Author Topic: Could you go Off the Grid?  (Read 11210 times)

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Offline KittenClaws

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Could you go Off the Grid?
« on: May 30, 2010, 08:38:31 PM »
Going off the grid is dropping out.  You can't have a job, maybe you think you can, under the table..but that involves other people's compliance, going off the grid involves no one else.

Going off the grid is self-sufficiency. You no longer exist. There is no phone, no TV, no modern conveinance.   The land on which you live can not be tied to you.

It's not about MRE's and motor homes, it's off the grid.

Survivalists are one thing, off the grid, quite another.

I'd be interested in starting a discussion about this: What would it take to truly go "Off the Grid" ?

Offline The Village Idiot

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #1 on: May 30, 2010, 08:39:36 PM »
gypsies in an RV?

Offline KittenClaws

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #2 on: May 30, 2010, 08:41:30 PM »
gypsies in an RV?

An RV would be handy, but the gypsies would be a disturbance.

Offline Chris_

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #3 on: May 30, 2010, 08:41:35 PM »
Tempting, but no.
If you want to worship an orange pile of garbage with a reckless disregard for everything, get on down to Arbys & try our loaded curly fries.

Offline Chris_

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #4 on: May 30, 2010, 08:42:18 PM »
An RV would be handy, but the gypsies would be a disturbance.

There's always sheep.
If you want to worship an orange pile of garbage with a reckless disregard for everything, get on down to Arbys & try our loaded curly fries.

Offline The Village Idiot

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2010, 08:43:31 PM »
I could not do it at the present time.

Would getting filthy rich and building a starship and settling on another planet be "off the grid"??

 :p

Offline KittenClaws

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #6 on: May 30, 2010, 08:52:38 PM »
I could not do it at the present time.

Would getting filthy rich and building a starship and settling on another planet be "off the grid"??

 :p

In a future, non-existant society it would be off the grid!

But I'm asking a real question here in keeping with the forum topic "living off the grid and survivalism".

Offline KittenClaws

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #7 on: May 30, 2010, 08:54:50 PM »
Tempting, but no.

An honest answer.

Offline Thor

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #8 on: May 31, 2010, 04:34:26 PM »
Unfortunately, I think that it would be very difficult in today's world. The government has too much control over things and that includes the forest land. If I were able to take my supplies with me, I could survive for quite a while. There would be a time that I would have to surface, if even only for a little while. I have the tools and the knowledge, but supplies DO run out eventually, that includes bullets, arrows and the like.
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Offline Hawkgirl

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #9 on: June 01, 2010, 08:26:27 PM »
There was an interesting documentary type program on the History channel about those "left behind" after a nuclear war or disease wiped out civilization as we knew it. It was called "After Armageddon" and it was about human nature and the actions of man in survival situations.

It followed a family, the father was a doctor, as they tried to survive "off the grid".  After a few weeks hunkered down in their house and living off their reserve, they had to leave the urban areas for the countryside...on foot. Their journey was interesing.







Offline Taxman

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #10 on: June 02, 2010, 06:40:17 AM »
After an extended power outage, I pondered the same issue.  It would be essential to have a source of clean water.  Unless you have a hand pump, a source of water may present a problem for most.  Having spent a lot of time in the back country, food just does jump into your mouth and is not as prevalent as imagined.  I pity anyone that wears contacts or depends upon RX medications. 

However our forefathers lived off the grid.  It takes a lot of effort to cut firewood and to grow your own food. There are many long forgotten skills related to growing and preserving food, let alone making clothing and fashioning rudimentary tools.  If a major calamity ever struck our power grid there would be tons of helpless souls out there.  A social network would still be essential. 

Offline Hawkgirl

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #11 on: June 02, 2010, 08:47:55 AM »
  A social network would still be essential. 

Yes, basically, small towns will come together and function like a country.  They will have sheriffs or law enforcement officers in charge of security...and they will guard the basics, like food and water.  They will keep intruders out. Eventually most small towns will start trading supplies with eachother, they will develop their own currency.  People will grow food, grains, and live off the land.  It will return to more basic, simple life.


Offline DumbAss Tanker

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #12 on: June 02, 2010, 09:26:03 AM »
I think this term means different things to different people, you are kind of one of the far ends of the scale.  For instance, most people 'off the grid' still have bank accounts and connections of some sort to the mainstream world, no matter how infrequently used, for instance the yearly payment of property taxes, the occasional need to obtain a part or materials to make a part.  You're talking the 'Dig a hole and pull it in after you' version, which is not entirely possible at the 100% level as long as there is a government functioning.

There are, however, homesteaders capable of continuing much as they are now if there should come a point where there isn't a functioning government in control and collecting taxes or enforcing regulations for some extended period.  I am not there yet, and may never really be, but I am working to follow a path to be able to stay in place for extended periods of disruption instead of becoming an evacuee at the mercy of whatever the government chooses to provide. 
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Offline vesta111

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #13 on: June 04, 2010, 07:02:01 AM »
Yes, basically, small towns will come together and function like a country.  They will have sheriffs or law enforcement officers in charge of security...and they will guard the basics, like food and water.  They will keep intruders out. Eventually most small towns will start trading supplies with eachother, they will develop their own currency.  People will grow food, grains, and live off the land.  It will return to more basic, simple life.



Hawk, I am not sure if we in today's society could survive,  we only have to look back a hundred years to the Irish Potato Famine or the Russian Famine.  Their skills could not save them.

