For the last 3 years, J & I have been building a house. The actual house-building took about 6 months. Building the driveway took the rest.
All my life I have lived in suburbs to decently-sized cities. You take things forgranted when you live in Suburbia. All the conveniences, such as grocery stores, shopping centers, etc. are all located nearby.
When J & I decided to build our dream house, J suggested that we do it in his hometown. This does have its advantages. We could have all the land that we want. We would be close to all his family. We could build a much bigger house than we would be able to afford in a larger city.
Problem - I am not a rurally-inclined. My idea of roughing it in a tent involves an air mattress, and a REAL bathroom nearby. Besides, the thought of the characteristics attached to people who live so remotely scare me a great deal. I HATE bugs and I am terrified of spiders. So, it was with great hesitance that I agreed.
Our land is WAY back in the woods. We are 8 miles away from the nearest convenience store. The closest house is 2/3 mile away. Our driveway (pictured) crosses two creeks.
Our first (and really only) roadblock was that driveway. Banks do not like to loan you money to build driveway into the woods. Especially if said driveway crosses someone else's land - even if they are family and even if you do have a legal document declaring right-of-way.
Overall, the homebuilding experience was wonderful. I love everything that we picked out, and the house is perfect. I even enjoy the spectacular views of the woods all around.
The new hometown - which I will call Ruralopia - is harder for me to get used to.
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