IS IT WORTH IT?
A loyal minion asked, is it worth it? Living off the grid. Roughing it. Most folks, secure in a weather proof mansion with a vegetable plot and a couple of chickens, living next to a national forest with $20 a cord wood permits available, in debt with the bank for their mortgage and truck purchase, would of course say "yes". They are comfortable, thinking their pensions or 401(k) or Social Security check secures them against the ravages of reality. They believe their grid can't crash, their pantry inexhaustible. I'm a lot more paranoid than that and won't take on debt, so I'm squatting on junk land in a trailer. Their ain't no comfort involved. So the question is, without the regular amenities associated with farming and back-to-the-landers, is it worth it?
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Worse case scenario, I have to move down the road to my lot that's paid off already. A lot further from town, running water, a decent road. Then, I pay ten dollars a year taxes. That is my only housing expense. I only need food then. I have dig a hole in the ground and burn sage brush for cooking and heat. I have enough silver saved up for that ( assuming civilization holds together ). I can afford to give up the vehicles, the cell phone, a few other expenses. Bare bones survival. And my stored food will get me through the initial danger of a collapse. I think I'm well set up. I didn't want to live in Carson and have to worry about traveling here when the time came. Too much could go wrong, from mechanical failure to gas shortages to government travel restrictions. Living here, I'm one tenth a gas tank away from where I need to be, all accessible on back roads ( bypassing I-80 ).
This last weekend, I woke up to thirty degrees. Anymore, not unusual. I layered up as usual. But, it took a bit of time to warm up and I got so cold the chill didn't leave me all day. I could have done the sensible thing and went outside and cleared brush or dug in my hole to warm up. Instead, I started feeling sorry for myself. I sat in my chair and started moaning and pissing about how I wanted to live down south were it never got cold. At first, the wife was in complete agreement. As the hours went by with me still ranting and raving and pouring over an atlas, she got a bit pissy herself. She finally snapped that I was being stupid, once again willing to move based on encountering difficulties. Ouch. That hit a little close to home. Guilty as charged. The fact was, wanting to move was stupid. I've put almost all of my investments into Elko. To move would mean one paycheck away from homelessness. And, anymore, that is an invitation to police harassment. Alone, you can hide well. With a vehicle full of wheat and guns, a wife and two cats, there is no real hiding. Plus, no job would mean no child support payments, another reason to get harassed.
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So, the answer to this particular riddle is that while it might not be worth it as far as the hassle and lack of comfort, it is a really smart move right now. I had no idea what was in store for the economy when I decided to move the beginning of July. I simply got lucky that I did move before it all went down. If I gave up those gains in security I would be a damn fool. All because I become a puss when it gets cold ( the last two mornings were 18 degrees on the pedal into work- and its still officially spring ). I'm not Superman, I have my weak moments. I have resolve dissolving moments. But, doing the math, yes, it is worth all the hassle to be more secure. No one grants a medal for doing the smart thing. It used to be normal that you sacrificed to be more secure in the future. Then it all became charging the credit card to live comfortable immediately, paying for it later ( with interest ).
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I think it has already started, the end of our luxury life based on oil. I guess you need to get used to it one sacrifice at a time.
END
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23 comments:
I am confused so you did move south or didn't? You can discuss alot about preparedness at http://www.preparedsociety.com
$7.77 in STIMULUS SPENDING, ALREADY
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=an3k2rZMNgDw&refer=exclusive
"I started feeling sorry for myself. I sat in my chair and started moaning and pissing.."
Well James, even I who live relative comfort in comparison have my moments of self pity and remorse over leaving the "world". I live in high style compared to you and it still happens here. Last week I was thinking about selling the house, auctioning off everything else, buy a used class A motorhome and move out by YOU..LOL so don't be too hard on yourself.
Oh and 1:58, $7,700,000,000,000.00 is just the start, wait until B. Hussain O gets done phucking with us.
Oldfart.
I think everyone is due some self doubts from time to time - keeps it real. After some preps, a hell of a lot of survival will be plain ol' ordinary luck - did the zombies pass you by or miss your camp in the beginning. I think once you get past the first month or so, the majority of the 'fun' will have passed.
Then its really where the rubber meets the road.
Just do what you can, when you can. Nobody will think of everything, but every little bit you do prep is just that much you don't have to worry about later.
Freezin' a$$ cold or sweltering heat - neither is fun.
Thanks for the post. You're right, we all have our low moments. It's good you have a partner to buck you up sometimes.
Oh, and yeah, you're timing was pretty spot-on this year! Good work. I'm way behind and scramblin' with few resources. Just gotta keep on keepin on, right?
