So what exactly changes when you up and walk away from the only way of living you’ve ever known?
When your 4 bedroom 2 bathroom home on 800 square metres (a 5th of an acre) of land is exchanged for a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom cabin on 400,000 square metres (100 acres). When your mortgage gets cut in half and power bills are replaced by solar energy? When fluoridated and chlorinated water is replaced by spring-water and rainwater, not only for drinking but cooking, showering, washing?
When the air you breathe is no longer filtered by a thousand car exhausts, but rather billions of plants? When you’re surrounded by most of the resources you’ll ever need like stone, timber, and soil? When you stop looking at a watch or a calendar, rise when your body wakes you, sleep when your body makes you, eat when you’re hungry, drink when you’re thirsty? When most of the noise comes from weather and birds? When your closest neighbours are kangaroos, wallabies, and wombats? When the urgent and crushing pressure of how to “make a living” disappears, and your creativity returns? When you have more space and freedom than you’ve ever known?
What changes? Well, you do.
A year ago my wife and I (a couple of thirty-somethings), along with our two young children, abandoned our shiny home in the ‘burbs. A home that ticked all the boxes by society’s standards – except a pool, we never did get that pool. We then relocated nearly 4,000 kilometres away to a log-veneered cabin in a peaceful valley hidden in the mountains. No mobile phone reception, no power, water, or gas network. Bar satellite internet and a phone line that works some of the time, we are off grid.
Like other off-gridders, the reasons we chose to make such a drastic change to our life are varied and complex. Even within our family some of our reasons differ, though the overall goal is the same, to be happy.
For me, the turning point was realising that I was trying to achieve happiness by sticking to my society’s template. You know the one. Education, career, car, house, furniture, objects, hobbies, holidays, relationships, children. When the template frequently failed to deliver our happiness, I had no choice but to revisit that list.
Like people addicted to a toxic relationship, we tried everything to “make it work.” But in all honesty, life was getting harder the more children we had. The constant pressure of too little support, being penned in by arbitrary rules and little freedom, being crushed by huge debt and the high cost of city living, meant sustainable happiness was a pipe-dream. The time came late one Sunday night (as I was underway with my third career) to admit that the template hadn’t delivered, and most importantly would never deliver, our happiness. In a moment that was equal parts terrifying and thrilling, we decided to step outside of the template and into the white space. It was time to make a life of our own choosing.
Fast forward 12 months, and you can imagine the past year has been big, our biggest as individuals and as a family. So much has changed in our lives, and in us.
It’s been a bipolar year of contrasts and extremes: we’ve never been so confused, and life has never made so much sense; we’ve never fought so much, and we’ve never got along so well; we’ve never come so close to breaking up, and we’ve never been so certain we’ll stay together; we’ve never been so full of despair, and we’ve never been so full of hope; we’ve never been so frustrated, and we’ve never been so content; we’ve never been so alone, and we’ve never been so connected; we’ve never been so stressed, and we’ve never been so peaceful.
We’ve been very cold; we’ve been very hot; we’ve had an abundance of water, and we’ve also run out; we’ve had an abundance of power, and we’ve run out of that too; we’ve never had so much responsibility and accountability for our own existence, and we’ve never felt so liberated and empowered; we’ve never had so little money, and we’ve never been so wealthy; we’ve never been so vulnerable, and we’ve never been so safe. We know that there is much we miss from the way we lived, and we know we can never go back.
Interestingly, we’ve lost most of our appetite for meat. Profoundly we’ve lost our drive to compete with our fellow humans, and a deep-seated desire to care, connect, and cooperate has filled its place. The world defined by hierarchies, money, obedience, right and wrong, schedules and deadlines has become increasingly meaningless. Personal choice and freedom have become increasingly meaningful.
Without a doubt this past year has seen the best and worst of us.
Yet this past year we’ve never been so happy.
And when we think about our future? Well that just makes us smile.
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Is there anything you’d like to know about our experience? Is there any experience you’d like to share? Let us know via the comment section below.
Sending out good vibes from our peaceful, little valley.
– Featured Photo credit J. Bailie
Godspeed!
I’ll be honest, I had to look that up
Oh dear I’m such a noob at this. First lesson, don’t use emoticons, they cut the text off. What the above really said was “I’ll be honest, I had to look that up 🙂 and what a wonderful sentiment to receive! We wholeheartedly wish you the same in return [rainbow emoji]”
Dear Chris: When survival is insufficient to the well-being of the soul, there is no choice but to make radical change.
I think your understanding of what matters in life is spreading in the collective (un+)consciousness. Caring, connection and cooperation. It’s all about balancing self with other (IMHO). Your article is real inspiration.
While my path is to remain a semi-urbanite, I orient to the quality of life you describe, first by having made small changes that release me from the slavery of the system, then other changes that help me create the stillness within that allows connection with other, even within the noise of the urban space.
Sure wish I had access to vacations in a place like yours to fully recharge though! Sounds like utopia in the making. Indeed Godspeed and thank you for the awesome share.
