Many
Folks call & ask for property that is southern facing,
and I don’t always agree that this is a good thing.
Here’s my reasoning:
The primary reason that a southern facing slope has been
recommended by some is for growing season, and the idea
that the ground will warm sooner in spring, melting off
snow quicker.
In North Idaho, because we are so far north (Latitude
wise, geographically), we don’t really plant outdoors
much before mid May. June 21, just over a month later,
is the summer solstice, and on that day, here in the mountains,
daylight will start at just after 4:30 AM, and the sun
will set at 10:30+ at night. So, we’re talking 16
plus hours of daylight….that’s a LOT of light.
Since you will get so much light, the idea that you really
need a lot more, enough to make SURE you face south, it’s
not worth it, as you’re still getting that sun, regardless
of your position relative to south, as the sun, for the
most part, is straight up in the sky.
Let’s look at it from another perspective-
If you have a house facing south, everything in front
of you will always be in shades of gray. You’re looking
into the sun. Take a picture, looking in the direction
of the sun, and it comes out bad, no question. But what
if there are people looking up at you; they’re looking
north, right, so they’ll see you in 3-D color, clear
& crisp, all day every day.
From
a defensive standpoint, I’d much rather be looking
in some direction of north than anything south; if I’m
looking south anyone below me sees me perfect, but I see
them in camouflage. If inversely, they are looking south,
and I’m looking north, I’ll see them well, but
they’ll have a much harder time seeing me.
I think that here, anything that faces North, Northeast,
or Northwest is fine, as long as the hill behind you isn’t
steep. In the winter, you won’t make a lot of solar
power anyways, as the sun won’t get very high in
the sky for long. In summer, it won’t matter where
you are as the sun will be high above you all the time
regardless of your location, unless you’re in a deep
valley or on the north side of a real steep slope.
And then….the majority of the Rocky Mountains, (and
the Cascades) actually RUN north & south, so there’s
not all that much southerly facing slope anyways. The
majority face east or west, so if a person REALLY insists
on having a southern facing slope, it will remove the
vast majority of properties from contention, and that’s
not a good thing.
So, by NOT insisting on southern facing slopes, we are
able to see & use substantially more properties, greatly
adding to what all is available, providing more choices!
For any questions or for more information please email
info@revrealty.us
"When we decided it was time to trade our hectic
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