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Buying that Perfect Small Farm
Based on what I have seen, the easiest way to find the 'perfect place' is to just buy a new place.
Right afterwards the 'perfect' place will present itself.
Never fails.
Best of luck.
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Buying that Perfect Small Farm
Unfortunately this a subject I know all too well.
My wife was born & raised in Cape Town South africa, and I have several relatives who had moved to Rhodesia from Britain while it was still a colony. Luckily the division of the former Rhodesia meant they ended up in Zambia and not Zimbabwe.
As Abbeywoods mentioned a lot of the whites in the southern part of the former colony have not faired well at all. The unfortunate part is that the entire country is now suffering since, as Ted mentioned, the blacks who were given the land no nothing about farming and are for the most part farming by hand while holding down jobs for any bit of cash since they are making NOTHING farming. The situation was featured in the National Geographic recently, many blacks candidly admitted that the whites had treated them well, and that at least there were jobs and food when the whites owned and operated the farms (quite successfully).
StephenR, it is easy to say you would fight, especially when you live in a place where the Police or Army would show up if you called on them, and they were on YOUR side when they did show up. It is much harder to fight a crowd fire-bombing your home under cover of darkness, or a sniper shooting people working in the fields, or a gang of people opening fire on your vehicle with automatic weapons as you drive down a desert road.
We are talking about an area of the worls where an AK-47 (with a full clip) costs US$20 and you can have someone murdered by giving the shooter that $20 gun.
When I hear people complain about OUR government I think "Geez buddy, be thankful the Gov. is only screwing you for a few bucks, and not taking everything you have and allowing someone else to kill you without retribution.".
Rant over.
Best of luck.
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Buying that Perfect Small Farm
Unfortunately as the saying goes "Freedom is NOT FREE.".
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Buying that Perfect Small Farm
Strangely enough with the recent D-Day rememberance ceremonies fresh in our minds comes this story, emailed to me by relatives in South Africa.
"HARARE, ZIMBABWE - Zimbabwe will nationalize all farmland and abolish private land ownership, the country's land reforms minister said on Tuesday. John Nkomo said all land will become the property of the state and property deeds will be replaced with state-issued 99-year leases. "There shall be no such thing as private land," Nkomo said.
Under President Robert Mugabe's controversial land reform measures that began in 2000, almost 5,000 white-owned farms have been handed over to landless blacks. Mugabe had argued the seizures were necessary to resettle blacks kicked off their land during British colonization. "Ultimately all land shall be resettled as state property," said Nkomo.
Critics say much of the best farmland is not being used because the resettled farmers are too poor to afford equipment, supplies and seed. Production of two of the country's biggest money earners – food and tobacco – has dropped dramatically.
Humanitarian groups have warned that the country is facing a food shortage. The United Nations estimates Zimbabwe will produce less than half the food it needs for this year and has little money or resources with which to buy or trade for food on the world market. The European Union has responded to Mugabe's behaviour by imposing sanctions on his government, withdrawing all observers and restricting government representatives from travelling within member states. But that only served to underscore Zimbabwe's status as a pariah nation, abandoned and black-listed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund because of Mugabe's policies.
The 78-year-old Mugabe has been widely criticized by the British government and press freedom advocates as a dictatorial autocrat who holds power through bribery, corruption and intimidation. Critics accuse him of hiring unemployed teens to harass people into voting for him in a door-to-door campaign of terror. These same teens are accused of beating supposed MDC supporters to death in public.
Zimbabwe is facing an unemployment rate estimated at 60 per cent with a soaring inflation rate of 116 per cent while the average Zimbabwean income has been cut in half since independence. Starvation is threatening more than half a million people in rural areas and an educated urban elite is said be getting bribed, threatened or killed by vigilante electioneering attributed to Mugabe."
It seems the concepts of freedom and civil liberties hold little value for some people.
The strange part about all of this is it's only been 20 years since Zimbabwe declared it's independance after a bloody civil war "to escape the tirany and opression of British rule".
Yeah, right.
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Buying that Perfect Small Farm
Ann, Goeiemôre!, it is a small world after all, isn't it? I lived in Jo'burg (Sandton actually) for a little while too. Yes, there are a great number of Afrikaaners here in Canada, especially in Toronto. Also a good number in Vancouver because of the similar climate. Thankfully I can even buy S. African groceries, including killer Bo'vo (Boervorst).
