Off grid communities

[StolzerandSons]

It depends on your definition of off-grid and community.
I live 3 miles from a town of under 1000 population in a county of around 5000 population on 160-ish acre farm. My closest neighbor is about a mile away. The closest large city is about an hour away.

We have Wind, Solar and Propane but are also grid tied to our Co-Op Electric. We are expanding the wind and solar as finances allow. We have wood heat if needed in the house and my shop is wood heat. We have two wells, both potable, both can be operated without electricity when needed. Both can be hand drawn, one has a hand pump and the other has an air pump system.

We have/raise Chickens(meat and eggs) and Goats(meat and milk). We have two gardens a small one close to the house and about 1 acre at the edge of one of our pastures. My Cousins raise cattle so we either buy or trade with them for beef. My cousins also do the farming on our property so we get cash rent from them for the farm ground and paid for the bales off the pastures that we don't use. I have a small wooded section at the north end of my property that I hunt every year...deer, turkey and pheasant are plentiful on our property so no problem filling our freezer. I trade/barter for other things as needed with my neighbors and family. As an example a few weeks ago I traded some gun repairs for a small hog from one of my neighbors that runs a large hog operation. Good for him because the hog he traded wasn't coming on well like it should have and good for me to have farm fresh pork that I know the source and quality.

My shop is behind the house, so work is a short walk away. Because I don't have to leave my place to work there are times when I go months without leaving the property.

While we don't live in an off-grid community, we do live a fairly separated life style with the ability to live off-grid if needed.

Depending on what you are looking for, you might look at buying a small farm outside a small town in the mid-west then spend the rest of your life getting to know your neighbors and participating in your community. It's a lot easier to have a say in a small community...Sheriff elections are decided by a few votes, County Commissioners are your actual neighbors. There are no city cops, the Sheriffs department covers the town patrols in our county. I know all of our Deputies, Volunteer Fire and Emt's by name and I know all of our postal workers by name.

In my case my family has owned this property since the 1860's(I still have the original homestead deed signed by whoever was signing President Grants name that day) so I am related to half the community but we don't shun outsiders we are just wary of them for the first few years...I suspect a lot of small mid-west communities are just like the one I live in.

If nothing else I hope I have given you something to consider.

[dverna]

I live in rural MI on 20 acres. Closest neighbor is 3/4 miles (he has no running water or septic), mailbox is over 2 miles away, corner store 10 miles, closest small town 12 miles, closest city of 4000 25 miles. I back onto about 3000 acres of state land. I am not off grid and do not need to be. Relatively isolated but close enough to people to get and give help as needed.

My electric bill is about $100 a month and worth it to me. There is no phone line, but can get cell with a booster most of the time, and use satellite for TV and internet.

Most here drink too much, smoke too much and a few use dope. Most live a quasi prepper lifestyle out of experience and necessity. Everyone I know can go for weeks without needing to buy food. Only one does not have a generator but I loan him my spare if he gets into trouble.

You do not need to be off grid to live peacefully, away from the rat race, and near good people.

I was a CEO and my old friends cannot believe I have lasted 5 years up here and still love it. But I was raised poor...many times with no gifts for birthdays and Christmas but we had a big garden and raised some livestock and never went hungry.

Country living is not for everyone. And fewer will last off grid for very long. Be careful what you wish for. Camp for three months at a remote cabin with the power shut off before you invest in property. I suggest looking for a place that has power (you do not need to hook up) or where getting power will not cost you thousands later on if your circumstances or needs change.

[starmac]

Off grid communities were once called communes, something that has pretty much gone out of style these days.

Alaska has many, many folks that live off grid, but not in a community setting that I know of. We do have communities that are not tied into main electric transmission lines, but most have their own electric company, I guess you would call it, probably subsidized by the government in one way or the other.

I know or knew people in Northern New Mexico that lived off grid, but only because it was not available to them, which is usually always the case, as it is generally cheaper than true off grid.
I know lots of folks here that live off grid, many have all the ammenities of grid living, just at a higher cost and would tie into a grid system in a heart beat if it was available..

[HABCAN]

You could check out these on line: Shawn James 'My Self Reliance' (Canadian) and 'Pure living for Life' (Idaho timber frame). They're at least genuine.

[Houndog]

I don't know what part of Tennessee you live in but you need to check out Soddy Daisy Tennessee and parts of the Cumberland Plateu. You won't be totally isolated but this area is sparsely populated and land is cheap. There used to pamphlets at the truck stop near Loretta Lynn's ranch listing land for $100 an acre and parcels as large as 2,000 acres available! It might be exactly what you are looking for.

[quilbilly]

There have been quite a few of them on the Olympic Peninsula for decades much like the guy on TV (but not him!!). I have a few in my neighborhood who pretty much keep to themselves but are otherwise nice. We aren't but could be if required but we like our amenities from time to time. County zoning restrictions mean your habitat must not be visible from the road. The family up the hill raised three kids without electricity or a decent well. If a tree falls on the road around here, you better be fleet of foot with a gassed up chainsaw. Surprisingly enough, a good portion of the off-the-gridders around here are older single ladies. Many of them have been by to have me show them how to tap our maples for the sap to make many things.

[white eagle]

I thought most of the off grid people were wanting to be by themselves
separate from communities

[Nines&Twos]

I thought most of the off grid people were wanting to be by themselves
separate from communities

Not at all. Not very practical either.
The lone wolf attitude doesn’t work very well.
Singles can survive but groups thrive.
It’s true to the point of what I’d like to get away from.
City life is by far easier. Because (most) everyone in a city work toward common goals.
Conveniences are right in your face where as farmer joe can’t walk down to the nearest Kroger for bread.

