Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast

Episode 128

10 Ways to Test Drive the Off Grid Life Before You Commit

If you have been following me at all, you already know that I have lived off the grid for many years. In fact, as of August 2023, I will have owned my homestead property for 27 years. I greatly enjoy the lifestyle that I have and would not have it any other way. It is one of the few things that has been a major driving force in shaping my adult life. 

Often times I wonder why more people do not choose to live the way I do. Perhaps it is fear of the unknown because it is such a different lifestyle. But if you are at all curious, in this episode I am going to give you 10 ways to test drive the off grid life before you commit. So stay tuned for episode 128. 

Welcome back everyone to the Adventures in Sustainable Living podcast. This is you host Patrick and this is E128 which is called Ten Ways to Test Drive the Off Grid Life Before You Commit. 

In some of my previous episodes I have discussed the true cost of sustainable living, the common myths of sustainability, our loss of energy security, changing our very instincts, going solar, how to manage many of your own resources, as well as many other topics. In many ways I have covered topics that build the very foundation for living off the grid. I am going to now take that one step further. In this episode, I want to give you ten different ways to  test drive this lifestyle before you actually commit to it. And in the end, I am going to let you in on the one most important lesson I have learned over my time of living off the grid. 

I will be the first to admit that I have indeed learned many things during the time I’ve lived off the grid. Many of those lessons were learned the hard way because I had no other choice. But that was simply the result of how I went about acquiring my property and building the cabin. For the first 5 years on my property I lived the true definition of a hard life. So what I did and how I went about things is not something I would generally recommend.

It all came about due to a series of choices I had to make. When I found the property that I eventually bought, I was only one year out of school. But I took one look at this land and instantly knew it was exactly what I had always wanted. But in order to purchase this place, I had to take a significant financial risk. 

At the time of purchase it was raw land. My initial payment was very high and there was simply no way I could afford to pay rent and make the mortgage payment. In order to make things work, I had to find a way to live on the property. Initially I lived in a small backpacking tent. Over the period of a month I built a 200 square foot wall tent that was insulated and had a wood stove. This was sufficient shelter to get me through until I was able to move into the cabin. 

Immediately after the purchase of the property I started construction on the log cabin. I took me 5 months of logging and construction work before the cabin was suitable for me to move in. I moved in on February 1st. I was all too happy to make the move because living in a tent at 10,000 ft in Colorado was not exactly an easy thing to do.  

Over time of course I have made many improvements of course. At this point I would have to say that I truly lack for nothing, I live very comfortably and am more than satisfied with how I live. But I also think that there are a lot of other people that would perhaps like to live a bit more outside mainstream but they are afraid to take the first step. 

Just like anything else, many people think about and talk about the off grid life and being self sufficient but never actually do anything about it.  Perhaps this is related to fearfulness or lack of knowledge. Most likely it is also related to not knowing where to start and the uncertainty of whether or not it is the right decision. 

Growing up with two working farms in the family certainly taught me a lot about self sufficiency. It truly was not something we talked about. It was simply the way we lived.  Despite the experiences in my childhood, nothing really prepared me for living completely off the grid. I committed to the idea and just did it without any forethought or planning.  This is more than most people would do.  So, if you are uncertain about this lifestyle then you should appreciate this discussion about ways to test drive the off grid life before you commit.

Living off the grid and being self sufficient is certainly a deviation from mainstream society.  There was a time in history when the off-grid life was the norm.  That is no longer the case in our fast-paced, technologically advanced, modern culture. In fact, globally nearly 50% of people now live in urban areas. In the United States that is as much as 80%. 

However, it now seems that in our culture there is a huge trend and increased desire for a simpler way of life. More and more people seek out a slower pace and a closer connection with nature.  A lot of people also desire a life with less interference and a bit more control over their basic necessities. These are all things that can be rediscovered in the off grid life.

