California E&S Insurance

We bought a rural property last year, around 1/3 of the acreage of the ranch you're considering. Like you, I had long dreamed of owning a lot of land, room to roam, peace and privacy and isolation. We found a place, beautiful home, lovely land, 30 mins from our primary home and 2 hours from a major CA city. Went in with enthusiasm, money, energy, and plans to build and expand. Built a beautiful guesthouse and swimming pool and improved the landscape a bunch. I am in my 40s with time to burn, but I found the property \*far\* more to deal with than I anticipated. I have been schooled. We are in a wildfire area, too, and just keeping the property compliant with the county as far as wildfire mitigation is concerned is a HUGE task. I basically didn't do anything except mowing, weed-whacking and hauling and clearing brush for months this spring, every day, for hours. Some of it felt good, I love being outside and working hard, but I never managed to really get on top of it, and there was always more to do. Add to that the other maintenance, the trees that come down in storms, the added cost of long driveways (I never thought about this before), the constant unexpected issues, and the huge cost of fire insurance, and the uptight people who live all around you who are (fair enough) terrified of a wildfire ripping through the area. Ultimately, though, I had hoped my family would want to spend more time there, but they just don't. I have a 21yr old and a 17yr old, and they rarely want to be there. We have spent a handful of nights at the place in over a year, despite being so close to the property. I am there almost every day, by myself. Also, finding and retaining good people who can help you maintain it is next to impossible. That has been perhaps the most frustrating part - even if you are a great employer and willing to pay great money for help, it's REALLY hard to find reliable and competent people. It makes me sad, but I'm also not that keen to hang onto it in the end - it kicked my ass. I will miss the view from the hilltop, truly magical, and the silence, and the stars at night, and the feeling of having a large property of my own, and everything I have learned from being there. But ultimately it isn't the right property for us. Make sure you know what is involved in looking after that much land, week by week, and seasonally. I knew it would be a lot, but I was WAY off. It will take over your life. I love the actual work, but it's too much for me alone. You can't do it as a hobby. You will have to be there every day in the spring and fall, most likely. And probably the winter, too.

{
  "score": 0,
  "title": "",
  "subreddit": "fatFIRE",
  "num_comments": 0,
  "scrape_method": "apify_targeted"
}