Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What do you think of that youtube couple living off grid in the woods in Canada? They chop down trees, grow food in their garden, built a one room house. Youtube comments like "you guys are living the life!", "so inspiring".
There was a couple in Tennessee that did much the same thing and documented their work here on city data. I don't remember if the thread got deleted.
These "off-the-grid" projects can be wildly different based upon how much money is thrown into the project and what the goals are. In the case I am thinking of, part of the goal was to get completely away from electricity, but without the Amish culture overlay.
If someone puts $300,000 or more into an off-grid setup, my reaction is that it is very nice and often gorgeous to boot, but misses much of the basic concept of SELF-sufficiency and the education that comes with the exercise. When someone has a budget of $10,000 or less, it gets interesting.
Some people are much better prepared than others to do this kind of lifestyle. I watched an episode of "Homestead Rescue" a couple of weeks ago, the first I had ever seen, because it was a couple in VA. They had watched some videos on YouTube in "preparation" for their off-grid homesteading free-range lifestyle and were total morons, IMHO. At the end of a year they hadn't even built an outhouse and were using the ground for a bathroom. Their "free-range" chickens and pigs were being eaten by numerous predators and their house was threatened by leaning trees. The guy didn't even have any practical experience with a chainsaw (he watched a video ) and the first time he used one he severely cut his knee. Frankly, I didn't feel sorry for them; I felt sorry for all the animals that died a needless death.
What do you think of that youtube couple living off grid in the woods in Canada? They chop down trees, grow food in their garden, built a one room house. Youtube comments like "you guys are living the life!", "so inspiring".
Lots of people live off the grid. Not my cup of tea by ANY stretch of the imagination, but more power to them. It's not anything I would call "inspiring", but we all have different ideas on what inspires us.
Am I missing something? How off the grid can you be if you are on YouTube?
I had this exact thought. Has the meaning of living off the grid changed?
To me, living off the grid means not using any public utilities, especially electricity. Filming their daily lives and uploading it to the internet sounds like they're using electricity. And if it's the Youtube couple that comes up as the first search result, they've also got 3 other Youtube channels, and their own Instagram and Facebook accounts. All that are updated at least weekly.
And of course, they sell merch too.
Even if the house they built in the woods is technically off-grid, I don't think daily trips to the local coffee house to use their electricity and internet truly counts as living off the grid.
They make money on Onlyfans too, why she’s always half naked in the video pics. All the off grid, van life people visit a coffee shop etc once a week to use WiFi and upload everything. The Canadian guy Myself Reliance to me is the best. His dog plays fetch all day.
It sounds like people's definitions of 'off-grid' and what it all means are very different. For some it's simply a matter of not being hooked to water and power systems. Others think it also requires a level of remoteness and isolation. Probably comes down to the motivation behind it. I think some people do it because they want to get away from society and its pressures and expectations, others do it because they don't trust large-scale systems such as the government and want to be self-reliant and self-sufficient. Then there's others who look to make a buck as social media celebrities cashing in on a fad.
The "irony" is that you have to be able to afford to "live off the grid". It is very expensive to build all of that infrastructure for just one house...unless you are talking about living like a woodchuck. Most people, like the couple mentioned earlier in this thread in Tennessee, were sort of independently wealthy...or at least had other significant sources of income where they could afford to build an energy efficient house with solar systems for heat and electricity.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.