At $1000/acre, is there any access to this land? Or do you need to build a road?

Would you then spend summers in Montana? And not with your parents in South Dakota? Is is place in Montana somewhere where there are a lot of people in their 20s? At $1000 per acre, I guessing pretty rural?

I'm just thinking of the perspective of someone in their 20s. I'm assuming you aren't married. Having a summer place in a state where you do not know anyone. Trying to establish friendships, community. Are you looking for a summer place for solitude and quiet? Or do you want summers surrounded by friends and family? Will you miss your family in SD?

I think building a yurt would be great fun. I also think it would be really hard to live alone, out in the boonies, where I didn't know anyone. But perhaps you're the kind of person who loves to hike, bike, read a book on the porch swing, and don't need a whole lot of summer friends.

I also think the others have asked very important questions. This is a big decision - but not an irreversible one. Yurts are not outrageously expensive; if you buy the land in MT and choose to sell in a few years, it probably isn't going to break the bank if you don't sell immediately.

First, I don't see ANYTHING wrong with buying and building in your 20's!! I bought land and built my dream home at that age (what "dream" is to me is thankfully conservative), and opted for 15 acres of solitude in the bush (my neighbours are range land and forest). My siblings thought it was crazy (far from town, remote, rural, septic field, lots of yard upkeep, very "lonely"), but my parents totally understood. I designed it myself (1350 sq. ft., so not a yurt, but huge by GW standards), and could cover all the costs myself. Did most of the work myself or with the help of friends and family.

I LOVE IT. Love how it feels knowing I created the place, love that the work kept the costs down, love the design and being tucked away in the woods (I do have a dog to protect). Honestly, if you're like me, a nice hideway yurt in the bush sounds FANTASTIC. Don't let anyone tell you you're too young to do it, or know what you want or where you want it.

(I ended up meeting my dream man 1/2 way through the build...I knew he was the one because he loves the house as much as I do, and with no promise of me keeping him around, slaved away to help me finish it. The right person is going to be the right person, don't let your future keep you from the present).

some thoughts --

--how close do you want to be to your parents? Do they own land, or could you buy land together that would have space to put a yurt on?

--lots in settled areas would be very difficult to place a yurt on, as you have discovered, because of zoning regulations and restrictive covenants, so rural would be better

--be careful about buying cheaply advertised rural land sight unseen; often very poor investments (if that's what you're looking for) in undesirable locations, with no access or ability to install utilities, etc.

--you might consider leasing; that is, both leasing a bit of property from someone in a rural area who has enough that they wouldn't mind you constructing a yurt on it and using it in the summers; also, if you build it near enough to a college, you could lease it to a student tenant during the school year and live in it during the summer

--build two -- one for you, and one for a more permanent resident who could keep an eye on it for when you are not there

--you might like the book, Little House on a Small Planet by Shay Solomon -- terrific ideas and resources for small, non traditional housing (see link)

Here is a link that might be useful: Little House on a Small Planet

This post was edited by Violet.West on Thu, Jul 17, 14 at 16:06