How to get free land

Sure, most of you have received free travel, free gift cards, and free cash–but how many of of you can honestly say you’ve received free land? The days of the Homestead Acts are long gone, but believe it or not it’s still possible to get land free of charge in the United States. Where, you ask?

Pretty Much The Entire State of Kansas: Kansas has so much free land they’ve got a website called kansasfreeland.com to keep track of it:

That’s 11, count ’em, 11 Kansas towns that want to give you free land. There have been a few success stories, but generally speaking it’s hard to convince people to move to small-town Kansas, even for free land. The most successful effort has been the one in Marquette, where they’ve given away dozens of lots and boosted the school’s enrollment.

Possible downside: aside from Kansas City, Topeka, and Wichita, there are not many CVS’s in the state.

Loup City, NE: As of 2011, the city was offering a free lot–not to mention $10,000 in downpayment assitance and USDA-sponsored closing cost assistance–to anybody willing and able to build a house.

I’ve never been to Nebraska, but the picture on Loup City’s website makes it look more scenic than I imagined:

You can find more info on free land in Nebraska here.

Camden, ME: Surprisingly, not every single free land opportunity is in fading Midwestern towns–at least one of them is in a fading east coast town! If you can create at least 24 full-time jobs (with benefits), then you’re eligible to receive a 3.5 acre chunk of prime real estate in downtown Camden.

Muskegon, MI: But why settle for 3.5 acres in Maine when 25 jobs will get you a full 5 acres in Muskegon, MI? Create 100 jobs and they’ll give you 30 acres. Muskegon has the advantage of being strategically located all the way on the opposite side of the state from Detroit.

Marne, IA: I’ve never been to Iowa, either (the great plains are sadly unknown to me)… but to my surprise and delight it actually has trees. Or at least, the town of Marne does. Here’s a picture of one of the free lots that could be yours if you’re willing to move there:

Hazelton, ND: If the Nebraska winters aren’t cold enough for you, you could always head north to Hazelton, ND, but you may want to think twice about such a decision. This town actually lured a family from Miami with free land and cash, only to see them flee four years later after being shunned by the community:

Michael Tristani came from his native Florida wearing gold necklaces and a Rolex and driving a Lexus. He proved as foreign as a flamingo in a place where pickups, farm caps and flannel shirts are de rigueur.

“People thought I was a drug dealer,” he said.

As far as I can tell, the free land and cash offer is no longer in effect.

Have a great weekend!