***But, doing the math, yes, it is worth all the hassle to be more secure. No one grants a medal for doing the smart thing.***
Jim, thanks for the candid response. For what it's worth, you're not the only one who has a better half that occasionally administers a badly needed reality check. :)
If I don't get a chance to get back before then, Happy Thanksgiving.
Well, for your sake, I hope things collapse soon so you're suffering won't be for naught. I, though, think the collapse is a ways off and it's too early to be ratcheting up the discomfort level.
Here's three blog entry ideas for you:
Tips on RV or travel trailer selection for remote, off-grid living.
Ideas for winterizing (and summerizing) a trailer beyond skirts.
Ideas for securing a remote trailer from intruders.
Dumbazz here.
Jim said:
"...the last two mornings were 18 degrees on the pedal into work- and its still officially spring"
That's BRUTAL. 18 degrees is not just getting 'psyched out', that's truly COLD.
By the way, if it comes down to it, just have the wife bike into work with you in 18 degree temps for a couple of days/weeks and you will have exactly ZERO problem convincing her that it's time to move, lol.
Hey, you need to DEAL with this COLD problem before you get BAD-SICK. This one can't just slide by.
It may violate some 'principle(s)' of yours, I dunno, but to hell with it. Do what is *necessary* to SURVIVE.
You're already doing the 'layering' trick with clothes, and very probably the 'thermal underwear' trick too, so work from that base.
First, consider buying a couple of cheapo *handwarmers* and (yes) fuel for them, possibly at Big 5 Sporting Goods Store, or a similar store.
Save up to buy more solar panels. You just can't have too many. You need the (then free) electricity for just about everything.
Like what? Like to recharge the batteries for your electric socks, lol. Sounds funny, but I'm not joking. Warm feet will help warm your whole body during those 18 degree (and lower) bike rides.
Layer ski caps/masks on top of your head. You typically lose *most* of your body heat through the top of your head, weird as that sounds. There's a reason for all that hair up there.
Save up and buy even more solar panels, 'cause you're not through recharging batteries yet. If possible, you want to find and buy
(wait for it...)
Electric Thermal Underwear.
(All my legions of 'fans' should just LOVE that one, even more than the electric socks. :-)
You want to SURVIVE, right? You didn't go through all of this Evil Suffering Crap just to end up dead from exposure. So SCREW the off-stage laughs and DO what MUST be done to SURVIVE.
I don't even know if Electric Thermal Underwear has been *invented* yet, but if not then YOU need to think about doing just that. Inventing it.
Seriously.
That would perhaps involve an electric blanket and a power inverter unit, plus a slightly hefty 12 volt rechargeable battery carried in a backpack or belt-rig.
You jury-rig all this stuff yourself, except maybe getting the wife to cut and sew the blanket *without* cutting the electric wires. (Or, you cut and sew it yourself.)
You might end up making an Electric Jacket and/or Electric 'Over-Pants' out of the electric blanket, rather than Electric Thermal Underwear. Just depends upon what you've got to work with, and your native ingenuity.
Again, the guffaws from 'off-stage' will probably be relentless on this one, but don't pay any attention to that noise. We are talking REAL SURVIVAL here, and in a *true* survival situation you MUST 'adapt, improvise, overcome.'
Keep THINKING. What else can you DO to generate HEAT? If you happen to have an oven or stove of some sort, *maybe* open the door to it while it's on. (BUT, know first if carbon monoxide is given off, say by a wood stove. That would kill you without adequate ventilation.)
One couple were snowed in, I think up in Canada, with very few resources to hand. To stay alive they ran hot water through a *hose* duct-taped to their bathroom faucet, and I 'think' back into their hot water heater. This hose was snaked through the house, and provided some warmth. They lived to tell about it.
Insulation for the trailer. I 'think' it was on this site that I read about people using *hay* windbreaks, sometimes free from farmers. Also maybe layer foam insulation on the trailer floor all over. Floors get COLD.
Hot chocolate and/or hot soup in double-walled vacuum thermoses, carried wrapped on your bike rack. Man, there's *nothing* like swallowing delicious hot liquids in super-cold temps. Helps take the chill out of your bones.
KEEP THINKING. Heat, heat... what can you DO? Ear muffs, gloves, ski mask *over* the face (and wave to cops on the way to work :-), a propane heater for the early morning when you first get up...
Once you get in the frame of mind that this is a SOLVABLE problem that you can invent/improvise your way out of, you'll get to making all kinds of Rube Goldberg crap to assist yourself.
