Don’t overlook the 1031 exchange tax code that allows you to swap properties without a taxable gain.

What differs capital gains from income tax?
If you keep it you pay real estate tax, if you sell it you pay tax. They're going to get their money.

capital gains is a lower rate at least for now.

You have to move at least 20 miles from a larger city anymore as far as I am concerned to at least begin to feel like you live in the country. The amount of people who are "contaminating" the countryside around larger towns and cities is disgusting. The biggest problem around me is that people buy large tracts of land, build a house right in the middle of it and then re-sell everything but a few acres right around the house. Large tracts of land are now wasteland as far as I am concerned. Its not country, its not city, its just a random house in the middle of what was once nice countryside. Who wants to buy a tract of land with somebody elses house right in the middle of it.

again as bad and irritating as it is its can be a bigger opportunity to bring in more farm income. a farm stor selling products and farm to table meals, u pick pumpkin patches, corn mazes, countless classes and lessons, charging for time on my range, boarding or renting horses. lots of prospective opportunitys. heck if the boys can get all they yards wrapped up that's another thing and more people to sell fire wood to.

it sucks but it can't be stopped. this entire state is to populated so either start thinking about getting out now or how to best profit from the crap show.

if I sell out dad would be left in the middle alone and not happy. It would be best for him mentally and me financially if I hold out.

many time in my life I remember thinking how nice some farms have it with the location to their customers and what that ground would cost to buy would be insane. yes it stinks to have town move in around you but there are financial benefits if you are willing to grab on to them. from business opportunity to just selling out for a big profit.
Thinking about it for a day or so now I see selling out would set me back incredibly in the future so it's best for me to try to figure out how to make the best of what I see as a very negative situation and try to turn it into a positive. it can be sold in the future and likely at an even higher profit. by them maybe I will have found an area in the west we would like to relocate to when I retire. I mean I don't even need a spread as big as I have now as long as it's big enough for the horses ans critters we want. especially if it's tucked up to government land I can saddle up and ride for weeks on. lots of possibilities in life. I just became much less attached to what's left of the family farm.

Here, the "country" is practically gone, this last round of newcomers, because of covid have sent the price of land and houses through the stratosphere, that said there is opportunity for the farms that are left, mostly because they sold the development rights to the county. but the bigger ones still have their farmstands, but have supplemented with corn mazes, spooky houses for halloween, petting zoos, wine tasting,playgrounds, etc... summer weekends and especially in the fall they are slammed with customers, prices are just short of city prices so the people think they're getting a bargain. They get so busy they need the cops to direct traffic. They have armored trucks to haul away the loot!

So, if you start even small, have some people skills , and develop a clientele you can build a farm business that will support several families, and you still have the farm and it's traditional businesses....

make lemonade out of lemons.....

I would rather be broke over living close to neighbors. My peace and quiet is more valuable than my dollars. Yes, there are advantages to the city encroaching if you have that mindset and desire to make money off it there are all kinds of ways. I don't have that mindset. I dont even understand why people mow more than a hundred feet around a house and buildings.....waste of hay ground to me.

In the West some of those areas where there is ranch/farmland and you wonder why are there not houses there are permanent easements to keep everything from being developed. Son just moved to Steamboat Springs, CO. Saw where two different ranches were paid roughly $1 million each to guarantee they will never sell to developers. County paid. Keep your land and make money like always and get $1 million for just agreeing to never sell. Pretty good deal.

My biggest problem with living in town is barking dogs. Everybody's gotta have them.

I’m the opposite, I live in a nice little neighborhood and if I was to win the lottery, I wouldn’t move. I have access to enough private properties with 10-25 minutes from my house to just get away so no need for me to live away from everyone. I have a soon to be 10yr old with 5 boys and 2 girl friends that play every single day outside, rain or shine. In fact they’re out there right now still playing and it’s getting dark.
I have great neighbors and recently had a young couple move in and their next door neighbor took them around the neighborhood introducing them. Everyone watches out for everyone else. In fact the older gentleman two doors down lets the boys use his ditch as a bike ramp and gives them access to his driveway to turn around in. The little church down the road has a playground and basket ball courts they play on. And on top of that, the ladies at the little store at the end of the road will call to let us know the boys are on their way home when we let them ride to the store to get a coke in the glass bottle. They think that’s the coolest thing, lol.
So in my situation a neighborhood works just fine for me.