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Off the Grid, but Still Online

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Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#31

Post by whoiskevin »

comrh wrote: post #25
timmaah wrote: post #14

I've held an 8-4 developer job the last 3 years and hit up 36 different states. Right now I'm chilling at a most peaceful National Forest Campground in eastern Kentucky. http://www.watsonswander.com/assets/2015/10/IMG_6288.jpg

Did you save to make the trip or are you still working during (or both)? Were you an RVer before hand? Are you doing it alone? So many questions, I always thought this was an interesting avenue to take when considering "working remotely".

Tim works full-time and lives full time from their RV. Check out the home page of the site and you will get the full story: http://www.watsonswander.com/

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#32

Post by idlewords »

grecy wrote: post #28

If anyone is interested in this way of life, I suggest moving North. It's extremely beautiful and there are way less people. I moved to the Yukon 4 years ago, and a massive number of people live in this way. I.e. work less, own less, have way more time and live how you want. Hunt, fish, grow your own food, chop your own wood, and you can live a great life only working 20-50% time. Also there are hardly any rules up h…

How is the summer mosquito situation?

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#33

Post by copsarebastards »

ctdonath wrote: post #10

Don't underestimate how much effort and devotion to the lifestyle it takes. Most of us just want a "turnkey" lifestyle, buying whatever on a whim and expecting it to just work (plug-in gadgets, packaged foods), with even our "staples" coming in such perfect condition (box of nails from Home Depot, beautiful fruits at Whole Foods, etc.). To the contrary, off-the-grid requires devotion to the act of surviving from basi…

> I rant on this because of a taste this weekend, trying with mixed-to-poor results to get my BioLite Camp Stove (otherwise highly recommended) burning a good fire suitable for charging electronics via its built-in thermocouple generator (using the compact solar panels was pointless given cloud cover), and even now a separate solar self-charging battery is sitting on top of my car recouping from the draining usage on the trip (oops, left something on).

Yeah, this is the problem with trying to adopt new technologies. I like the idea of BioLite (and I have one) but it's just not a mature enough tech to support a lifestyle. I met the BioLite guys and they seem pretty proficient at using it to power their devices and cook, but I haven't been able to make it work with my routine.

For when I'm traveling via automobile, I've got a Honda 2000i Inverter Generator and a portable propane grill which do all of what the BioLite does and more. They're larger and less environmentally friendly, but they always work easily, and that's important.

When I'm hiking I use a JetBoil and having my phone in airplane mode most of the time usually gets me from outlet to outlet without problems.

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#35

Post by Luc »

grecy wrote: post #28

If anyone is interested in this way of life, I suggest moving North. It's extremely beautiful and there are way less people. I moved to the Yukon 4 years ago, and a massive number of people live in this way. I.e. work less, own less, have way more time and live how you want. Hunt, fish, grow your own food, chop your own wood, and you can live a great life only working 20-50% time. Also there are hardly any rules up h…

Aw, I'm so jealous of the amount of grand nature in North America.

It seems out of the question for me on a EU passport to live long term in Canada. You're lucky!

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#36

Post by codingdave »

zardo wrote: post #20
codingdave wrote: post #12

There are also middle grounds you can take. I, and other people in my area, live on homesteads, doing our organic / permaculture farming thing, growing our own food, expanding our solar arrays... while also having a good internet connection and a grid-tie so we can do our coding day jobs for part of the day, pay our bills, then shut down and spend the rest of our time in a more disconnected state. I wish I could disc…

That sounds like an interesting communinity, where do you live?

Central Utah - quite a few small family/hobby farms, but also I-15 comes down through Salt Lake and Provo, so there is a strand of civilization (jobs, people, etc) along the interstate south of Provo that makes the small towns be a little more suburban than you might expect. And many of us have quite decent internet connectivity - my town in particular has its own municipal network, currently at 120MB, and they are upgrading to gigabit fiber over the next few years.

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#37

Post by xaver »

ecobiker wrote: post #17

(Disclaimer: Slightly off-topic. Also, it's not my intention to belittle their lifestyle. I hope I don't come across that way.) Some of the things they need even in this disconnected lifestyle - like the mobile home, laptops, books, solar panels, batteries and even the slippers have to be made by someone doing a 9-5 job somewhere. The idea of civilization to me is to take advantage of these specialists who are really…

Unless they've stolen the goods they're using, they're interacting with civilization/capitalism on its own terms. What more can you ask?

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#38

Post by grecy »

idlewords wrote: post #32
grecy wrote: post #28

If anyone is interested in this way of life, I suggest moving North. It's extremely beautiful and there are way less people. I moved to the Yukon 4 years ago, and a massive number of people live in this way. I.e. work less, own less, have way more time and live how you want. Hunt, fish, grow your own food, chop your own wood, and you can live a great life only working 20-50% time. Also there are hardly any rules up h…

How is the summer mosquito situation?

Sometimes there are almost none, sometimes they are plague proportions. When they're really bad you just wear long sleeves/pants and a head net and it's totally fine.

It's a bit like the cold (i.e. past -40 C/F) , you get used to it, and it pales in comparison to the beauty you are enjoying.

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#39

Post by dougmwne »

OneOneOneOne wrote: post #29
ecobiker wrote: post #17

(Disclaimer: Slightly off-topic. Also, it's not my intention to belittle their lifestyle. I hope I don't come across that way.) Some of the things they need even in this disconnected lifestyle - like the mobile home, laptops, books, solar panels, batteries and even the slippers have to be made by someone doing a 9-5 job somewhere. The idea of civilization to me is to take advantage of these specialists who are really…

Right on. When considering lifestyle choices I ask myself how many people could live the same way. If it turns out to be a small minority before collapse, I reject it as a path for myself. To me off grid lifestyle seems a retreat from the goods of society without a commensurate benefit to self and others. As an art movement or experiment I say fine.

I’m sure some of these off-grid philosophies don’t hold water when you put it like that. However, consider that many people out there have been dealt a bad hand by society. They’ll never have the options or opportunities that most of us posting here take for granted. “Doing your part for society” may work for most of us, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Some people out there are going to have more peaceful and productive existences living at the margins.

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#40

Post by grecy »

Luc wrote: post #35
grecy wrote: post #28

If anyone is interested in this way of life, I suggest moving North. It's extremely beautiful and there are way less people. I moved to the Yukon 4 years ago, and a massive number of people live in this way. I.e. work less, own less, have way more time and live how you want. Hunt, fish, grow your own food, chop your own wood, and you can live a great life only working 20-50% time. Also there are hardly any rules up h…

Aw, I'm so jealous of the amount of grand nature in North America. It seems out of the question for me on a EU passport to live long term in Canada. You're lucky!

I'm Australian, and have gone through ~7 years of paperwork to become an Canadian Permanent Resident. I have another ~5 years for citizenship, which I'm working towards because Canada really is that awesome :)

I'm sure there are places equally as stunning in the Northern European countries.

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