With new construction methods (ICF) a castle is a definite option. I am planning to build a true castle of a manageable size.

I said other but my first thought was if I lived in a castle, I would be wealthy enough to afford a farm and if I had a farm it would be in Ireland where I could ride horses by the sea and have grooms to take care of my horses. Then I could have a place to rescue some dogs and cats. And then ........ What a wonderful dream.

kranno, I didn't think about the ghost aspect. All I need is to have Lady Whoever floating around my bedroom in the middle of the night....I still would love to live in a castle. Maybe the castle would have a modern wing that isn't haunted.

a farm with dairy and beef cows, sheep and (just one) horse. organicveggie crops in the field, some orchards and hay.

Renee, how big of a place to u have?

Thanks for the explanation, mntflwr. We are currently fencing our property...in small stages as money comes in...so that the goats have more freedom to get into the woods to forage. They love that. And it is free land clearing service, as you know! As with you, the chickens only get out in the afternoon...otherwise we'd have daily egg hunts all through the woods and gardens!

We don't have an actual barn yet...just small weather tight shelters for the animals in their respective paddocks. Space has been allotted for the barn...again, when finances permit!

We have wild grapes aplenty, both hardwood and pine in the woods, fig, lime, and lemon trees around what will be a stone terrace overlooking a series of small ponds for grey water reclamation, pecans in the planning, blueberry and blackberry bushes, strawberries and lots of veggies in the gardens. For our first year, we didn't do too badly, the hard winter, not withstanding. We're actually canning stuff at present, so we're thankful...and consider ourselves very blessed!

Best of luck in selling your property and moving on. Will you be seeking another farm setting? It sounds like you have a good bit of yourselves invested in training and working with the goats in particular. We'd like to train a couple of ours to pull carts...that would be a big help around the place...we both (my sister and I) grew up training horses but neither of us has experience training an animal to pull...particularly goats!

Dana, the training goats..LOL sounds funny. a cart goat would be fun!!
we have been taking our pack goats out to get use to being with us. they do follow us but not on a lead... we havent gotten them in to a line up yet with the llamas. they are horned so they will need to be in front of the llamas on a lead rope.
where do u live that u have lemons?

yes we are looking for another mini-farm..under 5acs. there is just the 2 of us and even tho we like what we have.. we are wanting a little more freedom . to go do other things like camping.
but having more land ..doesnt mean more freedom.
another book is "5acs and Independence" it is written in "Old English" i know u have more land but between the 1st book i suggested u read and this book.. things seem to fall together.

we would like to live in Roseburg,Or but the taxes are so high for land close by a city. with gas prices we dont want to live so far out. and we are empty-nesters. so we want to be close by family but not underfoot either.

we did can some apricots..peaches will be next, we will be drying the nectarines after that ..then the apples and pears. the grapes get picked after the 1st frost. somewhere between all this will be the berries.

Yes it is a Blessing to have all that u and i have
elaine

Castle of course

I will take the Castle I do not have time to deal with somebodies farm.

Thanks so much for responding, Elaine!

Our goats do walk on a lead (90% of the time, LOL!...you know goats!) Anyway, ours don't have horns, thankfully, as we de-horn them @ anywhere from 3 days to 3 wks...not pleasant for them, but better than tearing a horn off later in life...not to mention a torn udder...both accidents I've seen happen with a friend's goats that were not de-horned. Nubians have such friendly curious personalities, that they are into everything if we don't keep things out of their reach. They are like cuddly kittens and rambunctious puppies all rolled into one in a package that doesn't know its own strength! (Our goats and Livestock Guardian Dogs haven't really figured out that they are different species...they are a hoot to watch together!)

I know what you mean about the "more land" vs. freedom bit...but we were so fortunate to be able to afford any land at all, and this is what we landed on...we're so grateful. I do fully intend to check out your recommended books.

As to our citrus fruit...we moved here from the Texas Gulf Coast 10 months ago...brought our lime tree with us and were given a lemon by a neighbor here...East Central Texas...draw a line between Dallas and Houston, and we are about in the middle of it! The trees do admittedly need protection in a sheltered location this far North. It's beautiful here...and affordable compared to the "Gold Coast of Texas," I do miss those Gulf breezes and that ceaseless surf, though!

I've never been in your part of the States before. I bet there is some gorgeous terrain for hiking and trekking. Our respective adult children are scattered around the country, so we are back in the state we (mostly) grew up in, though in an area that is neither the beach nor our beloved Hill Country. But we've made new friends and are content. Gasoline prices are another issue! Don't get me started!

