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I agree with those that say it isn't really complicated, but it is hard work. The REAL Amish in my region work VERY hard from when they are 6-7 years old until they die. I say "real Amish" because most all in my area live off grid completely and don't accept a ride in a car, nor deal with anything modern. Sure there are Mennonites and others that look like Amish, but they are not Amish. Plowing a field with horses and working with your hands daily and canning food enough for winter is not easy, not to mention the countless other difficulties they face, but they make it look sort of easy, other than how physical they need to be daily.
Thank you. The problem is all the people who make it sound like it will a song in the wind. There are also questions of actually owning the land and home WITHOUT a mortgage - something not many people can achieve right off the bat. Then there is the question of failing crop (that is supposed to feed you) and what it will cost to feed yourself if the crops do fail. What if the solar system or the turbine needs repair and new parts? How about the truck(s)? Do you need external jobs to support all that or do you have a sizable bank account to fall back on? So on and so on.
Prepping is sort of an insurance policy for when things go bad.
I find it interesting that you do not have an insurance policy on your own dwelling, even if it is paid for - in case it was lost as a result of an event, you would get everything you put into it back. Otherwise, you would have wasted all that money and effort...
I would NOT not have insurance on my home, especially if it was paid for, because that's all my own $$$ in it. My homeowners, full replacement value not the market value of the house, costs me only about $50/month, which, of course, is due to the fact that I live in a city with a paid professional fire department and public water with a hydrant less than 200 feet from my house. I'm also not in a flood zone nor in an area impacted by hurricanes or prone to earthquakes.
I considered building a house out on my land in a rural area when I retire, but much of what you said about living in rural areas rings absolutely true. Even though my property is only about 4 miles from town, real shopping, health services, entertainment etc are at least 25 miles away. That's okay in the summer, but not in the winter when it gets really snowy in this area because of lake effect snow.
My solution, as I've mentioned in at least one other thread, is to upgrade the toilet/bath facilities at my camp and just spend more time there in the summer.
I don't need to be off-grid to live a simpler life. Simpler is just withdrawing from the career-first rat race that I lived when I lived in the Albany suburbs. I found the simpler life when I moved to a small city in a predominantly rural county where the pace is slower and it's not as crowded or as anonymous as bigger urban areas.
Every year that goes by without a fire, is another $1,000 we save for possible repairs.
And we also have another residence where we can stay, if we need to. That redundancy is critical.
Without a fire department and a nearby water supply, my guess is that any fire would total your house, and in that case your $1000 a year would not rebuild much of your house. Even small double-wide mobile homes start at about $50k, and the just the cost of building supplies for a very small house would run you at least that much if you were going to build it all yourself.
My thought is that you are playing Russian roulette, but that's your choice.
I would NOT not have insurance on my home, especially if it was paid for, because that's all my own $$$ in it.
I was putting this info out here just as information, not throwing it open for debate. It is not open for debate.
No one has any clue what materials we built this place out of, what fire stops are built in, or how many fire extinguishers we have throughout the house (eight). We have 3,000 gallons of water in 2 tanks in a pole building, with a heavy-duty pump attached to a generator.
For heavens sakes, people...do you think I would allow myself and wife to perish in a fire? There is far more to be lost than just the house! And fire is not the only risk, either. There are some things that insurance simply cannot restore - and our lives and health are among them.
You'd better believe that all precautions were taken, when we built this house. It would take a horrific catastrophe to destroy it. And in the end...some things are just not survivable.
Right. You think that in "the good old days" things were "better". They weren't. You're just ignorant of how bad things were in earlier times. The clean food and drug laws and health inspections of food processing facilities didn't start just twenty years ago, more like 120+ years ago. Industries didn't start polluting air, water, and land only in the last two or three decades, either. That started a thousand years ago when the first tanner set up shop on some creek. And money and cities have both been around for thousands of years, too.
Actually, the Romans used asbestos table-cloths at their eateries 1,500+ years ago, and when the patron left the table, the entire tablecoth was tossed into the fire. Presto - it was instantly cleaned!
Prior to that, inhabitants of East Finland used asbestos to fortify their earthen pottery. That's 4,500 years ago.
So, we've been dancing with dangerous pollutants for a long, long time.
I was putting this info out here just as information, not throwing it open for debate. It is not open for debate.
No one has any clue what materials we built this place out of, what fire stops are built in, or how many fire extinguishers we have throughout the house (eight). We have 3,000 gallons of water in 2 tanks in a pole building, with a heavy-duty pump attached to a generator.
For heavens sakes, people...do you think I would allow myself and wife to perish in a fire? There is far more to be lost than just the house! And fire is not the only risk, either. There are some things that insurance simply cannot restore - and our lives and health are among them.
You'd better believe that all precautions were taken, when we built this house. It would take a horrific catastrophe to destroy it. And in the end...some things are just not survivable.
Not a lot of folks these days believe that the individual has the ability to do much of anything on his/her own. When he/she does it's cause for either being flabbergasted, disbelieving, or suspicious. Welcome to the hive mentality. You're a bear surrounded by astonished bees.
Ya gotta understand... the motto these days is "yes, we can," not, "yes, you can." So your thinking/doing for yourself is like a really dissonant, sour chord being played on a guitar to many people's ears.
I was putting this info out here just as information, not throwing it open for debate. It is not open for debate.
No one has any clue what materials we built this place out of, what fire stops are built in, or how many fire extinguishers we have throughout the house (eight). We have 3,000 gallons of water in 2 tanks in a pole building, with a heavy-duty pump attached to a generator.
For heavens sakes, people...do you think I would allow myself and wife to perish in a fire? There is far more to be lost than just the house! And fire is not the only risk, either. There are some things that insurance simply cannot restore - and our lives and health are among them.
You'd better believe that all precautions were taken, when we built this house. It would take a horrific catastrophe to destroy it. And in the end...some things are just not survivable.
Hmm. When you discuss the people in the city, their situation seems to be open for discussion just fine - all of a sudden your set up is not so and we are just taking your word for it. Not that I doubt that you took all the precautions but I do find the double standards interesting
Not a lot of folks these days believe that the individual has the ability to do much of anything on his/her own. When he/she does it's cause for either being flabbergasted, disbelieving, or suspicious. Welcome to the hive mentality. You're a bear surrounded by astonished bees.
Ya gotta understand... the motto these days is "yes, we can," not, "yes, you can." So your thinking/doing for yourself is like a really dissonant, sour chord being played on a guitar to many people's ears.
Never mind the obviously political post (you just criticized this in a different thread?) have you built your own home from scratch? If so, can you share what you have done to avoid the fire risks?
As one of our alternatives for the future, we are considering buying a property somewhere where maybe we can put shipping containers and turn them into a home. Can you offer any first-hand advice? How about setting up solar or a wind turbine on a property?
Hmm. When you discuss the people in the city, their situation seems to be open for discussion just fine - all of a sudden your set up is not so and we are just taking your word for it. Not that I doubt that you took all the precautions but I do find the double standards interesting
I'm sure you'll find a way to get your licks in. The others? They are less argumentative.
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