That being said, how do you actually get in touch with these things? How do you test drive the off grid life before you commit. Well there is no better way to gain new knowledge and skill than real life experience. And I actually have 10 suggestions for how you can get a taste of the off grid life without actually committing to it full-time.

10 Ways to Test Drive the Off Grid Life  

1) RENT AN OFF-GRID CABIN

Privately owned cabins can be located in rental and vacation listings.

The majority of people with off-grid cabins do not use them full time.  They are often willing to rent their property when they are not around.  Amenities may be basic but rent is usually inexpensive.  

2) CONTACT YOUR REGIONAL FOREST SERVICE OFFICE.

Each regional office maintains a list of cabins for rent.  Sometimes these are very rustic, single room, isolated cabins that were built during the mining days. These are great historical remnants of a time when everyone had the off grid life.  But they can also be fairly nice, modern cabins. This could be an easy, inexpensive way to spend a couple of weeks out in the forest and try out your potential new lifestyle.  

3) CONTACT LOCAL REAL ESTATE AGENTS

Depending on the location, rural properties can sit vacant for a period of time before they sell.  Owners may jump at the opportunity to make a little cash while the place sits on the market. I’ve had mixed success with doing this but have also come across some awesome opportunities.  

4) DUDE RANCHES OFTEN HAVE CABINS FOR RENT.

Dude ranches attract a wide variety of clientele. This includes your basic “city slicker” that knows nothing about the outdoors and would never consider the off grid life.  Consequently, this option may not provide you with the best off-grid experience depending on what you are looking for. Usually ranch operations will build small groups of cabins relatively close together.  It is still worth investigating to see what you can find. Consider going in the off season when there are a lot fewer people. 

 5) RENT A SMALL RV AND TAKE A ROAD TRIP 

This could be an easy way to try the off grid life and do it in style.  RVs may be small but depending on what you rent they can be a compact house on wheels with modern amenities.  If you want peace and quiet, only stay in undeveloped areas or perhaps set up camp and stay in a central location. I’ve had really good luck finding nice quiet campgrounds in the off season when hardly anyone else is around. I’ve even parked my travel trailer for weeks in the same place. 

6) TAKE A LONG VACATION AND SPEND A COUPLE OF WEEKS IN THE WOODS.

This is a time to choose your own adventure and make of it what you want. You can rough it or live in style.  If you are willing to purchase a little bit of equipment, then acquire an outfitter’s tent for a few hundred dollars. These provide enough room for several people, a small wood stove, and decent head room. They are a bit more difficult to set up but would be a great option for a base camp. Just be aware that the Forest Service places a limit on the number of days you can stay in one location. 

I recently purchased a high quality four person three season cabin style tent for $375. This tent is tall enough to stand up in and has a nice entry way for storing gear. This is a perfect light weight travel tent for quick trips or for camping when my travel trailer is  snow bound for the winter. My point being, if you shop carefully you can come across some awesome deals. 

7) EXPERIENCE THE OFF GRID LIFE ON SOMEONE’S LAND. 

Off grid, undeveloped property is not difficult to find. These properties are often vacant for a long period of time because they can be difficult to sell. Access may also be limited because it is considered a recreational property.  Contact local real estate agents and see if someone is willing to rent their property.  More and more often I find people willing to lease their land to someone who wants the off grid life. 

Sometimes owners will even accept a nightly “camping fee”. There is actually a good market for this because more people are looking for a unique outdoor experience in a nice private location.  

 8) GET INVOLVED WITH LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT  FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE LIVING. 

Often times people that are involved in these organizations are more than willing to offer advice and share their experiences. This is a great way to get solid advice from people with hands on experience with rural, sustainable living. 

9) INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO A FARM OR RANCH OWNER. 

These folks are starting to realize there are a lot of people that want to get back in touch with rural life.  There are numerous opportunities to work with these folks and get your hands dirty as an introduction to their lifestyle. Some places are organized to do this on a regular basis. Just be aware that they may charge you a small fee to come work for free. This not only gives you a good introduction to a more rural life but also helps them to accomplish some of their projects.  

