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snurtle112
02-25-2008, 07:12 AM
first off MODS if im in the wrong section please move my dumbass i apologize in advance:)

i was curious what does it really TAKE to live completely off the GRID.like the gentleman in alaska for 30 some odd years.i know it is difficult but if you had your survival/BOB bag..is it really that far fetched?find remote location..shelter,fire,food course and then i would assume from there start looking at trapping,snares,hunting,building permanent shelter.

i myself wish i could but can not due to severe asthma which requires prednisone,albuterol,advair and singular :(

would love to hear some of your guys thoughts .if this has been covered or done,then just delete and sorry for taking up the bandwith:o

Beo
02-25-2008, 09:37 AM
Snurtle112 WarEagle69 lives Off the Grid in Canada. He did a real thread on it too.

snurtle112
02-25-2008, 11:21 AM
ill do a search thank you..offtopic but im curious is there a thread or stick about how to preserve food ??

trax
02-25-2008, 01:34 PM
ill do a search thank you..offtopic but im curious is there a thread or stick about how to preserve food ??

Yes there are,but I'm not going to look them up for you (cuz I'm a lazyazz) and as to that man in Alaska, perhaps it being 30 odd years made it more interesting for him :D :D :D, couldn't resist.

wildWoman
03-03-2008, 06:02 PM
Anyone can do it. Not too long ago, everybody lived off grid! Just a matter of getting used to it. Ironically, out in the woods where we live now without road access, I have more "amenities" (satellite internet and phone, a 12V battery, solar panel and generator) than where I lived before.
Where I used to live, there was a road and 10 miles further a village, but I had no electricity or phone whatsoever. Nevertheless, I built 2 cabins there by myself and lived very happily. So if a lone woman who grew up in the city, without prior building experience can do it, anyone can! I never missed having running water, electric lights or a phone. The trade-off was caribou by the cabin, swimming with beavers in the pond, watching northern lights while sitting on the outhouse, complete silence and a LOT of $$ saved that otherwise would have gone into nasty, noisy machinery.
In a way I'd prefer the same situation out here, but I can make a living thanks to the satellite internet and keep in touch with friends and family via phone and email. Otherwise, I'd have to leave for chunks of time to work in town and for months on end have no clue how my parents and friends are doing.
But living off-grid is totally easy, saves huge amounts of money and if you do it in a nice area, totally raises your standard of living. Go for it!!!!!!!

canid
03-04-2008, 12:02 AM
i like to think that all the people who couldn't live without electricity and plumbing waited till at least the last few generations to be born in the first place. i wonder if that makes this next crop the ones who couldn't live without implanted internet and home McDonald's machines...

sweet mother it's nice to be an anachronistic atavist.

Rick
03-04-2008, 08:56 AM
Me: "Computer. Wilderness-Survival.net."

Computer: "Connected."

Me: "Scan new threads."

Computer: "There are 24 new threads since your last viewing."

Me: "Read thread 1."

Computer: "Read."

Me: "Compose answer."

Computer: "Answer composed and posted. Slight humor and irony added to text based on your personality stereotype. I estimate 60% will be amused, 20% will not understand the humor, 18% will not read the response and 2% will be totally pi**ed off."

Me: "Excellent. Good job."

Computer: "Thank you, sir. Awaiting next command."

crashdive123
03-04-2008, 09:02 AM
It would be illogical to believe that anything else would be the case.
http://www.sherylfranklin.com/images/trek/mccoy/mccoy8_thumb.jpg

