Those of you who live on a lake.....

[tigerbalm2424]

Pros and Cons of living on a lake vs. not living on a lake?

(Beyond purchase price and property taxes)

I assume everyone on here likes to fish. Does fishing the lake you live on get old? Do you still pull the boat to other lakes to fish?

[polarsusd81]

I don't live on a lake, but my grandfather had two different houses on Chisago. I pretty much spent every day up there in the summer when I was too young to work. I consider it the lake I grew up on, and very happy about it. My grandpa and I are very close and he loved to fish, but a stroke 6 years ago pretty much took the ability to fish away from him.

Chisago is still my first choice many days for which water I will fish. There is just that sweet spot for me. And if I could buy a house on a lake, it would be Chisago 100%.

And to answer the last question, if I did live on the lake, I would still pull the boat to other lakes to fish. As much as you can love one lake, you still have such a variety that it would be shameful to neglect your boat's hull of running in other waters.

[BAKERMAN]

I am fortunate to live on the Whitefish Chain of lakes..When my honey holes get quiet, I can go to another lake without using a trailer.2 years ago I sold my boat trailer no need to have it sitting around getting older...there is always a new part of the chain to learn about...if I lived on a smaller lake, I believe I would have to trailer to different lakes...

[markkstanley]

I live on Minnetonka. It's great to just hit the water after work. I do fish other lakes on a selective basis but I'd guess 80% of my trips are on Minnetonka. Helps to pick prime fishing lake. I lived on Minnewashta before and I fished it a lot when I lived on it but was more liklely to go elsewhere back then.

Another big plus for me is just looking out at the water - not my neighbor's fence or backyard. That alone is worth it to me.

[sparcebag]

I cant think of any cons maybe all the summer people,fall thro spring no one around.I fish the lake I live on 95% of the time,I like the fact that if I get fed up with work around here Lawn,garden,repairs,hobbies,its a 30 yd. walk to a boat thats in the water ready to go,and instead of a porch the dock bench is better.

[tigerbalm2424]

 Originally Posted By: sparcebag

I cant think of any cons maybe all the summer people,fall thro spring no one around.I fish the lake I live on 95% of the time,I like the fact that if I get fed up with work around here Lawn,garden,repairs,hobbies,its a 30 yd. walk to a boat thats in the water ready to go,and instead of a porch the dock bench is better.

How long have you lived there?

[JP Z]

Lake I live on is small around 200acres so I just have a small boat on that lake and still have my "go-boat" on the trailer. I love the lake, only lived on it a few years and honestly I don't care if I'm just catching gills off my dock with the kids it's still fun everytime.

Only thing I don't like about living on a lake is the maintainence....put in docks, take out docks...etc.

[fishorgolf]

Sunsets. I am on the south east side of ML and the sunsets are unbelievable! I have so many great pictures I may do a calender some day.

As for the fishing. The ability to lower the boat lift and be fishing in 5 min. then being able to pull in when I am done, clean the fish and have diner without driving home.

And the people. Almost everyone who lives here could make allot more money working somewhere else but they choose to live here instead because this is were they want to be.

[tigerbalm2424]

 Originally Posted By: fishorgolf

Sunsets. I am on the south east side of ML and the sunsets are unbelievable! I have so many great pictures I may do a calender some day.

As for the fishing. The ability to lower the boat lift and be fishing in 5 min. then being able to pull in when I am done, clean the fish and have diner without driving home.

And the people. Almost everyone who lives here could make allot more money working somewhere else but they choose to live here instead because this is were they want to be.

If only I had a virtual job I would be on ML in a second. Do most people up there have virtual jobs or do they commute?

