Off grid communities

[Hannibal]

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.

I'd say that depends on how you feel about mosquitos. My employer paid for me to visit there for a week once. Havre, Montana to be exact. That was enough for me to decide it wasn't my kind of place. This was in 1997 and the winter had been harsh. The remains of cattle that had wandered over fence lines in the snow drifts and had ultimately starved and frozen to death were still scattered about. I'm not a particularly social person, but that stuff right there is too extreme for me.

I've never seen mosquitos like that before, either. Ever seen a swarm of gnats? It was like that, only mosquitos. Clouds of mosquitos. In June.

I said 'Audios' and don't plan to return.

[starmac]

Montana is a big place, like most states it has some beautiful country and some not so good. The beautiful parts exceeds that of a lot of states, but like anything it depends on what a person likes too.

[tja6435]

I think a lot of people have a lot of different ideas of what 'off grid' means. To me, it means disconnected from the national power grid. We don't have a phone line either, just wireless internet via an antenna on the roof.
I have built our power system, we used generators for about 3 months until I got the solar panels, got them mounted, wired, battery bank, charge controllers, wind turbines all set up. We primarily run on solar now, I have 2x 1800## forklift batteries I still have to rewire and get into the basement with our other bank.

[Markopolo]

SE Alaska has TONS of off grid communities... and the weather is not as severe as the interior.
PM Me if you want more info

[Tazman1602]

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.

Same thing/place for me -- you west side or east side? Drop me a PM.

Art

[JimB..]

It sounds to me like you want to live on a few acres just outside a very small town and maybe 25 miles from a city of 25,000 somewhere in the lower Midwest.

I suggest that you move in steps rather than going too extreme all at once. Go from where you are to something like above, if after 3 years you want to get more remote you’ll have developed some of the skills to make the experience successful.

It can be a lot of hard work living on a farm, fun for us was walking the railroad and picking blackberries or getting the meat out of black walnuts listening to a ball game on the transistor radio, or fixing stuff. Painting the fence was fun, preparing the fence to be painted was a chore! For many many years the well was half a mile from the house, my grandmother finally got sick of it and had a well dug by the back door even though everyone told her that there was no water, they were wrong. I miss it and the people, and often think that I shouldn’t have left, but I know that I can never go all the way back.

Good luck with your adventure!

[Nines&Twos]

Thanks for all the replies. Much to think about.
As I said earlier, I have some obligations I will not walk away from BUT they are finite and my wife and I agree....I just can’t stomach the idea of spending the last half of my life in suburbia hell.

[MrWolf]

You kinda sound like me. Got hurt, at the tail end of a divorce, kids are grown, etc. and decided to give me what I always wanted. Land and to be mostly left alone. I moved to WV as I wanted a gun friendly place to start with. I got 81 acres, mostly woods. My nearest neighbor is 1/4 mile away, my mailbox 3/4 mile. It snows, I have to plow my way out or wait till it melts. I have my well, septic system, and no trash pickup. Got the dog I always wanted, a Great Pyrenees who is 8 1/2 months old and about 100 lbs. I have bear, deer, turkey, fox, etc.. Nearest town of 500 is maybe 5 minutes away with medical care, stores, etc about 45 minutes away in Winchester, VA.. I could choose to live off grid but being hurt and getting older it is nice to have the option. Lot of good advise given. Sounds like you want something along my lines.

[reloader28]

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.

We are almost the same set up. I can very easily go without power and modern conveniences. I love it. Its not for everyone though.

I live 40 miles from town. Most of the idiots around here want to live in the country but HAVE to have all the perks of town. When the power blinks they are are the phone immediately complaining. When the cell towers are down its almost like being in a warzone. They go crazy.
Its totally amazing to me how society has become so reliant on modern conveniences and believe that its impossible to live without them.

[RED BEAR]

That is the great thing about the us you can live as you want. As Thomas Jefferson said if it doesn't break my leg or pick my pocket why would I care. If you want to live off grid you are not a loon your an american living as you choose. As for me I am far to lazy to even try! I don't like to hot to cold to wet don't like to hike god forbid run. My perfect day is a drive to the range a few hours shooting come home and reload what I shot.

