Living Off The Grid - My Story

Now that living off the grid is such a hot topic with todays energy prices more and more people are asking me questions about how they too can live off the grid.

My story begins 16 years ago when my parents decided they wanted to get out of the day to day grind that many people experience. I admit I was very excited about the idea of moving and building all of our own stuff as this is something that I love to do. I love to fix and build things as you'll find out.

My parents had bought a 20 acre plot of land in eastern ontario 1 kilometer from the nearest neighbor. We started with nothing and had to build everything ourselves. Starting out we built a small little cabin for the summer while we built the first floor of our house. We just managed to build the first story of the house and get it covered about 3 weeks before the first snow fall came. It was quite a relief to actually get it finished in time.

We finished the second story of the house the next summer, but it was cramped living for that 8 months or so. As the years went on I was getting more and more unsettled because this wasn't a lifestyle I chose. We had no electricity for the first couple of years and when we managed to get a cell phone it got really bad reception.

I was one of those teenagers who were mad because we didn't live like everyone else, but as I grew older I understand my parents reasoning behind their decision. They now live with all the regular amenities that a normal family has. I just didn't realize how long into the future they were looking. 16 years ago they decided to make the move and it's only now becoming popular.

They now live entirely energy independant (and almost food independant) while many people pay upwards of $300 per month for electricity. This means that they now have quite a bit of money left to invest and pretty much retire. All of that was achieved by time they were 46. It took 6 long years until the house had basic amenities, but that's a small price to pay for 30 - 40 years of happiness and relaxing.

I admit at first I hated the idea of living off the grid, but now that I understand better why they did it living off the grid has become one of my main goals. I'm hoping to achieve this by the time I'm 35, but hoping I'll get to that goal sooner.

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