Beo
03-04-2008, 09:04 AM
Off the Grid or off-grid refers to living in a self-sufficient manner without reliance on one or more public utilities. Off-grid homes and lifestyles are autonomous, i.e. do not rely on municipal water supply, sewer, natural gas, electrical power grid or similar utility services. A true "off the grid" house is able to operate completely independently of all traditional public utility services. The idea has proved to be of enduring interest to architects as well as environmentalists. Electrical power can be generated on-site with renewable energy sources such as solar or wind, or with a generator and adequate fuel reserves. On-site water sources can include a well, stream, or lake. Depending on the water source, this may include pumps or filtration. On 12 April 2006, USA Today reported that there were "some 180,000 families living off-grid, a figure that has jumped 33% a year for a decade," and cited Richard Perez, publisher of Home Power magazine, as the source. Assuming the same rate of growth, there would be a quarter million off-grid households in the United States by late 2007. Because many third-world citizens have never had the chance to go on the grid, current estimates are that two billion people live off-grid worldwide. Going off-grid can be done for altruistic reasons or to lower the environmental impact of living, as the typically limited amount of on-site renewable energy available is an incentive to reduce its use. It is often done to residential buildings only occasionally occupied, such as vacation cabins, to avoid high initial costs of traditional utility connections. Other persons choose to live in houses where the cost of outside utilities is prohibitive, or such a distance away as to be impractical. In his book "How to live off-grid" Nick Rosen lists seven reasons for going off-grid. The top two are saving money, and reducing the carbon footprint. Others include survivalists, preparing for the collapse of the oil economy and bringing life back to the countryside. Primary infrastructure considerations for off the grid construction:
Fresh water source
Energy source
Waste disposal
So yes it can be done and yes some here are living off the grid. I think one has to really be willing to do and give up a few of the comforts we now have.

trax
03-04-2008, 01:44 PM
sweet mother it's nice to be an anachronistic atavist.


Yes I agree, even nicer being an anachronistic atavistic anarchist. (or anarchistic atavist if you prefer :D)

trax
03-04-2008, 01:46 PM
Me: "Computer. Wilderness-Survival.net."

Computer: "Connected."

Me: "Scan new threads."

Computer: "There are 24 new threads since your last viewing."

Me: "Read thread 1."

Computer: "Read."

Me: "Compose answer."

Computer: "Answer composed and posted. Slight humor and irony added to text based on your personality stereotype. I estimate 60% will be amused, 20% will not understand the humor, 18% will not read the response and 2% will be totally pi**ed off."

Me: "Excellent. Good job."

Computer: "Thank you, sir. Awaiting next command."

Got that computer considering your personality stereotype before it gives you it's estimates huh? It left out the 50% that didn't give a sh*t:D:D

GVan
03-10-2008, 03:28 AM
Sorry about your asma (sp?).

Anyone can go off the grid, as it were, without going to the ends of the earth.
You have only to find your own little slice of government free nirvina there where you are.

I knew one old woman who had a large back yard garden, rabbits in hutches, pigeons, and a couple of fruit trees.

She used a coleman stove to cook withand candles to read by.

All this while living in a 150k population city.

If she can do that then so could you, to a degree.

Good luck

Assassin Pilot
03-10-2008, 06:41 AM
sewage: outhouse
water: well / lake

well I gotta go to school now, sorry for the short reply :)

bulrush
03-10-2008, 01:19 PM
Sorry about your asma (sp?).


I knew one old woman who had a large back yard garden, rabbits in hutches, pigeons, and a couple of fruit trees.


Wouldn't she still have to have an income to pay property taxes? Or do some states not have property taxes? (Michigan does. If you have property, you pay taxes.)

wildWoman
03-10-2008, 01:35 PM
I think it's utopic to believe that you can live off grid, in the wilderness or whatever without having at least a small cash income of at least a couple thousand dollars a year. Tools wear out, you need nails, some sort of stove or fireplace with a chimney pipe, goto the dentists, yes pay taxes, maintain communications with firends and family somehow, boots and clothing, light sources etc
It's a nice idea to live simply, without money, hunt and gather your food; but that's pretty much it: a nice idea. Might work for a few months or a year but show me the modern person in North America who's lived at stone age level for the past 30 years and is still doing it.

BraggSurvivor
03-10-2008, 01:51 PM
You got that right WW. My first piece of property I bought was in Golden BC back in the early 80's. It was funny to see all these guys from Ontario buying up property around me and living like Grizzly Adam wannabees. They thought they could live off the land by sitting around smoking pot (and growing) and telling the same stories over and over. They are all gone now, their shacks are delapitaded, they are old and divorced, no relationship with their kids and living in some small town in Saskatchewan with a crappy pension.

Living off the grid takes smarts, ingenuity, and hard work.

wildWoman
03-10-2008, 02:00 PM
You got that right WW. My first piece of property I bought was in Golden BC back in the early 80's. It was funny to see all these guys from Ontario buying up property around me and living like Grizzly Adam wannabees. They thought they could live off the land by sitting around smoking pot (and growing) and telling the same stories over and over. They are all gone now, their shacks are delapitaded, they are old and divorced, no relationship with their kids and living in some small town in Saskatchewan with a crappy pension.

