Off the Grid, but Still Online • Hacker News Board

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#151

Post by ZeroGravitas » Tue, Oct 13, 2015, 8:01 AM UTC

lumberjack wrote: post #47

If you're using a gas generator you're not being off-grid. You still depend on society to provide you with gas. You are just being inefficient.

We had this discussion the last time "off-grid" came up.

Some take it's meaning more literally, with grid meaning pipes or wires delivering services to your home.

So gas being piped into your generator would be on-grid, if it gets trucked in then that's off-grid. Electricity via wires is on-grid, electricity via a factory built solar cell or windmill is off-grid.

Others have a more poetic definition of "off-grid" as "self-sufficency" though it's hard to see where that ends, as there's no clear dividing line, even a child born in a remote rainforest tribe with no contact with the world will end up using tools and techniques passed on by local culture.

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#152

Post by toothbrush » Tue, Oct 13, 2015, 8:33 AM UTC

mrbill wrote: post #74

Retric wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FedEx works because people near you also need packages. The more packages they ship the more efficient they become. Also, the US population density is ~100 people per square mile so chances are good someone within 1 mile of you also needs a package today. Sure, it's cheaper for them to drop off 10 packages at the same apartment complex, but even fairly remote areas can be surprisingly profitable.

I was surprised that UPS will now do overnight delivery of Amazon orders to my mom's house in rural Oklahoma (she's at least a mile from her nearest neighbor), even though the truck originates from Lawton, OK - 50 miles away according to Google Maps. Her "broadband" connection is a 2-6/2Mbps Wimax connection via an antenna on the roof to the nearest town a few miles away. It's still weird being able to sit out "in th…

> Quite a change from a few years ago when all she could get was 21.6Kbps dialup, and I had to send her a literal pile of USR Courier modems with instructions "if you have a lightning storm and the modem won't work the next day, throw that one in the trash and plug in another from the stack."

With all due respect, that seems very decadent. Back when we lived in the sticks, the (simple) rule was to just unplug (from power as well as POTS) all electronic equipment when not in use. Never lost a modem to a thunderstorm in those days!

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#153

Post by bproctor » Tue, Oct 13, 2015, 8:52 AM UTC

christiangenco wrote: post #124

Oh hey, my wife and I just started doing this kind of thing. We bought a 2002 23-foot RV for $15k and renovated it to nicer furnishings than our $1.2k/month apartment near Dallas where she was working. Now we live in it full time! We're only a month in, but it's been a blast, and something I can see doing for the foreseeable future. Every new city we visit we can explore at our own pace, while spending less than we w…

Wow, that's awesome! My wife and I just recently did the same thing. We are 3 months in and really loving it. Currently in Carson City, NV.

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#154

Post by pjc50 » Tue, Oct 13, 2015, 10:44 AM UTC

Last month I visited Peru. One of the many things I saw there was the floating islands of Lake Titicaca; giant reed rafts that are essentially a houseboat community. It's a lifestyle on the intersection between genuine traditional existence, rural poverty, and roleplaying one's own history for tourist dollars.

One of the islanders let us see inside her house; a straw construction maybe 1m by 2m. And in the corner was a car battery powering a black and white CRT TV, powered by the solar panel on the roof.

(I could probably also talk about crofting in Scotland, a similar kind of remote lifestyle)

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#155

Post by talsraviv » Tue, Oct 13, 2015, 2:21 PM UTC

grecy wrote: post #145

talsraviv wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That part I'm sold on. I'm wondering about, as another comment mentioned, what happens if you discover one day you're not self sufficient, even temporarily (significant illness, chronic illness, major injury - or something I'm not considering). If I don't want to be a burden on anyone on the grid, but don't want to depend on social services, how do I factor that in?

