My husband is anxious to be done with the corps and doesn't think he wants to go back to his original career because there is no guarantee he won't be laid off again (he is a certified pipe welder). Now he thinks he wants to be a fishing guide in Louisiana. Where I start to panic is that he is so disorganized and doesn't know where to begin to look for charter schools, places to buy a good boat, how to start his work, etc. Plus I have questions about the land over there and why we don't see too many 2-story houses. Would love to chat with someone who has lived there for a while. Comment or message me and I'll send you my email address. 

Are you from the west coast? Just wondering, i assume you are used to seeing 2 story homes all the time. In the South people have more room to spread out and have more land and tend to make one story large homes. It's just the style homes that are in the south and a tradition, 'ranch style' homes are really big down there. I don't have much to comment when it comes to the fishing guide, sorry. 

Nope, I'm from Maine. 

Our dream is to build a large timber home by the water, with enough land to have a good size family garden and chickens. Doesn't sound huge, but that's what the both of us will be happy in till we die. Anyway, he was looking at the style houses and wondered if we weren't able to build a 2-story timber home because of the climate or something. 

It's just a preference thing, you can build two story homes no problem with climate. It does get HOT down south. Do you know much about true timber homes? 

Has your husband considered being an overseas contractor with the government? Sure, it means "deploying", but it's something to do in meantime while he's undecided. 

Has your husband considered being an overseas contractor with the government? Sure, it means "deploying", but it's something to do in meantime while he's undecided.

That is a good idea if you can handle a year (minus vacation time) apart. Good way to bank some money for your dream home.

I did it for 7 1/2 yrs. But my domestic situation is WAY different..lol 

Has your husband considered being an overseas contractor with the government? Sure, it means "deploying", but it's something to do in meantime while he's undecided.
I'll ask him if he knows if he can do that or not. 

Do you know much about true timber homes?
People with money back in New England have them, I've slept in a few, we've read up on them, but have not actually truly experienced keeping one up. But we know what to do theoretically. His mother's boyfriend is a contractor and a carpenter. He knows everything about wood, especially timber homes. 

When my husband gets out, we're getting our house in New Mexico. (I know kind of off topic). We have a 7 acre farm with a farm house (5 bedroom/3 bath), comes with horse corral and water rights. The price was 75,000 total. We just got the final paperwork to sign, out mortgage is 350 a month. It's not Louisiana, but the land is cheap if that is what you are looking for. 

A log cabin in southern Louisiana?
There's lots of mold, mildew, rot, BUGS and humidity issues I would not want to deal with long term.

My FIL lives in Coastal SE Texas--30 miles from the gulf, and the 8 ft deep ditch in front of his home has water year round even if it doesn't rain....it's from the water table under his property!

Where you want to build would probably have a lot to do with the style of home you COULD build. Two story homes are heavier in a smaller space, one stories are more spread out, and lighter. Plus easier to keep cool in a hot, wet climate. 

that's what I am not looking forward to is keeping it cool. It's hard. I have few life long dreams and the one we agreed on is our home and the land it will be on and I don't want to give that up...and I don't want to keep moving. I just wouldn't feel at home in a one story...I'd feel like I'm back in an apartment again. And the mold isn't a huge problem if you know how to treat your timber....and timber homes aren't necessarily log homes, but yeah...it's all hard wood. 

Lol, even pressure treated wood rots down south. Hill country would be a better choice.

We have 14 acres in Tennessee, after factoring in underground water tables, and fresh water springs, creeks and other too "soft" soils, only about 4 acres is actually buildable. Like I said the kind of home you build would depend on where you build. 

well, that's a real bummer 

Just have a soil survey done before you buy any land-that goes for anywhere really. 

My brother actually had a log cabin north of Houston and it does fine. They've had it for years. They are in Liberty county if anyone knows where that is. 

Yeah, don't worry. We will make sure everything is perfect and if it ain't perfect we won't live there. 

WHAT'S UP! I'm from southern Louisiana. Currently living here (there) now. Hit me up! 

thanks for messaging me, 8ossLady. It was good to hear from someone who has actually seen where we are starting to look. Things look 75% good for my vision in the South. I'm a full-blooded North-easterner. So, if I could survive the west coast, I bet I could in the South as well.