Ah! Now I know what accounts for the strange population of Saskatchewan :rolleyes:

MedicineWolf
03-10-2008, 02:38 PM
I agree a small amount of income is needed, but tools can be made, wood pegs can be made instead of nails, I know I've said it before and some here think its ridiculous but Dick Proenneke made everything by hand, he didn't use nails he made dowels and even the mallet, brought in the auger and some other needed tools and made the handles for them. It will take alot of smarts, determination and will, and more than a lot of hard work and if that is something someone that wants to live off grid lacks then it will never be anything more than a pipe dream or wasted effort, doesn't mean it can't be done. I see no need for electricity when I go off the grid, a fireplace is easy enough to build have done several, water from streams or well once dug, etc. As I said one just has to be willing to give up some of the comforts they have now.

Beo
03-10-2008, 02:46 PM
I am totally in agreement with Wildwoman and MedicineWolf, more along with MW though. And bro, I am always talking about Dick Proenneke on here too. Some think that because it was so long ago that he did it... it can't be done now-a-days, I say why not.

BraggSurvivor
03-10-2008, 03:11 PM
Where is everyone gonna do this at? Crown land? State Parks? If ya cant afford a nail, how are you gonna afford the land? :)

wildwoman doesnt want neighbors and raw 10 acre parcels with out swampland where I live is starting at over a $100000.00.


http://www.remaxbraggcreek.com/data/propertylistings.asp?categoryID_list=1_8&page_size=5


Ive lived off grid for years and was some of my fondest memories in the early times and can do it again in a heart beat but, I still like my electricity and comforts of home.

And no, yall cant come here and squat. :p

Sourdough
03-10-2008, 03:44 PM
Where is everyone gonna do this at? Crown land? State Parks? If ya cant afford a nail, how are you gonna afford the land? :)

wildwoman doesnt want neighbors and raw 10 acre parcels with out swampland where I live is starting at over a $100000.00.

And no, yall cant come here and squat. :p


People contact me and say, (in their best Bullying voice) "Hey......I want at least 50 to 100 acres" and I say, "Hey......no problem, I can do that. And I ask, "Do you have a price range"?????? They say, Yea, $10,K to $20,K depending on if I like it, etc.,etc., bla, bla. And I say, Figure $70,000.00 per acre to $585,000.00 per acre. and they say, "why is it so expensive??? There is lots of vacant land there. and I say, I don't think the Chugach National Forest is sale today..........then I hear ....click......:rolleyes:

Aurelius95
03-10-2008, 03:49 PM
I agree a small amount of income is needed, but tools can be made, wood pegs can be made instead of nails, I know I've said it before and some here think its ridiculous but Dick Proenneke made everything by hand, he didn't use nails he made dowels and even the mallet, brought in the auger and some other needed tools and made the handles for them.

Didn't DP have a buddy fly supplies in? But man, his story is certainly inspiring, although I couldn't go that long without family/friends.

Rick
03-10-2008, 03:49 PM
(scratches Bragg's place off squatter list). Dang.

Sourdough
03-10-2008, 04:06 PM
Didn't DP have a buddy fly supplies in? But man, his story is certainly inspiring, although I couldn't go that long without family/friends.

Aviation fuel was .34 cents per Gal. And now $8.45 per gal. for Aviation Gas. A Piper Super Cub was $8,800.00 new. Now $148.800.00 used but in good shape.

Riverrat
03-10-2008, 04:09 PM
Man come to old NB, land is cheap compared to the prices out your way...it is no problem at all to get 50 plus acers for under 60,000. If you want river frontage then u pay more, alot more. This would be undevloped land, may not even have a road unto it, but most is wooded.

wildWoman
03-10-2008, 05:04 PM
I agree a small amount of income is needed, but tools can be made, wood pegs can be made instead of nails, I know I've said it before and some here think its ridiculous but Dick Proenneke made everything by hand, he didn't use nails he made dowels and even the mallet, brought in the auger and some other needed tools and made the handles for them. It will take alot of smarts, determination and will, and more than a lot of hard work and if that is something someone that wants to live off grid lacks then it will never be anything more than a pipe dream or wasted effort, doesn't mean it can't be done. I see no need for electricity when I go off the grid, a fireplace is easy enough to build have done several, water from streams or well once dug, etc. As I said one just has to be willing to give up some of the comforts they have now.

