Episode-2751- A New Look at the Off Grid BOL
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A bit over seven years ago we sold our Arkansas property, for many years before we moved there it was a second property and hence provided us with a vacation and bug out location property. When we moved there I started looking for another property (2 is 1 and 1 is none) but never found one.
As many of you know while we loved it there Dorothy (my wife for new folk) did not adjust well to being so far from family and when her dad began to decline with dementia we moved back to the Fort Worth area. While I miss the old place it is a decision I have never regretted. It let my wife care for her father and have 5 good years with him. Also so much good has come at Nine Mile Farm. Workshops, projects, ponds, livestock, etc all that were never going to work well in Arkansas.
God the Universe call it what you will seems to always send us what we need if we are open to it. Still I have never stopped wanting a second property. A hunting property would be nice but one mostly for getting away, bugging out and y’all know me, fishing would be more than good enough even if not a perfect hunting property.
As to off grid, I will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of that today along with some lessons I learned owing two properties for almost 10 years about distance and remote management. A lot of things that work in your head, don’t in the real world and a lot of problems you think are hard to solve are actually simple once you have to solve them.
Join Me Today to Discuss…
- No matter what real estate is real estate and emotions most be ignored
- Thoughts on the good and bad of off grid
- The Good
- Better Deals
- More Independence
- Likely you will know how everything works
- The Bad
- It is all on you
- There are limitations to the energy output
- Can be very expensive
- So much depends on the climate and goals you have
- The Good
- The things I’d want in a BOL property
- 2 hours away (3.5 is my personal max)
- Water, water and water
- Wooded and hence secluded
- If there are neighbors you want really good ones
- Suitable for earth works
- Natural resources (free building materials)
- Unincorporated, no HOAs, POAs
- No skinny rectangle layouts or other odd shapes that make big land feel small
- Structures to consider
- Conventional house
- Tiny House (shed)
- RVs or Tiny House on Wheels
- Mobile Home
- Earth Contact Structures
- Dome Homes or Aircrete
- Final Thoughts
Resources for today’s show…
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- TSP Facebook Group
- Join the Members Brigade
- Join Our Forum
- Walking To Freedom
- TspAz.com
- TSPC on Discord
- TSPC Group on Telegram (group chat)
- TSPC Telegram Channel (just messages from me)
- Jack on Parler
- Jack on MeWe
- Join Me on Odysee
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“wooded and hence secluded”
any concern about fires? lots of “preppers” in california got burned out last year, and this. can expect more of that when new refugees are trying to cook over a campfire for the first time and there are no firefighters available.
“if there are neighbors you want really good ones”
and do they want you?
First let me say of your last 4 comments 3 were totally on point and useful. Strange from you but happy to see it.
On fire, fire management is not done by living where no trees are it is done via design. Though that said, my advice to anyone is California is to get the fuck out.
I can’t say how everyone should manage risk with fire because it is very situational. Climate, topography, prevailing winds, general overall risk, surface water, natural breaks, etc. However the PDM gives a huge amount of solid design advice around this one thing alone.
So once again the answer is it depends and permaculture likely will give you your answer for your needs.
Oh and you know what stops fire best? You won’t believe me but VERY VERY large mature LIVE trees.
Bill Mollison – “If you want a fire break plant walnuts and grow them to a huge size, then provide and open break on the side you want to protect”
Class – mumble, gripe, groan, rolls eyes, is Bill nuts, etc.
Bill Mollison – “Oh you think so? Great well the walnuts or anything like them will suppress the hell our of undergrowth which is how fires spread, and if you think a mature walnut or oak is easy to burn, go try to light one with a match”.
Class – mumbles, um, oh, well, um.
Bill – Moves on.
If looking in Texas, you’ll also want to check if the county is in a water conservation district. A pseudo-governmental entity organized to “protect” your owned groundwater for you (and tax you, and limit your well capacity, Etc.). If you want to know the depth for a water well, the drillers logs are available from the state, online. You can check & review records, depths, and more importantly, hire the driller with the most local experience. Another source for land loans is Texas Veterans Land Board who loans up to $150k to veterans for raw acreage tracts.