Thank you annexi for your thoughful and articulate cooment and compliments 🙂 You mention something I plan to write more on later. As our experience is that like other animals, as population densities increase, within species competion increases. Dramatically if you are surrounded by strangers rather than those you have reciprocal-care relationships with. Which makes the reverse/inverse also true, more space and freedom to meet your needs, at least for our family, has increasingly changed our behaviour from competitive to cooperative. I have little doubt it is being epigenetically mediated. As you are already doing, I would wholeheartedly support continually striving to embed as much space and freedom to meet your needs into your inner and outer world as you can, wherever you live.
Just protect your kids from your Prime Minister and his planned compulsory vaccination program,
We have vaccine damaged children in our family and close friends, wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy Chris xxx
Hi Jackie for some reason my reply posted below.
damaged how? did they instantly develop autism?
Yorabic, I too have seen vaccine damage with my own eyes, and yes some of it was instant, and I’m very sad to report permanent. Your communication comes across as ambiguous, it contains double-bind communication to be explicit. I do my best and make the case for engaging with our fellow humans in authentic, clear and respectful ways. You might find the next article I have written helpful to understand the bigger picture on issues such as the one touched on here and the helpful ways to discuss them. At the moment it’s titled 8 Symptoms We Are Living in an Age of Global Groupthink, but may be published under something slightly different 🙂
How did u figure out what parts of the Land ardent government owned?
Hi Isaiah, we purchased our property so I cannot answer your question with personal experience. Our decision to purchase was based on our capacity to do so, and our long term goal of having sufficient land to build a family community as our children go on to have chidren of their own. One idea we saw that was utter brilliance was a free-thinking fellow advertised for land that people weren’t using and that he and others could occupy to live sustainably on while rejuvenating the land with permaculture, native forest etc. Last count we saw he had eleven properties offered to him from around Australia, and was seeking people to come occupy them. He just advertised on a free site called Gumtree in Australia.
I think Chris might be referring to the ‘Spaces of Love’ group on Facebook – they have those properties listed, not just in Australia either. As a single woman renting a house, I firstly missed the boat to purchase a house, but now have made a conscious decision not to place myself in that much debt, I would be looking at these sorts of options, or tiny houses etc. Currently just researching everything. I feel excited by it but also find it quite a daunting step to take on my own, without a partner. I hope that fear doesn’t stop me from reaching my dream.
Hi Nancy, thanks for sharing the extra info. Yes taking the leap of faith is daunting enough with a partner! I wish you the courage to reach your dreams. We watched a series on YouTube about a woman trialling different intentional communities, I think was called Seeking the Goodlife in America. There may be some courage building inspiration in there if you haven’t seen it. She ended up falling in love with someone likeminded on one of the communities and they went off to start their own I think 🙂
Any room on your land for a tent?! Sounds amazing, I dream of doing the same 🙂
Haha hey Strummergirl, yes with a hundred acres we have just a little room to pitch a tent. You may be sharing space with kangaroos during the day and wombats at night. Depending where you are in the world you will be able to find off-gridders that are happy to host people, under various arrangements, some WWOOFing, HelpX, care-taking, weekend workshops, couch-surfing, etc.. I see lots of beautiful locations come up on the groups I’m in.
Id also like to know how you find out which parts of land arent owned already by a person or government…this has always been a dream of mine as well..although custody issues with my kids are in the way right now :/
Hey Nicole, as per my response to Isaiah. Some people live life on the road, some move to intentional communities, some buy whatever land they can afford, some squat, some become care-takers, WWOOFers, HelpXers, and many more. I plan to write more so you may see what you are looking for addressed in later posts. I do hope you get to realise your dream 🙂
Nicole, ALL land in Australia (and most other countries) is owned by government (Federal, State (in some states referred to as Crown land), local govt), companies or private individuals. Aboriginal groups also have claims over some areas – you need to respect their rights. The concept of “terra nullis” doesn’t exist anymore. If you find some “unused”, “vacant” land and decide to squat or otherwise use it, you have to be prepared to accept that there may be some legal sanctions used against you. Better to establish who owns it and get some agreement for use before that happens. Contact neighbours or the local council. No matter how far you choose to go “off the grid” there are still a few things you cannot and should not avoid.
I would so love to live that life I really would. This fast pace of life we lead at the moment is just that …. Fast. The thought of the tranquility , no fumes, no business and rushing and being one with nature is surely the way forward in life.x
Angelwings, as you wonderfully describe it is a life of simple pleasures. Even breathing, when the air is so fresh and sweet, is a joyful experience. I hope you get to make it your reality. I will write more later that may help people find a way.
[ Smiles ] Going off of the grid and unplugging from the Matrix takes a lot of courage.
Thank you For the lovely compliment Renard 🙂 it has, it does, and it continues to require it of us. I’m beginning to think it always will haha, such is life outside the comfort zone…
Great post – but do I HAVE to grow a beard too????
