There’s another vacation market in Lake Geneva where tiny white cottages on narrow lots are far out of sight. Where the whiny sounds of waverunners and throaty Streblows are replaced by the sounds of rustling corn fields and, well, silence. I’m speaking of course about the country living option, the Chevy Chase Funny Farm option, the option for those who want to get away, but water and boats aren’t as important as tranquility and room to roam, and no one around to bother you.
While Geneva lake itself is relatively high density, and the city of Lake Geneva is a busy burb indeed, once you travel a couple hundred yards outside of the city limits, and once you get about a 1/2 mile away from the lake in nearly all directions you’ll find fields and prairies and country homes galore. These country homes come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from small cottages on 2 acres of land, to midsize farm homes on 10 acres, to full blown luxurious estates with massive homes on 100+ acres. If you’re in the city and dream of fields and streams and wooded groves, Lake Geneva is your place, and these options can be surprisingly affordable.
The market affecting such homes is currently slow as is most of the market, and the country home market lacks the sex appeal that the lakefront and lake access home market exude. There are currently over 100 such farm properties, so if you want a 4 acre farmette just a few miles from downtown Lake Geneva for around $350k, or a 80 acre estate with swimming pools and tennis courts for $2MM, we have ample inventory to choose from. The topography of the local area is spectacular, with many high hills and low valleys, and the settings for some of these country homes are quite impressive when positioned on or near these knolls. Whether you want to be high on a wind swept hill, or tucked away in a wooded grove, options abound. For horse lovers, there are even several horse properties on the market now complete with stables and show quarters. Heck, even the Pritzkers indulge in the country living idea with a magnificent horse farm about 15 miles east of Lake Geneva.
I love the idea of gardens and orchards, and if my current planned purchase goes through, I’ll end up owning a property where I can finally fulfill that goal. That’s not to say that those longing for a country estate are going to eschew the lakefront all together, it just means that afternoon boatrides might be followed by wandering through a garden, harvesting some good old fashion Lake Geneva bounty.