03/17/2021
What is the value of land?
Not just the price. That is easy enough to figure.
But the real value of land.
That is much more difficult to determine.
Because it is about more than money.
My family has ties to the land. I have strong farm roots on one side, and hobby farm roots on the other.
On my dad’s side of the family, there are multiple generations of farmers.
That side of the family has deep ties to the land. We have a large family and not everyone is a farmer anymore.
These last couple of weeks they gathered on family land.
Harvesting maple sap and boiling it down to syrup. In a sugar shanty built by my great grandfather. It has been rebuilt at least once, but looks much the same as I remember.
Family from all walks of life took time to meet in the woods and work together to produce maple syrup.
Their kids joined in the work. Laughing. Working. Playing. Learning. Making memories with their cousins.
This was a multi-generational project.
Without the land this wouldn’t be possible.
Land itself is easy to price.
It is harder to put a value on experiences, memories, a sense of belonging.
I wasn’t there. But I know the people who were. And I can see the stories in their pictures.
Being a part of a family is not all about the warm fuzzies. There can be disagreements and hurt feelings.
But relational capital from good times makes it easier to get through the hard times.
Having a shared place, land, a home, some physical place, can help us remember who we are. And who we come from.
Memories of working and playing together. Memories of shared experiences. Memories of belonging.
Land is the space where life happens.
For my family it can look like a maple sugar shanty out in the woods.
A big basement where the whole family gathers at Christmas.
Conversation at a kitchen table.
We don’t all come from farm families. But we do all have some connection to the land.
Whether we own it or are just renting for a while.
The real value of land is not measured in dollars or acres.
It is measured in the quality of our relationships.
In the memories that we make.
The people and experiences that we love.
You don’t need a lot of land for these things.
You might have a quarter acre lot in a city. Or an apartment that you are renting. (I lived in an apartment that would fit in most living rooms for a few years in college.)
The memories you make and the homes you create may span land across several states or even overseas.
Obviously different size plots of land make it possible to have different experiences. I don’t have room for four wheelers or boating in my backyard.
I can’t tap trees and make maple syrup. But we have room for a fire-pit to sit around.
We haven’t always had that. And it didn’t matter.
We created memories, traditions and stories wherever “home” was.
Land can make us more comfortable. It can open up opportunities to experience life in new ways.
It won’t make us happy if we are already unhappy.
When we are content with who we are. Having land that fits our life is like adding fresh maple syrup to a stack of steaming pancakes. Life is just better.
I am a real estate agent.
I help people buy and sell homes.
So that they can live the life they want and create memories for generations to come.
Joel Leininger
814-290-8906
Brokered by
Quirion Realty
1811 Memorial Circle
Clarksville, TN 37043
Office: 931-551-5703
Mobile: 814-290-8906
TN License # 330354
[email protected]
