Deciding to move off the grid is a very complicated decision to make. This off grid living how to guide will make things a bit easier, but at the end of the day the ball will remain in your court. The ultimate success of your transition to a new life or more likely, your realization that off grid living may not be for you will be based on you and you alone.
Before making a decision there are a few things you need to come to terms with.
1. Is this lifestyle for you?
2. Do you have the money?
3. Do you have applicable skills?
4. Can you handle the hardships?
5. Do you have property?
6. Is there someone who will be living off grid with you? (or that you need to convince to move off grid)
Knowing the answers to these simple questions should help you make your decision on whether you should live off the grid or not.
Is This Lifestyle For You?
Honestly, this is a very important question that you need to be honest about. It won’t be the ultimate deciding factor because you can always change to fit your choices, the question is whether you should or not.
Living off the grid is sensational for those equipped to do so. If you are incredibly wealthy none of this matter because you can always go back to your formal life without any substantial disruption or pay to have all the amenities that living within society gives you at your off the grid location. As with most things endless funds makes everything simpler if not more enjoyable.
For everyone else, you want to look good and hard in the mirror to decide if you are cut out for this before making permanent decisions. Can you rough it for a bit? Will you make sacrifices to get what you want? Can you deal with failure and and still push through? Know yourself and be realistic about who you are and what you are capable of at the moment.
Cash Flow
As I discussed earlier cash flow is a very large aspect of living off the grid if you want to do it right. I’ve paid cash for absolutely everything. Every house I’ve built, every car, every parcel of land etc. Living off the grid is expensive up front and as much as it saddens me to say you need money to make it happen.
Don’t get me wrong you can build a house out of old wooden pallets and rusty nails from your parent’s garage, on land you don’t own. However, I’m talking about a different type of living that focuses on simple comfort, structurally sound homes on land that is owned. You have to have to keep in mind that homeless people you see in the city are off the grid as well, they just happen to be low on funds, with homes build of cloth and cardboard on land they don’t own Money makes all the difference.
I can’t give you an exact figure of how much you need because it will vary based on state, country, city, time of year, materials etc. This article () gives estimated tiers for building off grid homes, use it as a reference point.
Applicable Skills
This is very important if your cash flow is on the low end of the scale. Skilled labor is quite expensive mainly due to the time required to master those skills. The more skilled a laborer the more expensive. This means that if you don’t have the skills to build then house, due the plumbing and electrical, install the panels, pour the foundation etc. your costs will be 5 to 10 times as high as they would be if you did it yourself.
You can either take the time to learn what you need to, as well as acquire the equipment necessary to do it yourself, be prepared to take the risk with unskilled labor at a lower rate, or pay a premium price for premium results. You can also use friends and family to help but as I already said that is unskilled labor and without direction from you or someone who knows what they are doing, you run the risk of wasting money, time and material.
Hardships
There will be hardships or at least ample opportunity for them. Know that going in and be sure to factor it into your decision. I am aware there are hardships in all areas of life but you will be dealing with new forms of hardship with graver consequences.
For instance, if you hurt your back right now, you can still go to work, call an Uber if you can’t drive. You can see the doctor whenever, go to physical therapy easily, order food if you can’t cook etc. The world keeps spinning and your life is pretty much the same. If you throw your back out working on your off grid house, not only will getting back to society be difficult if your back prevents you from driving and you are alone, but are there any hospitals near you. If your back hurts to the point where you can’t stand how will you cook your food, pick up groceries and water, do basic tasks? Who will build the house? If you were planning on finishing the roof before the raining season, what happens to all that hard work now?
As I’m sure you can see the same hardship has a reverberating effect off the grid. Things that seemed so simple can have impactful negative side effects. It’s something to note.
Property
Do you own any? If not you will obviously have to acquire some and not just any property will do you will need one zoned for a permanent home if that is what you want or zoned to allow RVs to stay on the property etc. Zoning differs place to place but be sure you know what you are getting. When I was buying my first parcel I found out that there were plots of land that were unbuildable. Some you can only stay on for a limited time every year etc.
At the end of the day if you plan on building permanent home you will ned a place to build it. If you go the RV route this obviously won’t be a factor unless you are building your RV and you will need property to get that done, whether it is yours or someone else’s.
Either way check prices, zones, ordinances etc. so you get an idea of how much you will need to spend to secure a piece of land that you can use.
Partner in Crime
This only matters if you plan on moving off the grid with someone else. If you are, you need to make sure they are on board not with just the idea but the reality of off the grid life before things are well established. The worst scenario is convincing someone to come off grid and they hate it and are miserable, making life for you miserable as well. Even worse they leave you and you fall into a terrible depression away from everyone you know and love.
I know it’s a bit dramatic, but it happens. Make sure if you are doing this with someone else or multiple people that everyone knows exactly what is at stake and that everyone makes the best decision for themselves.
Things to Remember
Be honest with yourself and make sure if anyone else is deciding to go off the grid with you they look deep within themselves as well. Conflict amongst yourselves is a removable obstacle. Be precise about how much money you need to complete your project. Leave a little wiggle room for incidentals, you will find that most problems aren’t as bad if you have the means to fix them. As far as necessary skills go, learn them if you want to save money on the build, if not make sure that you have the money and can find the proper labor to complete your projects as you envision it.
Always be prepared for likely hardships and circumvent them when possible. Lastly make sure that if you are buying land that you have the money and that it is zoned properly for how you want to use it. Getting unusable land is a waste of money and a blow to morale right out of the gate.
Keep in mind this off grid living how to is meant to help you make the decision about moving off grid, don’t let it make the decision for you. You know yourself better than I ever will so do what you think is best and good luck in your endeavors.
If you have any questions or know of some other factors to help in the decision making process let me know below.
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