2023-11-04
This will be a multi part series on living off grid, where I cover the various ways you can live off grid and the challenges that may arise. I currently do not live off the grid but plan on doing so in the near future.
With the cost of living increasing more and more every year and wages remaining stagnate, many will look to the government to make life more affordable for them, however maybe instead of demanding help from the government, maybe instead take actions into your own hands to reduce the cost of living for your self, and perhaps live a life style similar to your ancestors.
For me personally there are other reasons beyond the reduced cost of living and not being a debt slave. For one its always been a dream of mine to do so since I was a child. Secondly I also have some philosophical and “spiritual” reasons which I’m not going to get into here, but will in later blog posts and videos. Location + Financing:
First thing you should do is ask your self how far off the grid do you want to go? Do you want to go completely off grid, or partially off the grid(leave one foot in the system so to speak). For me, I choose partially off grid, meaning I still want to be at least a hour or two from a major city(250,000+people) and around 20 minutes from a village or town. And in an area with cellphone reception as well. The tri-county area where I live is ideal for this, meaning I’m close to friends and family and still with in commuting distance to my current job.
I’m thinking of putting my off grid build on a line of credit that can be paid off in a sort period of time(5 Years). I realise the interest rates on a LoC is a lot higher then on a mortgage, however I don’t plan on spending 6 figures on my setup and LoC are a bit more flexible on how much you have to pay per month as well.
First thing you should do before committing to living off the grid is try it out for a week or weekend to see if you like it. You can rent an off grid cabin off of Air B&B, or just go camping for a week. I find camping is a bit better because it helps you find out what the bare minimum you need is.
Bush Crafting - Build your house out of natural materials, can be made of wood, cob or dirt(hobbit house) learning to bush craft a shelter or home is a good skill to learn regardless if you’re going to live off grid, you’ll never be “homeless” with that kinda skill set.
Canvas Tent or Yurt - Large canvas tents are fairly livable, I’ve known of some people who have lived in them for years while they build a more permanent structure. Yurts(or Gers) are semi-permanent structures, some people say they are better to live in then houses as they are easier to maintain and can be about the same size as a house and can have multiple floors. I have heard that in some areas yurts are not considered a permanent structure, and there for you don’t need building permits. Price wise yurts are affordable, you can build a fair sized DYI yurt for around 5,000 dollars or less or buy a pre-built yurt for around \(15,000 to \)30,000 depending on the size.
Van/RV Life - Converting a van or school bus into a mobile home is a viable option if you can’t get any property. I’ve seen used school buses for between 2,500 to 7,000 dollars and converted ones for around 25,000 dollars. Vans are better for people who live in large cities and can “stealth” camp with in the city. I will also say some cities are Nazi’s about people camping in RV’s or Vans with in city limits.
Trailer - The next best thing is building a cabin or house(though yurts can take this place as well) is buying a large park model trailer. I’ve seen used 35ft park model trailers for sale for pretty cheap(Around 700 dollars) that are in reasonable condition and I’ve seen people do some amazing things with old park model trailers, taking a cheap 400$ trailer, gutting it and completely renovating the interior. Some county’s do not allow for people to live in trailers on their own property, though the county I live seems to allow it.
Off-grid Cabin/house - What you ideally want to aim for when living off grid, it can end up costing a lot of money.
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