Taking Over Abandoned property To Live Inexpensively

[jeffrey]

In vacant lots and abandoned houses in Buffalo's poorest neighborhoods, people are cultivating new ways of living.

They grow their own food. Bake bread. Fix instead of shop. Share everything from cars to homes. Turn garbage into treasure.

Some do it for the sake of the environment. Others do it to be healthy. Many see it as a way to reinvent Buffalo. And there are those who feel it just makes sense...

The new urban pioneers - The Buffalo News

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Three different vacant lots in my city have been gardens for me. I also started an ornamental garden at the opening to our street and it's been going for 17 years now. My latest vacant lot garden is on its second year. I've just scouted out another lot for a small peach orchard. The orchard lot will be rented from the city for $5 for 5 years. It also saves the city from having to mow the lot.

This is very healthy for me, not only for the delicious vegetables, fruit, herbs, & wonderful flowers; the pride of accomplishment, the mind-lifting peace & curiosities of nature; the workout of heavy digging, hoeing & raking, the bending, stretching, squats & general "garden ballet;" the neighbors met with a friendly chat;-- but, of course, for the money savings. Who needs a gym? Who needs the grocery produce section? Who need a florist?

It is probably an aside to mention that for years I have wished I could start a walnut tree farm--lumber. That takes substantial land, not just a city lot. Unless some mysterious lost uncle dies and leaves me some river bottom land, I'm 99.9% certain this dream is never going to come true.

We do know people who've been as amazing as those in the article. Some rehabbed the most horrendous mess of an abandoned house. They used only recycled materials, except for the steel roof, I think. They have a garden next to the house. Worked their butts off to resurrect a decaying mess that anyone else would have just bulldozed.

[wincrasher]

if you have permission to use the property, then that is awesome!

squatting though, is not cool.

[ConquerWithTruth]

American should re-discover the art of building self-sustaining houses-- housestead. They should be reasonably capable of surviving without grocery stores, for health reasons, because you can't let the super food companies to control your food supply.

But we shouldn't be cheap either, we should at least live decently while maintaining a certain degree of self-sufficiency.