"...them there hills..."

Well we didn't exactly find gold on our property search through the Appalachians but what we did find feels nearly as exciting. We were fortunate enough to connect with a real estate agent, Ron, who has proven to be very giving of his time and who spent a day giving us the guided tour of one of North Carolina's SW counties. Even though we were shopping for land acreage in the 10k and under category and Ron stands to make very little from working with us we were given the true "Southern Hospitality" treatment.

We spent Tuesday strolling through the down town area of the county seat, were treated to lunch at the local coffee shop, and visited three properties at nearly opposite ends of the county. The town has a quaint and energetic feel and primarily supports locally owned stores in the downtown area. On the outskirts of town is a folk school that caters to a wide variety of do it yourselfers, hand crafted works men, and art enthusiasts. Natural food and farmers markets appear to be blooming within the city. The people we ran into were warm and friendly.

We have chosen one of the three properties as a potential site for our home and entered into the beginning stages of negotiations. The property is nearly an acre and a half, heavily wooded, and has access to a creek at its down hill side. The land can best be described as a hillside and will require some excavating to make a building lot. It is about ten minutes from the downtown area and is buffered by several nicely kept homes. I have begun drawing up some images for a three tier set up that would allow a single level for the 30' yurt, one for Julianas writing workshop yurt and a guest house yurt, and one level that would be dedicated to gardening and a wood shop space for me. I am envisioning a wooden stair and walk way that connects the three tiers and a privacy fence that circles the property.