Living at the lake is outstanding! You have instant access to beaches, fishing, nature, outdoor activities, and watersports. Unless you live at a city lake, traffic jams are eliminated or due to construction and accidents. The free feeling about your environment differs completely from city or town life. Lake life is extremely relaxing and laid back.

However, there is a downside to lake living. Every time it storms, the electricity goes out for at least two hours or more where I live. Electrical outages are common at the lake for various reasons. Water quality can be extremely poor, like where I live on Lake Texoma. In many states, century old statutes control water rights, plus the federal EPA. Reliable high-speed internet service is still scarce.

If you need a mechanic, and your vehicle will not start or run, you cannot take it to a mechanic’s shop. Towing is expensive. Some lakes have a Walmart Super Center fairly close, but for everything else, it can be a half-day or daylong trip to town for supplies.

Dollar General has made acquiring necessities a bit easier in Oklahoma and Texas for rural residents, but they do not stock near what most families need. If you own a lake home as a second home, you have to think about theft and pipes freezing in the winter. Sheriffs serve as law enforcement.

If you need to call the sheriff, it can take a while for service. Usually, volunteer fire departments provide service for fires that break out, and there are frequent burn bans during hot weather and in droughts. People frequently dump or abandon pets while camping, and there is no animal control. Plus, you have to keep your pets safe from predatory wildlife.

If You Are Considering a Lake Home

All of those issues cost lake lubbers time and money. Practical solutions do exist, but they are expensive. The main thing people who move from city or town life need to know is that they are entering into a wholly different lifestyle. The perks of lake living are priceless, which is why people love to live at the lake.

Generators for Emergency Electricity

A generator is a device that converts mechanical energy into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, gas turbines, water turbines, internal combustion engines, wind turbines, and even hand cranks.

Generators for your home run from moderately priced to highly expensive. For home generators, there are three types and tons of makes and models to choose from:

• Whole House Generators: They are designed to provide ample power for your appliances and HVAC systems.
• Inverter Generator: Ideal for camping, boating, and other recreational activities. They operate quieter than other generators and provide power for lights, heaters, fans, radios, smart phones, etc.
• Portable Generator: often used on job sites to power air compressors, nail guns, saws, hammer drills and other equipment. Most are loud, but there are quiet portable generators too. 

Whole house generators are best for homes and also known as home standby generators. They:

• Get automatic emergency backup power within seconds of an outage.
• Whole house generators provide blackout protection seven days a week, 24- hours a day and are permanently installed.
• You can operate the machine using an existing fuel supply such as natural gas, liquid propane, or a solar/fuel combo.
• Whole house generators are flexible enough to power your entire home or just supply power to a few designated circuits.
• When choosing the best generator for home backup, consider models with special features that run the unit more quietly or conduct weekly, self-diagnostic tests.

Drill a Water Well

If your lake house area has poor water quality like mine, the only other option you have is to drill a water well. Wells are expensive. The cost depends on how deep you have to go. If you are going to drill a water well, you must do your research, because there are unscrupulous drillers that will shortcut you on necessary materials and pocket the cash if they think you do not know exactly what you are buying.

Get multiple quotes and ask for references, and check up on the references. A reputable water well contractor will be happy to supply this information. You should, at a minimum, ask these questions:

• Are they licensed in your state to drill wells and install pumps? This is not a requirement in Texas, but is in Oklahoma. A license more likely ensures a reliable driller in Texas.
• Are they adequately insured and bonded? Licensed water well contractors must maintain a minimum of public liability and property damage insurance.
• Will they supply you a detailed explanation of the work/conditions of the bid/job contract? Details include, but are not limited to:
• Estimated depth of the well
• Bore hole diameter
• What type and size of well casing will be used
• What type and length of well screen will be used
• Approximately how long will the well be developed and test pumped?
• Will they provide you with a copy of the well log, well registration, if needed, and any other documents from installed water equipment?

Oh! The Internet Problems!

