We looked at a new piece of land northeast of Austin yesterday. Pretty area, some hillbilly neighbors with confederate flag bumper stickers (really?!).
Interestingly, some parts of the land had lots of limestone rocks, increasing as you reached the road and by the side of the road there was exposed limestone “bedrock.” But then the land became more fertile with few rocks and more grass as you went deeper in.
Criteria we need the land to meet:
1. Restrictions that allow chickens, one cow, sheep.
2. Broadband internet capability, either cable, DSL, or fixed terrestrial wireless.
Satellite internet is a no-go for me because I need to work from home some days each week, requiring either VPN or remote desktop access, and satellite has too high a latency for those systems to work.
Devin,
You might also look into WiMax or other 4G wireless networks for Internet access.
I’ve tried Clear (WiMax), which, when in an area with a good signal (check coverage at http://bit.ly/P42rx8), provides speeds that better DSL. It’s priced at $35 with a coupon.
I’m also impressed with T-mobile 4G speeds which are comparable with cable, again, when there is a good signal (check coverage at http://t-mo.co/P438qk), and even its 3G speeds are better than DSL. It’s competitively priced starting at $25 with no contract (see http://t-mo.co/P42UQ2).
BTW, this plot looks like a dusie!
God bless.
Augustine, I didn’t think that the 3g or 4g would be options, but will consider that too!
Devin,
I’m not sure about down there, but we can get high speed internet here through the local telephone company. You have to have phone service with them too though. You never know in rural areas what it will be like.
Kevin
Kevin, that is worth looking into; they might have DSL available if phone access is available.
We recently settled out here in Elgin (you should look here – nice town). For Internet we have Skybeam, which I’m pretty happy with. I work from home also and am able to do everything I need, including videoconferencing. We do have the fastest plan available, and I’m pretty happy with the consistent speed. It’s radio based, so your performance may depend on your location.
Ryan, welcome to my blog and thanks for commenting. Dude, let’s get together sometime!
We were just looking at some properties between Manor and Elgin just north of 290. I’ve been to Elgin countless times and eaten more Elgin sausage than I can remember. Neat little town.
I am going to check out Skybeam. There’s another company called Western Broadband that services the area with terrestrial wireless but you have to have line of sight to one of their antennas, which are in odd places like the top of the grain silo in Weir.
Yes if you’re ever in the area shoot me an email – I’d love to get together!
We love Elgin. You can find good land here – technically it’s classified as blackland prairie, which used to be very good soil until it was overcultivated. Still, there are pockets of very fertile land in this area.
Okay just looked it up and Skybeam and Western Broadband both are fixed terrestrial wireless, so that is a great option to know about. Any given piece of land might be covered by one of them at the least!
I know you know this, but don’t be tempted by satellite – it is awful, awful, awful! Awful. It can be tempting out here though – we don’t have the option for DSL, and so in our little spot the only two options are Skybeam and 3G. Fortunately we have a direct line of sight to a water tower where Skybeam has their transmitter, so we have a great signal and sufficiently fast internet for what I need to do. It’s not the 50 MB DSL like we had in Austin, but it’s fast enough for what I do. Did I mention satellite is awful? Yeah, don’t go there.
Yes Satellite has too high latency for VPN and remote desktop so it is no-go for me. I am excited that Skybeam and Western Broadband are doing the fixed terrestrial wireless in the area. That is going to be very good for getting internet service. Interesting that DSL is not available; I guess it just depends on whether the phone company has upgraded the lines in a given area or not?
Devin
From what I have seen, most rural areas have DSL at this point.
And hey, what is a dude from Texas doing knocking the Confederate flag? We all know the good guys lost that war.
Hooray for Dixie!
The Confederate flag is associated with slavery in most people’s minds so even if there are positive associations with it those are drowned out and it just looks like you are pro-slavery.
Devin,
We just moved out into the sticks of Wimberley to get some land over the summer. I’ve been dreaming of it for about 4 years and we finally found a good spot. I’ve been clearing trees like crazy so far to make room for chickens and a garden in the spring.
I was really concerned about the internet as well. We found out that most people near us use Texas Wireless. I don’t know exactly what they are, but their speed is as good or faster than when we had Time Warner and we’ve had no trouble in the month or so we’ve had it hooked up. I know they only cover central Texas so I don’t know if they go north of Austin, but I’ve been really happy with them so far.
Good luck!
JD, I had no idea (or had forgotten) that you were so close! That is quite exciting.
Wow, Texas Wireless is another player in this area of terrestrial wireless, and they serve the areas we are looking at, too. That means there’s Western Broadband, Skybeam, and Texas Wireless as possibilities for internet in any given rural area. It all depends on where their towers are for line of sight to a particular piece of land.
God bless,
Devin