Haha Tristam thanks for the appreciation. Beards are optional but if you never had the chance to channel your inner caveman, I cannot recommend it more highly. I actually used to have bad dreams about accidentally shaving it off and how unnatural I felt. I don’t have those dreams anymore which is probably a sign the beard and I are now one…:-D
Interesting, I’m growing my hair for like 3 years now, and I had a lot of dreams about losing it somehow. I didn’t have them for about 6-7 months now, I think. But it’s still pretty interesting.
Haha VTX, there’s got to be something primal going on with it all, with realising our true nature. Glad to hear you and your hair are now at peace 🙂
Where did you start? I want this life so badly for my family and my children. Right now we are far in debt and working our way out of that before we decide where we want to take our lives. What things did you do to prepare for your transition?
Hi Morgan, yes we are still in debt, but our living costs are 30% of what they were before and with the potential to save further as we become more and more self-sufficient food-wise. We transferred our mortgage and made enough on our last property to cover our basics while we have trialled a few different ways to meet our financial needs inline with our values over the past year. We are still trial and erroring and diversifying to find financial sustainability which is the general flow for people we see living this life. My own experience that I wanted to communicate in the article is that psychological preparation is critical and not to be underestimated. Understand what your priorities and goals for moving are. Look at what areas will best meet those needs, eg if moving for self-sufficiency then things like heating, cooling and growing climate will be important, if moving for community then locating areas of likeminded folks is critical, if moving for homeschooling your children then locating states with supportive homeschooling laws and clusters of homeschooling families is important, if you have certain skill sets then being near possible work options is important. Whatever lifestyle you want, try to find labels for it so you can seek out information and likeminded people. I wanted people’s interests to drive the content of later posts, so there will be more coming that starts to address these things.
What were the first steps you took? Childrens education? Debt? How much money did it take for to start out in your cabin? Where is the best place to learn to live off of the land? I want this so bad but dont kniw where to start. Thank you!
Hi Brandy, sorry I missed your comment in the sequence! The first steps were the psychological stuff, once the commitment to make the change was there, overnight we went from a 10-year plan to change our lifestyle to a 2-month plan. A month after the decision we had our house on the market, put an offer on the place we now own. It took a lot longer than it should have to sell our house due to government manipulation of the property market where we were, so 4.5 months later we settled on this property. We ported our loan and dropped our loan amount to $230k, our repayments are a little less than what rentals in the area cost and we don’t have utility bills. We are a natural learning family (also known as radical unschoolers) so our children will continue to self-direct their learning with our support and facilitation of their interests, and there is a small school <10 children about 40mins away if they wish to attend at any point.
Our children absolutely love their home, and it is providing infinite opportunities for them to learn and acquire skills fundamental to their health, wellbeing and happiness as humans. Our belief is that our children's needs would be best met by a tribal community with uninterrupted access to likeminded playmates and authentic carers. Whether in the city or out here, despite our best efforts (though we will never stop trying), this is something we have failed to achieve and is likely impossible to achieve without moving to an intentional community, which we do not feel is the best choice for us. Our aim is to build a family community on our property so, at least for the child-rearing years, our children can raise their own children on the property together. Something we see as the safest way to restoring the communal environment and better meeting those social needs for the next generation.
We are still learning to live of the land, and I can see it will take many years to build up to the level of self-sufficiency that we aspire to. But hey we got the land and the time. Our past year has been spent mastering the basics, solar power, spring and rain water supply, heating (wood chopping keeps you quite busy) and cooling. Even observing the seasons, weather and the land for a year has given us invaluable knowledge that has saved us making errors and wasting resources. You also change a lot when your lifestyle changes, so allowing time for us and the family dynamic to change before making too many decisions about the details of our life going forward has also reduced errors and the wasting of resources. It has also been a important time to iron out the wrinkles in our family dynamic and create a lot more harmony. I haven't got the book yet but I have heard good things about The Encyclopaedia of Country Living, might be worth a look if you want to see all the things you can get up to.
Keep soaking up knowledge, investigating the different options, over time it will all crystallise into the model that you feel is going to work best for your family, and then you can take that leap of faith 🙂
Amazing
Thanks Eve! 🙂
This didn’t tell me how to do anything!
Hi Reza, fair comment. I plan to write more about many aspects of off-gridding, so you will likely see the things you are interested in addressed in later articles. I always do my best to write clearly and not mislead hence the title saying “How Our Family…”, as I wanted to communicate how our family made the decision to move off-grid, and that it was for us 100% psychological. When I overcame the psychological barriers, namely the addiction to our society’s template, the physical stuff worked itself out automatically as we were deeply and wholly committed. I say this as for years the lady in my life wanted to move and I always threw up physical barriers as to why we couldn’t move, yet in the end it was purely psychological for me. I personally feel the predominant focus on the physical and inattention of the psychological realms in shaping human motivations and decision-making in an inherent flaw in our society’s value system. I think it worth writing an article to expand on this topic further as a few people have been frustrated I didn’t write a physical how-to guide. My experience has been if you tell people the physical stuff without attending to the psychological first, they quickly throw up physical barriers to why they can’t, just as I used to do.