I'd still like to see a person do it on less than $2,000/year in North America. I've been living off-grid and have built 3 cabins off-grid over the last 10 years. In my experience, every year there's been a major item that needs replacing, be it something on/in the building (the disavantage of using second hand and dumpster goods), a vital tool, a tooth, travel to visit aging parents in hospital etc etc. The other thing that many people don't take into consideration when dreaming about living in a remote place is transportation costs. The more remote you are, the more expensive. Also people will notice over time that constantly bumming a vehicle off friends, asking for help in loading or transporting heavy items such as wood stoves, needing a place to stay when in town etc can wear on friendships.

It is of course totally possible to live a simple life on very little money out in the woods, and as you say MW, it's just a matter of giving up x amount of "comforts". Just based on my own experience, there's been quite a bit of difference between my blue-eyed ideas before I did it, and the reality of doing it for the last decade.

The small towns up here are peppered with people, no small amount of aging back-to-the-landers, who went too extreme; much as Bragg described. These former inhabitants of teepees, tiny dark shacks and novelty cabins are now relegated back to normal houses in town. That's too bad in my opinion, and why I'd caution people not to go too extreme, with too little comforts and money, because they might come to the conclusion that the simple backwoods life is not for them.
You can always scale back later, but getting started is tough enough without sticking to stone age methods.

BraggSurvivor
03-10-2008, 05:42 PM
Man come to old NB, land is cheap compared to the prices out your way...it is no problem at all to get 50 plus acers for under 60,000. If you want river frontage then u pay more, alot more. This would be undevloped land, may not even have a road unto it, but most is wooded.


Ive looked at your area RR, newfieland as well. Great deals if you want to retire. I looked at oceanfront properties rangeing from 850K - 1.8 mil. Beautiful houses with not bad size acreages. I would love to SCUBA in my front yard but weather for my wife was a factor as is the west coast. She needs sunshine and also didnt want to move away from our son.

Rick
03-10-2008, 05:52 PM
Ah, yes. Roots. They do run deep when kids are involved. Then grandkids come along and you become like the veritable oak. Planted firmly in place.

Sourdough
03-10-2008, 07:20 PM
Another factor is waiting to long, and getting to old. A.) the dream changes and B.) Your body does not want to split 9 cords of firewood, and fell it, limb it, round it, etc. and C.)The price of the land the shingles, windows,etc. go up.
My advise is do it when your young. If not at least buy the land, and spend your vacations clearing and building small out buildings.

My set up is perfect for now, but not much longer, soon I'll have to move off the mountain, ice and snow and falling down are fun when your young. I had a neighbor when she turned 87 she moved near the city and the hospital.

Last year I bought a ATV and wagon to haul water. was a time I would up two 5 gal. jugs (80 pounds) in the pack and haul water. No more.....

BraggSurvivor
03-10-2008, 07:41 PM
hopeak, when you get that new tractor, consider putting a 150 (or larger) gallon plastic water tank on the loader with a dump valve. I still water the cattle this way and it kick azz compared to hauling buckets.

Sourdough
03-10-2008, 08:38 PM
hopeak, when you get that new tractor, consider putting a 150 (or larger) gallon plastic water tank on the loader with a dump valve. I still water the cattle this way and it kick azz compared to hauling buckets.

Roger-roger'that. I put a well in last fall, it is not hooked up yet, I am going to build a Barn this summer and move into the barn till I die of old age.

I have a well and a septic both virgins.

BraggSurvivor
03-10-2008, 09:30 PM
Since your septic is a virgin, have you heard of the hamburger trick?

This is no joke boys.

Sourdough
03-10-2008, 10:06 PM
Since your septic is a virgin, have you heard of the hamburger trick?

This is no joke boys.

Where I grew up it was dead cats, but I think any meat will work.

wildWoman
03-10-2008, 10:26 PM
Might want to consider getting a couple of woofers, hopeak. "willing workers on organic farms", if you google "wwoof" you should be able to find the website. it's not really limited to organic farms, all sorts of people in more remote areas are listed in there. Gets you a helper for the price of feeding him/her. They can pitch a tent, don't have to supply a solid roof over their heads. It's some interesting people from all over the world doing it. That's our plan, down the road, once we get too feeble - get a couple woofers in for the firewood and any other hard manual labour. Or even as a housesitter every now and then.

BraggSurvivor
03-10-2008, 10:42 PM
Where I grew up it was dead cats, but I think any meat will work.



I like how you think hopeak.