So! One must find a balance. The happiest medium they can manage.
My balance keeps leaning off to the wrong side.
I gotta find something else.

[BD]

I've known a number of "off grid" families that got by pretty well. None for more than a generation though. And I've never seen an "off grid community" that I'd want to get within a mile of. The idea that it takes a community to be truly independent is a fallacy. A "community" is the death of independence, every single time.

[MOA]

Not at all. Not very practical either.
The lone wolf attitude doesn’t work very well.
Singles can survive but groups thrive.
It’s true to the point of what I’d like to get away from.
City life is by far easier. Because (most) everyone in a city work toward common goals.
Conveniences are right in your face where as farmer joe can’t walk down to the nearest Kroger for bread.

So! One must find a balance. The happiest medium they can manage.
My balance keeps leaning off to the wrong side.
I gotta find something else.

PM sent

[ascast]

"off grid" means what? exactly I'm in upstate NY and the Amish are getting more and more established here. No electricity. Those with dairy may have it as chillers, coolers must run to have a salable product. With that may be bathroom/ wash room requirement in the barn/milk house. That said, NYS does not require electricity or running water in the house. You may build and use an outhouse. Local municipalities may supersede state law. When children are involved you must have enough light for enough hours that school work can be done. Means nothing when an Amish school is used for Amish kids. ( no common core). Also, must have electric lights on your buggy and battery operated smoke detectors. There are building codes. And a lot of codes guys are way below stupid, like super insulation in a tiny house. And there is also always a neighbor or 2 who want to ruin your life just because they can. No matter where you plant yourself, you will have taxes. I'm drifting... interesting thread I'll check back

[Thumbcocker]

Check out the "earth ship" community near Taos

[MaryB]

The "American Redoubt" is not a community. It is a geographic description for a large area of MT/ID where people who are independent minded live, many off grid. You get to know your "neighbors" and that is as far as community goes. They do not question your lifestyle and you do not question theirs! I know gays who live there, religious right(most common), some liberals(gay does not mean automatic liberal), some hippie types etc. People do not pry and to be a good neighbor there you do the same!

I looked at land there but the winter is to extreme for my arthritis...

[GhostHawk]

Before going off grid I would suggest living for a year on the outskirts of a small village.

Keep power, water, sewer, garbage pickup. They are worth every dime. To do those yourself takes a lot of time, energy, and often transport.

Small villages and towns tend to be conservative. They'll be interested in who you are, what your doing but most are fairly decent about it.

Midwest would be my recommendation. Don't go too far north or too high into the hills.

See if you can survive for a year without TV, cell phone. If you can, you'll probably learn enough to be able to go off grid and have a chance of making it.

Its a LOT of hard work.

I grew up a farmers son in a town of 135 people that at the time still had school, grocery store, 2 3.2 diners/beer halls, and a very active community.

But not much is left of the old place, businesses are almost all closed. There is a body shop and a Bar. Other than that it is 8 miles to get anything else. 40 miles to city of 160,000 some thousand with Walmarts and restaurants, 3 hospitals and 3 colleges.

Small town america is drying up and blowing away. But that means there are houses for sale, often very reasonable. Big enough yard for a garden. And a 5 minute walk puts you outside town limits and lets you shoot, hunt, etc.

[Hick]

You don't have to be in an off the grid community to be off the grid. I know of several families near here who are off the grid, even though power is available. It's just a choice they make. You can do that is rural areas, such as Northern Nevada, and nobody cares one way or the other. The important part is that you have to be in an area where wells for water and septic for sewage is allowed.

[Plate plinker]

You definitely have to be handy to live out in the sticks. A departed friend once told me the farther out you go the better you have to be at making do. He was pretty far out from a real community and knew a thing or two about fabricobling.

[xs11jack]

Think ahead for the future of getting 60 or 70s and what health problems you or your wife may have that cost a bundle to purchase each month. Think about being that age and have sever arthritis or some other disability that limits your ability to do daily chores. At some point you may have to move closer to town and sell your property which may have very little value because it is too primitive. I am not trying to discourage you, just want you to cover every possibility.
Ole jack

[shootmore]

My old neighbor left his job building ships some time around 1970 left his nice house and only he probably knows what else. Loaded up his family and left Bremerton Washington. He said this is where they ran out of gas. They pretty much camped for a while. He was some how able to purchase a piece of property and built a little building on it that he put bunk beds in for his two boys. Him and his wife slept one in the front seat and one in the back seat of the car.
Later on he built a house from old houses he took down around town. He even reused the nails as it was his wife's job to straighten them out. He had no running water and hauled water some times in a backpack but later on got a pickup and hauled it up the hill that way.

His stories are endless and I often listen to him for hours as he tells the stories. While not a community he is one tough old man that did it by himself and his family

[waksupi]

I labored under the delusion that Montana was my utopia. Ive never been up there. Ive come to realize just how wrong I was. I don’t wanna live in Montana. July and August Montana is probably heaven on earth. I’m too old to ever be man enough to handle December in Montana.

There are places to be off the grid in Montana. July and August, we are on fire, and you can't stand to be outside. Get in some of the real backcountry settlements, if the locals don't like a person, they just seem to disappear with no trace. Lots of places to hide a body here.

For a place to get away from people, look at southern Kansas.

[waksupi]

I couldn't really be comfortable in eastern Montana, but sw Montana is a completely different place! Yeah it snows, but not a lot of sub zero weather in the valleys, and the fishing is amazing.

Seriously? Down around Wisdom and the Big Hole country are some of the coldest places in the nation!