[Iambjm]

I purchased our lot on a 74 acre lake in 2006, bought it in March and didn't do my research. I have not had my boat on it yet, we had the county boys come out in June 2007 to get permits to do a road down to the lake so we could put a dock in and maybe be able to launch the boat there. I had noticed that some of the shoreline was pretty mucky, turns out that the whole 211 feet is wetland. If I want to do a 12 foot wide road to the shore I would have to pay approximately $1600 to the county for wetland reparation plus the cost of the road and materials to make it drive-able. I can put a board walk in without the reparation costs and put my dock in, but haven't quite figured out the hows and costs. There is no public launch on the lake so then I would also have to figure out how to get the boat in. We spent 2 years looking for a lot and we had almost given up on the idea of lakeshore because of the price. We bit the bullet and bought this one and put a double wide on it versus building a house because when all the numbers were added up that's what we could afford. Even knowing all the cons about our lot I would do it again, every morning when I wake up I feel like I've died and went to heaven. It does get a bit annoying for me to trailer my boat to other lakes, but then I get the variety of different types of lakes. By the way, so far our property taxes are $800 less than we were paying on our old house in Ramsey MN.

View of the lake:

[fishorgolf]

It is a pretty diverse group actually. Some do commute but not many. I still own a business in Ramsey and can do allot of my work using the internet and am down a few days a week. There are others that own business like resorts, reasturants, , HVAC, construction, paving etc. Then others that work for these business, mechanics, bartenders etc. And of course the retired.

[EYESTALKER]

An unfortunate commuter. 30 miles each way. Down from 60 miles each day, though. I'd give my left...toe...to get rid of it altogether. The plan is in the works!! To the previous question, I have deeded access so i get a little of both worlds.

[tigerbalm2424]

 Originally Posted By: Iambjm

By the way, so far our property taxes are $800 less than we were paying on our old house in Ramsey MN.

Ahh yes, and you missed the current increase of around %20 in Ramsey. Mine jumped from $2000 to $2500 just this year.

This is one reason I am looking for a lake lot. Yes, I realize they will go up with a lake lot, but at least then I could justify them.... I cant now.

[Iambjm]

The lot next to mine is for sale. 6 acres and under $100,000

[tigerbalm2424]

 Originally Posted By: Iambjm

The lot next to mine is for sale. 6 acres and under $100,000

Send me an email with location/lake! [email protected]

[JP Z]

lambjm,

Use a Canoe my man....... small lake like that makes that ideal. I was using a kayak on mine for a bit.

[eyepatrol]

I grew up on a lake for the better part of my school days. There's nothing like living on a lake. Sunsets, access to fishing, birds, animals, bonfires, the list goes on and on. First chance I get (when the stars align), I'll be moving back onto a lake with my wife and kids. My folks still live on the lake and I enjoy going over there as much as when I lived there.

Here are some of the things you should be aware of though and most of this has to deal with having kids and living on a lake. So with kids, you could probably expect them to walk around in the water with their shoes on, get them wet, sometimes ruin them and other clothes, sometimes drag mud or sand into the house. You also need to be weary of kids falling into the lake or any other situation that may cause them to drown. In winter, you'll need to be weary of the kids walking out on the ice when it is obviously unsafe (yeah, yeah people.....no ice is safe ice....we get it). I'm talking when there's 1/2" or something and the kids aren't aware of or ignore the conditions.

You also need to understand that people might be fishing right out your back door. So they may be looking at (or into) your house. They may be casting to your dock and getting tangled on your dock, hit your boat with their lure or whatever. So you need to be comfortable with that idea.

And last, but not least, you need to be comfortable with the fact that the lake does not belong to you or anyone else that lives on it. It is public water (in 99.9% of the cases) and people will treat it that way. They may fish around your dock or your shoreline. They may even swim in front of your shoreline. They might drop anchor and party in front of your shoreline. All these things are legal to do, you just need to accept the idea of it possibly happening. That is, of course, if you live on a lake that is frequented by the public. My folks live on a shallow, muddy lake without any real game fish or boating opportunties. So they don't have any traffic at all.

Still, with all the "cons" mentioned, I for one cannot wait for the day that I live on a nice fishable lake.

[Hammer Handle]

Growing up, I lived on land connected to the lake, but hundreds of feet away. More privacy, and enjoyed the lakeshore more.

Someday, my home will be overlooking a lake in the near distance...and I currently owe lakeshore on a different lake nearby. Best of both worlds, in my opinion.

