How to Find Your Ideal Country Home: A Comprehensive Guide (Paperback)

by Gene GeRue (Author) "The importance of the place where we choose to live is beyond the kisses or kicks that climate delivers, more than the landform that shapes..." (more)
Key Phrases: fewer people per square mile, ideal country home, country home place, New York, United States, North Carolina (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
For those interested in moving to rural areas, this monumental book addresses thousands of potential concerns. The author anticipates virtually everything. Chapter topics include The Ideal Country Home; Buy Your Land as Soon as You Can; Wants, Needs and Fantasies; Developing a Criteria List; Lifestyle; Choose Your Climate; Land Characteristics: Topography, Soil and Vegetation; The Cost of Living; Making a Living; Farming and Market Gardening; Air; Water; Health 101; Demographics and Social Conditions; Services and Taxes; To Build or Not to Build; Prices; Regions, Bioregions, States; Real Country, Boondocks and Old Subsistence Farms; Places to Avoid; Real Estate Law and Real Estate Agents; and Making a Final Evaluation Before Purchase. This is one of those rare realty books that is well-researched, extremely well-written and interesting enough to be compelling. On my scale of one to 10, this fantastic new book rates an off-the-chart 12. -- ROBERT BRUSS, NATIONALLY SYNDICATED REAL ESTATE COLUMNIST

Product Description
With wit, wisdom, and down-home good sense, country-living expert GeRue provides the definitive, nuts-and-bolts guide for finding a home in the country. 300 illustrations. 90 maps.

Product Details

• Paperback: 394 pages
• Publisher: Heartwood Time Warner; Revised edition (July 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446674540
• ISBN-13: 978-0446674546
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,710 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good for starters, November 9, 2000

By	"ladyanna" (Shreveport, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This is a great how-to book for the person who has no experience with living in the country and hopes to go there soon. It covers a broad group of concerns for the would-be rural land owner, bringing to consciousness numerous important differences between living in densely-populated areas and living far from town. It cautions against living near health hazards (which crop up all too often in unpopulated regions!) or too far from employment, and strongly recommends water and soil tests before buying. These are all good ideas, and the author has many more ideas of equal merit to share.

Unfortunately, the book did not meet my needs since I have already done a fair amount of research on country living, and have some real-life experience in that area. It was too broad and general to be of much help to me. Therefore I caution the informed would-be rural landowner - seek out another source for specifics about buying and settling in your area of choice. If you have reached the level of self-education where you already know to ask about deeded easements and percolation tests, this book is not for you. Also, if you already know which region of the US you want to live in, this book will probably disappoint you. It is aimed at helping people with preliminary decisions such as, "Do you want to live somewhere hot, cold or temperate?"

If you are currently an urban/suburban dweller and you have begun to toy with the idea of getting back to nature, this book will be of immense help to you. After reading it, you will be more realistic and generally informed about country living. If you still have the itch to "get out of Dodge" at that point, you'll be needing another book - one with more specifics.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Start building your country dream, May 1, 2000

By	Donald J. Berg (Rockville Centre, NY USA) - See all my reviews

If you're dreaming of enjoying a life in the country, plan carefully. Choose the best community for your needs, find a great property and then create the perfect homestead. Sounds hard? It's not at all. Just follow this step-by-step guide and the process will be part of the joy. Find your favorite climate and the healthiest areas of each state. Balance your need for services, education and entertainment with your desire for solitude and self-sufficiency. It's all here: easy-to-read maps, expert advice and extensive list of resources for your use. Gene GeRue's gentle guidance and common-sense ideas make this book the perfect foundation of your dream home.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book!, August 29, 1999

By A Customer

What a delight to find a book that really lives up to the promise of its title. Author Gene GeRue has obviously been there, done that, and writes from personal experience but he also seems to have read every book out there and to have traveled extensively. I've been on a personal quest for a country life for more than three years and have read all the books, or so I thought until I found this one. I thought I knew pretty much everything about the subject. Wrong! This book opened my eyes to new considerations. It gave me a whole lot of ideas on how to bring all the factors together and really make it happen. The final thing I would say is that this book is a great read even if you aren't sure you really want to move out beyond the sidewalks. It's nice to find a non-fiction book that has a lot of humor to balance the serious material. I also appreciated the maps. They make it easier to narrow the search. Buy this book!