Living off the grid can be one of the best experiences you will ever come across, it can also be a detriment your nature and well being, this all depends on you. Disadvantages to living off grid vary from circumstance to circumstance. In most cases it revolves around the Seclusion Factor and you can read about those pitfalls by clicking the link.
There are many other perils that have not been mentioned and I will be going into those. I have experience some if not all of these myself, maybe no in a way that negatively effected my journey, but I know they can have a impact on those who overlook them. These are disadvantages to living off grid.
Monetary Commitment (Greenbacks)
I know almost anything you read will state that living off the grid is the road to financial freedom. I’ve said it myself on a number of occasions and I firmly believe that. But it comes at a cost and that cost is leaving OPP alone. OPP stands for other peoples paper (money). This means credit, loans, and any other form of borrowing.
I’m sure that you like most other people in the world have lived a life based on borrowing. Whether that is your credit card, or payments on a new phone, a mortgage a car note etc. If you are truly going off the grid you have to alleviate that burden. You must also curb the behavior once the deed is done.
This means paying of debts and spending cash up front for everything. This is a very different way of living, I know that first hand. Paying to build a house with cash is taxing on the mind and soul if you don’t have reserves. The same goes for buying a vehicle you will own outright at the start and many other things.
Everything about off grid living will cost more upfront because you will be paying with cash vs credit and loans.
The Art of Skilled Labor (Skill Set)
It all looks easy on youtube I assure you and the most troubling thing is you will never know the full scope of the project. You won’t know the size of the nail or the nail gun used in the video. You won’t know about the 4 different hammers for different task. You won’t know the true cost because it ebbs and flows with location, time of year, season etc.
You someone laying bricks on videos for hours and find you have no idea how to do it when you start. They laid a brick a minute and you lay 1 every 5 minutes. Do you even know the composition of the bricks they used and the dimensions?
Most of the things you will do you will have to lear as you go. That means you need the ability to learn or already have the skill prior to your lifestyle change.
What’s Cooking (Food Preparation)
This one will hurt a majority of the population. You will be making food for yourself. That means preparing the whole thing from scratch when necessary. Now of course you could bring all of that society garbage off the grid with you. Powdered potatoes, pre-made pancake mix, tv dinners etc. The goal of moving off the grid is cutting ties with all of that meaning making food from scratch and making food often.
You may already know how to cook, that’s a good start but odds are you will have to cook whenever you are hungry especially when you are getting started and have limited food storage and power. If you want a little snacky, snacky late at night, odds are you will have to make it yourself. No uber eats to hike there way to you, no fast food restaurant to grab something real quick, just you and your chef skills
Hygiene
This one is a bit more in depth than you would think at first glance. I’m sure you are thinking I can just shower whenever but will your shower be installed as soon as you go off the grid. Where did you get the water? Where does the water drain to? Who built the shower?
These are things that have to be done unless you move into a house prebuilt with all the amenities of society life. However, if that’s the case you really don’t need to read any of this, life will be similar to the one you had before. Even if you did there may be water limitations meaning rationing and figuring out how much you can use daily before running out. Things as simple as washing your hands grows more difficult without running water and a sink.
You will also have to figure out waste removal. Where are you taking the waste water? Are you going to have a septic system? I would of course say go with a composting toilet (here is an article about my favorite one, easiest transition possible) but I know most people who have no experience with them them are uneasy about the idea. This means you will have to set up a portable restroom of some kind until it all gets figured out, without it your going to be facing some terrible concerns fairly quickly.
What to do?
Although these are difficulties, disadvantages to living off grid come with the territory of paving your own way into a new lifestyle. Taking a different route than he crowd takes some preparation and courage but after that it’s all adventure.
The change in using cash over getting loans or credit will be an eye opener. You will spend less when possible because it’s your money and not OPP. As you begin to acclimate to living of grid the schools that you need will continue to improve until you are a master of them. Those skills will hopefully include chef quality cooking and building a rain water system and bathroom that allows you to wash up freely and manage your waste with ease.
Don’t let the small things discourage you. There are plenty things worse than disadvantages to living off grid.
Do you think you can overcome these drawbacks with ease, or will it be too much for you to push forward? Let me know in the comments.
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