[MaryB]

I live in tiny town nowhere SW MN. Around 280 people in town. We all know each other, help out as needed. Nobody sticks their nose in your business... 60 mile round trip for groceries to 1 of 2 towns(about 5k pop and maybe 12k pop, both county seats), bank, bar/cafe, co-op are the businesses in town. Houses can run from $5k to $30k... depends on how much work you want to put in them. Lots on the edge of town are large, I have a huge garden and space for chickens if I want them... property tax is low, I pay $360 a year...

Thanks for all the replies. Much to think about.
As I said earlier, I have some obligations I will not walk away from BUT they are finite and my wife and I agree....I just can’t stomach the idea of spending the last half of my life in suburbia hell.

[lefty o]

the second you add the word "community" to it, dont matter if its off grid, behind a gated fence or whatever, all it is , is another layer of someone telling you how to live.

[john.k]

before you buy anywhere ,check with some of the locals to make sure you wont be living next to the "hole in the wall gang"....friend of mine who moved so he could have old machinery,tractors etc..reckons everytime he goes out for the day,the thieves plunder the place....dogs get poisoned,thieves cruising the roads in unregisterd trucks all night,cops presence is non existent........hes even had gates and a cattle grid stolen.

[HABCAN]

Mary B, my place is like your place.

[bayjoe]

Wet Mountain Valley is one of the most beautiful places you will ever see.
Ever kind of wildlife in the area and the Arkansas River to go play to boot

[MT Gianni]

I'd say that depends on how you feel about mosquitos. My employer paid for me to visit there for a week once. Havre, Montana to be exact. That was enough for me to decide it wasn't my kind of place. This was in 1997 and the winter had been harsh. The remains of cattle that had wandered over fence lines in the snow drifts and had ultimately starved and frozen to death were still scattered about. I'm not a particularly social person, but that stuff right there is too extreme for me.

I've never seen mosquitos like that before, either. Ever seen a swarm of gnats? It was like that, only mosquitos. Clouds of mosquitos. In June.

I said 'Audios' and don't plan to return.

Havre 'skeeters laugh at a 410. To kill them you need at least a 20 gauge 1 oz shot.

[nicholst55]

If I could hunt and shoot I’d be Ahmish. But they’re pacifist idiots. God gave me two hands and I have a right to use them to defend and feed myself.

Most all the Amish folks I knew of hunted regularly back in PA.

[Nines&Twos]

Yeah, but they won’t raise hand to save their own in the face of evil.
That’s a crock of **** and it’s their right as Americans to believe that they way but I ain’t buying it. No god worth serving would ever ask me to sit idle while someone hurts my family.

Aside from that, I think their way of life is beautiful. No disgusting perversions and frivolity. Simple clean living.

[Houndog]

Yeah, but they won’t raise hand to save their own in the face of evil.
That’s a crock of **** and it’s their right as Americans to believe that they way but I ain’t buying it. No god worth serving would ever ask me to sit idle while someone hurts my family.

Aside from that, I think their way of life is beautiful. No disgusting perversions and frivolity. Simple clean living.

I MUST add to your post that the Amish are some of the most honest and trusting people I've ever delt with! They used to come down to my part of Tennessee and buy horse drawn farm equipment all the time. They would contract with me to deliver this equipment to their farms, usually paying in advance with no more than a handshake to seal the transaction! I just wish every customer I had were that pleasurable to deal with!

BTW: If you ever get asked to eat a meal with them, TAKE IT!!!! I had that pleasure several times and FANTASTIC is the best word to describe it.

[MaryB]

Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes and 10 trillion mosquitoes! Late last summer stepping into the garden you risked your life from blood loss... I swatted my arm and in the space of a hand print I killed 20 of them. Looked like I had slashed my upper arm open! And I was in there 2 minutes to get a tomato for supper!

Havre 'skeeters laugh at a 410. To kill them you need at least a 20 gauge 1 oz shot.