You mention sowing and reaping grains, good idea but then what.?  Do we know how to separate the grain from the shaft, where is a mill stone to grind the grain into flour.?  Corn can be dried and pounded by hand into corn flour but that is a last ditch effort.

Who of us knows the good wild berry's from the poison ones,  how many of us can milk a cow or goat.?  Who can make a wooden plow share to hand pull through the ground to plant crops.?

Police to keep out strangers will be a must, who knows what diseases they may carry, back to ingrown society's that hate and fear anyone that is different from them.

On the other hand most society's could not have survived in the past without slaves to help them.  The American Indian both North and South America had slaves or indentured servants.   Spoils of war.

America at its early stages had Europe to trade with for blacksmiths to buy or trade for pre made anvils to make horse shoes, pots and pans nails and saw blades for lumber mills.

Doctors and dentists even if they take their tools with them will be unable to replace them when they wear out. 

In the 1700's  the very first milk cows came to this area from Europe. 

We possibly could survive a year or 2 but when the toilet paper runs out we are shit out of luck.


Offline Hawkgirl

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #14 on: June 04, 2010, 07:54:31 AM »
I disagree Vesta...after an initial stage of denial...people WILL survive and conform to their new life.  We always have.  Never underestimate the human will to survive. 

Offline vesta111

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #15 on: June 04, 2010, 09:51:52 AM »
I disagree Vesta...after an initial stage of denial...people WILL survive and conform to their new life.  We always have.  Never underestimate the human will to survive. 

Sad, thousands and thousands of years to bring us to this point in technology and quality of life and see it degrade back to all the things we fought for on this planet.

You know we still do not know what kind of technology allowed the civilisations in Africa  and South America to build and develop mind boggling civilizations.  Where did the people go to, why did they stop and fall back into time.?


Offline The Village Idiot

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #16 on: June 04, 2010, 12:57:45 PM »
I disagree Vesta...after an initial stage of denial...people WILL survive and conform to their new life.  We always have.  Never underestimate the human will to survive. 

After 95% of us die off, I am not sure we can say it will still be the same society

Offline rich_t

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #17 on: June 04, 2010, 01:38:09 PM »
Quote
You mention sowing and reaping grains, good idea but then what.?  Do we know how to separate the grain from the shaft, where is a mill stone to grind the grain into flour.?  Corn can be dried and pounded by hand into corn flour but that is a last ditch effort.

I DO know how to seperate the grain from the chaff. It ain't that hard.  I also know how to grind wheat into a course flour using rocks.  Same with corn meal.  It's labor intensive and time consuming, but not all that difficult.

Quote
Who of us knows the good wild berry's from the poison ones,  how many of us can milk a cow or goat.?  Who can make a wooden plow share to hand pull through the ground to plant crops.?

I can.  I also know technigues for testing plants that I am unsure of.


Quote
We possibly could survive a year or 2 but when the toilet paper runs out we are shit out of luck.

Corn cobs, leaves, tree moss.  Worked for those that came before us.
« Last Edit: June 04, 2010, 03:19:17 PM by rich_t »
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Offline Hawkgirl

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #18 on: June 04, 2010, 03:14:16 PM »
After 95% of us die off, I am not sure we can say it will still be the same society

I never said we'd be the same society...we'd revert back to a different era....but the human race will survive.  If history is any indicator....

Offline debk

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #19 on: June 04, 2010, 03:48:43 PM »
I think there may be two different scenarios here....

Off the grid - basically disappearing into a wilderness situation - in the world as we know it today....

Suvivalism in the case of nuclear holocaust.....


Off the grid in today's world....I don't think I could do it, only because my idea of roughing it is a hotel without room service.  :-) Seriously though....I have no desire to just disappear and fend for survival. I think the desire must be there, and then it could be accomplished by trial and error.

Survivalism in the case of nuclear disaster....yes I could if not injured, only because there would be other people who would all have to bond in order to survive. The bonding with others would bring together a composite of skills enabling the group to survive. That's human nature.


Just hand over the chocolate...back away slowly...far away....and you won't get hurt....

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Offline The Village Idiot

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #20 on: June 04, 2010, 04:56:05 PM »
Not to self- buy a lemon tree and an orange tree

Offline Randy

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #21 on: June 05, 2010, 06:36:04 AM »
Not to self- buy a lemon tree and an orange tree

Citrus greening might just put a stop to that. There are rumblings of stopping home sales of trees and the Gubbamint has already been trying to get folks with their own trees to cut them down to try and save the industry.

That plan has about as much a chance as a plan for stopping sex by asking nice. If that is the best they can do then the citrus industry is doomed.

Offline Thor

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #22 on: June 06, 2010, 03:23:40 PM »
Not to self- buy a lemon tree and an orange tree

From the rumblings I've read about, if the Government gets its way, no homeowner will be able to grow their own veggies, fruits, etc. Gardens and personally owned orchards will become illegal.
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Offline The Village Idiot

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #23 on: June 06, 2010, 03:29:15 PM »
From the rumblings I've read about, if the Government gets its way, no homeowner will be able to grow their own veggies, fruits, etc. Gardens and personally owned orchards will become illegal.

I have read that too. Will it happen before or after we get government funded newspapers and a ban on unapproved political speech?

Offline Mike220

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Re: Could you go Off the Grid?
« Reply #24 on: June 06, 2010, 04:03:50 PM »
From the rumblings I've read about, if the Government gets its way, no homeowner will be able to grow their own veggies, fruits, etc. Gardens and personally owned orchards will become illegal.

Really? Be interested to hear about that.
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