[ForestBeekeeper]

Over 92% of this state is forest. We moved here, bought 150 acres with 1/4 mile of river frontage, and began building a farm house. We currently can produce most of our food.

We bought two parcels of land. One was $350/acre, the other was $900/acre. Taxes run $1.05 / acre.

There is almost no zoning here, no building inspections either.

We will soon be off-grid.

 

[ForestBeekeeper]

Instead of looking for wooded forest land maybe try looking for some farmland combined with some forest. Even the pioneers had to farm to survive. They lived "off-grid".

In my area, living off-grid is possible in forested areas, via foraging / trapping / fishing.

Farming crops becomes needed for trade.

 

[ForestBeekeeper]

Foraging, trapping and fishing will keep you alive but you sure wouldn't be living.

I will keep that in mind the next time I trade with people who do it.

Currently there are neighbors of mine who hunt, forage, trap and fish for their subsistence.

... We graduated from hunter gatherers about 12,000 years ago. Even native Americans used agriculture.

Hold on, in my region of North America the Indigenous Peoples did not use Agriculture. The technology had not traveled this far East, before Europeans arrival. It had only reached the Pequots / Mohegans within the very same generation as when the Plimoth Plantation colonialists arrived.

The line between the Pequots / Mohegans and the Nipmucks serves as the boundary of where that technology ended. The Nipmucks did not get it.

I live on land that was part of the Abenaki lands. The Abenaki, Abenaki, Algonkin, Massachuset, Mattabesic, Micmac, Nauset, Nipmuc, Pennacook, Pocumtuk, and Wampanoag did not use Agriculture.



Areas prone to drought, have a much harder time surviving. People in those areas have a much stronger need to find other ways to survive.

Areas that have never been exposed to drought, are very much different.

I chose to homestead in an area that is not drought-prone, for this very reason.

... Off grid doesn't necessarily mean living like a bushman

You are the only person to bring the idea of 'bushman' into this conversation

Here in my township there are already multiple families who are off-grid.

I plan to be off-grid before this season is over.

... Self sufficiency is a myth.

There are myths, sadly you may be living in one.

... We all need outside help in one form or another. Instead of trying to rough it alone, better to work on a small, tight knit community that is sustainable.

You are really jumping around a lot in this.

Okay, nobody said anything about lone-wolf survival.

'Tight-knit' community is certainly over-stating it. But community is needed.



I am an organic farmer. I do bring in a small pension [less than minimum-wage] which helps me to build my new farm. I am able to produce more than what we need for food, I market the surplus. [however only about 80% of our diet is currently produced on our property] I allow a couple neighbors to forage, etc on my land.

There is a big learning curve, I am learning more and more each year about the edibles that grow wild here.

Fortunately this is a region where a family does not need very much cash to thrive.

 

[ForestBeekeeper]

another Ozarkian here.

I am in MO, no zoning rules or regulations, it you are on more than 3 acres there aren't even septic regulations in my county. LOTS of underground water for wells, springs are somewhat common, the land is beautiful.

My paternal grandparents used to farm in MO. They had to leave because there was a time when MO had no water.

When there is no drought, the land can be very beautiful.

 

[ForestBeekeeper]

Washington State is restrictive in land use. You need a permit to do anything on or to your land. The taxes are high and the State is very leftist in government. Oregon is not much better. Much of the desirable back country land is the recreation spots of the large population centers of Seattle and Portland. This means urban folks there do not respect private property and will trespass. Many of them will also vandalize or steal anything not chained down.

The Pacific Northwest is beautiful but not a great choice if you want to live free.

My last boat was homeported at Subase Bangor, which is in Kitsap County Washington. I was there for 5 years, I spent a lot of time searching for a good retirement site.

The Olympic Penn is wonderful. Down by Grey's Harbor is nice. Even along the Eastern border up in the high plains desert is kind of nice.

I have had a number of friends who have owned parcels in each of those areas. Land prices are very high, and property taxes are high.

While it is a very beautiful area, my pension would have never allowed us to live there, off-grid / sustainable.

To live in a high COL / tax region, you need a high paying job. I do not believe that subsistence farming is possible in such a region, without a serious income from some other source.

 

[ForestBeekeeper]

I feel I've learned a thing or two...mostly about what's possible rather then specifically how to do this or that. More than anything, I've been inspired and feel reinforced about wanting to live more like that.

There have been many authors that have done this too, dating back to Helen and Scott Nearing. They wrote good fiction, that was able to inspire imaginations of what was possible in terms of living simply and sustainably. Millions read those books, attended lectures, or spent summers on their farm helping. Today I deal with a lot of people who were inspired by those kinds of authors. Many people have tried to follow in those footsteps.

Keep in mind, they wrote fiction.

Reality TV shows today, are also fiction. Maybe some portion might be based on real-life, before the scripts, before un-mentioned income streams, before the assistance of dozens of un-paid farm hands.

... I held up Eustace as my favorite because out of all the guys on the show he lives closer to how I would like to and his environment there in the Blue Ridge Mountains is more similar than any of the others on the show to the Ozarks (where I see myself ending up).

I have not watched that actor. I am sure there are links online where I could go to watch him. However, there are bunches of those actors. They are discussed and compared endlessly on this forum.

As you watch, ask yourself, what percentage of what your seeing is real-life? and how much is 'Reality' being painting for your consumption?

It makes for a nice dream. It does. You and a million others have watched and have dreamed, as you have.

Excuse me, as I have chores to do. I visit forums through-out the day, between doing chores. Living on a homestead is a long stream of chores.