Your argument is based on a premise that food has to be dirt cheap or free. Only 50 years ago, households used to spend a good chunk of their income on food. And 100 years ago, almost entire income of most families was spent on food. Probably, it is time to pay farm workers more than what they have been getting. It will spur innovation in agriculture. The revolution came in 1960s with seeds that gave better yields and better resisted weather and infestation.
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Imports are cheap. In fact Chilean fruit in the winter is cheaper than American fruit in season. Mexican produce has pretty much taken over. There are hardly any avocados or asparagus grown in the US anymore.
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La Honda hasn’t run out of water in decades. There may have been some problems near Pescadero. Wells there are shallow because of oil and the threat of salt water intrusion.
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Corn, wheat, and soy beans are all mechanized farming. You can’t compete financially without the big equipment. Small farmers are a thing of the past.
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Not at all true. There are a lot of us who buy from small local farmers to get organic/sustainably grown. Easiest way to stay organic is to do smaller lots of veggies and rotate the crops. During the pandemic CSAs really took off since people could spend less time in the stores.
Best fruit I’ve ever had has been from the Frog Hollow Farm CSA. It’s pricey, but it’s really really good. We compared some apricots from Sigona’s, Frog Hollow apricots, as well as one of those farm stands along the road that is probably reselling mexican produce and the kids could tell immediately which was the Frog Hollow fruit.
Corn soy and wheat are subsidized by the gov’t. Maybe people would grow less of it and eat less of it if these crops had to compete at full price. Corn on the cob is tasty, but soy is crap. Rather eat a carrot.
The U-Pick I belonged to back in La Honda got clobbered by CA’s draconian measures. People weren’t even allowed to go into fields to pick their own food.
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Make sure you can fight off a huge bear before going off to live in the countryside.
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They caught a mountain lion in Bernal Heights. A lot of more deadly than a bear. We get bears in our garage occasionally. We yell at them and they go away.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5499-Sheridan-Rd-Sunol-CA-94586/24932178_zpid/
Can you help me understand the impact of the high voltage electric lines going through the property in the long run (resale, city or county restrictions)?
We have a high voltage line behind our backyard – don’t see the ugly posts or the line due to the tree cover / setback. In terms of actual health issues, I don’t think there is anything – many generation of families have raised their kids here. However, from aesthetics stand-point or a concern (some are sensitive) it is an issue – you also hear a buzzing sound on the lines sometimes. Also, homes tend to stay longer in the market when you try to sell. If you have very visible structures, the impact is high. For the above linked property, it seems very visible and I would pass this.
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How good is a road going through the property-
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4485-Old-Dublin-Rd-Castro-Valley-CA-94552/58877861_zpid/
Be warned here - you won’t have access to internet. A friend lives on this road and she pays $700/month for 10mbps
this is what she told my friend who was looking there:
I had no choice but to do the dedicated fiber with a business account through Sonic. Really weird because ATT would not offer it at all stating that they don’t have the fiber tower available for the area but I have to use Sonic as a 3rd party who is leasing their fiber tower available in order to run the dedicated line!!! So at the end, ATT came out to do all the construction of it but I have to pay Sonic. Ridiculously expensive. I am paying $750/mo for only 10mbps. If I bump it up to like 15 or 20 (something like that which is the next level up) the rate goes up to like $1000/mo. Insane.
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I would take the electric line vs freeway. This is only 200ft from freeway and you will have black soot / dust. Not good for babies / kids growing up and also sensitive individuals.
Location is something you should not look to compromise – cannot be fixed or changed. Compromise on interior or structural remodels on a good location to get your price point.
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Thanks for that tipoff. I hope starlink solves this problem.
Thank you for the insight.
When I’m where there’s no internet I use a $50 a month Jetpack and never have a problem. All I need for it to work is one bar of service.
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Wondering if anyone rent/lease small farm setups in and around Bay Area? Like a co-op for home based goat and chicken farms?
Any profitable crops or gardens for small acerage like lavender or speciality plants?
I’ve had the buzzing from these give me headaches on multiple properties - the one which was the power feed for a shopping mall was the worst. I personally wouldn’t go around buying one - I like to be able to enjoy sitting outside.
I also think there are legit concerns regarding health issues, but of course square of the distance is your friend - how far away is your bedroom from the wires?