Could you live off grid? Hippy style

[prand]

DonkeyApple said:

The trouble is that they aren't really 'off grid'. Go and shoot one of them in the foot and they won't be asking Giles to make them a herbal, tie died poultice they'll be begging for an ambulance and the full rewards of the taxpayer's NHS service along with the taxpayer funded police and courts services tout suite.

They only exist because 99.99% of all other countrymen pay taxes and consume goods in the real world. Actually remove all of society's mod cons and it would be a wholly different group of people able to comfortably function in a genuinely off grid environment. People who just never knew it was in their nature to not just cope but thrive.

These punters are just glamping and twiddling each other's bungholes on the taxpayer's generosity.

Interesting this. There was a TV show about this British guy who decided to disappear off into the wilds of Canada for a few months with a hunting rifle and a knife to live off what he could find in the woods.

Apart from going half mad and scared to death being stalked by bears, he had to call it a day when he ran out of the supplies he took with him and couldn't catch or find anything to eat, even in the relatively abundant canadian woods & lakes. The final straw was when he found he was out of the zone for Ocado delivery

What I'm saying is that when you really decide to cut yourself off from humanity, even in a reasonably abundant place, you need the civilised world accessible, or it becomes a real battle to survive.

[opieoilman]

TEKNOPUG said:

Foliage said:

id like to (apart from internet) but it wouldn't be like this. Brick house, solar panels, wind, own well and natural waste treatment, growing my own food and keeping animals, think more 'the good life', but it would be near impossible to do.

If you had enough cash and land then I would imagine it would be very easy.

We're working on the planning for a self build at the moment and where we are is a bit of a pain for the water and sewage. As there is a stream and a spring nearby, as well as an open area for sewage treatment, the builder thinks it's a relatively simple thing to do..

[GetCarter]

I guess I'm slightly off grid. It's no real hardship.

I live in a log house in a forest in a remote part of the NW Highlands, water from a burn (which freezes in winter), 60 metre deep ground source heat pump and solar power for heating, soak away sceptic tank, no mobile signal to speak of. 40 mile round trip for petrol/bank etc.

But then I have a nice house with heat, power, telephone and the internet, so it really doesn't feel at all 'off grid'. Especially now Tesco deliver!

It's as 'on grid' as I'd ever want to be to be honest (coming from 30 years in London).

[TEKNOPUG]

opieoilman said:

TEKNOPUG said:

Foliage said:

id like to (apart from internet) but it wouldn't be like this. Brick house, solar panels, wind, own well and natural waste treatment, growing my own food and keeping animals, think more 'the good life', but it would be near impossible to do.

If you had enough cash and land then I would imagine it would be very easy.

We're working on the planning for a self build at the moment and where we are is a bit of a pain for the water and sewage. As there is a stream and a spring nearby, as well as an open area for sewage treatment, the builder thinks it's a relatively simple thing to do..

We have a spring at the bottom of the valley. It's pumped up to a header tank and then flows back to us via gravity. Then we have a UV filter in the house (which probably isn't required as there has been a settlement by the spring since Roman times). Pressure isn't brilliant but it's sufficient for our needs. So just a pump, lots of pipe and a tank.

[cptsideways]

GetCarter said:

I guess I'm slightly off grid. It's no real hardship.

I live in a log house in a forest in a remote part of the NW Highlands, water from a burn (which freezes in winter), 60 metre deep ground source heat pump and solar power for heating, soak away sceptic tank, no mobile signal to speak of. 40 mile round trip for petrol/bank etc.

But then I have a nice house with heat, power, telephone and the internet, so it really doesn't feel at all 'off grid'. Especially now Tesco deliver!

It's as 'on grid' as I'd ever want to be to be honest (coming from 30 years in London).

You sir have the idyllic off grid situation! Oh to be free of neighbours. Though its not dissimilar to a friends place in the Forest of Dean which is self sufficient for water & power etc, again several miles from anywhere but no Tesco deliveries. They have no connection except for a phone line.

In the states there is the Tiny House thing going on, especially with youngsters, build yourself a little micro home on some land (thats still cheap) minimal heating & electricity needs etc.

[GTIAlex]

BoRED S2upid said:

This sums these people up nicely!

"I've been here 22 years so I've been saving the government a lot of money on housing benefit.

No you fking hyppie if you had worked hard for those 22 years like the rest of us and contributed to society you wouldn't have to justify yourself when the time comes for society to support you in old age!

Taking the piss this lot. Live here for as long as you can pay no tax still earn some money then when your too old pop over to the local council for a free house, benefits and NHS.

How many of these go to Glastonbury every year?

Wow calm down, might give yourself a heart attack.

[Cotty]

r-kid said:

hornetrider said:

cptsideways said:

community off grid ... internet.

That was my reaction to that little tidbit as well

You might want to check the definition
"off-grid
adjective & adverb
not using or depending on public utilities, especially the supply of electricity".

They can use electricity if produced themselves i.e. wind and/or solar power. So yes you can live off grid and have a computer and phone.

[Riley Blue]

hornetrider said:

cptsideways said:

community off grid ... internet.

I had to smile when I saw that...

[Motorrad]

I spend 2 weeks every year living/working in the Glastonbury festival site before it starts. It's about as off grid as this lot. Piece of piss.

[2thumbs]

Riley Blue said:

hornetrider said:

cptsideways said:

community off grid ... internet.

I had to smile when I saw that...

You don't need a physical connection to use the Internet?

[WilsonWilson]

I don't get why people choose to live like this, essentially reverting back 300 years or so. Going against this, and accepted PH wisdom (humanity, people, things reached there zenith when they were in their late-twenties), I think things are still on an upward tick and I'd rather have been born in 2016 or even better 2078 than the 20th century.

[DonkeyApple]

BoRED S2upid said:

This sums these people up nicely!

"I've been here 22 years so I've been saving the government a lot of money on housing benefit.

No you fking hyppie if you had worked hard for those 22 years like the rest of us and contributed to society you wouldn't have to justify yourself when the time comes for society to support you in old age!

Taking the piss this lot. Live here for as long as you can pay no tax still earn some money then when your too old pop over to the local council for a free house, benefits and NHS.

How many of these go to Glastonbury every year?

Crapping in a hole, not washing, not contributing to the system and expecting to be able to tap the system at will.

They do seem to be confusing 'living off grid' with 'living like a Frenchman'.

[Google [bot]]

Aussie version popped up today

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-26/changing-you...

[BoRED S2upid]

Did anyone watch Ben Fogels new series last night? Now that was almost off grid she was living in a hole and hunting. Still had a phone though.

[Pesty]

Is there beer?

[Johnnytheboy]

I have a very low tolerance of smug hippies.

So the more of them live off my grid the better.