[fishgutz77]

I live on a small lake (200acres) just outside of monticello.

We have 21 acres and about 450 ft of shore line but it's in a bay thats all cattails and lilly pads which I like cause I duck hunt alot.

We keep a small pontoon on the lake to swim and fish off of and then we have the big boat to fish and sometimes pull the tube.

I grew up on the river here so I had to find some water to live on. In 1993 we paid 46,000 for the land and we built a log home.

I love it but the taxes are killing me cause land prices have escalated so much in 15 years.

But you can catch me down on the dock with crawlers and a hook havin a blast catch'in sunnys and bass and crappies gettin ready to go up north for the opener.

the lake is up 11 inches and I will have to raise 200 ft of dock this year to keep it dry that will burn up one week end.

[tisosy11]

Depending on the lake size i'd think you'd have to trailer the boat at times.

Our cabin on pelican and i've never trailered the boat when i have been up there. A bigger lake and you can always search new spots out...

[Hammer Handle]

That is the best think about having land near...but not living on the lake. The taxes are much much cheaper.

Plus, the land is not "developed" and better for the lake.

I think living on the lake losing its thrill after awhile. Living close and visiting the lake makes it more enjoyable.

Then, you can chose to camp by the lake too...and not just in the "yard". Kids really enjoy this freedom!

[Queenswake]

This is something I think about a lot. I go back and forth between thinking it would be the best thing ever to wondering if it would get old. My main concerns are 1) I'd get tired of fishing the same lake and 2) My excitement for fishing wouldn't be as great having it right there all the time.

When I was growing up, we did not have a cabin, but we did travel all over the state camping and fishing. I now have quite a few lakes that I like to go to for different reasons. And there are 10,000 more lakes I haven't even been on that keep me excited. I think if I were to live on a lake or even have a cabin on a lake, it would have to be on a large chain with different types of fishing available. Large open water, backwater bays, small river, etc.

I also wonder if my love of fishing would decrease if I had it available to me every all day, every day. I think for me, a lot of my excitement for fishing is the anticipation and the contrast it gives after doing not so fun things like work. When I go on a trip to go fishing, that's all I want to do. But when you live on a lake, there are bills to pay, housework to do, and all the other daily stresses. All of that would affect my enjoyment of fishing right there. Home would be too close. There is something to be said about hitting the road on a Thursday night after work and seeing that glistening water of your favorite lake and instantly letting all your stress and worry of daily life float away.

I think for me, instead of having a cabin, I might just get a 5th wheel and have the freedom to go to whatever lake I want to go to. Maybe put it on a different seasonal site each summer. The only con of that over a cabin is not being able to use it in the winter. This is where cabins really have their value, I think.

[ottertailguy]

We have a place on Ottertail lake that we go on weekends and vacations. We plan to retire there someday but only during the summers. I don't know if fishing would be different living on the lake 24/7 but right now it's the bomb. As for fishing other lakes I can say that in a county with 1000 lakes I have no interest in fishing others. But if you asked me about living on a golf course or Ottertail lake I would say lake. Others might say golf course but that's another debate.

[52luge]

I have now lived on a lake for 15 years and I can truley say I feel like I'm on vacation every day, I just have to run to work for a few hours, but then I'm back. Before we moved here, my family had a cabin on the lake and I considered myself a casual fisherman. Now that i live on it, my days on the water go up every year and I can't wait to go out every chance I get. It's great for the kids too. I have an 8 year old daughter who can throw spinner baits with her own baitcaster pretty good because we can practice every day. I will say that most of my friends who fish who do not live on a lake are probably better fisherman than me because they fish alot of different lakes under different conditions. I feel I may be kind of one dimensional because I rarely fish during cold fronts (why should I?) and I spend 90+ days fishing the same lake. I've taken 30+ muskies from this lake but when you can throw a bucktail off your dock every day in September, I don't think it's much skill on my part. With that said, I could never, ever move.

[Iambjm]

Oh my gosh the bugs are breeding!!!!