All the best............Dana

Oh...and by the way, VizX...if you get a farm....your farm, your rules!

I was raised on a small dairy and have always wanted to move back to something similar. When I lived in Idaho, even though I was on a local police department, I lived a few miles away on a small farm. It was leased but I was able to raise and give my 3 daughters a taste of how I was raised. They still talk about some of the things they did, like swimming in the "Frog pond", pulling weeds in the truck garden and ending up in mud fights, hand feeding the recently born calf that was rejected by its momma. Simpler times, I don't know but they were unforgettable.

those sound like good memories for u and ur kids. and they may find themselves wanting to have their children have the same memories they had. all my girl's growing up i wanted to have land and a mini-farm. we never did.. but now i have 1 and they love city life. we are 600 miles apart..
but i do think a farm on a beach would be a big draw.!!!

I vote for a dome on a rural hillside with several acres of trees as a buffer zone. A farm would be too much to keep up with, though much better than a castle. The dome is versatile so we could have the spaces for our interests and living areas all in one efficient envelope. And since we're dreaming here, the dome would be done all at once and done correctly with no provisional steps or make-dos in construction.

silly krano.....ANY place can be haunted! :0) Doesn't have to be an old structure at all.

My house has what I lovingly refer to as....the Peeps. Every now & then they let their presence known, but not in a menacing, bad way at all. Keys being moved/hidden, cabinet doors opening, little children giggling, and the one sort of freaky thing....a blow on the back of my neck while I sat playing an online game.

This isn't anyone "living" with me...I live alone. I did ask for their approval when I did my bathroom restoration. You've all seen the shows where folks start ripping walls & such out & it angers the PO's!!

"A man's home is his castle"...ideally, I'd like a small castle in a pastoral setting...with a view of a river or the sea....& sheep! Hmmm...sounds like Ireland! I prefer country castle for decor...is that anything like shabby chic?!

My sister said she wants a castle too because she wants to make it her Harry Potter home

Farmer, goats and dogs. Nothing like watching little pygmy goats chase rottweilers around the pasture.

Farms come with chores. :)

castles come with garderobes.

LOLOL, nnigrt! Pretty, pretty garderobes that have nice plumbing. :D

Oh...a castle would be lovely. But it has to have a moat, serfs, and a really kick trebuchet. And a keep. And a drawbridge.

Kinda like this- - - -The farm may have chores but then what doesn't? I'd rather have the farm so I could just listen to the wind thru the trees, the smell of fresh cut hay and watch the horses run in the pastures! Am I getting old? Hmmm- - - maybe so but then its time to appreciate what we all have.

I would have a farm with 'functional' animals of 2 (except chickens I would have about 6). Horses, Cows, Pigs, Chickens. Grow my own vegetables and sell whatever I don't use. Easy living...

we live on a mini-farm and have access to sell right off our land.. we dont; at now 61 it is more work than im willing to do. i tried selling organic eggs at 2.$ a dozen they didnt sell.. when u live on a farm, most of the farming communities grow what u go. it costs gas and lots of time, and if ur doing a farmer market that isnt cheap either. just grow enough to can it; that will hold u over to the next harvest.
as for the wind in the trees.. we have an abundance of them. the Land didnt come with them either. we also have an orchard. and 3 pastures. we grew our own meat for a while.

Farms are the best places for peace and quiet!

we live on 3 acs and actually need a small tractor. we have a tiny lawn tractor.. but have rented a small tractor for several things. if u think farming in easy ..u are living a "pipe dream"
different animals need different fencing, different feed, we raised meat goats, and no they dont eat all the weeds, or clover. altho horses will eat clover. we have llamas at the moment and they wont eat it either. but they will strip ur trees. are u gonna butcher ur cows,pigs, chickens? 1 horse and 1 cow could fit on our place. or 2-3 horses and no cows, and no pigs.
20 acs and u can have about every animal u want.
that's alot to fence.. and who will care for them when u want to Travel???. and like dogs or cats all ur animals need shots and vet care too.

there are lots of Pluses about living on a farm... but easy isnt 1 of them.. i myself wouldnt go back to city life. there are lots of books out there about living on a farm. i started off with Hobby Farm.. after living on 1 now i dont think they know what they are talking about...LOL but it is fun to read.

