For reference

It would be awesome that nobody could build behind you. Forrest are not a scary place. They are beautiful and peaceful. Your kids would have a ball exploring. The drawback I see is that the houses are so close together. Non venomous snakes are great at controlling small rodents. When I see one I just walk around it. It won't bother you if you don't bother it. Coyotes are everywhere. We have a camp surrounded with woods on 3 sides and a cow pasture on the 4th. Never seen a coyote, but have at our suburban home. Where is located? If someone from the area is on this site they should be able to tell you about the wildlife. Wildlife is usually scared of humans and try to avoid them.

There are pros and cons, and some may be dependent upon the region. In my experience (bought 6 months ago) the pros far outweigh the cons. I love the added privacy and also reaping the benefits from a swath of land that I do not pay taxes on or have to upkeep. I also love being surrounded mature trees that I also do not have to maintain, plus all of the wildlife that lives in these -- in our yard we've seen deer, fox, woodchucks, and a huge variety of birds that we're still learning about. I'm sure we'll eventually see coyote, I've definitely heard them. The biggest con, for me, are deer, who make landscaping and gardening difficult. We also get ticks, so we have learned to carefully check ourselves for these. Also, we get hunters back there in the fall who scared the heck out of us because we didn't realize they would be there, and so now during open season we wear orange vests when we go walking on that land.

Some people love forests, others don't. Since you don't, you are right to not buy it and let it go to someone who loves forests.

I am not being snarky, I promise! I'm trying to understand what this sentence is supposed to say - No sidewalk diving the two no pond nothing I’m sure one can put up a fence....

I'm guessing you used talk to text capability and I'd love to know what you were trying to say to see if I can add anything useful for you.

Then again, a heavy forest is my happy place. Walking through nature, feeling the silence except for the sounds of birds chirping restores my soul. I don't find anything eerie about the woods. I'd pay extra to have a forest in my backyard, instead of other houses.

But that's me, not you. If you don't like it, I'm not sure that anyone can change your mind can we?

In my experience, backing up to a forest preserve (meaning a government owned entity, not privately controlled and used) increases the perceived value of your property and is a desirable characteristic. Forest preserves are in populated areas, so being next to one gives reprieve from that.

Wildlife does not adhere to borders that have been mapped out by humans, and I have never personally seen a visually impenetrable fence installed to shield from critters' peering eyes - the preserve is usually exploited to visually extend a backyard.

Your neighbors have the right to plant lots of trees along shared property lines that could shade your yard.

Winnie the Pooh & friends live in the forest and they are not eerie (though could be called "eeyore").

It sounds like it is best you are continuing your search for a different location you will be comfortable in.

Ally, I meant to say “no sidewalk dividing the two, no pond nothing “ i suppose if there was a sidewalk diving the two it would look and feel better for me. I’m surprise that all these comments are in favor of this forest reserve I had no idea people liked that! I guess to each their own. Although the beauty of the house on the inside may make me overlook the location.

Amy A, no matter how old I get I'm still sometimes surprised at the things people like or don't like! LOL that's life, thank goodness for variety.

But please please please, do NOT buy this house if the surroundings make you feel uneasy. Life is too short to live where you step outside and don't feel safe and secure. It's not going to change, you're not going to change. Put your foot down; don't live like that.

There is nothing about nature that scares me. People scare the bejeepers out of me, not trees. LOL. :) Mother Nature soothes my soul, and humanity riles it all back up again...

However as the other posters so astutely pointed out, everyone is different. If you don't like it, then you don't like it and should keep looking.

If you find forests eerie, than don't purchase the property. My own 16 acres of forest are beautiful throughout the year and provide lots of privacy. The forest begins about 150 feet behind my house. It doesn't impact how much sun we get in the house.

We rarely see the coyotes that live in our forest and that of our neighbors. We hear them nightly. They tend to avoid humans at my house because they have better places to hang out. I've seen more coyotes in my town than on my own yard. Snakes, yes, they exist everywhere. I don't like them, but I understand the role they play in keeping mice and other little critters away. In the summer I might see 1 or 2 a week. Much will depend on the landscaping near the house.

Other things we see: deer all of the time, raccoons and possums sometimes, skunks decided they would live under the small side porch and were captured, amazing numbers of birds, the occasional fox, and lots of turkeys.

“Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.”

— Wordsworth

I’m adjacent to a utility easement that leads to a state park and I love it. You need to know what wildlife is common in your area and protect children, pets, vegetables, flowers accordingly. I am actually on a farm, and am trying to think back when I last saw a snake and it’s decades ago. But, you have to live with your choice, so choose what fits best for your family.

I back up to state land. I have neighbors on both sides of me, but we're a few acres each, and nothing will be built behind me. Privacy and year-round access to something like 8,000 acres of woodlands and parkland right out my back door -- what's not to love about that?

I live in the middle of suburbia, just 8 miles from downtown Columbus, and we have snakes, toads, frogs, owls, racoons, hawks, buzzards, possums, geese, ducks, way too many squirrels, way way too many deer, foxes, and coyotes. Even beavers in the stream. None of the bother us - well the deer do, because they are eating machines and decimate our gardens.

Probably this house was under contract the first day it hit the market. So the OP doesn't have to contemplate buying it anymore. This was not the place for her if she thinks there should be a sidewalk. She is probably better off looking for a home in a tract development or the city.

You are closing on a house and yet you want to waste your time and houzzers' time because something crossed your mind about a property that has nothing to do with you?

That’s funny the last time I remember this app is for advice comments and pretty much anything to do with houses. No where in the fine print does it say “only comment or ask about a house you’re purchasing”.

Move along, thank you.

Functionthenlook :
Actually it still isn’t under contract although the market is hot where I’m at.

I think you should pass on the house. The things you are concerned about will probably continue to be concerns. Let someone buy it who appreciates all the benefits of such a location.

I think you should check it out again. :) If it isn't weird, hang out in the area a bit. Ask any neighbors wandering about how they like it. (Tell them you're looking at the house so they don't think you're nuts.)

Do mentally add in a fence budget. I think a forest makes a lovely neighbor. I would still want a fence.

The only concern I have about being near a forest is that in my part of the world, forests have been burning at an alarming rate and taking forest-neighboring communities out along with them. The color of your forest makes me think you aren't in a wildfire area but I'd do a bit of research on the subject if I wanted the place.