Finding a Lifestyle Block

The fourth module in my correspondence course on small farming is all about ownership options for small farms.

I thought readers might be interested in how we went about choosing our lifestyle block and all the decisions that we had to make along the way...



When hunting for our lifestyle block, we viewed about fifty different properties. These properties were in a range of locations across the Auckland region, some almost suburban, others much more rural. Some were bush blocks, others enjoyed a pastoral outlook. There were properties with sea views and with city views. The farming options were different on each block, as were the existing facilities.

Viewing such a large number of wide ranging properties helped up to develop our objectives and ambitions and to have a clearer picture of what we wanted to achieve. After each property visit, we would discuss our respective visions of what projects we could undertake on that plot of land. Where one of us became infatuated with a particular property, the other would take a more objective viewpoint and look for possible disadvantages, shortcomings and limitations.

For example, I was particularly attracted to hillside properties in the Waitakere Ranges – these properties offered a pleasant and private bush environment, amazing views and fascinating wildlife. However, in most locations we would have been limited to a small raised bed for a vegetable garden, a handful of fruit trees and some chickens, at the very most. There would have been no grazing land for sheep, goats or pigs and many of the properties were so shaded that growing fruit and vegetables would have been very challenging. The limited amount of open space on such properties would have left no room to expand and to attempt near self-sufficiency. The steep land would also have been challenging when it came to developing a food garden.

This process of viewing and discussing a wide variety of homesteads also helped us to resist those properties with gardens which were already well-established and very attractive but which again offered few opportunities to keep livestock. One of the key questions that we asked ourselves was whether or not we would have to move again in the future in order to fulfil our dreams of a rural lifestyle. If it was likely that we would have to move, the property would be relegated to the bottom of our wishlist.

For example, if a property had no paddock for grazing livestock (and no potential to create a paddock), we knew that we would probably want to move to a different property as our farming activities expanded and so the property was more than likely ruled out. By the end of our property hunt, we were certain that we needed a paddock and were able to narrow down our shortlist accordingly.

The lack of farming infrastructure on any given property (fencing, water supply, barn, workshop etc) was also a deterrent as our limited knowledge of how to develop such facilities and the cost of contracting out such non-essential developments would have slowed down our smallfarming activities considerably. Being aware of our limitations in this way helped us to understand which property features were non-negotiable. We made certain that we looked carefully at what was already available at each site and measured against the criteria that we had developed, assessing the cost and complexity of farming systems that we would have to introduce.

Come back tomorrow to find out more about the block that we eventually chose...