My wife & I are contemplating me retiring early and taking it easier, the cape area is one of the places on the 'short' list.
Randy, I agree whole-heartedly with your sentiments. Unfortunately as life gets 'easier' it is because of all the things the Government does for us. These things must be paid for. We use the county extension agents, we drive on paved roads that are line painted, cleared of snow, etc, and all this costs money.
However, if everybody MERELY (he says tongue in cheek) respected their fellow person, a lot of life's misery and problems would dissappear. When that fails to happen we have recourse to stronger means. I have, and would again, take up arms in defence of others life and liberty.
I also agree with the "don't get me started...." idea,  .
Best of luck.
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Buying that Perfect Small Farm
Randy, the weekend was tough to take, a buddy bought a new 390 Sundancer and we had to christen it suitably. Sunshine and the temp's in the high 80's make boating pretty unbearable, luckily we had an assortment of cool beverages to keep the ladies from complaining, too loudly.
I may have to get another boat now, .
Anyways, I'm with you two there, things have to be paid for, but I too object to the gross 'overpayment', let alone the things they want me to pay for.
The have a kind of nifty tax system in the Bahamas, it's a little more reasonable for the average person.
Property taxes don't kick in until the assessed value exceeds $250,000 (a decent working class home is under that, but not by much, and they are talking of bumping it to $300k now) after that you pay a small percentage of the value.
Income & Corporate taxes are also non-existant.
They do have a fairly high VAT type (sales) tax, and a big import duty, up to 70% depending on what it is. By & large though the tourists pay the majority of the Government's income.
Best of luck.
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Buying that Perfect Small Farm
I have been able, so far, to get by with a small boat too (picture # 5) but after cutting through 4' rollers on the Sundancer and not even spilling the girls wine I'm starting to think maybe I need a big boat again.
The price made "she who must be obeyed" merely laugh at the suggestion, however, having a head & galley made her re-think her position a little....
But I think the 390 is a little too big, maybe a 25'ish foot size pocket cruiser.
Best of luck.
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Buying that Perfect Small Farm
That's really too bad Randy. 
If you ever give up on that area there's a nice piece of river front just up the road from me.
I'd even let you use my new heli-pad.
Keep the faith brother!
Best of luck.
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Buying that Perfect Small Farm
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After living here for going on ten years now we just had our first theft.
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That sucks!!
I'm extremely lucky, I have the opposite situation.
I got home from Florida to find that even though my employees were supposed to keep the driveway cleared of snow, the lane down the back to the shop was cleared also. When I went back to see why I found footprints to & from my shop door.
Fearing the worst I entered but found nothing disturbed except a note on the work-bench that read "Ted, you left the shop lights on again. Keith.".
It turns out I had indeed left the shop lights on, and a neighbour (who knows the 'secret' way in) had gone in to turn them off lest they burn for several weeks and tip someone off to the fact that I was away.
Randy, count on it!
Best of luck.
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The chainsaws are all locked up but if they want any of this stuff bad they'll probably have a set of bolt cutters. Quite a bit quieter.
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Ken, there's a rather devious way to keep your stuff protected if you think you just have one or two locals snooping around for easy to pick up stuff.
I did this a few years back, it works well.
Get a plastic jerry can and go to the local airport and have it filled with 100LL aviation fuel. Then leave it out near a shed or garage so a thief will think you've just left it out by mistake, the mistake will be theirs!
100LL is coloured blue so anybody stealing it thinks they've got 2 stroke mix.
Avgas burns very hot compared to regular gas, and since it has no lubricating oil even though it looks like it does, it burn out a 2 stroke motor in very short order.
After losing a motor or two they will quickly stop looking around your place for anything else.
If you know anybody at the local small engine shop, you can ask about burned out motors right after the fuel disappears.
Best of luck.
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 That'll teach 'em. Good trick Murf!
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Oh it certainly does, it cost a former neighbour of mine a new motor for his and his son's 4 wheelers.
It was pretty tough for him to deny he knew his kid was up to no good after his motor toasted too!!!
Best of luck.
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