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Would you live off of the grid?

Would you live off of the grid?

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I’ve often thought warmly about the notion of living off of the grid.

Please add your own ideas on this, but to me that would mean the following:

- rural, isolated location
- no internet
- no TV
- no phone; landline nor mobile
- no utility services such as piped water, sewage or cabled electricity and piped gas

Would you go further with no medical services and even being self sufficient with food? UK members might remember the lovely now nostalgic and yet naive TV series “The Good Life.

I’ve gotta be honest … I really couldn't be doing with it.

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@diver said
I’ve often thought warmly about the notion of living off of the grid.

Please add your own ideas on this, but to me that would mean the following:

- rural, isolated location
- no internet
- no TV
- no phone; landline nor mobile
- no utility services such as piped water, sewage or cabled electricity and piped gas

Would you go further with no medical services an ...[text shortened]... c and yet naive TV series “The Good Life)

I’ve gotta be honest … I really could be doing with it.
I would do it. You need to have a good woman with you. Not many can handle that lifestyle.
Catch rain water and live near a river.
Use Sat tv and internet.
Use solar power.
Got to have some money to set it up.
Make sure you in good health.

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@diver said
I’ve often thought warmly about the notion of living off of the grid.

Please add your own ideas on this, but to me that would mean the following:

- rural, isolated location
- no internet
- no TV
- no phone; landline nor mobile
- no utility services such as piped water, sewage or cabled electricity and piped gas

Would you go further with no medical services an ...[text shortened]... nd yet naive TV series “The Good Life.

I’ve gotta be honest … I really couldn't be doing with it.
No. not now with my medical issues, I wouldn't have had a problem when I was younger. Surprising what can happen in a couple of decades.

-VR

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AND GIVE UP PLAYING CHESS WITH IDIOTS AROUND THE GLOBE !?!!??


pass

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It’s a romantic idea but I’d never cope without a vacuum cleaner. Just imagine all of those bugs and mites crawling around the place? I’m more of a Tiny Homes fan.

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@diver said
I’ve often thought warmly about the notion of living off of the grid.

Please add your own ideas on this, but to me that would mean the following:

- rural, isolated location
- no internet
- no TV
- no phone; landline nor mobile
- no utility services such as piped water, sewage or cabled electricity and piped gas

Would you go further with no medical services an ...[text shortened]... nd yet naive TV series “The Good Life.

I’ve gotta be honest … I really couldn't be doing with it.
Some form of escapism? Would we be happy with that? Are we unhappy because of the comfortable lives we live?

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@Torunn said
Some form of escapism? Would we be happy with that? Are we unhappy because of the comfortable lives we live?
What I like about growing older is being less materialistic & self indulgent. A bit of self inflicted hardship like a walk in the freezing rain and delaying a meal does it for me. I’m now much happier with my simpler life.

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@Drewnogal said
What I like about growing older is being less materialistic & self indulgent. A bit of self inflicted hardship like a walk in the freezing rain and delaying a meal does it for me. I’m now much happier with my simpler life.
So true. Letting go of the demands one feels of having to do things because there is so much to experience - if I haven't done them so far, soon 81 years old, why do them? A sigh of relief: I don't have to.

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@Torunn said
So true. Letting go of the demands one feels of having to do things because there is so much to experience - if I haven't done them so far, soon 81 years old, why do them? A sigh of relief: I don't have to.
Being 70 next year has really changed attitude on life. I’m now accepting and embracing my older age and am thankful for all I have.

You seem to have it just right 👍

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@Drewnogal said
Being 70 next year has really changed attitude on life. I’m now accepting and embracing my older age and am thankful for all I have.

You seem to have it just right 👍
The great advantage with being old is experience and a more realistic attitude what might happen and what can I expect. 🙂 ❤️

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@Drewnogal said
Being 70 next year has really changed attitude on life. I’m now accepting and embracing my older age and am thankful for all I have.

You seem to have it just right 👍
70 is a good age, Drew, especially with a clear mind and a healthy lifestyle which you have.

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@Torunn said
Some form of escapism? Would we be happy with that? Are we unhappy because of the comfortable lives we live?
Yes I think that is why people do it.
I wouldn’t be, as I mentioned.
I don’t know the answer to that I’m afraid.

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@diver said
I’ve often thought warmly about the notion of living off of the grid.

Please add your own ideas on this, but to me that would mean the following:

- rural, isolated location
- no internet
- no TV
- no phone; landline nor mobile
- no utility services such as piped water, sewage or cabled electricity and piped gas

Would you go further with no medical services an ...[text shortened]... nd yet naive TV series “The Good Life.

I’ve gotta be honest … I really couldn't be doing with it.
It would be terribly hard going cold turkey, from one day to the next. I'm willing to do without some of the unnecessary luxuries, one at a time though. I try to buy food from local farmers, for example, milk and seasonal fruits & veg--less and less from supermarkets in plastic-wrapped containers. Strawberries in February are absurd, IMO; we would be more appreciative of nature's bounty if we remembered that fruits and vegetables are seasonal.

Food self-sufficiency is not scaleable for individuals; very few could really manage it, even on a neighbourhood basis where one family grows tomatoes and potatoes and they swap with a family which grows quinces and apples.

I am very much in favor of energy being produced much closer to the point of consumption, and this is getting more realistic every year (every year that Trump is not in office, anyway). Balcony solar panels are getting affordable, and in tandem with roof-mounted water heaters, can realistically supply electrical power and hot water for a family dwelling, provided you wash your dishes by hand and dry your clothes in the garden, not in machines.

I got rid of my land line phones long ago--now have only a mobile phone and data-only Internet link for playing online chess.

Piped water and sewerage is necessary for those who live in towns. Living with a well and a septic tank is feasible only for people who have a lot of ground in a rural area with an accessible water table--nice in theory, but not scaleable, IMO.

Medical services ... well, I married a Dr. med., so that's covered. If there's an issue she can't cover, she'll know how to get help.


🙂

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@moonbus said
It would be terribly hard going cold turkey, from one day to the next. I'm willing to do without some of the unnecessary luxuries, one at a time though. I try to buy food from local farmers, for example, milk and seasonal fruits & veg--less and less from supermarkets in plastic-wrapped containers. Strawberries in February are absurd, IMO; we would be more appreciative of nat ...[text shortened]... . med., so that's covered. If there's an issue she can't cover, she'll know how to get help.


🙂
Great to hear you support local farmers. I get milk from a farm vending machine where you can see their cows happily grazing in the fields. I also pay realistic prices for a weekly organic veg box from a great organisation that doesn't screw farmers like the supermarkets do, set up by Guy Singh-Watson of Riverford Organic Farmers

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@Drewnogal said
Great to hear you support local farmers. I get milk from a farm vending machine where you can see their cows happily grazing in the fields. I also pay realistic prices for a weekly organic veg box from a great organisation that doesn't screw farmers like the supermarkets do, set up by Guy Singh-Watson of Riverford Organic Farmers

[youtube]nBwylnw-ibk?si=PiwyOe8Ec2aXL1L_ [/youtube]
Great idea, weekly seasonal box of fruits & veg, delivered to your door. I think people should stop driving to supermarkets to get food. This is highly destructive of the environment. Much more sensible would be for people to order things online and have a delivery van make deliveries to a whole neighbourhood on a weekly basis.

PS on access to medical care: if people lived more healthily--better diet, more exercise, cleaner air--they wouldn't need so much medical care.