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I looked at solar panels for may because Ameren was buying electricity at the time. What i learned is it would cost me a small fortune i did not have and i would gain little in savings. So I did some of the other suggested things that reduced my eletric bill considerably. The one thing i did not do that i should ave done was inststall the "on demand" water heater. At. the time it was over $1K.
The cheapest way you can save a lot of electricity is to build your own solar water heater (like this one: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It...er-Heater.aspx). That alone will save you a bunch if you have an electric water heater.
We are looking for a place to retire that has minimal bugs, a long growing season, and adequate water and sunshine for living off the grid.
Does such a place exist?
If anyone has any suggestions, we'd sure appreciate it.
We are currently in the 'go and check the place out' mode and have a few years of planning left. But, we may decide to buy some land now to 'sit on' and get some things planted before we actually retire.
Thanks for any suggestions!
happy2bemom
Where we have land in NC is pretty free from bugs,well compared to where we currently live...LOL
It has ticks,but no flies or mosquitoes to speak of.
Our place is in Rutherford County NC,which is in the western portion of the state.
Thanks Oz!
Good suggestion. My whole family is on the West coast...so, I am trying hard to keep our search to within a couple days drive of San Diego.....
What do people think of Roseburg Oregon?
Any thoughts?
Happy2bemom
You would still have sand fleas and most atolls have no water supplies at all, much less adequate. Rain is usually only six months a year.
Oh there is fresh water on atolls, just not a lot. Rainfall infiltrates the coral sand and sits on TOP of the salt water, forming a sort of bubble. The depth of this fresh-water bubble (but brackish at the margins) can be calculated roughly using the Ghyben-Herzberg principle.
"Ghyben-Herzberg relationship states that for every foot (h) of groundwater above sea level there are forty feet of fresh water below sea level (H)."
Using a small pump, one could withdraw freshwater from this bubble without causing salt-water encroachment. Of course, it depends upon how large the atoll is as to how much freshwater is in storage. And to be realistic, islanders catch and save rainwater for their needs rather than pump groundwater.
Thanks Oz!
Good suggestion. My whole family is on the West coast...so, I am trying hard to keep our search to within a couple days drive of San Diego.....
What do people think of Roseburg Oregon?
Any thoughts?
Happy2bemom
I live in a tiny, isolated "town" (I think of it more as a village) in Arizona. We are a one long-day drive from San Diego. We have abundant ground water, even though we are technically still in the Sonoran Desert. I'm guessing around 75% of the population (which is around 600 or so) gardens extensively. The area was settled by cattle ranchers, and there is still a fair amount of that going on. It is a great community. We are in the juniper-grassland habitat, around 5100 feet (which means we are between the the desert highland and the ponderosa forest habitats). We are in a shallow bowl in the mountains, so surrounding us are ponderosa trees and yearround creeks.
It is isolated--the nearest town with ammendities is a little over an hour away. We have a medical center open one day a week and our EMTs are extremely dedicated. They have great response time and anything remotely serious gets the helicopter called immediately so that the timeframe from incident to hospital is lowered. One family here has a young daughter with a potentially life-threatening condition--the only thing that can save her if issues arised (I suppose that makes it definately life-threatening, it is the issue arising that is only a possibility) is getting her to Phoenix Children's ASAP. The fire department brought in a nursing specialist to brief all the EMTs on her condition and the sheriff came out to their house and put in the coordinates of their pasture so the helicopter could land right outside their house! Try finding that kind of help elsewhere!
Bugs a minimal. There is winter weather, but for the most part you can grow something yearround (a homemade greenhouse would help). If you can stand 15 miles of dirt road, and know how to entertain yourself and be part of a community (or want to go the hermit way), this town would meet your wants.
Hi CrazyME,
Thanks for the info.
Do you mind being a tiny bit more specific? Not to invade your privacy..but, I'd love more info. Which part of AZ (NW,SW,NE,SE?) are you settled in?
Sounds good. How much precipitation do you actually get or are you relying mostly on streams and creeks? Also, when you say 'winter weather'...how cold is that?
Do you happen to know your 'zone' or growing days between freezes?
Hi CrazyME,
Thanks for the info.
Do you mind being a tiny bit more specific? Not to invade your privacy..but, I'd love more info. Which part of AZ (NW,SW,NE,SE?) are you settled in?
Sounds good. How much precipitation do you actually get or are you relying mostly on streams and creeks? Also, when you say 'winter weather'...how cold is that?
Do you happen to know your 'zone' or growing days between freezes?
Thanks so much!
Happy2bemom
Sending you a DM!
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