# Living off the Grid



## matt01 (Oct 23, 2008)

Coming off the zombie thread, there was an interesting video about a guy who has a mostly self-sustaining operation in New Mexico. Provided there was a church, would you go for something like what he is doing?

Skitter's Guide to Self-Sustaining Life


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## ericfromcowtown (Oct 23, 2008)

Without knowing too much about the particular situation you're referring to, I'd say no. I'm sympathetic with the off-the-grid, self-sufficient folks, but I think that it would be hard to engage and be a light to your neighbours, when your only neighbours are black bears and racoons.


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## matt01 (Oct 23, 2008)

ericfromcowtown said:


> but I think that it would be hard to engage and be a light to your neighbours, when your only neighbours are black bears and racoons.



That is why I mentioned the ability to participate in the local church. Living way off in the wilderness would be hard to completely reconcile with the need to preach Christ. Living "off the grid" but close enough to be a member of the community (which maybe contradicts the whole idea), is what I had in mind.


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## ericfromcowtown (Oct 23, 2008)

sans nom said:


> ericfromcowtown said:
> 
> 
> > but I think that it would be hard to engage and be a light to your neighbours, when your only neighbours are black bears and racoons.
> ...



Okay. What I had in mind was a number of families living off the grid and sharing a small church, but without much interaction with the wider community. When I think "off the grid" I visualize a farm way out in "the boonies" without daily interaction with the world, but I guess it could look different.


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## Herald (Oct 23, 2008)

No, no and no.


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## Blue Tick (Oct 23, 2008)

I can appreciate the novelty of living off the grid or for that matter living off the land. But I'm a city boy. I like being around people, I like convenience stores, and most of all I like running HOT WATER! Ha! Ha!


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## VictorBravo (Oct 23, 2008)

Sure. I lived off-grid in the past. I never thought it was a big deal. I still had friends and talked to neighbors at least once a week. But I lived in a wide valley and you could see your neighbors out and about, even if they were 4 or 5 miles away.

I know of some people who live off-grid in the suburbs. It's really more a matter of technology than anything else, these days.


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## Zenas (Oct 23, 2008)

It's like camping: *all of the time.*

Awesome. I'd totally be down for it.

When the government fails because of how bloated and liberal its getting (pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered), we should set up an off the grid community somewhere pleasant, near a river.


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## Grymir (Oct 23, 2008)

Yes, I'd be all for it.


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## DMcFadden (Oct 23, 2008)

Zenas said:


> It's like camping: *all of the time.*
> 
> Awesome. I'd totally be down for it.
> 
> When the government fails because of how bloated and liberal its getting (pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered), we should set up an off the grid community somewhere pleasant, near a river.



Oh sure! Mr. I Wanna Be a Lawyer. You want to live off the grid??? The only reason for attorneys is to be the WD40 for lubricating the grid, the bubble wrap for packing books in packages mailed in the grid, the condiments on the table spread by the grid, the Bose noise reducing earphones that make life on the grid bearable. How can an aspiring young "shark," "slime ball," "puke sack," "ambulance chasing" "mouth piece" develop "black robe disease," become a "dump truck," get involved in a "wobbler," or plead a "SODDI defense" if you are off the grid??? I thought attorneys _were_ the grid!

[No offense, Andrew. Just teasing you a little. One of sons is an attorney, my brother teaches in a law school, my brother-in-law is an attorney, as was my wife's only uncle.]


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## TimV (Oct 23, 2008)

Everyone who's posted here except Vic would go crazy in one month.

I did it in Africa and PNG, when I was young an disciplined, and had lots of cheap labor. But now, one of the reasons I work so hard is so I don't have to live like a primitive serf.

Talking about crawling back into the slime......


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## satz (Oct 23, 2008)

No way.

I _love_ the "grid".


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## Puritan Sailor (Oct 23, 2008)

Is it the "grid" or the "Matrix" ? 

Sorry, I love Sci Fi...


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## Herald (Oct 23, 2008)

I was born plugged into the Matrix. Morpheus offered me the red pill and I told him to go jump in a lake.


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## Puritan Sailor (Oct 23, 2008)

North Jersey Baptist said:


> I was born plugged into the Matrix. Morpheus offered me the red pill and I told him to go jump in a lake.


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## VictorBravo (Oct 23, 2008)

TimV said:


> Everyone who's posted here except Vic would go crazy in one month.
> 
> I did it in Africa and PNG, when I was young an disciplined, and had lots of cheap labor. But now, one of the reasons I work so hard is so I don't have to live like a primitive serf.
> 
> Talking about crawling back into the slime......



 Tim, my idea of living off-grid these days includes investing about $200k in solar panels, wind and water generators, and having a hot spring on the property and a little 200hp 4WD tractor to do the garden work. It would be fine.


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## TimV (Oct 23, 2008)

> Tim, my idea of living off-grid these days includes investing about $200k in solar panels, wind and water generators, and having a hot spring on the property and a little 200hp 4WD tractor to do the garden work. It would be fine.



So it wasn't exactly Walden pond?


