No, the property values are going up anyway. It's all politics, and thus dungeon. Kalifuckyuns moving here because it is a better place than where they are, then trying to change it to be a shithole. But Utah doesn't meet the requirements laid out in your first post anyway. I'd look at the Payson, AZ area if I were you, it really is a pretty place. More likely to find 20 acres for potential off grid for far less, still in the mountains and close drive to Vegas and work potential. And better tax rates. If you had a good job where you could work remotely or didn't need to work/retired, there would be a handful of places in the state I could recommend. But finding 20 acres within a job commute range (when you don't have anything lined up or know what you want to do) that wouldn't piss you off and within the 4-5 hour drive of Vegas at a good price isn't going to happen these days. Ten years ago sure, but not now.
You would not believe the growth in the 13 years I've been here. Apartment buildings everywhere. Condos, high density housing everywhere. Fought the county with the neighbors on an outrageous permit right next door. The current county mayor was on that council. She is a complete POS. I'm being nice.
Brex, I get it. If I lived in a great place I would feel the same way. There’s a possibility I could work remotely – are there any spots in UT that immediately come to mind you would recommend? If I had to brand myself and my outlook on life, I’m fairly conservative but tend to identify with liberals more on environmental concerns. A metaphor I would use for myself is the fact that I drive a Ram 2500 Cummins Mega Cab, but I’m choosing to keep emissions equipment intact. That generally focuses my search down to mostly red states, or at least removes the extremely blue states from my list of possibilities (CA is the hardest pass, NM is a hard pass but not as hard as my pass on CA.) So keeping within a day’s drive of Las Vegas, it could be UT or northern AZ. Problem with NV is there is so little outside of Las Vegas within a reasonable day’s drive. Pahrump and Mesquite are kind of it (Boulder City too, yeah, but that’s still Las Vegas to me.) Honestly, I don’t know much about Pahrump other than brothels and Spring Mountain, and I don’t know anything about Mesquite.
Well, if you are set with remote work it opens up a lot of areas. You said you have kids, so I'm sure you don't want the complete rural school experience where bus rides to and from school add another couple hours to their day. You'd probably still want to be closer to at least a small town experience. Anything in the south west strip of the state is already exploding price-wise - St. George, Washington, Hurricane, Virgin area. It's also more desert than mountain. You could likely find land in Pine Valley, but probably not 20 acres. It is a mountain setting just a half hour or so from St. George. Even up to Cedar City is getting expensive. The New Harmony area is pretty, but getting pricey. For the small town, but still a town experience, I would say look to the Richfield and up to Gunnison area. Should still be able to get good size lots for not too much. You're about 4 hours from Vegas at that point. Again, the above is based off if you have remote work set. These areas don't have much industry outside of typical small town jobs. Those areas are more mountain than desert, there are plenty of other areas that are more desert than mountain and more rural. You can also get further away, all depends on your idea of a day's drive to Vegas, as even up to Logan is within 10 hours to Vegas. Once you get into the larger areas with more employment options, your ability to get large lots at good prices goes down. Plus, if you have remote work opportunities, you still have lots of areas in NV and AZ with better tax rates, thus more money in your pocket.
Not to be a jerk, but have you had to take care of a yard while you have been in the military? I used to dream of owning acreage. After moving to California and paying guys to take care of my yard all the time, I sold all my mowers, edgers, weed eaters, tree trimmers, etc. I now know if and when I ever leave California, I don't want to take care of any property, but wouldn't mind being to ride my dirt bike from my garage to a riding area.
Thanks for the tips man. I will have an 9 year old and an 6 year old the day I hit 20 years, so yeah kids and schools and opportunities for them is going to factor into it all too. Man, it's hard living the military life and moving around like we do, but it has a simplicity to it where you don't have to worry about where you're headed, it's not a decision you get to make really. I can't complain though, I've gotten to have inputs into my assignments, but my inputs weren't always what I got. But the idea of picking a place that we'll settle permanently is daunting. Ha, no I'm not a guy that enjoys spending my free time doing yard work either. I don't intend to buy property with a "lawn" to maintain though. High desert, mountain type property might have some sparse grass, but I definitely don't want a high maintenance piece of land. I'd love to find a forested piece of property that I can clear the trees I need to clear and leave the rest.
My sister lives in Flag, loves it. For what you are looking for I highly recommend checking it out. Her boyfriend is 1 of the top realtors there if you start looking for a place. And in her position as director in the chamber of commerce she might have good insights for you on jobs in the area. My personal favorite part of Flag is Sedona 45 minutes away!
If you have an RV or travel trailer, do what I’m doing, park It in a park near by and check out the area and wait for the right buy opportunity.
Well, it's a task that you will conquer with flying colors. I'm sure that you realize that the timing of your 20 years and your kid's ages is enviable. I am looking for a place too, but mine are all about to be gone with their own lives. Another interesting point about UT is that once you are outside of the more urban areas, they just don't have that much electricity available. I'd say that part of that has to do with this:
Well hey man, in a couple years when I’m closer to pulling the trigger on property I’m sure I’ll look back at this thread and maybe I’ll check in with you to see if your sister is still in the seat and can pass along some inside tips on the area and jobs. Never been to Sedona, but it looks amazing in the pics. Yeah I might, but the goal would be to punch my clock for the last time on the military and not move again. All the cards may not wind up laying that flat and in line, so a temporary living situation or dipping my toe into a particular place without fully committing is an option. I’m just looking forward to the days of settling somewhere I like and being done with the chaos. I’m on my 8th duty station in 15 years now. I don’t at the moment because I’m overseas but I’m hoping to get a toy hauler when I get back to the US, so that could be a great transition option for a month or two, to just live out of a camper and check some spots out. Also hoping to do a little of that in advance too though, I’m thinking some family vacations in the next couple years need to be for the explicit purpose of checking out areas and properties. Yeah I’m lucky that I’ll have the option to call it a career before my oldest starts middle school, that’s a very difficult time for kids nowadays so it will be really important to us to settle her somewhere and give her stability through those years, and for the rest of her youth. That pic you posted is also a great reason I love the Southwest. Of all the places I’ve lived I never felt like I had more space than I felt like in Arizona. There’s a lot about the open, undeveloped land and the terrain where you can see for 50+ miles that speaks to me. Maybe my growing up a kid in the Chicago area has something to do with that, or maybe just the moving constantly and deploying and constant turmoil makes me want a quiet open space with some mountains and some desert air.
