[ppine]

Alaska is the obvious answer.

 

[dm1911]

Originally Posted by survivorman78 View Post
So I'm thinking of ditching city life with all the people and problems. Been thinking of buying some cheap land or maybe even renting some wooded forest land from someone. Buying a camper and taking tons of supplies and food for long term survival. Maybe even build a little homestead. Or a cabin.

So now I'm looking into where would be the best place in the U.S. to do this at?

I know in some states its really hard to do. First of all land is very expensive in those states. And then you buy the land and there's a whole bunch of laws, zoning regarding it. You need to have to government people come out to look at your land to inspect it. You also have property taxes, permits, etc which adds up to more $$$$$.


if you are just renting some land and living in a camper then it seems that there is a lot less to go into the learning curve. ( auto repair )

 

[dm1911]

Do your homework, ask locals, look around. Texas has horrible droughts every 15 years or so. Opie's right, you need a water source. Montana has areas where there is virtually no water table, plus the mountains tend to be riddled with old mines and the nasties (like pollution) that come along. Nevada is another state with polluted old mines leaching into the watersheds. Northern Idaho, land is way too expensive. Thanks to JWR everybody wants a homestead there. The problem is, it snows a LOT and most of the back roads are impassable for months on end.

so where is the next new place??

 

[Uncle Bob]

seems to be florida

 

[Hick Industries]

not sure why you say 150+ mi from the ocean ?

perhaps out of concern about hurricanes ?

one thing to consider is that Oceans ,Seas and Large lakes nearby will moderate & buffer temperature swings, moderating the extremes that occur in areas without a huge body of water acting as a heat sink in summer and radiating the heat back out in winter,,

Correct, some of the large tornados are enough of a threat.
I don't care to deal with a hurricane and a storm surge.

While I am at it, avoid any area close to the Mexican border.
Right now it looks like an illegal alien surge.

 

[Jimboman]

Northern Minnesota has lots of Benny's. Lakes to fish, deer to hunt and plenty of firewood. I would not waist money on land though. Just my take!

 

[rabehning]

Northern Minnesota has lots of Benny's. Lakes to fish, deer to hunt and plenty of firewood. I would not waist money on land though. Just my take!

Plus the 8 nice months of winter.

 

[milspec0311]

Ozarks!!!

If I could, I would go back to AR and live in the Ozark Mountains. Id be close enough to my family, I know the area and the population density leads me to believe I would be able to maybe grow some crops and sustain and myself through hunting. It gets hot there, but nothing a resident of the south can't handle.

Currently in Florida, 15 minutes from Disneyworld!! Yay!!! I regret ever moving here but thanks to the current employment situation this is the best I could do! I definitely have no intentions of staying. I will be going off grid, hopefully before "SHTF"

 

[dm1911]

Plus the 8 nice months of winter.

I am not that fond of chopping wood

 

[firstforcerecon]

So I'm thinking of ditching city life with all the people and problems. Been thinking of buying some cheap land or maybe even renting some wooded forest land from someone. Buying a camper and taking tons of supplies and food for long term survival. Maybe even build a little homestead. Or a cabin.

So now I'm looking into where would be the best place in the U.S. to do this at?

I know in some states its really hard to do. First of all land is very expensive in those states. And then you buy the land and there's a whole bunch of laws, zoning regarding it. You need to have to government people come out to look at your land to inspect it. You also have property taxes, permits, etc which adds up to more $$$$$.

I know quite a few that have done this and everyone of them opted for Canada. OH Happy Canada Day!

 

[ppine]

Getting into Canada is not easy. They have a point system.

 

[550cord]

Alaska is the obvious answer.

No. If you don't know what you are doing in AK you are just a food source for the things that CAN live there.

 

[ppine]

Alaska has plenty of room, plenty of resources, and plenty of people living the old subsistence ways. The Eustece Conway story illustrates what happens when someone wants to live the traditional way in NC. Florida would be even worse. Too many urbanites with a lot of rules.

Predators are a fact of life in wild country. Any place that doesn't have them, probably does not have wild character.

 

[Harry The Cat]

Downtown Detroit. Cheap land, nobody cares what you do or what you live in. All that and it's a wilderness, too.

You do have to beware of some of the indigenous "wildlife" in that area.

 

[Engel]

So I'm thinking of ditching city life with all the people and problems. Been thinking of buying some cheap land or maybe even renting some wooded forest land from someone. Buying a camper and taking tons of supplies and food for long term survival. Maybe even build a little homestead. Or a cabin.

So now I'm looking into where would be the best place in the U.S. to do this at?

I know in some states its really hard to do. First of all land is very expensive in those states. And then you buy the land and there's a whole bunch of laws, zoning regarding it. You need to have to government people come out to look at your land to inspect it. You also have property taxes, permits, etc which adds up to more $$$$$.

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".

 

[Sacajawea]

If I know of a really good spot... I wouldn't be sayin'.
That's just me and I'm OK being a hermit... even though I'm a big fan of rural communities that help each other out.

 

[ppine]

550,
If you don't know what you are doing you have no business trying to live off grid, in the bush, or away from people no matter what the location.

 

[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.

 

[Engel]

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

Farming crops becomes needed for trade.

Foraging, trapping and fishing will keep you alive but you sure wouldn't be living. We graduated from hunter gatherers about 12,000 years ago. Even native Americans used agriculture. Off grid doesn't necessarily mean living like a bushman. Self sufficiency is a myth. 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.

 

[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.