Hi Andrea, thank you for the food for thought. You are clearly very knowledgeable on these matters. I always do my best to write as respectfully as possible and do enjoy opportunities to review and improve my communication, which your comment has provided. I do know what ableism and ableist language is, though I am always growing my awareness.
Based on your feedback I did review my use of the terms you mention. Thank you for the webpage, a very thought provoking site. I did search for the verb crippling on there but the discussion mainly relates to the noun cripple. The search did send me to a page talking about the different uses of invalid, and I did find this relevant: ““Invalid” is a tricky word because there are legitimate and entirely appropriate uses for it; when I say an argument is “invalid” because I mean it’s “not strong,” that’s a, well, valid use of this word. What we’re concerned with is seeing “invalid” used as a noun, whether in reference to someone with disabilities or in reference to someone who is perceived as helpless for other reasons.”
In the article I meant the transitive verb “to deprive of capability for service or of strength, efficiency, or wholeness” (merriam-webster.com). Turning to the etymology of the word cripple tells me it’s oldest meaning is related to the noun “to crook, bend” (etymonline.com) which aligns with my intended meaning. Cripple appears to have been co-opted very heavily and from an early date to describe disability so consequently I don’t feel as comfortable that my use of the word crippling is completely free from ableism, so will certainly be mindful of it in the future.
I am familiar with bipolar disorder. I did not use the term bipolar disorder, but bipolar. This is because I meant the original definition of the term, “having or marked by two mutually repellent forces or diametrically opposed natures or views” (merriam-webster.com), a term which I acquired to my vocabulary while studying chemistry. A term which was co-opted much later to describe the disorder. I am comfortable my use of the term was not ableist. I concede people can interpret my use of the term as ableist, though ideally I would prefer they consider the context and ask me for clarification before making that assumption. All in all a great discussion 🙂
This is an amazing story – but I have to point out that he had to buy into the game to get to where he is- if you go to his website, he still charges $100/hour as a psychotherapist, which is how they are able to sustain their lifestyle. I don’t have a problem with this, he has used the education and career tools that he has earned, by living his societal life, to create the life he wants- which is really the whole point isn’t it? I, too, am very curious about their planning and processes.
Hi Misti, thanks for your appreciation of our journey and visiting our self-help site. Some behind the scenes stuff, I added the offer of psychotherapy to our website as after spending a couple of hundred hours web-designing, researching and writing content, while we received overwhelmingly positive feedback, we were yet to receive a single donation, and I was really questioning the viability of the site to help us meet our needs. I wish I could say offering my services as a psychotherapist on the website has been lucrative and now keeps us financially secure. But the number of clients I have obtained from this currently stands at zero. I do conduct psychotherapy with a wonderful former client that tracked me down, and the very occasional client locally, and that has certainly helped us at times. More recently we have received some donations and heartfelt feedback via the site which we are eternally grateful for.
What you picked up on is a product of what we have learnt out here, that is to be active, to be creative, to be resourceful, to be brave, to be progressive, to be diverse, and that there is much that can only be learnt through struggling & trial and error. This has been true in every area of living out here. At least this has been our journey. I plan to write more articles covering the things people have expressed interest in so will certainly add what piques your curiosity to this 🙂
You will never be free of the regime, it’s to ingrown and wide spread. However if you make a choice that suits you and your mentality it is possible no matter how far you are or think you are removed. Everyman’s Home is his Island and it is what you make it. Being off grid is not cheap, but cheaper than having it produced for you.
Very philosophical Paul, you write like someone who has time and space to consider these things, maybe an off-gridder? I would also add what price can we put on having our values continually overrun and polluted by our society? One of the many reasons we moved to so much private space was to greatly reduce the negative impacts our society’s values and social systems were having on us and our children. Being out here has made it possible to really connect with and start the process of living in accordance with our own deeply held morals, ethics and values. Things I retrospectively notice I was constantly contravening while in the city.
I rarely read these things and it’s even more rare that I would throw my 2 cents into the mix as I have no expectations anyone would bother to read this. Anyway, I really appreciated this article. As anything in life we become drawn to ‘like’ people because it justifies our very existence to some degree or another. My wife and I moved from a large house and an even larger level of stress caused by the chase to own more stuff than anyone else. We hated out jobs and began disliking everything we had slowly and mindlessly as we became a couple, parents, individuals we really had no intention of becoming. In my job as a Mental Health clinician I found that I was spending more time with other people’s kids than my own two boys (some of the parents didn’t even want to be w/ their children). I was always uptight and couldn’t wait until Fridays where I could drink a ton of craft brews and act like I didn’t give shit about anything….or anyone (despite the professional front that paid the bills). It took a twist of fate to walk away from it all….this was both my wife and my home town btw. Both sets of parents, siblings, and close friends that we knew since the little days were going to be left behind. We dumped our house at a loss and moved 500 miles away to a country home less than half the size. Long-story short….TV now sucks, I love eating healthy food, my wife and I and our family of four are as close and as genuinely in love as you can love a person and your own family. I’m not wealthy….I now build furniture for a living and I feel that the direction in my life is dictated by the universe more than engaging in society’s emphasis on completion and who makes the wisest chess play. I agree that we are very much animals. In some ways we could be better off if we functioned in the old ways…less distractions and more in tuned with our senses. Balance+Love= whatever you choose to make!!