Man is a tool-maker, and you are a man...
Dumbazz
Jim ain't happy unless he can bitch about something. At least he has a plan "B" that works for him most of the time, at least above 18 degrees. Hey Jim, what is plan "c" for when it gets below 18?
Hot water bottles are cheap and last for years.. wrap it in a towel and put it between your legs where the heat will enter you blood stream via the major arteries in you legs.
Really Jim, take advantage of things that will keep you warmer. I live north of you and here's fair warning - January is a bitch. Take your truck to town and buy straw bales and surround your trailer with them. That will help keep the cold and wind out and it won't break the bank.
Too funny - you think 18 degrees is cold???
Be that as it may, come SHTF cold is your friend. It not only preserves your food, which is a great bonus when you chance upon alot of it (say, a big fat road killed deer), it keeps the hordes away. After all, when the cities crumble are the hordes headed north into the cold regions or south to bask in the warm glow of the southern sun?
As I said, for a survivalist, cold is your friend.
RULE #1. In maintaining a decent relationship with a woman, NEVER piss and moan about your lot in life, especially when you made the decision to begin with.
The people advocating windbreaks around your house are probably on to something. But we are all good at assigning work for others to do.
Just get through the Winter and have your garden planned out for Spring. You will probably be able to do it full time as there won't be much work around for most folks.
I thought the idea that the idiots from the city would head South had merit. This cold weather will keep a lot of gang bangers away from the door. You will probably be free of the until Spring. They don't like cold weather.
You've made it this far so don't quit now! You are known all over the country as the man who left the system. So make it!
I'm pullin' for ya'!
Michael
Dumbazz Please Please start your own blog and spare the rest of us your drival.
If you have no electricity you cannot use electric pads or electric blankets. Boiling water in screwtop plastic pop bottles in pockets of middle layer clothing will warm you.
No need to hide at all... just because you live in the country off the grid?? Our kids were all raised off the grid, since the oldest was 5 years old.
This can be a move towards, I said towards something better. Since 1993 we have felt secure in our life, happy and prosperous. What more could you ask for...
We build our own power, wind generators and solar panels too, no need to do without.
Living off the grid does not have to mean doing without anything for the family that is reasonably equipped with energy and initiative and to spout otherwise is simply not justified.
Your readers are getting the wrong impression about living off the grid. It is a challenge somedays, but with a bit of work you can have a life nearly completely independent of oil companies, and most of the government (never completely)
Take steps today, there is no way we can spend our way out of a depression, or print more money to pay off our national debts... history has proven it over and over again.
If your family needs help we will be glad to offer any kind of advice and help we can.
Contact us at our website
Living Off The Grid
All the best,
Les and Jane
Happy Gobble Gobble Day. Have a good holiday if you can...
On that note, there are about 3 or 4 folk's posts that I could take exception too. But it's too much negativity and work, and why get flustered.
I really doubt that there aren't many folk who aren't already in survival mode. And if you aren't you ought to start doing it and stop with the "oh! you ought to go buy ____ and ought to do ____".
Because if you haven't been there and haven't tried it, your going to be there sooner rather than later.
You ought to be able to live thru the collapse in 'relative' ease and comfort, but it's going to require frugality and self-reliance at minimum, quite a bit of hard work and sufering if you can't let go of the TV and credit cards.
All I know personally, is that I can't sleep healthy if it goes much below 50 F. I honk up green stuff in chunks, so I've had to make different arrangements.
Hmmph, I usually just read, but you all need to do what a friend of mine did years ago living on the cheep. Skirt the trailer, with anything. Get a "trash burning stove" and set it up, then get on every junk mail list you can, then burn junk mail that gets delivered to your door, mind that the modern coated glossy stuff dosn't burn very well, still free is free. And buy a coil of cheep black plastic pipe, a used car radiator, couple of junk yard windows and a solar powered pump. Fill with el-cheapo used anti-freeze, it wont circulate unless the sun is out warming up the pipe. Heck you might be able to scrounge up a old greenhouse, set up the trailer inside that for the winter, then pull it out for the summer. Man-up and solve the problem
Delta-Echo
Had RV trailers...great for camping. None of the parts from faucets to door hinges to widow cranks are made to last very long. RVs were simply not made to live in 24/7 for very long before beginning to wear out. I have lived in an RV before more than once. On raw land, dug my own septic, packed in my water, tried not to freeze to death, ran out of propane at 2:00am, thought it was great...for awhile when not truly tested. Always knew I could leave if it got to hard. Finally realized I was only kidding myself and got a real home. Just making some points here go ahead and live there no skin off my back.
