Living Off the Grid
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- Gnash0
i just lost out on this property:
http://rickkennedy.com/HobbyFarm…Looking at another one this weekend
- ukit20
Another option might be relocate overseas somewhere where the cost of living is extremely low.
- yurimon0
check this documentary.. this guy built a cabin by himself..
- cannonball19780
^^ you may want to consider an area that doesn't get snow. Not having to adapt energy usage to cyclical seasons is a plus.
- scarabin0
there are so many fun problems to solve... irrigation, power, waste... i was telling my gf yesterday how my brain would go apeshit over building our own place in the wilderness like this
- +1Gnash
- Hey, what was the cost of your solar set-up? how many watts do you average?Gnash
- i can spend around 8,040 watts in ideal sun safely (50% battery capacity, to protect battery life). priced out the parts in my original post's commentsscarabin
- post's comments abovescarabin
- that's 8040 watts per day i meanscarabin
- pinkfloyd0
Yeah, designing your own home environment and furniture would be fun.
- exador10
any of the old-timers here (like me) remember bio-freak?
i think he did something like this a while back..
here's his site, which i think chronicles some of his experiences...
http://lifeinsepia.com/
- pinkfloyd0
I thought of a mobile home, but then you have to pay lot rent everymonth. If you buy a house, you have to pay property tax. Is there a third way where I just pay a one time fee, and not deal with bills?
- yurimon0
Check out the father of permaculture. He could grow lemons in Alps by setting up a micro climate using water, rocks etc...
Sepp Holzer
- pr20
In recent years there was a huge growth in the "away from society" movement - kind of a comeback to "fuck the system" of the 60s and early 70s with communes. The commune system doesn't work - noone is truly equal - there is always one that's more powerful than another, so people are searching for ways to "fuck the system" but in private, Thus you have the tiny house movement (shelter), grow your garden movement (food that doesn't kill you), on less extreme end the community-first movement ("you can't change the world but at least can do something locally"). Some sociologist would say that it's a direct result of people's uncertainty about the future and their lack of understanding of the societal movements and history. People don't have the safety net (financial or otherwise) and they search for the basics: food, shelter, community. I subscribe to that analysis, so before you go into middle of nowhere and "start a new life" make sure you are not doing it became you don't know how the same feelings of "loss" were prevalent through centuries - and though the centuries, despite all those fears, the shit generally speaking, never hit the fan.
- yeah. and i think in our microculture we're just all in advertising and want our souls backscarabin
- there is also the "quotation" movementcannonball1978
- benfal990
- That guy died ate wrong plant, sad movieyurimon
- http://www.themovieb…HijoDMaite
- great flickmoldero
- GeorgesIV0
Just posting to provide some encouragment to people starting/scheming on off-grid style.
I started out living in a tent with tarps, propane stove, and oil lamps. I had to weed whack my kitchen weekly! Then I built a 16x16 cabin, and got a tiny solar system that would power lights and a little boom box. Since expanded the cabin to almost 600 sq ft, building slowly over time with recycled materials. Still got tarps hanging off the cabin for additional dry space - it rains A LOT here. 200+ inches per year.
The best thing about off-grid in my mind is learning how to do things for myself. I can now build a house, wire electricity, design and install solar PV, plumbing, grow a bunch of food, and live cheaply, working (for money) only a day or two per week. Still plenty of work on the homestead though!
The worst thing about off grid living, in my case at least, is that I have to be around. I can't take off on a voyage without stressing about finding someone who is capable of managing my homestead. And not many are...luckily I have good friends who are into it. My house is almost like a living being - it requires knowledgable care to stay functional. And animals are a blessing and a curse.
A very valuable lesson I've learned is that infrastructure is expensive, and very nessecary. I spent 4 years slogging through mud to reach my house from the road before I wised up and spent the money to bring in gravel for a driveway. I got a propane fridge two years back, and have since saved much more than the value of the fridge on spoiled food and ice blocks for the cooler...my whole neighborhood is off-grid and we all agree, cooler-patrol is lame.
Next on the list is plumbing an indoor toilet. That'll entail buying a keg of beer, making a bunch of pizzas, and invitiing all my friends over to dig a cesspool...which leads me to another point. Friends with skills have absolutely crucial to my off-grid experience. I'll trade work with my friends who live off-grid, and we all benefit, in money saved, skills learned, and good times had by all.
Any Hawaii Island off-grid folks can contact me, and maybe we can work together to make it easier.
- so you chop yourself off from the world to come back to the world - fantasizing that it's on your terms...pr2
- scarabin0
i've enjoyed this book series since i was a kid. there's tons of how-to knowledge in there on every aspect of living
- yurimon0
This is an excellent show also... some ideas.
sorry has an annoying logo but you can find other ways to see the series.- shows processes of doing some things from scratchyurimon
- I watch this show -- it's full of great information.Gnash
- could use a babe , or two, though.Gnash
- one of my faves. also "edwardian farm" and "tales from the green valley"scarabin
- < thanks will check it out.. the old manual equipment, you can put a motor on it..yurimon
- chukkaphob0
soundtrack to all this:
Stereo MC's - "Goin' Back to the Wild" - http://www.kuwo.cn/yinyue/248598…