Scott, in return I really appreciate your post, and I am very glad you posted it. I feel like we could have a long conversation or several. I felt very conflicted and inauthentic working in mental health while in the city. Sitting there guiding others through their problems when I had a truckload of my own. A couple of times I could literally have said “So you’ve had suicidal thoughts? Yeah me too. Hmm maybe it’s not us, maybe it’s because this life just sucks.” The bit that really got to me was being a compliance officer for what society deemed normal, when I finally worked out society’s normal was causing most if not all of the problems. Thanks for sharing what you did, you sound like you’ve acquired some wisdoms we are yet to arrive at, though I do see some of the shifts starting for us. It has been such a prolific period of growth and change, and I can’t see it ever ending, which is cool. I loved the line about how in love you all are, and also the flow in your life’s direction.
We moved out of the Toronto area last August. Just had enough of how the city has gotten and that was it. Reading your article made me laugh in our common misery and wealth LOL – we lived without running water for nearly 10 days in the beginning here! Sweated then froze our @sses off, Had a cave in of the foundation, got cut off from the power grid, learned how to live off of woodstoves . . .and omg it’s like living in the 1800’s on the rough days -Hahahaaa! Totally know what you guys are going through and we would not change it for the world at this point. Our family has never been more close or healthy. All the best to you and yours! – Ontario Canada.
Haha hey Marcia fellow human family on the steep learning curve. That first year is one wild ride hey?! Likewise your post made me laugh heartily. Doesn’t your brain get the biggest workout! So much problem solving to do, I felt like I’d been asleep at the wheel for 35yrs compared to how much brain power this lifestyle has required of us. But I’ve also never felt so invigorated by just living. Wood stoves and wood-chopping, now there was a bunch of trial and error learning for us. Yeah those family relationships away from the abstract stresses of city living are something special, and likewise our health has just taken care of itself out here. Great to hear about your journey so far, and all our best to your family also 🙂
“When fluoridated…water is replaced by spring-water and rainwater,”
Sorry, had to laugh. Fluoride is a natural element that can be found in some mineral-laden spring waters. It’s how it’s effect on the teeth was discovered in the first place. A dentist in Utah noticed that some of his patients’ teeth were rock hard and some were noticeably not so hard. The former lived in areas where fluoride was naturally in the water, and the others didn’t.
Fluoride is a known neurotoxin and is very heavily pumped into the water supply of all towns and cities across the country. Still laughing? http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/item/18324-top-medical-journal-labels-fluoride-a-neurotoxin
Hi Babs, just to clarify fluoridation and chlorination refers to the processes of artificially adding fluoride and chlorine to a water supply. I have not reviewed the issue of water fluoridation recently and do not hold a specific viewpoint at such. My general viewpoint is that the human species functioned without all the artificial manipulation and augmentations that we are now told are essential. This has been a huge benefit to living out here. Our life is now pleasant, our stress levels are never chronic anymore, like they were in the city, and our health has benefited immeasurably. Regarding tooth health, I brush on an as needed basis, with only a toothbrush and water, and they are as least as healthy as when I hammered them with fluoride via fluoridated water and toothpaste. I personally suspect that when your body isn’t constantly bathed in stress hormones and their effects, as they are in the city, then a lot of counteracting health measures become irrelevant as they have for us.
Babs, you might also want to look into the impact on the Pineal gland from excessive Flouride added to drinking water. Adolf Hitler used to use it as a means to ‘dumb people down’ fascinating stuff.
Naturally occuring flouride not added by some magoo in a treatment facility
Hi Jackie, yes we excercise free-thought in as many domains as we are capable of at any given moment. Sorry to hear about your experiences, it is a matter of time before the social history that is out there is formally added to the record, heroic accounts of scientific disciplines always have their days numbered. I guess one plus to what’s happening in Australia, similar to what is happening in the US is coercion does have the effect of building and mobilising countercultures. One pathway may be by forcing more people to opt out of the system in regards to childcare and eventually lead to children learning outside of institutionalied settings. A huge plus we have found to being out of the city and off-grid is you are all but invisible to mainstream society. We like that.
What a beautiful message!! I as a young adult have been striving to be just as ou have done. Do you have any suggestions on where to start and how to get here by living off of minimum wage?
Hey Tabitha, thank you for the heartfelt appreciation! Wow I admire your free thought at an age when I was well and truly not capable of such thinking. Depending on what you are seeking from the lifestyle, as a young adult you are probably in a great position to evaluate different options. There are a lot of different intentional communities, including off-grid communities you could spend time on to see what philosophies appeal to you, and possibly lead to you finding your tribe. There is also WWOOFing, HelpX, and as Nancy says above, The Spaces of Love Project. A preparatory approach could be to really look at what it is that appeals to you about the lifestyle in tandem with researching the different formats that are out there. As the knowledge comes together, I’d be confident an approach that will work best for you will start to crystallise, and you can start heading in that direction 🙂
Dear Chris,
First; congratulations and and thumbs up for taking that big step!
