Wanting to live off the grid

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I dream about living off the grid. It would be an opportunity to create an environment that suits me. In the world on the grid, I'm constantly having to satisfy the requirements of society. This is an obstacle stopping me from becoming the person I am meant to be. Sometimes I fell its heard to remember who I am in the face of the constant pressure from society to conform.

Do any others wish to be off the grid? I'm sure this would appeal to many aspies, hence asking the question.

In the meantime, I have a really good job and kids to worry about. I have my fair share of debt as well. As a result, I'm looking ahead and planning to meet all responsibilities, pay down the debt so that in the future I can make my dream come true.

I like this concept at a kind of intellectual level, but in practice I doubt I would have the patience for it (unless I had a lot of money to set it up, or moved into a place that was fully functioning). I have successfully got my monthly electric bill down to $15, however, so that's almost off the grid.

there have been times when i was so fascinated by the idea that i thougt it was important for me to learn wilderness survival skills. not a very realistic idea. survivorman is still one of my favorite shows of all time though. and i have a solar charger for my ipad just in case

the obsession didn't last long, but the fascination remains. i don't own anything i can't take with me in a backpack + suitcase. i've been to a few places where it felt like i was sort of "out of the map" (although still with a grocery store within walking distance), and i loved it. i plan to visit other places like those, and eventually move to one of them permanently. maybe next year, maybe ten years from now, i don't know. i don't have any children or any debt though

I was very interested in this too, a few decades ago. I don't see how it could be practicable to be completely independent as an isolated individual - growing your own food alone would probably take too long without being part of a collective and taking advantage of the division of labour. For me, that dovetailed very nicely with my strong desire for friendship and collective working of a more egalitarian and caring nature than I felt was possible in mainstream society.

Here's a directory of the kind of thing that was - and apparently still is - available in the UK:

http://www.diggersanddreamers.org.uk/co ... /by-region

There's a very broad spectrum of small groups there. Some of them charge for a visit, others are in the "Working Weekends On Organic Farms" scheme where you can stay for free if you're happy to work with / for them. I'd certainly recommend any Aspie who was disillusioned with the mainstream to take a look, though I would also warn against raising your hopes too high and trusting people you don't know too much.

Yeah, can you just kind of halfway live off the grid? Maybe get rid of your cellphones, get rid of your TV, put a woodburning stove in your house? Maybe only do Internet access for certain days or time of day? That type of thing? You could save a lot of money and improve the quality of your life without committing to something major.

thanks for reminding of it, btw. "wwoof" is something i've been particularly interested in for several years, but i keep forgetting about it. i even contacted a couple of farmers once, but in the end there were other things that kept me too busy, so i couldn't follow through with it. i should include it in my next travel plans. it might be a good way to meet other friendly misfits, and either way i want to learn hands-on skills

I'd say take a stab at it, as long as you proceed with caution. It's great that there are alternatives to the usual rat-race existence out there. In my experience some of them are even worse than the rat-race, but I also found a lot of "like minds," and to this day I much prefer to mingle with that type than with normal society. It's hard to put into words how safe I feel with some of them, I really get a feeling of being among supportive friends that seems almost non-existent in the mainstream, and that kind of thing brings out the best in me. It also really hammered home the message to me that Aspie social ineptitude is very much a function of the people around us, and how much damage this competitive ableist thing does. Of course it's important to bear in mind that Utopia and a group of Utopians aren't necessarily the same thing.

Well written, ToughDiamond!

I'm not off-grid in any respect yet, but am tied to it rather loosely in a few places - I grow some of my own herbs (and a very few vegetables - they require more time and water than I've been able to spare this year), I occasionally forage wild plants for food and medicine, and I have bowhunting equipment and the safety certificate to qualify for my archery hunting license though I need more practice to truly be ready to try hunting. I also know of a family in my area who moved out here specifically to provide a more supportive lifestyle for an Aspie child, who seems to have grown up as healthy, happy, and competent as any other local farm kid.

You should definitely do it! Be free man and enjoy your life!! !

I don't recall if you're US-based. If you are US-based, have you considered reaching out to one of the two Divergent Labs retreat locations in the US. You might find it a good opportunity to gain skills in the area.

How did you change your lifestyle to make this work?