Feb 11
16
I remember the first time someone asked us ‘ What does Living Off The Grid mean?’
The words did not come easy… the obvious non-connection to the grid always comes to mind, but there was (and is) so much more to it.
Then came the question, after a few years when the off grid movement caught on a bit , ‘what does living off the grid mean to you?’
How is it important? Why is it important? and how has the term evolved since we began, that is much harder to answer.
But I will give it a go. Then I will ask that you do the same, with your comments.
Earlier I used the word ‘evolve’ and that is truly what happened in our own case and in the case of others. Our life has changed, evolved if you will into a true adventure in pioneer living, homesteading, and of course off grid living.
It is all the same to us really. We never saw ourselves as pioneers in the true ‘land settler’ sense of the word, but no one in recent history had ever lived where we do now. That makes us homesteaders as well I guess.
Even our definition of off grid living has changed since we began. We had no idea that there were people out there who saw it as ‘ a form of hiding from the authorities, a way to drop off the grid, but you hear it in movies and even hear people talk that way.
Our definition does not really look at it that way, to hide, to leave society, to not contribute to the good.
In its basic sense it encompasses a true pioneer spirit of diy, do it yourself, being free from debt, status, greed and envy. Truly doing your best to provide for the needs of yourself and your family, using the resources that you have on hand, including renewable energy.
That may seem like a mouthful of hookie (toned it down for the kiddies there), but in its truest sense it is about living a simple life, a life that is based on frugal living, living off the land and providing for yourself.
A complete lack of dependency if you will, for it is really about independence. Declaring your independence from first the power grid, but also enhancing your life with fresh vegetables, renewable building materials and much more.
When Jane and I finally broke free of our electric bill (she called it a second mortgage each month) it was truly liberating. Perhaps not ‘burn your bra’ liberating (Jane’s comment there) but a real liberation for our family.
We had finally struck out on our own and were free, at least from one dependent who sucked the life out of our budget, and ourselves in the end.
After living off the grid for 16 years now we can confidently say that if we had to narrow it down to what it means to us in one word it would be… time.
There is real joy in sitting in the garden on a Tuesday afternoon having a cold beer after finishing up the garden work, while the rest of the world waits till 5.
Don’t get me wrong though, we worked damn hard to get to that point, put in days of work unending that looking back I did not know we were capable of. It makes those Tuesdays all the better.
This adventure has become for us ‘ a pursuit where the quality of our time is much more important that the quantity of our possessions’.
We are rich to some, dirt poor to others. In our hearts we know which is the truth.
When your life, your time and your soul become one you will know you are on the right track towards ‘living off the grid’.
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Hi, We moved to Spain from the U.K seven years ago and have decided to sell our luxurious townhouse and buy an old farmhouse in the mountains and start living off the grid, and miles from a grid network. The house has it’s own water reservoir, which is a big plus to me, as i had spent 18yrs in the UK working for a water company dealing with the filtration, treatment and analysis of drinking water. I already have a few ideas of my own regarding the recycling of the “Grey water” wash water. I find your site really interesting, as we intend to use both wind turbine and solar panels for our off grid lifestyle. Not sure what the rest of our friends and family are going to make of our life changing decision, but I’m sure that when they do the maths and see how much happier we’ll be, they’ll understand. All the best….Dave
I cannot put into words what an inspiration your story about living off the grid is to myself and my family. I dream to one day live as you do and hope that I can do that while my sons are still at home to learn to appreciate it.
Tina
I really appreciated this post, we are six months living off grid, and it wasnt easy. It was blood, sweat, tears, and more blood. We are still stunned form the experience and hope that one day we can say it was worth it. We are taking a break from working hard, but have a lot to do to get to where we can “drink beer on a tuesday afternoon”.
Thanks
I hear you, living off the grid can be tough to begin. It is worth it, we can tell you that. The first year we started with nothing, and built virtually everything we own, from a home to a garden to kitchen chairs and a table.
It occurred to me recently there is much truth in the saying ‘life is in the journey’. It is not the place, it is in the doing.
Here is the example: Jane and I have a favorite campsite off the grid, we love canoe tripping into the wilderness. It takes two full days of paddling and portaging to get to this particular place. It is a tremendous effort.
If someone was to build a road to this campsite and we could drive right to it in a couple hours??
Would it still be the same? You bet it wouldn’t. We had to work to get there.
Yes it’s hard work, but the confidence that it builds is immeasurable.
Keep at it, you will see for yourself.
By the way- even in the depths of building, working from sunup to sundown, we took most of Tuesdays off.
Yes, hammering, digging, and building beckoned, but mental discipline comes also from realizing that work is not the end in itself. Life is in the living, and in the journey. Pull up a lawn chair and take stock of what you have accomplished at least once a week. The journey will be much sweeter.
Believe us, after 17 years now, we know, that you can burn out pretty easy from the sometimes exhausting physical labor unless you are careful. Rest is just as important, and living off the grid gives you this opportunity better than any other.
That kind of living sounds great. One day I hope to have a cabin in the foothills of Eastern Kentucky & West Virginia (Appalachian Mountains) where I can live off the grid and off the land. Your story is an inspiration, Thanks.
Mark