I would love to know more about the practical process.
Did you buy land and build your own house?
How did you get money for it (how costly was it)?
How did you figure out how to build your home sustainable?
how do you make a Living now?
And most important: do you home School your children and how do they socialize?
Bet wishes from
Randi.
Hi Randi. I answered similar questions in a response a couple of comments up to Brandy. So ill just answer your additional questions. The house we bought was already off grid so we just customised and upgraded things to better meet our requirements. We plan to build other houses on the property over time so will get to do our own sustainable design and building over time and once we have a good idea of our requirements. Financially we have been living week to week for about six months now, mainly because we lost $65k (that was going to be our nest egg and get us by for 2-3 years) in the sale of a our house due to government manipulation of the market. Another reason to get away from it all! It has been a hard struggle, but we are now realising it has been essential. We really had to cleanse ourselves of the over consuming and unsustainable mindset we brought with us, work more inline with our values, and refocus ourselves on the things that really matter. We’ve reduced our living costs dramatically, we’ve harnessed my skill sets in different ways, we’ve sold a lot of things we don’t need. There hasn’t been a magic formula or solution for us, and reflecting on it I really wouldn’t have wanted one, this process is pushing us in ways we would never have pushed ourselves in the city. Like writing this article haha.
If planning to homeschool I would recommend finding the jurisdictions that are most supportive of it, and that will increase the likelihood that there will be clusters of homeschooling families in those areas that you might be able to link up with and live near. We have recently met some homeschool oriented, off-grid families in the area, which is fantastic, birds of a feather… We also plan to travel a fair bit in a converted bus visiting campfests, family, other unschoolers and likewise host families on our property to build as many supportive friendships as possible. Again no simple solution, but that’s ok by us 🙂
You have just made the whole idea of of escaping societies fake living seem much more appealing to me than it already was.
Good luck and I’m so glad you and your family have found your happiness
That makes me really glad to have shared our experience Abie 🙂 And you make a good point, it is so much easier and natural to be authentic when you have the time and space to be yourself. Being out here has been critical in reconnecting with our vulnerability, and authenticity has flowed from there. Thank you for your well wishes and likewise, we hope you get to realise your aspirations as they continue to crystallise…
I would love to be able to respond to you all in a timely manner, but our internet is pretty much, “click a button and go make a cup of tea”, that and on the weekends a homing pigeon would be faster. The slowness is causing me all manner of issues posting unfortunately. So please just bear with me 🙂 I’ll respond as quickly as I can.
This kind of story makes me happy. Aware that there are people in the world who think outside the box, who know what is really important in the life. Live in this way is also my dream, but it takes a lot of courage. I belive one day I will be strong enough to do it. I wish You all the best, but I thhink You already have it 🙂 Forgive me my english.Thank You for sharing your story! Greetings from Poland
Hi Terefere, thank you for sharing such a lovely comment. Yes keep collecting information and researching options, it will come together over time and build the confidence you need. The facebook group “Off Grid Friends” is a good place to meet many of the people living off-grid in Europe, and if you want to ask questions. Forgive me my Polish. Dziękuję bardzo, dobrze ci życzę 🙂
Wish you and your family all the best. I’d like to do the same but it isn’t so obvious in Europe. I live in Belgium and the open space is unsufficiant. Good luck and a very fullfilling life to y’all.
Hoi Chris. Europe has a thriving off-grid community from what i see. If you would like to tap into this sub-culture, look up and join the Facebook group “Off Grid Friends”. Watch out you may be inspired 🙂
What do you eat? How do u socialize? What do u do when your kids are sick? How will you make your children well rounded if they lack experience in mainstream society and human contact?
Hi Nadia, i speak about social contact in the above replies to Brandy and Randi. To answer your other questions: we have aren’t self sufficient food-wise yet and it will likely take years to get to the level we aspire to. Our diet has changed a lot compared to what is was in the city. We have lost our appetite for very heavy, protein-rich food, probably because we arent as hungry and hence do not eat as much food in general, which i now suspect was linked to chronic stress. We eat a greater percentage of fruit and vegetables, probably also because we have access to a lot more locally grown, fresh and tasty produce. Regarding sickness we support the human body’s natural ability to maintain its health. We do our best to ensure our immune systems have the essential nutrients they need, the biggest boost to our immune health has come by not being chronically stressed as we used to be. When sick or injured we continue to support the body’s natural healing abilities. So far i am amazed at how quickly and well we recover and heal out here, even in situations where we would have panicked and rushed to a doctor before. Mumma also has her natural oils and remedies to supplement our healing where required. There is a hospital 40mins away if we are ever faced with a truly dire emergency (e.g. venemous snake-bite).