10) EXPERIENCE THE OFF GRID LIFE ABROAD 

There are a number of house sitting websites that post opportunities all over the world. I have found some very interesting opportunities. One of the most interesting jobs I’ve found was watching after a house, two cats, and a pig on a small private island, completely off grid.  Trust me when I say that it is not difficult to find these unique off grid opportunities. 

If you watch and wait, you can find properties where the owners want to get away from the off grid life for several months.  Most of the ones I’ve come across have all of the basic amenities plus/minus internet. This type of opportunity would be a great way to experience the off grid life in style.

Summary

Now I am sure there are numerous other suggestions for how to experience the off grid life but at least what I have given you here is a good place to start. I will have to say that living off the grid may be a more challenging lifestyle but it is also much more sustainable and a whole lot less expensive. 

The average person these days just simply wants to shop for property online and then pick something to purchase through a 30 year mortgage. Most people never question this process because it is so common place in our culture. However, if you take a close look at the structure of the 30 year mortgage you will quickly determine it is not your best friend. For example, if you were to purchase a property for $100K USD, over 30 years you would pay $300K USD for that property. Not only that but the way the interest is structure on a mortgage, it makes no difference if you focus on paying down the principle. Regardless of what you do, you are going to pay the same interest. This is how the bank is guaranteed to make their money. Meanwhile, you are out of pocket three times what you actually paid for the property. 

What I did when I purchased my homestead property is mortgaged only the land. All improvements were paid for a little at a time and paid for in cash. I managed to pay off the land in 14 years. This is simply the result of starting out small and making improvements a little at a time. The end result is that not only did I save a tremendous amount of money but I also was able to get completely out of debt. 

I will be the first to admit that the off-grid life is a bit more challenging. It has its pros and cons just like anything else. But with a little forethought and planning you can have a nice comfortable place to live, be completely debt free, and have a whole lot more personal freedom and a whole lot more free time to pursue the things you enjoy. So, after listening to this episode I hope you are anxious to try the off grid life now that you have some great options. This is a great way to choose you own adventure and have some fun.

Now as promised, I am going to share with you the most important lesson I have learned with living off the grid. Over the time that I have had the podcast and the blog I have been contacted by numerous people with questions about living off the grid. Some of these folks live in RVs, some in tents, some in very small cabins. Most of these folks seemed to me that they were living pretty rough, much the same as I did when I first purchased my property. 

There is one thing that I say to everyone. The reason I have lived off the grid for as long as I have and I still love the lifestyle and will likely never give it up is that I have always strived to produce a high quality of life. It does not matter if you live on an island paradise or on top of a mountain, if you are always living hard, always struggling, you are not going to be happy and you are not going to stay with it. It is okay to struggle and work hard. In fact, my lifestyle will always require a certain amount of physical labor. But this keeps me outside and keeps me fit. But at the end of the day, unless you strive to produce some measure of ease and comfort you are not going to be happy. 

The same could be said for a life in the city. You may have this huge really nice house, but if you are financially up to your neck in debt and you are living only to work, how can you possible be happy? So, no matter what you do or how you choose to live, always strive to produce a high quality of life that is in line with what you value. That is the most important lesson I have learned with living off the grid and that is the reason I keep doing it. So, give it a try. Keep life simple. Be debt free. Focus on the things that bring value into your life. 

Well folks, I hope you have enjoyed this episode and I hope it has encouraged you to give the off grid life a chance. It certainly makes me happy and it is there very foundation of my sustainable lifestyle. 

I want to close this episode with a quote from H. Jackson Brown, Jr, who is a well known author. 

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowline. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore. Dream. Discover.” 

That said, I would have to say from personal experience that living your best life requires taking a chance. So, take a chance. Go off grid. Live sustainably. 

This is your host Patrick signing off. Always remember to live sustainably because this is how we build a better future.