By Grid I mean the electrical grid which I suppose one could do anywhere on earth if they so choose. But it likely would be harder to do in city or suburbia unless one has a lot of sun and solar panels on their roofs.
So, if you choose not to be on an electrical grid for now, or permanently depending upon your inclination, just remember that it will affect both for better or worse (usually both) every other aspect of your life. So it is usually better to think about the consequences of your actions ahead of time. However, when I did this I was about 32 to 37 years of age and it was 1980 to 1985 in Northern California on the side of Mt. Shasta at about 4000 feet in elevation on 2 1/2 acres of land that we built an A-Frame on.
At the time the national economy was a lot like right now. The unemployment rate was approaching 10%. So we decided we could greatly reduce our expenses each month as a family by buying land, selling one of our vehicles to buy lumber and building and A-Frame that could withstand the 7 feet of snow that could be on the ground at any one time there from December to April or later. This was how we as a family chose to weather the storm of the last big recession somewhat like this one. The big difference this time is that the whole world is in a recession except for China and India so it might take years longer to recover this time in regard to employment rates.
So, when we took our savings and bought the land and then sold one of our vehicles for buying lumber we decided to buy land that had no grid electricity available and still doesn't now because of its remoteness. This would also keep the land value low and so our property taxes would stay low as well. There was a spring on the land to draw water from but we chose not to drink it unless we boiled it even though it might have been okay to drink just for safety. Mostly, we drew drinking water from springs near the city of Mt. Shasta about 30 miles away at that time.
Also, at that time we were home schooling our children who in 1980 would be ages 5,6, and 8 years of age. Today, one is a lawyer, one is a fire captain and one is in nursing school in the final stages. But at that time our main goal was a pristine good wholesome life for our children out in nature on a low budget. So, to some degree we lived a wilderness family existence with all its good and bad outcomes.
The best times to be there were in Fall and spring because in the summer it would get dry and the dust from the dirt on the volcanic roads around Mt. Shasta could be a problem in the summer. In the winter it was fun playing in the snow until it got too deep(usually anything over 2 feet of newly fallen snow on the dirt roads was too deep to push through with my 4-wheel drive International Harvester Scout II 1974. We bought a 6 cylinder engine for better mileage but it could still pull a pretty large trailer if I need to haul something. In the snow it was unmatched by anything else stock. In addition to four wheel drive it had a locked rear end which was pretty incredible. I had to be careful not to go somewhere four wheeling for fun and get the International stuck for several months because nothing else could go where I could unless it was a snowmobile or weasel with tank treads. But I was old enough by then to think of my families safety first rather than just snow play.
Solar cells during that time were not that practical yet like they are now. Good rechargeable batteries and small devices like GPS, cellphones, and even music and TV on Cellphones wouldn't be invented for quite a while yet. There were people I knew who lived off the grid like us then who put a car alternator on an Exercycle and had their kids get exercise if they wanted to watch TV. The TV only worked if they were on the Exercycle with the pedals spinning. A lot of kids and parents stayed in shape this way.
Mostly, we stayed awake during the daylight hours and when it got dark and cold we would light up our wood burning stove to make the A-Frame cabin toasty. We learned to put a cast iron skillet on top of the stove so it wouldn't dry out the air too much and crack our lips until they bled. A cast iron skillet or pan is not a fire hazard even if all the water boils out. Whereas a regular pan can melt if there is no liquid inside at high temperatures and become a fire hazard. So we would fill the cast iron skillet before we went to bed at night and it would humidify the air all night long until it all boiled out or not.
For lighting we started with candles and candle lanterns which are fine except they don't really give off enough light for reading without eye strain if you do it on a regular basis. So we bought a couple of Aladdin kerosene lamps
http://www.farmhomesupplycenter.com
If you go to the above site and type in "aluminum kerosene shelf lamp" the top two on the left are like what we had by Aladdin. Ours were brass. The hardest thing to get used to is the kerosene smell and the glare because it is so bright if adjusted properly. However, they are the brightest light of any kerosene lamp that I have found and the best for reading or living if you can stand the kerosene smell. But for a cabin for a weekend it is a treat. Living with it every day you might not want to unless you are really trying to save money on electricity. But to each his own.
However, there is a lot to be said for this pristine lifestyle. It is a way to maximize your quality time with your kids and wife and teach them about nature and flying squirrels and deer and bear and whatever else lives in the woods and walks across your land.
Also, I found it was best to be kind and helpful to neighbors because that remote you want them on your side in a pinch even if you think they are a little crazy from being alone in the woods too long. I saw many strange things while living remotely and have now come to the conclusion that the safest place to live is in suburbia generally. The urban life can be dangerous and the remote life can be dangerous just in completely different ways. But the craziest people I have ever met were in the deep city urban neighborhoods and the most remote places I have lived. On the other hand you just might just also meet some of the most amazing people you have ever met as well.
You have to present yourself as a strong person that might have weapons: guns, clubs, knives, swords etc. even if you don't believe in stuff like that. You need to present yourself like you can take care of yourself and you don't want to appear weak if you are a man especially. And being helpful and neighborly is important as well.
Living in the country like I was, 10 miles from the nearest small town or service station with no phones and likely no cell service still, the only people you could depend on in an emergency are your family and your neighbors. And living this remotely should not be attempted unless your health and the health of all members of your family is good to begin with that will be living there.
But looking back now, it was living my dream of building my own house myself like my father had before me and about 4 to 5 very good years of home schooling our kids using "Oak Meadow School" school which still exists now. I saw it online recently almost 30 years from when we started our kids in kindergarten, first grade and fourth grade respectively.
These years when I was young enough to still be healthy and yet just old enough to know what I was doing were 5 of the best years of my life, living on the mountain, watching the sunrise on the mountain, newly fallen snow, a flying squirrel standing upside down on the side of a big cedar tree and scolding me for being too close while I laughed in amazement and pure joy. All these things I can never replace. So if this works for you and saves you enough money to keep your family together and happy together then go for it!
Since there was no electricity or water bills and since the land and house were paid for and since all our vehicles were paid for during this time our only real expenses were food(which we bought in bulk monthly from a health food Co-op to save money), gasoline to run our vehicles and not much else at that time. So our monthly expenses were almost nonexistent during that time in our lives. Property taxes once a year were one of our biggest expenses. So before you buy land find out what the property tax structure is on the land before you buy it. Every county and state is a little different in how they support themselves as local government.
By 1985 the economy was better and our oldest was 12 and wanted to return to public school so we bought a business on the Northern California coast and moved there where our expenses were again very high to afford to live there. So, we went from living in the woods on Mt. Shasta to living right on the ocean in a pine forest overlooking the ocean. But the satisfaction of living so remotely and simply while home schooling our children can never be replaced in my memories and just thinking about it gives me the strength to go on even now at age 61.
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