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## matt01 (Oct 23, 2008)

TimV said:


> Everyone who's posted here except Vic would go crazy in one month.
> 
> I did it in Africa and PNG, when I was young an disciplined...



Please don't assume you know all of us so well.



victorbravo said:


> Tim, my idea of living off-grid these days includes investing about $200k in solar panels, wind and water generators, and having a hot spring on the property and a little 200hp 4WD tractor to do the garden work. It would be fine



Not quite what I had in mind. The guy in the video didn't seem to have it that rough. Granted it was probably fairly pricey, but would be great to get away from the traffic again.


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## VictorBravo (Oct 23, 2008)

TimV said:


> > Tim, my idea of living off-grid these days includes investing about $200k in solar panels, wind and water generators, and having a hot spring on the property and a little 200hp 4WD tractor to do the garden work. It would be fine.
> 
> 
> 
> So it wasn't exactly Walden pond?



Well, my 25 year ago off-grid experience was sort of like Walden Pond (which actually is what inspired me). In winter I chipped ice for water, in summer I farmed rented ground. Slaughtered my own beef and ate deer, and grew beans.

I didn't even have a desire for electricity back then. Oil lamp, woodstove, and an old piano. Fairly pleasant days all in all.



sans nom said:


> victorbravo said:
> 
> 
> > Tim, my idea of living off-grid these days includes investing about $200k in solar panels, wind and water generators, and having a hot spring on the property and a little 200hp 4WD tractor to do the garden work. It would be fine
> ...



Actually, for around $15,000-$25,000, you could have a pretty decent power system that would run about everything most people need. It takes a bit of power management, but not at all harsh. That's what I meant by it being a matter of technology these days.


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## Grymir (Oct 23, 2008)

If I have Cable TV and Internet, would I still be off the grid? Maybe phone? Powered by my off the grid electrical system, while drinking well water?


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## VictorBravo (Oct 23, 2008)

Grymir said:


> If I have Cable TV and Internet, would I still be off the grid? Maybe phone? Powered by my off the grid electrical system, while drinking well water?



No, you'd be heterodox. But I'd let you in my neighborhood anyway.


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## matt01 (Oct 23, 2008)

Grymir said:


> If I have Cable TV and Internet, would I still be off the grid? Maybe phone? Powered by my off the grid electrical system, while drinking well water?



Why not? The guy in the video had a cell phone, and a microwave...Not sure that it would be as enjoyable as getting rid of all of these leashes.


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## Grymir (Oct 23, 2008)

victorbravo said:


> Grymir said:
> 
> 
> > If I have Cable TV and Internet, would I still be off the grid? Maybe phone? Powered by my off the grid electrical system, while drinking well water?
> ...



 heterodox  Now that's funny!


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## Pergamum (Oct 23, 2008)

TimV said:


> Everyone who's posted here except Vic would go crazy in one month.
> 
> I did it in Africa and PNG, when I was young an disciplined, and had lots of cheap labor. But now, one of the reasons I work so hard is so I don't have to live like a primitive serf.
> 
> Talking about crawling back into the slime......



Amen, 

I had enough "camping" in the army and enough lack of technology and fellowship right now...and I DO feel a bit LOONY  at times (see this months posts......)


I make every effort to stay connected and even buy very expensive gadgets to keep me ON the grid! (researching satellite systems at present)


Mr Slimey


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## Grymir (Oct 23, 2008)

mircowave? I'm fully on the grid and I use gas cooking!


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## jd.morrison (Oct 23, 2008)

sans nom said:


> Coming off the zombie thread, there was an interesting video about a guy who has a mostly self-sustaining operation in New Mexico. Provided there was a church, would you go for something like what he is doing?
> 
> Skitter's Guide to Self-Sustaining Life



What zombie thread?


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## matt01 (Oct 24, 2008)

jd.morrison said:


> sans nom said:
> 
> 
> > Coming off the zombie thread, there was an interesting video about a guy who has a mostly self-sustaining operation in New Mexico. Provided there was a church, would you go for something like what he is doing?
> ...




This thread: http://www.puritanboard.com/f24/bug-out-bag-when-zombies-come-38985/


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## Christusregnat (Oct 24, 2008)

*Could be forced to.*

If the grid collapses, we will be forced to. God will take care of His.


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## DMcFadden (Oct 24, 2008)

Grymir said:


> victorbravo said:
> 
> 
> > Grymir said:
> ...



Heterodox? Hmmmmm.  I KNEW that Barth stuff would get to you eventually!

Actually, Tim would probably do the best of any of us with his ability to make tasty food.


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## Grymir (Oct 24, 2008)

And the Cast Iron too!


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## Pergamum (Oct 24, 2008)

sans nom said:


> jd.morrison said:
> 
> 
> > sans nom said:
> ...




*I'm already surrounded by the living dead every day.....only they are not searching for any brains!*


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## panta dokimazete (Oct 24, 2008)

I'm from very rural MS, so all I will say is...

Country Boys can surviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive! 

