housing in pretty much every rural region of the country...and, I'm talking homes with land for $1k per acre or less.
My question isn't so much about contemplating a move from the city to rural America where it's cheaper; but, with so many new movements online focused on healthy living, frugality, gardening, and homesteading, etc., why aren't more people taking advantage of the low cost of real estate in rural America. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've seen articles suggesting just the opposite is occurring with more and more people are moving into urban cores....
I'd love to see a developer bring high speed bandwidth connectivity out to a small rural town, throw in a brewpub or two and a few other amenities, and market a rural life (cheap land land, gardens, forests, wildlife, goats, chickens, etc...) to ultimately form an enclave of educated, technology workers who could employ their craft remotely while living a little differently and more affordably than most urban settings typically allow. Anyone heard of anything like this? While in a vacuum, the picture online of the log cabin on 80 acres of woodland for $150k sounds great, I immediately worry about the amenities, the cultural opportunities, and the ability to interact with like minded people...what do you think????