The Goal of I and my friends in 1980 was to buy land, build a house and never have a mortgage

 Of course way out in the country like around Mt. Shasta you could still do this then.

What has changed the most since then?

Prices of land have gone up almost everywhere there is enough sun for solar arrays. So, as long as you now have a well or a water source land has become more expensive almost anywhere in California. And even along the coast where often it isn't useful (in the Northern Half of California) along the coast to have solar, just the beauty of the ocean everywhere along the coast with relatively low temperatures compared to the northeast of the country draws people from all over the world to live here.

So, even where solar arrays aren't practical right along the coast people still pay incredible prices for land and houses almost everywhere along the California coast.

However, in 1980 I was able to buy land (2 1/2) acres of land at 4000 feet without electricity for around 8000 dollars on the side of Mt. Shasta with a beautiful view of the mountain. Then we sold my wife's VW Camper Van and bought whatever wood we needed to begin building our A-Frame house. A house like this can shed up to over 10 feet of snow because 7 feet of snow at a time was pretty normal then in 1980 during winters there.

My father welded up from an old water pressure tank we had installed in his Yucca Valley house before he got County water for water pressure from a 1200 gallon water tank there that was raised up to around 10 feet tall for gravity feed water to water his garden and a Spartan 1946 Trailer that I had lived in in Seattle until my father built an apartment under my Grandfather's Garage on a hill in Lake Forest park then. So, I spend the first 6 months of my life in a 28 foot Spartan Trailer that has an aluminum finish like an Airstream Trailer of the same length today.

 

So, once my Dad welded up a Wood Stove after we bought windows for the house we were ready to move in and be warm through the winters there.

The basic idea was to not have a mortgage and to pay for everything up front so we ONLY had to pay Property Taxes which weren't much then. Over 5 years I figure we saved 60,000 dollars in Rent which allowed us to be able to go to Japan, India, Nepal, Thailand and Japan in 1985 and 1986 spending 4 months with our children traveling especially in India and Nepal then. And a friend from Mt. Shasta met us in Kathmandu, Nepal and traveled with us to Chitwan National Park on the Terai then where we were chased by Rhinos but survived by climbing trees.

So, not being tied to a mortgage ever was one goal and the 2nd goal was to own our own businesses so our time was more our own. So, we were then especially into an alternative lifestyle where our time was our own without having a mortgage. Maybe we had car or truck payments but that's all.

It was a good life especially from 1980 to 1985 home schooling our children through Oak Meadow school until the oldest was 12 and wanted to return to school. So, we bought another business and returned to the greater SF Bay area which was likely good for our kids but not for our marriage then. We as adults were much happier living and skiing and hiking in the mountain lakes and traveling because we could afford to because we owned our own businesses and refused to get mortgages. So, life was pretty amazing from 1980 to 1985.

My father and my friends and my wife and I built our home ourselves then.

However, because of the price of land and building materials I wonder if most people could do this today?

Also, my wife and I were 32 years old so we were in our physical prime and had enough knowledge and experience and wisdom to pull all this off. It was a great life for those 5 years! Those 5 years of success in our lives of doing exactly what we wanted to do is one reason why I'm still alive here at 76 today.