Do you have some form of excellent fire protection from a wildfire at this “compound” or a fire in your trailer? How do you pump your septic tank? What if it ever freezes to the lower twenties and below for a month or more? Could happen. What if the wind really blew hard (happens) could a tree fall on your travel trailer? If you jump up and down on the roof you will fall through. Try it. How do you stay warm? Keep lines from freezing? Your fuel supplies and other support needs seem to be co-dependent on the supplies in town? How many 12 volt water pumps do you have? How do you recharge your batteries? What if they break?
When I camped in my many Rvs I could count on the propane bottles running out after several days. Just how much can you currently store and how long will it last? Do you have a couple 500 gallon tanks? Who fills them? If they come to your spot to do that...now they know you are there...whoops. How much fuel for your gensets do you have stored? How long will it last? Just because you are not “hooked up” to the power line grid... sure doesn’t mean you are not dependant on the system down the road back in town you claim to have left behind. Do you have an off site job to support yourself? Who watches your stuff while you are gone? Do you have a well secured storage building full of all you needs for... a year? RV trailers have almost no storage room.
If a tree fell across your road today and we all pretended you could not leave there for two full years...just how long could you truly exist on your two acre compound all by yourself with only what you have now? During that time you get hurt (shit happens) and can not provide for yourself now. No cell phones, no phones at all. What then? What if your fired up your generator and it broke down? What if the noise drifted across the country side and some desperate people approach you as a result? If they threatened you, would you take shelter inside your trailer? Why? It is not even bullet resistant as almost any bullet would pass right on through it or stop in you.
I ask some of these questions so the readers are not led down a path of false hope. Your plan is fine for the short haul but in the extended long run those RV travel trailers are not built to take it. Also during an extended crisis without a long term supply of everything you need you will be forced to vacate and come to what once was town. If you have a road to get in with an RV then during a crisis (God forbid) but this is a survival blog site...right? Then you can for sure expect others to explore your road and where it goes.
We rate survivalists based on the following. How well are you able to live and live rather normally if everything was cut off from you tomorrow for at least one year. Not taking from, others in any way. Going to get what you need doesn’t work because it ain’t there and the chances are you will die trying. Add to that you will get tested where you are in various ways as to your ability to hold on to what you have and your life. During the day and during the night while you sleep.
If you can not survive that, then living in a travel trailer co-depending on town is not much more than an extended camping trip. If this is all some sort of a short term two week crisis game fine, but if it really ever falls apart for a long time just what will really work and what will probably fail if tested. Food for thought before you go camping....
I feel fortunate to live in the South where the cold snaps are short and less server then those farther up north.
Remember things get better and easier as you work to improve your living conditions. Skirt your trailer, build a room along the back for space and insulation from the cold, bury in in the sand...
Hang in there Things will start to warm up in a few months, as spring time starts to show through the clouds.
Dumbazz here.
'8:14 AM', from Tuesday, said:
"Dumbazz Please Please start your own blog and spare the rest of us your drival."
Hey, '8:14 AM', please, please stop misspelling the word, 'drivel' as 'drival'.
When you misspell an INSULT directed at someone else's intellect, it kinda makes you look like, well, a whole lot like what you ARE.
Also, 12 (twelve) people posted in the 21 hours after I posted on Tuesday. Only 1 (one) person, YOU ALONE, sir, had a single negative thing to say about my post (on that day).
By the way, I am now pre-pending my posts with the words, 'Dumbazz here', so you can just page on down past my posts if they are somehow causing you so much personal psychic pain to read them.
Others have voiced AGREEMENT with my posts, so kindly do not assume you speak for all.
So, no more EXCUSES. If you read my posts from now on, YOU CHOOSE to do so.
Take RESPONSIBILITY for your OWN actions, 'sir'.
Also, if you have some SPECIFIC disagreement with something I have written, by all means, speak out. Perhaps you could teach us all something, including me.
Or, perhaps YOU just might learn something in an open, head-to-head DEBATE, which I suspect you are AFRAID to engage in (because your views mirror GWB's???)
But by just directing general, non-specific INSULTS my way without clarifying WHY you consider my post(s) to be 'drival' (again, it is spelled, 'drivel', good sir), is simply SPAM.
Get SPECIFIC on the ISSUE(S) where you disagree with me, and then WIN the following DEBATE... *IF* you can.
Otherwise, some of us just might start to consider you to be simply another insult-hurling, anonymous COWARD.
And that ain't 'drivel', Mr. Please Please.
Dumbazz
Dumbazz, Please spare us your drival!
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