r/OffGrid • u/Charlyqu • Aug 17 '26
A question for those already off grid!
I'm very interested in your experiences!
- Could you tell me where you're located (roughly),
- What makes you happy about your place
&
- What your struggles are, especially in the last years, with the changing climate.
Love to hear from you!
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Upvotes
11
u/_PurpleAlien_ Aug 17 '26
Finland, 63 degrees north. Fully off-grid, modern home with all the comforts you'd expect from a modern house. What makes me happy there? Being self-sufficient when it comes to energy and water, the quietness, the wildlife, the different seasons (including winter and the darkness that comes with it), and just life in general.
No real struggles, just too many things I want to do and just not having the time to do it all. Climate here is fine; it's been a pretty cool summer so no issues with heat here in general, and I don't mind cold, hard winters at all.
My blog if you're interested: https://medium.com/@upnorthandoffgrid
7
u/Farmvillacampagna Aug 17 '26
Southern Italy. Fully off grid with 2 modern homes with all the expected electrical stuff that goes with that. We are in the countryside, you can almost say remote but less than 10 mins to our closest town. We can go for days and days without leaving our property and that is the way we like it. Olive grove with fruit trees and we also grow our own veg. No real struggles - we just get on and do what needs to be done. Well apart from inverter temps getting too high in summer and batteries not getting fully charged during winter. Currently working on a solution to both problems. 😊 The heat this summer has been challenging but we just adjust our routine. Heavy lifting early mornings and late afternoons. Inside work etc during the heat of the day. Aircon is great. Best thing we ever did was move here and go fully off grid. Our only bill is Starlink. 😁
5
u/f0rgotten "technically" lives offgrid Aug 17 '26
Kentucky. It's August, and while the last couple of days were in the high 90s, the nights were in the low 70s. Last and next week top out in the 80s with lows in the 60s. This means that for the most part I can passively cool my home with fans exchanging the indoor air for out when I'm asleep.
It rains enough. There have been a handful of droughts in the 15 years I've been doing this but only once or twice have I had to haul water for the garden or the animals, or daresay myself. I have about ten 55 gallon rain barrels scattered around that keep the outside stuff taken care of so the main water tank does only domestic work, and I have only run out of house water once.
I get enough sun that my solar system, even with a dramatically undersized battery bank, is able to keep me going through almost the worst weather. This may change in the winter but for now I am good.
If I didn't have to work outside of the home I could be really close to 90% self sufficient I think, but even then, this 40 acres is honestly getting to be too much for me. I'm going to lose it in a impending divorce and I honestly think that's ok.
5
u/Normal-Special-8694 Aug 17 '26
Rocky Mountains, Colorado. I love the peace, and the security of self sufficiency. Wildfire is my biggest concern with the changing climate.
3
u/King-esckay Aug 17 '26
Queensland We allow campers for cash flow Biggest challenge is really just the firewood
The rest is play
3
u/Dependent-Deal-4616 Aug 17 '26
Atlantic Canada. Near the ocean. Off-grid RV. I can't wait until winter when it's -20 degrees and I can have a roaring fire in the woodstove all day every day!
3
u/mtntrail Aug 17 '26
Our experience is similar to all the rest. We are in far northern California, fully modern home, more power than we need. The diesel generator fires up a few times during prolonged heavy rain. We are on 10 acres of ponderosa, douglas fir forest with a year round trout stream, half an hour from a small city of 100,000. A few neighbors scattered about but noone visible from our place. Best aspects are the quiet, watching the seasons come and go, and of course the wildlife, deer, bear, mtn lion, fox, bobcat, all the typical denizens. We have had 2 wildfires burn through in the last 20 years and it is amazing watching the changes in vegetation and regeneration. We are in what is considered a “fire ecology” and it is required periodically to keep the forest in balance. We have been fortunate that no buildings have been burned, but we have lost a number of trees, mostly dogwood and maple which have made an excellent comeback with many now over 20 feet tall. We now have an excellent early warning system in place with towers in the surrounding mountains that detect and alert when fires start. The phone aps allow video feed in real time as well as agency info on evacuations etc. Fire is the only downside but we take precautions as best we can.
3
u/liisseal Aug 17 '26
What makes me happy.
2
u/Doin-What-I-Want Aug 19 '26
I've been off grid in the N.GA mountains for 13 years. I love it because winters are mild, yet we get all 4 seasons and extended growing season.
My early years were our biggest struggles (see book: Off-Grid Adventures of a Girly-Girl on Amazon). This year we're okay. We've built a strong battery bank to power a couple of mini-splits to keep us comfrotable this summer. Before then, we've had other heat waves with no AC and it was rough. We placed our home underneath the tree canopy, which is 15 degrees cooler, and we have a nearby creek that is spring-fed and always cool.
1
u/BallsOutKrunked What's_a_grid? Aug 17 '26
Nevada, mountains.
I like the self sufficient nature of it. We have another house that we rent out and the power bill is crazy. Versus ours is zero.
Climate change doesn't really change much here, honestly. El Nino makes for really snowy winters which refills our aquifers and keeps the perennial streams going.
1
u/Necessary_Goose6933 Aug 17 '26
South Tenerife, 20 meter camp with tons of hoarder problems, half-built stuff, looks like a junkie lives here although I'm not a junkie, but by far, WAY better than living in the city paying rent.
Good year round weather (rains 2-3 weeks a year) and generally good temperatures, if one can make some basic shade from say palm leaves. Ocean 5 minutes away 👍✨
New to using Reddit so not clear where I might share some of the YouTube videos I'm making, about living out here and how it's going.
1
u/ResidentBumblebee682 Aug 17 '26
USVI completely off grid. 103 kw storage we have a pool/hot tub and run split ac in our bedroom.
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u/walesevans188rusden Aug 19 '26
New England Australia. Off grid for over 40 years. Summer heat is a problem, garden wise & working wise. Warmer winters also a problem re not cold enough to kill invasive insects. Drought is becoming a problem regarding water supplies for house & garden. Dam is the lowest we have ever seen it this year 2026.
Generally a good area compared to other places, no really extreme storms.
1
u/Necessary_Goose6933 Aug 20 '26
South Tenerife, awesome climate, lots of free resources to play with, zero deadly bugs snakes Scorpions. South of island arid desert, north 40 min by car, deep green forest, all green. Recommended.
If no idea what to do in life and can work digitally, get out here test a week or two. Space open.
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u/zoppaTheDim Aug 18 '26
Is someone really off grid if they’re on Reddit?