Well, Well, Well...Steve & V Need One

The Ask

Our request is simple: we need help to fund a well. We've accomplished some major steps in our plan for life in Maine, and this one of the final hurdles. We need water and if we are to get a well this year, it needs to get drilled before October (because it gets ding dang cold here, y'all).

The Cost

To get a well, there are three major components:

We will potentially need to pay for or rent an excavator for some of the digging and line laying, but we don't currently know the costs associated. If you're quick with math, you'll note that the amount we're shooting for is a bit over what we estimate needing, and that is to cover the transaction costs deducted by GoFundMe.

The Property

The property is in Oakfield, Maine. It's 44 acres, bordered by a creek and a lake. When we purchased it, it already had a power pole run out to it. It also has a structure on it that was started around 1993 and has been left to the porcupines and various other wildlife since. So far, we've found:

And yet shockingly, no well.

While we have access to the water our land borders, the hauling, sanitizing, and filtering process will be far less feasible in winter.

We are living as far within our means as possible, but our means are not extensive. We've already been helped so much by both our families. Without them and the rampant opportunities that we've been presented with, we would never have gotten this far. Work ethic and strategic planning can only get us so far.

And that's why we're asking for your help. If you can, awesome. If you can't, we get it and we will eventually get a well. But we know our community loves us and wants to help us and that's why we're showing you a place we need that help.

Thank you!

Much love,

Victoria & Steve

P.S. Any amount will help. However, if you'd rather help out another way, we also have a "housewarming" list that will help us finish the tiny house and get ourselves launched. You can look at it here:

https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1JTXS1D13UUXFhttps://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1JTXS1D13UUXF

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If you'd like to here a little more of our story...

The Beginning

It started with a boy and dream: for freedom, for simplicity, for the woods. Steve started designing the tiny house (Smolding Pines) in 2018 with the plan for a simple, sustainable living situation that allowed for travel. He started construction in 2019.

The Middle

When Victoria moved in in 2020, plans shifted. Smolding needed to hold two people and two lives. In 2022, we found the perfect property in Oakfield, Maine. It's a beautiful 44 acres, touching a lake and bordered by a lovely little creek. It was $85,000. About a year later, we were able to buy out the owner-financed mortgage for around $35,000, which knocked around $15,000 off our total investment.

The Present

Smolding has been moved to the property in Oakfield. Currently, Steve is camping out at the property while finishing what needs to be done for Smolding to be livable. Hauling water from the stream takes an hour every day.

Victoria is packing up the rest of their life as it stands in Horseshoe Beach, and then she'll be moving up to the property to help Steve. She is doing contract work remotely and they are both job hunting for something that will let them meet their needs without taking over their lives.