Have you ever entertained the idea of getting off the grid?

Define "getting off the grid." That phrase means different things to different people. Are we talking full Tarzan mode, or simply keeping monthly expenses and possessions to a bare minimum?

I wouldn't mind getting off the grid but also having about 500K in a bank account so I could go on a sabbatical from my grid free life.

You would have to kill a lot of people if everyone were to "get off the grid". There is not enough land or resources for that to realistically happen. Maybe you should look into becoming a prepper.

Well said, thank you. There was a woman on Survivor a few years ago who slept in the sand, and kept quite warm while everyone else was freezing in their wide open shelter.

Drought vegetables

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jz4etAIy9w

Vegetables in a drought

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QOC87omSFs

Well There Is Always This wrote:

Really? As far as I know food costs money. A roof over your head costs money. Running water costs money. As does heat and electricity. Hot showers. Indeed, even sex costs money unless you can find a woman who wants to be homeless and live off of dump scavenging.

Where do you get this idea that the best things don't cost money?

Oh, and if you want to grow your own food to avoid paying any money - let me know how easy that is. I've heard it's pretty tough even with a tractor and gasoline and water (and land) and seeds and fertilizer and... all of which cost money. But if you can do it without any money let us know how.

It's laughable how constrained your thinking is. Sure, there will likely be an upfront cost, but with the right situation most of the "money" things don't continue to cost you. The idea of "getting off the grid" implies transition; that would include leaving/selling and moving/acquiring to start a new situation.

I've pondered this concept because I have some situations close to my daily life that present the possiblity of doing so:

I have family living in a remote part of the PNW. With plenty of land, wood for heat, beachfront for fish/shellfish, greenhouse space and orchard/garden space for fruits/vegetables, chickens, goats, etc they have a great setup. They could live off the grid with a up-front investment in solar and wind for power. It would be a change, but doable.

I have friends with property in desert with it's own spring for drinking water/irrigation, tons of solar potential for energy, green houses, fruit trees, gardens, etc all completely off the grid and remote. They're developing high-efficiency living spaces that would turn the place into a self contained living place.

In both cases, dry ingredients, cooking oils and booze are your only year-round needs.

There's a great book and movie called Into the Wild that follows the adventures of another young man who romanticized about living off the grid, free from everything. You can read about the subject of the story here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_McCandless

Thinker of deep thoughts wrote:

I can't do it because my wife loves the luxuries of life too much. But the thought of being beholden to nobody and free to do whatever your heart pleases does have a certain appeal. In addition, the most enjoyable things in life really don't cost money yet we have an insatiable desire for more money as a security blanket for the future. We also keep accumulating more stuff because the stuff we have no longer excites us.

Come on. Tell the truth. Have you ever thought about it?

If you want to be beholden to nobody then get rid of the wife and go off the grid.

The irony of posting a question like this on an internet message board.

Thinker of deep thoughts wrote:

I can't do it because my wife loves the luxuries of life too much. But the thought of being beholden to nobody and free to do whatever your heart pleases does have a certain appeal. In addition, the most enjoyable things in life really don't cost money yet we have an insatiable desire for more money as a security blanket for the future. We also keep accumulating more stuff because the stuff we have no longer excites us.

Come on. Tell the truth. Have you ever thought about it?

Yeah, definitely! I was surfing the LRC forums a few weeks back when, LIKE MAGIC, an ad appears for getting off the grid! I would surf a few days later and see the SAME AD! it was like a message! The moral of the story is, independence is going to require some PROPANE. You know, like Hank Hill of King of the Hill used to deal? Propane for cooking, warm water, etc.

If McCandless would have lived, he would have been arrested and charged by the IRS.

There is no living off of the grid. You will be found, arrested and prosecuted. I find it discouraging to think about, so I don't think about it much.

Interesting read for anyone who ever fantasizes about it:

http://www.gq.com/story/the-last-true-hermit

So, to go off grid and live with any sort of comfort you have to have a sizable net worth to start with. Or else you end up with those pesky things called loans to pay for the land, house, PV system, wind tower, water well, and other misc. furnishings and equipment.

It is hard to get completely off the grid. I have my own well, so no city/county water, I have a septic system, so no city/county sewer, I have solar, so no utility, I have no TV (all garbage anyway), but I do have Internet access, so I am not off the grid, I am still attached.

I have no land line, but to live without a cell phone, and the Internet would be tough, it is my only attachment to keep in contact with my family, etc.

A couple years ago my wife and I quit our jobs and traveled across country in our van for a few months. It wasn't off grid, we were on roads and within cell service. But the gas provided the power, and the camping was generally free as was water. It was pretty darn cheap. We made most of our meals but when in a fun town - Memphis or Austin we would have a nice dinner. I was surprised but how once you leave the house behind and aren't spending money constantly to fight boredom and depression, how inexpensive life really is.

Thinker of deep thoughts wrote:

I can't do it because my wife loves the luxuries of life too much. But the thought of being beholden to nobody and free to do whatever your heart pleases does have a certain appeal. In addition, the most enjoyable things in life really don't cost money yet we have an insatiable desire for more money as a security blanket for the future. We also keep accumulating more stuff because the stuff we have no longer excites us.

Come on. Tell the truth. Have you ever thought about it?

I couldn't even get off crack when I finished college. Now I've got a case of crack lung and my 5k time has dropped from low 17's to low 21's.

My fancy suburban neighborhood has curving streets laid out in an irregular pattern. It definitely doesn't make a grid like in a city. Am I "off the grid"?

I suppose 'off the grid' means different things to different people without a little more definition, but I did live in a one room hut for 9 years with no running water (we got it from a village well in 60 liter drums), no phone, no internet, no refrigeration and no electricity other than what one 43W solar panel put out (a couple of lights and a laptop, down sometimes to just one light in the rainy season). No heat either, but near the equator so it did not matter.

I was happy and extremely productive. I would do it again.

I could come close right now. It my wife could live without the internet or cable I think it would be possible.

We have a well for water, a septic system for waste, goats, chickens, pigs and ducks for food. We grow some veggies but could become better gardeners with a little effort.

Electricity and income are the biggest things. I'd like to go solar but honestly that's probably a few years off. My career requires work from home in a regular basis so need phone and internet right now.

But in an EOW situation I think we would fare better than most.

I lived in a self-made shelter in the Northeast. In the winter time I would be in my undies with the door flap of the wigwam open because it would get too hot.