Living off the grid

[Rosyrain]

Zigs has the right idea! It would be so nice not to have to be dependant on things like electricity and grocery stores. Sure you would need to go to the store for some staples and essentials, but for the most part, live off your land. I am nowhere near close to that type of living, but I am learning about it now, and maybe someday can do it for myself.

 

[zigs]

I look forward to the first meal of the year where everything on the plate is either homegrown, caught or forraged

 

[Rosyrain]

Someday I would love to be able to grow, catch, and forage for all of my food. It is easy enough to catch the food around here, but I do not have much space in which I could do much growing at the moment.

 

[Cereus]

If in the US I'd personally stay away from the Southern/South Western regions for being off the grid because they all share the same water tables to sustain the 1/3rd of the nation's population and their sources have been extremely depleted to the point where there's already court battles over water rights.

 

[kevinkimers]

Already doing that, sort of. We bought an RV and 40 acres of land out in the middle of no where (approx. 16 miles from the nearest town or neighborhood). There are no power lines or city water/sewage access. We are staying with friends at the moment, but we will be home soon. We have to have at least well and septic out there and we do not have the money for it at the moment.

We want to grow as much as we possibly can. The common fruits and vegetables along with uncommon ones like dandelions for dandelions greens and so forth and so on. We want to grow various varieties of tea making flowers and herbs also. We want to be as self sufficient as possible.

 

[Rosyrain]

Kevin, sounds like you have it made and I wish you guys well in the sustainability adventure. I thinkthat the northern region of the US would be the best place to live off the grid because of all the resources and water around. The desert areas would be very hard to live in and people would have to work extremely hard to make it.

 

[zigs]

You can make bio gas from a septic tank

 

[Owdboggy]

I can make bio gas without a Septic tank.

 

[marlingardener]

Kevin, you hit the nail on the head with "we want to be as self sufficient as possible." Absolute self sufficiency would be very difficult--giving up toilet paper; newspapers/radio/TV/internet would cut you off from the world; what about flour, salt, pepper; jars and lids for canning; and of course, clothing.
You seem to have a good grasp of just how far you can go with self sufficiency, and just how much you will have to rely on other sources for some things.

 

[kevinkimers]

Kevin, you hit the nail on the head with "we want to be as self sufficient as possible." Absolute self sufficiency would be very difficult--giving up toilet paper; newspapers/radio/TV/internet would cut you off from the world; what about flour, salt, pepper; jars and lids for canning; and of course, clothing.
You seem to have a good grasp of just how far you can go with self sufficiency, and just how much you will have to rely on other sources for some things.

LOL yes it is. We could never give up internet... the other stuff we can either make or do without. LOL I'm not beyond becoming a nudist especially as hot as it gets here.

 

[IcyBC]

I have to pick California if I go off the grid! I will grow broccoli, potato, herbs, zucchini, and whatever I can. It has be near a river for water supply and to fish too. I think I am obsess with the Alaska reality shows for this reason as I do admire them so much to live off the land in so many ways.

 

[kevinkimers]

From my understanding, the best places for a variety of vegetable growth were Montana, Iowa, and Nebraska. Their winters are pretty cold but they appear to have very rich soil and a good water supply. They apparently also have a lot of land available in these states. I'm sure there are other states too, but those are the ones I was told about. So I guess going off grid would be best in those areas unless you know how to work with harsher growing areas.