I currently don’t live in a rural area and for various reasons, I won’t be moving to a rural area anytime soon. So the question is, how to manage off-grid in an urban setting. You can, in fact live off-grid and urban at the same time. Here’s one awesome example:

If you haven’t considered off-grid living, you should know that there are plenty of benefits, such as…

It’s green. Of course being a tree hugger makes off-gird living seem fairly seductive. Off-grid life employs many of the green tactics most green heads like anyway; recycling, composting, conserving natural resources, organic gardening, living smaller and on less, re-purposing, and so on. Green living is like the gateway drug to off-grid

Fewer bills in my email inbox! If you could score zero (or much lower) electricity, water, or gas bills why not?

Self-sufficiency in hard times. If power costs more, if there’s a storm and power goes out, if tomato or egg prices rise, if we run smack out of resources, it matters less if you’re off-grid. Off-grid folks are in a better place to handle the impact of hard eco and economic times.

If you’re into simple living and less materialism, off-grid living is a way of life that allows you to hold these goals or ideals close.

If you do want to live in a rural area, one that’s naturally off the grid, this is a way to do it.

Obviously there are off-grid cons too.

• It’s more work, especially at the onset. If you have to install solar panels, start a garden, build a home, dig a well, etc, that’s a lot of time commitment and some upfront costs.
• Off-grid living requires a certain amount of ongoing upkeep.
• There’s a learning curve. I don’t think off-grid topics are that complicated, but there is a large amount of info out there to digest.

All of the above is just the tip of a much larger off-grid iceberg. If you’re interested in off-grid living here are some resources:

• Off-grid net
• Off the Grid – a super keen book I love.
• Off the Grid
• Is Living Off the Grid Right For You?
• Brilliant and Bizarre Off-the-Grid Green Designs and Technologies – such a good post!

Maybe soon I’ll post some cool off-grid magazines (there are lots of good ones). For now, tell me about your goals… Is off-grid something you’re already doing or interested in doing?

Post from: Tree Hugging Family