In Oklahoma, going to the lake is a rite of passage.
Being raised on a working farm and living 10 minutes from the lake I took for granted having limitless access to the outdoors, needless to say starting a life as an urban dweller in Europe has been a challenge.
I probably got the idea to find my own place from my sister-in-law (husbands sister), who also lives in Chisinau. She and her husband were Engineers during the Soviet Union, however they spend their weekends at their “Dachia,” which they were granted during Soviet times as they were quite successful in their profession as industrial irrigation engineers.
What is a Dachia?
Find link here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacha
https://i2.wp.com/understandrussia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Dacha-by-V.-Gubarev.jpg
My criteria for finding my own place were the following.
- Must be on flat land with access to virgin land “agriculture zoning” to reinvest in organic production.
- Must be located in proximity to a large body of water (lake or river)
- Must be accessible by asphalt road
- Must be within 30 minutes of Chisinau.
After a year of searching via satellite imagery, visiting 13+ locations and consulting the land ownership registries for multiple villages, I stumbled upon this “rough diamond”.
At first I had my heart set on purchasing open territory, but my husband told me that it was easy enough to haul that junk barrel to a new location and start fresh, at that point I agreed
This property would fulfill each of my criteria, except that this property is 45 minutes from Chisinau.
After negotiating with the seller, and going through a long (6 month) registration process, I became the proud owner of a rusted barrel and garden plot overgrown with vines.
However, I was beyond excited.
Now it was time to get to work.
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