I said farm but I was imagining being landed gentry, not a farmer with chores. I'd like to stroll my extensive orchards, pick flowers from my cutting garden, and hold lots of lavish dinners. I'd have a greenhouse, a large library, a formal dining room (with handpainted wallpaper), lots of fireplaces, and a modest yet sufficient staff ;)

ok u must be rich then? LOL so do u live near a place like this.? ive only seen this on a postcard!!
I for 1 love our 3.12 acs and have so much work to do on it daily. our house is a double wide Manufacture house.. a fairly new one. we are considering of adding on about 600' to it.
i can say with any amount of land u ever own and work it.. u are more like a person spinning plates on a stick making sure they dont hit the ground. trying to keep them all going..LOL
but as much work as it is ..it is very rewarding..
i would never borrow against our house or land to keep our place up and running.. we pay cash!. or we dont get..too many times ive seen farmers take out a loan against their farm or house and loose it all..

Definitely a castle right on the beach where I can breathe in salt air. Farm smells... not so much. Falling asleep listening to the waves... perfect!

castle on the beach..awesome!! where?? salt air is good for the skin and nose..lol

I would absolutely love to live in a
castle. Though, I see nothing inviting about the one pictured for the poll at the top of the page. A chateau
is not always a vast, rambling, impersonal pile where you need a GPS to get
from one end to the other. There are utterly charming, very intimate castles
with a long and intriguing history that are just the thing if you would
like a place large enough to house your friends
and family (and collection of antiques); and small enough that you can actually
afford to upkeep it without having to invite paying strangers to traipse all over it.

Yes, high ceilings, beautiful fireplaces, tall
windows, sweeping stairways and galleries, thick self-insulating stonewalls and
elegant facades …you can sign me up!!

Here some examples:

ive lived in Spain for 4yrs so i as a child went thru many when i lived there. they were beautiful. but 1 on a beach would be very breath taking..
those are also beautiful!

For my family, I would definitely choose a farm but I would be very tempted to turn a castle into a retreat hotel or guesthouse with spa, and a fabulous restaurant. May I have both please?

if the castle had a million acres for four wheeling and dirt biking, etc, then heck yes but I love the feeling of being on a farm. teaches lots of responsibility to kids too. I always loved visiting farms as a kid..u know a whole 3 yrs ago lol

A farm for sure! Castles -definitely agree with minckster87- we have a farm and the kids learn so much, they know a cow goes "mooo" but once they heard one for real the first time, they fled lol. They love the farm a lot.

In regards to castles, I think more of bricks, creepy rooms, too much space perhaps and other things. However, having said that, I truly think they should be protected as heritage sites as I am a strong supporter of each country protecting its heritage.

I like farm!

No doubt castle looks more big and beautiful but I prefer to live in farm cause I love to live with nature and green and pet animal as well.

My goal is to have a farm animal rescue so, farm....... YES PLEASE!

Seaside castle with " huge tracks of land" including farm and formal gardens plus a forest for his lordship to hunt. Carson, Mrs. Patmore and crew included of of course. We could make do with a small Manor home and sizable estate.
sadly even a country cottage is beyond our budget.

This is where we live. It's a working farm...we raise sheep and cattle.

I'm actually living this dream! We have a large homestead farm. Fairly gentrified for real working farm.....and Life is Bliss :)

My vote is a castle! But I have farm roots in my lineage, my grandfather lovingly raised dairy cows, so I'm stuck at the crossroads. I am trying to write a grant for a llamas or alpaca animal sanctuary, if anyone might be interested with a contribution, maybe you could message me. I put a grant application on social media, one of the crowd funding sites but didn't find any attention. I just love fawn, and blonde llamas! They're just so beautiful, I'd like to snip off small ends of their hair and infuse it with other materials, I think it would be a really cool, beautiful patchwork. I have a connection with traveling to Peru, where llamas just walk around the ruins freely. I love animals, am a vegetarian, and contribute money all the time to animal rescues, and was trying to have a sanctuary on inexpensive land and build structures.

eightpondfarm, I love your home and everything you have there. I've seen in the past photos that you posted...a dream indeed

A castle as long as we can have a moat with alligators!

I'd love to purchase a farm home.

Cozy farm house any day ... old stone castle is too big and cold.

After a recent visit to Spain where we stayed in many Paradors which are often restored castles..I am convinced a castle could be my home!

A castle because they usually come with big grounds to satisfy my farming needs so i would have the best of both!

A farm can provide all kinds of business opportunities with low property tax rate. Castle would be a money drain, property tax along would be a huge expense. Even you could get a castle for free, most of people won't be able to afford tax tag. I'd go with a farm. :-)

i vote for a farm