_{but my Ft. Lauderdale wife would HATE it!}_


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## jd.morrison (Oct 24, 2008)

*I need to correct a myth about zombies...*



Pergamum said:


> *I'm already surrounded by the living dead every day.....only they are not searching for any brains!*



Let me correct this common misunderstanding... Zombies eat the flesh of the living, they do not just go after brains. There is the whole matter of the protective bone casing surrounding the good old gray matter. If a persons brain suffers any real damage due to trauma, it becomes more and more unlikely that the body will reanimate. Soft tissue is where it is at, it is easily accessible, soft, and is separated from the main body rather easily.

Trust me, if there is anyone qualified to be a zombie expert on Puritanboard it is going to be me...

I live in the zombie capital of the entire world...


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## Pergamum (Oct 24, 2008)

jd.morrison said:


> Pergamum said:
> 
> 
> > *I'm already surrounded by the living dead every day.....only they are not searching for any brains!*
> ...



WHAT! Zombies don't go for the brains? You are defying all 3 or 4 decades of Zombie lore!




P.s. I would like to know the origins of zombie tales.... where did this fascination come from? Anything pre-20th century and not related to Hatian zoodoo?


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## jd.morrison (Oct 24, 2008)

Pergamum said:


> WHAT! Zombies don't go for the brains? You are defying all 3 or 4 decades of Zombie lore!
> 
> P.s. I would like to know the origins of zombie tales.... where did this fascination come from? Anything pre-20th century and not related to Hatian zoodoo?



Well, brain eating zombies did not appear until the movie "Return of the Living Dead" back around the mid-80's. The thing that perplexes me is that that movie is a parody of the original movie, Night of the Living Dead.

While I believe that in the 50's there we one or two movies that were made about the "modern" zombies, the man who popularized the Walking Flesh Eating Dead was George Romero, in 1968, with the film "Night of the Living Dead". Romero is a Pittsburgh man , so he made most of his films here in Western Pa.

I have actually walked through and spent the night in the original cemetery that the film's opening scene and start of that survival horror was shot. It was pretty cool.

I can only think of Vlad the Impaler, (i.e. Dracula), as the only pre-20th century undead flesh eater.

If anyone has any other zombie questions, by all means ask


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Oct 24, 2008)

North Jersey Baptist said:


> I was born plugged into the Matrix. Morpheus offered me the red pill and I told him to go jump in a lake.


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## bconway52 (Oct 24, 2008)

jd.morrison said:


> Pergamum said:
> 
> 
> > WHAT! Zombies don't go for the brains? You are defying all 3 or 4 decades of Zombie lore!
> ...




Are zombies....real????


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## bconway52 (Oct 24, 2008)

VirginiaHuguenot said:


> North Jersey Baptist said:
> 
> 
> > I was born plugged into the Matrix. Morpheus offered me the red pill and I told him to go jump in a lake.



Haha!


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## biggandyy (Oct 24, 2008)

No. THIS is living off the grid.

My two cents, "Living Off The Grid" and "Self Sustaining Lifestyle" are oxymoronic in today's nomenclature. The "Self-Sustaining Lifestyle" crowd are just liberal fad-hawks looking to be hip and now. They think switching from plastic to hemp for their grocery bags is "self-sustaining".

I have lived off the grid both by choice and by force and it is ok when one is a bachelor. But now that I have a family the only way we will be off the grid is when the SHTF or it's TEOTWAWKI. (Financially the SHTF already). I am stocking up on strike steels, MREs, squirrel wire, tarps, chlorine tablets, warm clothes, knives, etc.


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## JBaldwin (Oct 24, 2008)

What do you mean by living off the grid? 

1) You completely separate yourself from the rest of the world (including internet and phones) and provide all your own food, electricity and heat? 
2) You provide your own heat, electricity and food, but you have ways to communicate with the outside world?

I understand from reading about folks who live "off the grid" that there are a number of levels. Some I've read about even live quite close to town and have regular jobs, but don't get their water, heat, and electricity from public sources. 

We live about five miles from town on a large chunk of land and hope some day to "get off the grid" at least with the power and heat. I don't think that either me or my husband would want to give up our internet.


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## Theogenes (Oct 24, 2008)

SHHHHHHHHH....the GRID is listening....


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## Theogenes (Oct 24, 2008)

And, MAYBE the ZOMBIES....


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## jd.morrison (Oct 24, 2008)

bconway52 said:


> Are zombies....real????



I have one word for you buddy...

YES







LOL! Obviously you have not seen the historic movie records of real events with real people...

I am a Zombie , and do lots of  on the subject, as well as  of the movie records...


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## matt01 (Oct 24, 2008)

JBaldwin said:


> What do you mean by living off the grid?
> 
> 1) You completely separate yourself from the rest of the world (including internet and phones) and provide all your own food, electricity and heat?
> 2) You provide your own heat, electricity and food, but you have ways to communicate with the outside world?



I don't see completely separating from the world to be a viable option for the Christain. I would like to be able to provide my own heat and electricity (or at least a portion of it), while also minimizing the dependence on grocery stores for our food (raising animals, farming, etc...). Of course, I currently live in a condo, in the middle of a huge population center, so it is all a dream.


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