Non Electric Homestead McMinn County (houses, buying, camping)

[bbkaren]

Hey, someone's got a log cabin they're looking to sell on the knoxville forum, don't they? (just the cabin, not the land).

Don't know what's involved but, hey...

[Eat]

Originally Posted by bbkaren

Hey, someone's got a log cabin they're looking to sell on the knoxville forum, don't they? (just the cabin, not the land).

Don't know what's involved but, hey...

That was an ad. I'll bet the mods killed it.

[bbkaren]

Dead like doornail...

[Forest Breath]

Well we have done some soul searching and we are discussing things this week. We are at this time 90% sure we are going to go totally off the grid for at least a year.

It has always been a dream of ours, as I was raised off the grid here in East Tennessee as a child. We are not too old to try and experience that again. The worst thing that could happen is we find out we can't handle it and we can take the money we save and pay to get the septic, electric and such done.

We are going to put up a small one room home, dig an outhouse, get a well drilled with a hand pump, put in a wood heater and spend more time with our Amish friends down the road updating our self sifficiency skills. It will be hard and take a lot of dedication, but it is something we dearly want to at least try for a year. In that year we can save almost $20,000 and if we decide it is not for us, we start making other plans for the land. Even if we have to get a trailer at that point and pay to run the electric.

I figure, I don't want to be in my 60's like my Mother, on my death bed like she was, regretting that she never went back to her roots and at least tried to live the life she loved. So....

off the grid we go, we plan to try out solar panels at some point and see what that life has to offer for us. It is not new to me and like I said, my closest friends are Amish and we spend a lot of time together. I checked and what we are planning is legal in this county so....

I will keep everyone updated on our progress UNTIL....we pull the plug. Even after I will update once in awhile just to let everyone know if we made a bad mistake or if we are loving it!

[rlrm777]

Good luck to you. sounds like a real adventure.

Except I just realized--------off the grid means no TV, no Law and Order re-runs for a year!

[Forest Breath]

ROFL....yeah it means no TV for sure. That is the one thing I will not mind or miss. We do not watch a lot of TV anyway. Chris will miss the computer the most, I will miss air conditioning. That is about it.

Even if our adventure only lasts a year, the money we will save will pay for whatever we need to do in a years time. So there will be no regrets. I am looking forward to NOT sending Etowah Utilities over $100.00 every month!

[2mares]

Have you thought about building a barn. I dont know the details, but I was told there were no electric inspections and little or no restrictions. You could probably get by with that temp pole fort a long time. I have known a few people that have lived in barns for quite a while.

[bbkaren]

I've never lived in a barn but my mother always used to ask if I thought we lived in one.

I never could understand why...

lol!

eta: Well, whaddaya know, here's a thread on the subject! Incidentally, I LOVE the rural living forum, although I only lurk at this point!
http://www.city-data.com/forum/rural...used-home.html

[2mares]

My mother asked me that too because i always left the door open.

[Eat]

I've never understood the logic of a mother asking her child if she was born in a barn. If anyone should know........................