Owning Land ("How much is too much?")

Something occurred to our group recently when we started walking more properties: "How much land is too much?"
Now this is something that will be very different from one person or group to the next, but it is good to know what will work best for you.

For us, our group is very small and maybe the idea of having 50-70 acres right off the bat may have seemed grandiose, but on the practical side it seemed more like a nightmare. If you have maybe two or three physically able members willing to put in a lot of time that's still a lot of land to manage. If you didn't have to worry about your normal 8-5 jobs or have any other responsibilities it may be possible, but 50+ acres? Come on...

Granted there's homesteads that are plopped down in the middle of 1,000+ acres out in the Midwest and Southwest United States, but is all that land useable? Possibly, but if I want to have land, I want to have a little to enjoy, and a lot to work on. Having 30 acres that's purely woods and rolling land is a bit much unless you're opening a park or cordoning it off for hunting or logging.

You need to find a good middle ground for the amount of acreage you can both work and enjoy. Walk as many properties as you can and ask A LOT of questions to land real estate agents. 

See what's useable and like I mentioned in an earlier post ask about flooding and or view properties in the Spring or Winter if possible to see the land at its worse so you know what you're getting into.

Properties are still cheap right now and if you see something that you think will work for you, grab it!

*Remember! If you plan on taking a loan out on parcel of land take note that it is MUCH different than getting a loan for a house. The financial requirements are much more strict and it's usually better to have most of the cash up-front if possible. As we found out that most banks won't even give fixed interest rates on land so... if the market picks up your 6% loan interest might turn into 15%. Just something to keep in mind.

Adapting to the Urban & Rural Jungles (fashion or lack thereof)

I have one real piece of advise: don't dress like a moron. And by that I mean don't dress yourself so that you're the first person everyone notices. Don't walk downtown all alone with your shiny watch and your stylish jeans and not expect to get mugged. Without getting into the "socioeconomic talk" of inner-cities let's just assume that if you dress nice enough you're basically asking to get robbed.
I'm all for self-defense in these kinds of situations, but how about not putting yourself in the situation in the first place? That's the real smart thing.
The same rules apply outside of the city in smaller, rural towns. You don't have to be flashy, adapt and fit in.
I have multiple outfits that range from an upper-crust d-bag, hip style (basically comprises the shiny watch and stylish jeans example), to "woodlander," which is what you may look like if you own and work on your own 100-acre plot of land.
When going to the local gun store to browse I probably won't dress like an asshat, which can go either of two ways: dress way too nice or dress like a weekend warrior. You'll look like a tool either way. Find a nice middle ground because I can't say dress "normal."  That statement couldn't be anymore ambiguous these days.
Am I saying to change who you are? No, but learn to be creative and adaptable in an ever-changing world. Is that so much to ask? I hope not.