I assume you're American, because you're worried about health/insurance. I've never lived like that, so excuse me if what I say makes no sense. Can you not find an insurance policy that's affordable even when working part time? i.e. consider health insurance like other expenses that are very hard to entirely remove (some food, gas, car insurance, building materials, etc.).. i.e. most people wind up working something…

Definitely possible. And you guessed it - American.

Is health insurance the only thing to worry about? Any other reasons to save up a lot of money, or something to insure for?

For example, if a medical issue arises, insurance covers treatment, but if it's now difficult to sustain myself, am I now dependent on unemployment/social services (or savings)?

I lead a minimalist/nomadic lifestyle now, and always wondering if at some point the music has to stop and I have to integrate into the system as I get older (any kids, family aside).

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#156

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Oct 13, 2015, 2:31 PM UTC

Klinky wrote: post #140

Retric wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are less than 4 million miles of road in the US. At 1$ per mile you can send a truck down every one 6 days a week for 1.3 billion a year. (Note, there would be some backtracking but also some roads are avoided.) FedEx's revenue is 45 billion a year so the last mile is not a problem as long as the volume is there. On top of that if you live in the middle of nowhere they simply don't deliver to you. So, if more p…

The drivers alone probably cost more than $1/mile, then you have gas and maintenance. FedEx had $45B revenue with $2B net income, not exactly huge margins. Obviously there is more to package deliver than just the raw cost of getting a package from a local sorting center to the end of a rural driveway. At the moment, a lot of the cheap rural shipping is being subsidized by the USPS.

[deleted]

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#157

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Oct 13, 2015, 2:46 PM UTC

hactually wrote: post #137

turar wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't Australia have its own vast remote wilderness? Or is freezing cold preferable to scorching hot?

Surely New Zealand is an easier hop for those things?

[deleted]

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#158

Post by grecy » Tue, Oct 13, 2015, 3:14 PM UTC

hactually wrote: post #137

turar wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't Australia have its own vast remote wilderness? Or is freezing cold preferable to scorching hot?

Surely New Zealand is an easier hop for those things?

What makes you think I want easy?

The harder something is, the more rewarding it is.

Also Canada has reliably much better snow, and way, way more wilderness.

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#159

Post by onnoonno » Tue, Oct 13, 2015, 3:17 PM UTC

nether wrote: post #131

marincounty wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the dating ritual depends on the city. I probally shouldn't say this, but I see many single women move to San Francisco, and while if they get housing, they enjoy big-city events, but dating is not one of them here. San Francisco is not a good place for straight women to date. No one talks about it, because it's not politically correct, but in my observations they come here, and are lonely. There's just too m…

It's well established from census data that SF has a surplus of single men, not women. More political incorrectness: women in SF should "woman up" and initiate the approach. Why must they play the passive role? Also, guys naturally are less likely to approach a woman who's out of their league.

Some decades of reengineering the gender relations didn't change this passive role at all - so why do you expect this to ever change?

Re: Off the Grid, but Still Online

#160

Post by grecy » Tue, Oct 13, 2015, 4:00 PM UTC

talsraviv wrote: post #155

grecy wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume you're American, because you're worried about health/insurance. I've never lived like that, so excuse me if what I say makes no sense. Can you not find an insurance policy that's affordable even when working part time? i.e. consider health insurance like other expenses that are very hard to entirely remove (some food, gas, car insurance, building materials, etc.).. i.e. most people wind up working something…

Definitely possible. And you guessed it - American. Is health insurance the only thing to worry about? Any other reasons to save up a lot of money, or something to insure for? For example, if a medical issue arises, insurance covers treatment, but if it's now difficult to sustain myself, am I now dependent on unemployment/social services (or savings)? I lead a minimalist/nomadic lifestyle now, and always wondering if…

>Is health insurance the only thing to worry about?

Stop thinking up a list of things to worry about, and start doing what you want to be doing.

Nothing in life is permanent, so make a leap, try and out and see what you think. Maybe you'll do it for a few years, then go back to doing something else. You'll never know unless you try, so hurry up and go for it.