Our beliefs about what is best for human children to develop optimally is more often than not at odds with mainstream western society, a large reason for our move. Our beliefs are more inline with the tribal paradigm that children should live out their days embedded in life and living, rather than segregated from it. So we spend all our time together, we play, we explore, we do chores, work on projects, go to town, go shopping, they interact with individuals of all ages. They also self-direct in their interests and we make sure they have our support and facilitation where helpful. Peter Gray writes a lot about this approach to learning on the Psychology Today site, if you wish to read more, it is commonly called unschooling. The quality of human contact under this model I believe is a lot greater, richer and more enjoyable, when I contrast it with my own mainstream childhood.
Chris, thank you for sharing. May I ask, do you have universal healthcare where you are? I’m in the states, and we do not–that is my one remaining trepidation for “chucking it all.” My husband and I long to just let this capitalist hamster wheel go, and reconvene with our primal nature. How did you square the healthcare component? And did you create a “road map” for doing what you did i.e. “step one, step two….”
Hi Jennifer. Yes we do have public healthcare in Australia and you can receive all essential treatment at no cost. Prescription medication is subsidised also. We have started to view health very differently out here. Our awareness and confidence in the capacity of the human body to heal itself continues to grow. The absence of stress is having a huge, positive impact on our health, that cannot be overstated. Because of the speed with which we made the decision there wasn’t a comprehensive plan to change our lifestyle, it really was identify property we wanted, talk to bank, get house ready for sale, sell house, buy house, move, settle. It was probably more that we researched and discussed the different options a over a couple of years, ie investigated intentional communities, looked at property prices in different areas, thought about climates and growing environments, distanced ourselves from the norms of city-living over time.
Dear Chris Bell,
It was a very inspiring, hopeful writing which was about the experience you had. Thank you very much. I congratulate you for showing courage to leave the city life which I can not do because of the need of continuous communication with my family members.
I hate money. my family was paying the bills (electricity, heating, water, internet) of the house that i was staying. after school finishes they want me to pay it. I prefer not to create any payment by using natural resources.
I am in Turkey, do you know any place in Turkey to try the same thing that you did?
Hi Kerem, thank you for the lovely comment and appreciation. I have much respect that you are so wise in your thinking at a young age. I do not know anything about living off-grid in Turkey. There is a Facebook group called Off Grid Friends that is mainly european members, they might know more. If Turkey is anything like my ancestral home of Greece, it will be a fantastic place to live off-grid as in many country areas the old ways people lived off the land still remain. There would be a lot of knowledge you could gain from country neighbours. If you live in a city, perhaps moving out of the city and into a small village may help you learn from others, connect you with likeminded people, and get you ready for life off-grid. If you prefer to stay in the city perhaps try and find a group of likeminded people, maybe you can team up and work out how to live sustainably in the city, and if there isn’t a group already, start a group on social media and attract members. Whichever directions you go in, I wish you the best in achieving a sustainable life, the world needs more young people like you! 🙂
Me and my family feel the same way. We would love to live off grid but we have no idea where to start. Have any helpfull suggestions?
This is a amazing story.
I’ve been wanting to do something like this but have no clue as to how to start or where to begin
Do you grow all your own food? Do you still have an income of sorts for essentials like clothes, running vehicle? I love the concept of off grid, but I’m unsure how we as a family could ever achieve it!
Great article Chris! I am proud of my amazing son! love Mum
Hi Everyone, I have been trying to reply to everyone in a timely manner, but our painfully slow satellite internet, which becomes excruciatingly slow on weekends is not making it easy. Please bear with me and I’ll reply to as many as I can tomorrow when people go back to work and the satellite isn’t so congested. Thank you all for your comments, and I hope you are having a lovely weekend. We’ve had lots of wonderful connection with wonderful people all over the planet in the last 36hrs, and after tank-topping rains overnight today the sun is shining and the birds are singing, so I’m off to enjoy the rest of the day with the family.
Congratulations on your move. I notice in the picture there is a satellite Dish. You will never be free of the Matrix until you give up Television.
Hi M, good guess that is in fact a TV satellite dish. I am happy to report we have never had it connected while we have been here. Additionally we haven’t watched broadcast television in over six years. We do maintain a media library of documentaries, TV series and films that each of us enjoy. Our tastes have changed a lot while we have been out here. Audiovisual media to us is a tool each family member may employ to best meet their needs. We are constantly striving toward the freedom paradigm and do our best to avoid assigning arbitrary values or limits to anything. Our belief is all of us should be surrounded and supported by a tribe, and we notice when we share space with likeminded people, TV, internet or iPad games do not get a look in. But as this ideal is rarely our reality, audiovisual media do seem to help us and our children meet some of our needs that would otherwise remain unmet.