Internet service providers (ISPs) are so difficult to deal with at the lake. Many, many rural ISPs vary in reliability and type. It is rare to have a cable ISP at many lakes, and ISPs are a constant source of frustration for people who live at the lake. Most people have a choice between wireless broadband and satellite service.

Even if a lake dweller is blessed enough to have cable, cable works a lot like the electrical lines. There are so many reasons why cable ISPs can go out in rural areas. There usually is no warning like with the electricity. Your speed can start slowing down gradually or it just quits working suddenly.

Satellite ISPs do not work under heavy cloudy, rainy, or snowy weather conditions. They need clear skies to supply power. If you are in a valley or surrounded by trees, you may not be able to get a broadband signal. If you depend on an ISP for your job or livelihood, research any lake region well for ISPS.

• Wireless broadband connects a home or business to the Internet using a radio link between the customer’s location and the service provider’s facility. Wireless broadband can be mobile or fixed.
• Wireless technologies using longer-range directional equipment provide broadband service in remote or sparsely populated areas where DSL or cable modem service would be costly to provide. Speeds are generally comparable to DSL and cable modem. An external antenna is usually required.
• Wireless broadband internet access services offered over fixed networks allow consumers to access the Internet from a fixed point while stationary and often require a direct line-of-sight between the wireless transmitter and receiver.

SpaceX Starlink has good reviews, so we looked at the facts from review.org. If you own a home-based business that you want to move to a rural area, Starlink is your best bet. As of 2022, Starlink announced a few recent changes to the popular satellite internet service, including:

• Wait times for equipment are pushed back to late 2022 through early 2023 due to chip shortages.
• The cost for basic Starlink internet rose to $110 a month, with the equipment price rising to $599 as well. (If you paid a deposit on the original $499 equipment price, you'll pay $549.)
• A new Starlink Business service tier costs $500 a month, plus a $2,500 equipment cost.

As SpaceX continues to launch satellites into orbit to expand and support its blossoming satellite service, there’s potential for even more improvements. So despite the wait times, Starlink is worth monitoring, especially if you have limited internet service options.

Starlink Pros

• Fast download speeds
• Unlimited data
• Lower latency than traditional satellite

Starlink Cons

• Steep equipment cost
• Limited availability with long wait times for equipment
• Sky-high business tier costs

Get Ready for a Lifestyle Makeover When Moving from Town to Lake

Unless you live at a lake where there are a lot of restaurants on the lake, you won’t be able to pick and choose from a variety of restaurants to eat at on any given night. Still, these eateries could be a long way from where you live. Many lake eateries and bars have seasonal hours and may not open in the winter. Even for fast food, you might have to drive a long way, same with nightclubs and bars.

Most people living on the lake make a weekly or bimonthly trip to town for supplies. If you forget something while you’re in town, too bad, or even if you remember halfway to town, it is a long u-turn. Computer and cellphone and other repair services often require a drop off and pick up trip. It is best to keep a running list handy on your cell phone of everything that you need that pops into your mind throughout the period before you go to town.

If you have children, they can expect long bus trips or you can expect two daily trips to schools. If your vehicle breaks down, you either need a mobile mechanic or add that expensive towing charge to your mechanic’s bill.

People think that abandoning animals at the lake is a good thing, and someone will help. Yes, most lake communities have a revolving door of people who, at any given, time can help the poor animals. This is a horrific and traumatizing thing to do to an animal and the people at the lake. There may be a county animal control service, but they are not likely to make the lake front communities a priority.

It is the same thing with law enforcement services. The sheriff’s are based at the county seat, so depending on how far you live from there, add your wait time to their driving time. Theft of second homes is common, so invest in a good security system. Volunteer fire departments protect rural areas. If there is a large fire, then they call neighboring VFDs and city fire departments to help.

All of these issues do not deter people from living the absolutely gorgeous life at the lake, but we see a lot of city folk who move to Texoma who do not understand how much life differs at the lake. They seem to go into a bit of unnecessary shock and trauma when they cannot get good services on demand. A few of them never quit complaining, but most get used to it and begin to enjoy the pleasures of lake life.