Yes, I have certainly considered it. The only concern I have with Julian (and towns like it) is that they’re “not making any more land”. Yes, I know that’s kind’ve a bullshit expression, but the development in and around Julian is *really* limited.
Many plots of land for sale don’t have water available so you have to make a well, and who knows how far down you’ll have to go. If water *is* available but you don’t have a meter, it’ll cost $5K to install the meter, and they may in the future have a moratorium on new meters due to the fact that it’s a little dry out there and the infrastructure is not like it is down here in San Diego.
In addition, I have electricity to the property, which a lot of the plots out there don’t have. Plus, we have a view!
The purchase was semi-investment (for the long-term) and semi emotion. Given the total amount of money involved ($80K), the risk of decline was worth it considering the risk of not finding a plot with the same amenities and view.
There’s not a whole lot of land that is zoned for residential construction, that doesn’t have something on it. The fire of 2003 has left quite a few plots available and so we thought we’d get our future cabin-site right now. Buying a cabin in future will be easy. Buying buildable land might not be.