So good to hear of young people (you are half my age) doing this. I am so lucky that my parents left a war-ravaged London to move to South Devon. It was to an original gamekeeper’s cottage (cob walls and thatched roof) We had cold running water, no electricity, no phone, cooking by calor gas, half a mile from the nearest farmhouse. Oh but what a place to grow up in, as a child..roaming the fields, finding wild flowers and birds’ nests, always breathing fresh air..I will always be grateful for my childhood. I now live in a small town in North Yorkshire, UK ; having lost my partner of 32 years, I like the reassurance of being close to facilities with a wide circle of local friends ; in this country, with our lack of rural transport, it’s almost impossible to live in the heart of the countryside without a car (which in turn is leading to the destruction of country roads and air…what goes around comes around! Hang onto your wilderness while you still have it)
With admiration
Margaret Ellis
Margaret what a gorgeous comment and share. I am sorry to hear of your loss, to lose your best friend after 32 years 🙁
As what you have written captures, I am arriving at the realisation that the changes our societies have undergone in the last 2-3 generations have have really disconnected us from the fundamental experiences that lead to the more meaningful and enjoyable aspects of our human nature. After so many decades of “progress” we now have the laborious task of sifting through what changes have had a net benefit on our lives and their sustainability, and reviewing or repealing the rest.
Lovely to connect with you Margaret 🙂
Hi Chris, you should write a book. I love the way you explain and talk about things.
Aw that’s a heartfelt and encouraging compliment Erika, thank you! I plan to keep putting my writing out there and look forward to sharing more with you 🙂
Lovely post! I always find it exciting to hear about my fellow rural folk’s adventures. I’m glad you made it out!
And I’m equally happy to read in your bio that you’re committed to doing your best, because I’d like to bring your attention to the ableist language in your post (e.g.: “crippling”, “bipolar”). I hope that you will research further into ableism (Disabled Feminist’s “Ableist Word Profile” is a great place to start) so that we can exist with each other on Mother Earth on more peaceful terms. <3
Hi Andrea for some reason our satellite internet and the CE site thought my response should be placed under Reva’s comment above.
Hi Chris.
Great story. Really enjoyed it.
I have to ask though….Do you work at all or earn money since you began the transition? Or are you living in such a way that only a small amount is needed.
I’m really interested to know as I have called out of love with society and I am about to move from London to Israel. I’ll be in limbo for 5 months while I go on a government paid Hebrew course so I am currently planning my next step.
Like you I am an avid personal growth lover too :-).
Any way it would be great to chat and find out the answer to the above question.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Sam
sambendavid1@gmail.com
Hi Sam thanks for the appreciation. I discuss various aspects of income and expenses in the replies to others so I’ll just give a direct answer here. The answers are yes, yes and yes. Our expenses are now about 30% of what they were before. This has taken a lot of pressure off how we secure income streams, and given us more room to get creative and trial things. Yes we still require an income, but this will grow less and less as time goes on and we become increasingly self-sufficient foodwise and more resourceful in general. So for now I do some work as a psychotherapist, there’s donations to our self-help website, I’m experimenting with different ways to channel my ideas and writing, we’ve sold things we don’t use or need, we receive some government payments to assist with the costs of child-rearing. I should say I could have pursued full time work in the nearby town or the three mines in the area, and if I was single or a couple without young children that would likely be the case. But as we are a young family our first priority is to have a harmonious family life, so the ways we are seeking an income reflect that need for flexibility.
Great to connect with another lover of personal growth, all the best with the challenges and personal growth opportunities you describe that lie ahead 🙂
It’s not just about having freedom, but being able to apply it. It’s coming up with solutions without them being bungled and constrained by bureaucracy and petty politics. http://www.cabinintuition.com
Thanks for stopping by and linking your blog Dane. I enjoyed the read, best wishes to you and the family with your slice of off-grid paradise 🙂
I love your family and I wish you all the love, luck, and prosperity that nature has to give to you! Keep on’ keepin’ on!
Aw thanks Kelli! Your comment makes me smile every time I read it, and I’ve passed it on to the family where it received the same result 🙂
Good Read and thank you for the personal insight.
Thanks Marco!
Hello Chris, can I ask you something? How about money? Did you saved your money for this or are you working somewhere? It may be too personal question, but I am thinking about living in very similar way you do. But I don’t want to confine myself. For example living without electricity, water, and other basic things may be difficult without money. I hope you know what I mean, I’m not native english speaker so maybe there are some mistakes, I am sorry for that 🙂
Hi Palo. We did make a little on the sale of our last property to cover the deposit on our current off-grid home and settle some of our existing debts. The reality is we have been living week to week for at least six months. We haven’t completely solved how to make the money we need, our income sources are more diverse than they’ve ever been, i.e. Lots of little sums of money, rather than a single wage. Our relationship with money has changed a lot, this has gone hand in hand with all of our other lifestyle changes. Money is one of the only resources we could access in the city, we have so many more resources available to us out here. And people share resources much more willingly out here too, everyone helps each other out. The property we purchased already had reasonable power and water facilities, though we have had to upgrade and tweak all of it to meet our needs. While I can detail our experience, I’m not sure of your exact situation or location so I can’t comment on what may work for you.
Awesome. Well done sir. You have had the balls to follow your values. Very difficult to step away (or even recognise) that template.
Mark a very gracious compliment! Thank you. To give due credit, the woman in my life is very persistent and intuitive of our family needs, and the children very grounded and uncompromising in their needs. They pushed me to take stock of what wasn’t working, and what likely would work for our family 🙂