Living off the grid

i moved to arequipa peru. its worth googling. prior to that i had lived in multiple cities in peru and mexico. tn phoneman was right though, i suppose u could do it in the u.s. as well. in the u.s. i had only ever lived in sf and ny. mexico has become to expensive, i had a house there with two pools and a jacuzzi and 2 maids for 700 u.s. (not a joke) but now the same thing costs 2k alone. oh i forgot the point of being an expat. cost of labor: $300 u.s. per month for a full time worker; a very good wage here with quite a few native speakers. over 100 applications every time i have an opening.

having only lived in major u.s. cities all i recall is getting fined for not trimming my tree branches, my neighbors getting fined for over-trimming theirs. cameras at every traffic stop and you pull two feet forward to let the guy behind you make a right and in a few days get a $150.00 ticket in the mail. i remember i couldn't build a home on my own property because of one protected tree that wasn't even native to the area; i eventually had to build the house in the shape of an 8. i remember spending 2 hours commuting per day and $500 a month on gas. this had become my America. i grew up in the 70's and we didnt have any of that shit. i cant even imagine a place where being off the grid is legal, but i have only lived in urban places, although they were country when i was a kid. i suppose my outlook is polarized and i'm happy tnphone has found this way of life that i was certain no longer existed.

Yeah you have to get away from the city to do most of what I am doing. Even solar in some cases because of the Home Owners Associations. I wanted a place where if I wanted to paint my house purple with green stripes and yellow polka dots I could. I found that place... LOL

Glad that you found your place too.
 
I think it's important to be able to live off the (physical) grid. Maintaining one's ability to survive without technology is important. But to me, there is no point in working hard to achieve a level of comfort, and then choose to live without that comfort. So I am content to live in the air conditioning, with my big LCD monitor and high-speed internet.

A lot of these "Doomsday Preppers" are completely missing the point. Even in a worst-case scenario, people are still going to demand order. Everyone assumes that roving gangs of thugs are going to terrorize the civilized citizenry when in fact just the opposite will be true. Civilized people will go hunting the animals, and will kill them. It only took a few (native american) indian raids to polarize and galvanize the american popluation against them, and where are they today? There will be no "miranda rights", no due process, no trial and no jury. Rape a woman? Steal food? An emergency meeting of the folks and and posse is dispatched, badda-bing, badda-boom, there's 220 lbs. of dead asshole hanging from a tree. "Animal people" will have more to fear from the civilized than vice versa, because when the trappings of civilization fall away and you get to the bare meat & bones, the interests of the whole will always out-weigh the "rights" of the few troublemakers. The entirety of civilization was not created to protect the "rights"of the criminal element; it was created to ensure the survival of the whole. That dynamic will still be the first principal even after a nuclear & biological holocaust.
 
Thats very adventures to hear. But thats not for me I guess. Enjoy while you can and with whom you can. Thats what I usually do. But, hey have a nice time. And let us know about your good time.
 
you ever heard of Jaimie Mantzel? this guy is uber awesome
he lives in the woods in a big dome he built
he also builds a giant robot spider and the "Greatest Toy in the Universe":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_AqXCw1SYs

he has a ton of videos, this is a little old but a good sum-up:
 
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I Stayed at out hunting club for 4 years straight, i had no electric, no sewer, no running water.. Only entertainment i had was a battery powered radio and a CB radio that was hooked up to my truck... I Had to go to the creek to get water so i could take a shower in.. All my food and other that needed to stay cold like milk we had a cooler modified that set in the creek with rocks stack around it to keep it from getting swept away.
 
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