HOMESTEAD RIDGE
As Richard Smith discovered ...there's more than one way to subdivide.
July/August 1979
By Richard Smith
When my wife and I tell folks that our new home gives us easy access to fresh eggs . . . broilers . . . fryers . . . beefsteak (at 90¢ a pound! ) . . . goats' milk . . . enough fresh vegetables to last a full season . . . nice neighbors . . . privacy . . . miles of riding trails . . . and all the peace and tranquility that nature can provide, the listeners always assume that we've found ourselves a quiet country paradise. But the truth of the matter is, we live in a subdivision!
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I'll admit, however, that Homestead Ridge-located 15 minutes east of downtown Tallahassee, Florida (and the same short drive from either of two shopping centers)-is unlike any other such development I've seen.
A SENSIBLE COMPROMISE
My wife and I spent months searching for a place where we could get out from under the high prices, sirens in the night, hot asphalt, and smog of city life . . . but still not be absolutely isolated.
Then-quite by accident-we discovered Homestead Ridge . . . a settlement made up of two-and-a-half-acre plots and complete with wide streets (they're unpaved, but well-maintained), a community-owned water system with no chemicals added, and neighbors who are near enough at hand for company, but not too close for comfort!
Better yet, the only critters we were told we couldn't raise in the unique development were hogs, and-as it turns out-most of the residents don't even agree with that restriction. (With modern techniques and a little attention to basic sanitation, swine needn't be as odorous as many unfounded fables would have us believe.)
Well, we were convinced. We bought the property and took advantage of the "mutual" water system. At $4.50 per month (half the cost of city water), we couldn't justify installing a $1,500 well . . . although many folks have chosen to bore shallow "water holes" for irrigation purposes.
Soon, we'd designed and constructed our own 1,650-square-foot house, and added a 1,000-square-foot barn to the property. Then, we fenced our land into four sections: two for cattle pasture, one for gardening and living, and the last for the barn and horses.
Some Homestead Ridge esidents have chosen to clear only enough land for a house and driveway. But other neighborhood families raise cattle for sale, and several produce eggs, chickens, turkeys, and goats. So-if a household chooses not to get involved in a particular form of food production-someone nearby will probably decide to raise just that type of livestock or crop . . . and will be glad to sell the fruits of his or her labor for much less than the goods would cost at the local supermarket.
THE PRICE PAID
Of course, the closer to an urban center you get, the higher the land costs are likely to be. Currently, a two-and-a-half acre tract in Homestead Ridge runs about $11,000 to $12,000. But, if you build your own home (and it's not all that hard to do!), the total dollar outlay can be reduced considerably.