Sourdough
03-10-2008, 11:03 PM
Might want to consider getting a couple of woofers, hopeak. "willing workers on organic farms", if you google "wwoof" you should be able to find the website. it's not really limited to organic farms, all sorts of people in more remote areas are listed in there. Gets you a helper for the price of feeding him/her. They can pitch a tent, don't have to supply a solid roof over their heads. It's some interesting people from all over the world doing it. That's our plan, down the road, once we get too feeble - get a couple woofers in for the firewood and any other hard manual labour. Or even as a housesitter every now and then.

Thank you, Good Idea. Found it: WWOOF Workers

Rick
03-11-2008, 08:11 AM
Well great googly moogly. I had never heard of hamburger or cats or anything else in a septic system. I've actually never HAD a septic system so I probably had no reason to know about it. That's just .... well .... intriguing enough to warrant me spending some time googling it. Here's a septic site that says, "taint so." Scroll down to Common Myths.

http://www.navo.com/AllSierraSeptic/ASfact.htm

Hey, you couldn't prove any of it one way or the other by me.

Beo
03-11-2008, 09:13 AM
I'll start small when I go to live in the wilds, I think that's a must. Packing things in a little at a time, building outbuildings first and then my cabin. My pension will go into the bank so I always have an income, looking at 2 to 3 thousand a month so far. I'll be picking the brains of you off the griders once I get my land.

Rick
03-11-2008, 09:31 AM
Just a thought. If you tossed the cat in alive wouldn't it stir the tank for a while? Just wonderin'.

Sourdough
03-12-2008, 02:32 AM
Off grid is bad, bad, bad, evil. You should not only be on the grid, it is better to be under the grid, grid good, It is Unamerican to be off grid. You could get gridlocked if you leave the grid, then you would be an outcast form the grid. Electric heat good also. it is safer, because you don't have a chimney, you can't have a chimney fire. Electric everything, good for the planet.

Beo
03-12-2008, 07:50 AM
Hopeak your so funny.

wildWoman
03-12-2008, 05:53 PM
I'll start small when I go to live in the wilds, I think that's a must. Packing things in a little at a time, building outbuildings first and then my cabin. My pension will go into the bank so I always have an income, looking at 2 to 3 thousand a month so far. I'll be picking the brains of you off the griders once I get my land.

$2,000 - 3,000 a month????
Hey dude, that'll keep you in way too much luxury!! Why don't you start an "Adopt a Bushrat" Foundation and co-finance some others :D

canid
03-12-2008, 06:05 PM
seriously. i was just thinking that if i had that kind of income on top of what i fell into last year, i'd have my compost goin' for for the garden and smoke rollin out the chimney by now.

canid
03-12-2008, 06:05 PM
heck, in washington a few years back i could only afford 3 walls :D

Beo
03-12-2008, 06:27 PM
That will make sure I can get what I need to get the place going and keep it going, the rest will be left to my son to maintain the place when I'm gone, if I don't need it don't buy it. And It can be used to expand my land.

Sourdough
03-12-2008, 07:56 PM
$2,000 - 3,000 a month????
Hey dude, that'll keep you in way too much luxury!! Why don't you start an "Adopt a Bushrat" Foundation and co-finance some others :D

I have been trying to "Adopt a Bushrat" for years. Under 70, female, good at pulling a plow. And "Outhouse" compatable........:p:p:p:eek:

Assassin Pilot
03-12-2008, 08:56 PM
I only make $360 a month lol
but then again I don't have any actual job so I suppose this is good for what I do (lawn mowing, dog walking, babysitting, car washing, snow blowing, etc)

I bet there are hobos who make more money than me just by begging....

BraggSurvivor
03-12-2008, 09:20 PM
I only make $360 a month lol
but then again I don't have any actual job so I suppose this is good for what I do (lawn mowing, dog walking, babysitting, car washing, snow blowing, etc)

I bet there are hobos who make more money than me just by begging....


Your doing fine, keep it up.

wildWoman
03-12-2008, 09:52 PM
Hey, $360/month is more than I'm making! You're ready to move out into the woods, buddy (but then you'll have to find a different way to make those $$).

wildWoman
03-12-2008, 09:56 PM
I have been trying to "Adopt a Bushrat" for years. Under 70, female, good at pulling a plow. And "Outhouse" compatable........:p:p:p:eek:

wwoofers, hopeak, wwoofers!