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I would really miss running water and hot showers, in house cloths washing, food refrigeration, reading lights, and some form of electronic computer and entertainment. These require electricity in substantial quantity and acceptable quality.
Maybe you would... but I didn't. I thought I would too... but I quickly got in a mode where I didn't miss any of it. Think of all the claptrap that goes into all this "stuff"... it's expensive, complex, breaks down and needs repair, etc.
Hot water was a container left in the sun. If the sun didn't shine then I guess you could heat water on a stove, but I never did.
I washed clothes every couple months in town.
I didn't mind doing without refrigeration. I'd usually go to town once a week, and anything perishable I'd eat first. If you wanted you could buy ice and put it in a cooler, but I didn't.
I did eventually get a computer... though I question the wisdom of that. Always got old laptops that ran on 12v so the adapter was unnecessary, and eventually had a 20W solar panel and 3 car batteries to run that in addition to the wee reading lights.
I lived on ~$4k/yr for 12 years. Best time of my life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GregW
If I were forty years younger and had my own income I would do this in a second.
I'm hoping to convince the wife to live in the boonies again before I get too old to enjoy it. Honestly, so long as I can walk and move around, I don't see it being a problem. What about 40 years ago would have made it easier for you?
Last edited by rruff; 08-25-2012 at 11:10 AM..
Reason: addition
Hot water was a container left in the sun. ...
I didn't mind doing without refrigeration. I'd usually go to town once a week, ...
I did eventually get a computer... solar panel and 3 car batteries ...
I lived on ~$4k/yr for 12 years. Best time of my life. ...
I'm hoping to convince the wife to live in the boonies again ...
Just curious; what made you live that way vs. a cheap apartment with the water, electricity, etc.
Is it that the "stuff" annoys you, so less interaction, less stress?
I don't get the impression that you have some sort of vendetta against the utilities.
200 years ago ( give or take ) there were people that went off into
the wilderness with a knife(s) and a gun(s) and made a living trapping.
I assume for them, it was the peace and quiet and lack of people
that kept them from going crazy.
Your mode of living is way different than the Earthship community where
people have made a way of life digging up the wilderness and leaving a mark
that will last for many centuries so they can be disconnected, but still drive
a pollution-belching old wreck to buy all the stuff that civilization offers.
I don't imagine that someone could locate your former residence(s)
even if you gave them GPS coordinates, but maybe I'm wrong.
Your mode of living is way different than the Earthship community where
people have made a way of life digging up the wilderness and leaving a mark
that will last for many centuries so they can be disconnected, but still drive
a pollution-belching old wreck to buy all the stuff that civilization offers.
I couldn't have said it better. Just like the folks who build a 4,000 sq. ft. second home that they fly to from the Coasts in a Jet-A guzzling jet, driving from the airport to their dream home in the wilderness (that they helped to wreck by building their McMansion) driving a 15 or less mpg SUV. But, hey, they belong to the Sierra Club and regularly hate on the ranchers who have lived upon and stewarded the land for generations because cattle and sheep aren't "natural." It's all "environmental hypocrisy," where people don't want to look in the mirror and admit that they are part of the problem--even when they are supposedly "off the grid."
Just curious; what made you live that way vs. a cheap apartment with the water, electricity, etc.
It sort of evolved. I definitely wasn't on any sort of campaign, or trying to be something. It wasn't that the "stuff" was annoying me... I just found that it was unnecessary.
I was an aerospace engineer, and wanted to take an extended vacation. I had some money saved up and figured I'd be able to get by on ~$10k/yr, so long as I got rid of either the truck or the apartment. I put a camper shell on the truck and sold everything I didn't need, and took off through N CA, OR, WA, and Canada. Spent winters in the Arizona desert. As it turns out I spent a lot less than I expected and absolutely loved it... so I kept doing it as long as I could.
So I was actually living in a truck in the wilderness and traveling with the seasons, but you could do something similar with a "house". There would be advantages and disadvantages to either.
I didn't live off the land or forage... very rarely even made a fire. I bought food in town and loaded up the water jugs every week or two. I'd use the public internet then, pig out at an all-you-can-eat, maybe catch a movie, etc.
Being in the wilderness nearly all the time and away from civilization was an experience I wish everyone could have. In the beginning I spent a fair amount of time exploring and looking for good spots, but after awhile I just went to the same ones over and over. Nothing to think about... nothing to do... nothing to worry about. Pretty quickly I lost all sense of anxiety or fear. Bathing in a cold stream on a sunny day was incredible luxury. Hanging out with the wild animals... long walks in the dark... sleeping under the stars... greeting the rising sun after a long cold night...
You're comparing New Vienna, Ohio to the desert southwest???
Thanks for pointing that out, I forgot to change my location on this forum when I moved. I am 12 miles southwest of Ft Garland, Co. I also have a place on the mesa west of Taos, NM. I have lived out here part time while still working but now that I am retired I moved here full time about a year ago.
To address the concerns of another poster about bathing and laundry. I bath every other day with warm to hot water with a solar water heater which works very well even in the winter. Laundry is also no problem and I don't wait 2 months to do it.
We are moving off-grid and looking for a parcel in the South West and Northern New Mexico is the prime candidate.
Any off-grid'ers or Earth shippers out in New Mexico able to size of the bureaucratic ease/nightmare/cost or any experiences to share?
How is New Mexico in regards to a travel trailer on your property? We'll be using one as our roof and base of operations as we build and many states in the east are really hostile to doing so.
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Bugging out off grid in New Mexico.
