It is country living with all the benefits of solitude but without the extra work of caring for land.

That’s one way to describe The Lori’s & Co. listing at 18199 S. Carrolton Ave.

The 2,491-sqaure-foot home is on 1.87 acres lined with almond trees that are maintained by a longstanding agreement with a nearby grower. Those trees make for stunning springs, refreshing mornings, and pleasant sunsets. They also provide a lot of privacy.

But before you start thinking you are out in the middle of nowhere, you’re not. While the zoning of 40 acres minimum geared to perpetuate farming means you won’t have any additional neighbors, you are still close to a lot of things.

Actually, you are in the middle of a lot of things.

Escalon is 5.5 miles away while the nearest elementary school — Van Allen — is a mile away. Ripon is five miles away while Manteca and Highway 99 is six miles. The home is in the Ripon Post Office service area.

Ripon and Escalon offer small town charm running the gamut from mom and pop merchants to unique community events and activities. Manteca has those too but it also has a wealth of other options such as Target, popular regional and national restaurants, and other chain-style shopping such as Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, and Home Depot to  name a few.

As an added bonus, a manned fire station is now within five miles meaning insurance rates are lower than for most country properties.

In short, the location and the just right-size parcel without maintenance upkeep save for a fenced off yard would be enough to grab many people’s attention. But the added bonus is the home.

The 2,491-square-foot single story home was built in 2001. It features three bedrooms (and possibly a fourth that has been converted to a den) plus two bathrooms. It is also well designed for entertaining both inside and outside. The contractor was John Meinstasis — a name that locals associate with quality construction— while the design is a take-off on a popular Raymus Home model from the turn of the 21st century.

The low-maintenance approach starts the second you turn off Carrolton Avenue. The driveway is concrete eliminating mud issues on rainy day.

The home has a front room/dining room that runs across the front of the home complete with two bay windows. The kitchen also has a bay window that looks out over the expansive patio/yard and swimming pool. There is a large island complete with trash compactor. The custom cabinets include pullouts. There is also a pantry.

The family room has a built in wet bar plus a built-in entertainment center.

The master bedroom includes shower plus a bath tub under a large bay window that has a view of a private garden.  You can also access the backyard from the master bedroom as well as the family room/kitchen. The secondary bathroom also has access to the patio allowing those in wet swimwear to use it as a changing room or to use the bathroom without getting floors in other rooms wet.

The back yard is designed for entertaining. There is a large swimming pool plus a covered patio that has three ceiling fans, surround sound, a pass-through window from the kitchen, and plumbing for propane for a BBQ.

The home has a tile roof and is stucco with the paint mixed in when it was applied. There is a whole house fan and a two-car garage.

The home is listed for $620,000. An open house takes place Saturday, March 21, from 1 to 4 p.m.. For more information contact Lori Little at 209.607.9606.