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Last Updated on September 4, 2024 by Paul Clayton
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10 Best Places to Live Off the Grid
Escaping the hustle and bustle of modern life can be a compelling idea. There are numerous places to live off the grid for those seeking a simpler, more self-sufficient lifestyle.
- Access to natural resources: Availability of water, fertile soil, and abundant wildlife.
- Renewable energy potential: Assessment of solar, wind, or hydroelectric power.
- Climate suitability: Consideration of temperature, precipitation, and weather extremes.
- Legal and regulatory environment: Understanding of local laws regarding off-grid living.
- Community support: Presence of like-minded individuals or established off-grid communities.
- Self-sufficiency challenges: Assessment of potential difficulties in sourcing necessities.
- Accessibility and remoteness: Balance between isolation and proximity to essential services.
People go off the grid for numerous reasons. Some want to test their survival skills and see if they can live without the modern conveniences many take for granted.
Others seek to reduce their living costs by doing much of the labor involved with survival – divorcing themselves from dependence on their employer and the economy’s whims.
Some embrace the ultimate in sustainability by striving to go zero-waste and minimizing their carbon footprint.
This lifestyle offers multiple benefits, such as getting closer to nature and increasing your confidence in your self-sufficiency.
However, it isn’t for everyone – and even those prepared for the sacrifices have to find a place to pursue their dreams. Finding an available property that suits your needs can be challenging.
Where should you look if you’re ready to dive into a self-sustaining, independent lifestyle? Here are the best places to live off the grid.
Qualifications for Making This List
You’ll find various lists about off-grid living online, and most likely, all consider different factors when advising you on where to establish your homestead. Here are the criteria we evaluated when compiling this information:
Are they tiny-home-friendly?
Not everyone who goes off the grid intends to create a multi-acre ranch. You don’t need much space to support enough livestock and produce for one or two people, but you need to maximize what you have – not use it all on a dwelling.
Although building and zoning laws come down to local jurisdictions in many cases, which states are most amenable?
What are your renewable energy resources?
Solar instantly comes to mind. Does the region see sufficient sunlight to keep everything charged?
How often does the breeze blow for those who prefer to supplement with wind power? How difficult will it be for their production to keep up with demand?
How challenging is the landscape for agriculture, foraging, and hunting?
You have to eat – is the region abundant in resources?
Are there others like you nearby?
Off-grid living encourages a stronger sense of community because you often have to rely on one another when problems arise.
States that are friendly to off-grid living often have fairly closely knit – if sparsely populated – neighborhoods where similar homesteaders set up their plots.
What are the applicable laws?
Believe it or not, some states have laws that de facto ban off-grid living. For example, many locations require you to connect to local sewer, water, and electrical services.
One factor doesn’t matter more than another – the totality of the circumstances counts.
With that, are you ready to seek your independent and sustainable oasis? Here are 10 of the best places to live off-grid.
The 10 Best States for Living Off the Grid
Where should you establish your homestead? Consider these 10 states first.
1. Georgia
Georgia’s laws are favorable to those looking to escape society. While some areas require you to hook up to sewer services, more rural locations are amenable to entirely off-grid lifestyles.
One issue you’ll have to research carefully is the applicable zoning laws in your desired location. They vary from place to place, even using different codes. If you dream of raising chickens, you don’t want to choose an area zoned for residential use only.
Furthermore, even sites intended for agriculture differ in their building restrictions, with some allowing mobiles or tiny homes and others forbidding them.
Fortunately, you won’t have too many days to freeze without heat. Even those with homes of 1,200 square feet can heat their entire abode with a wood or pellet stove.
The latter option is cleaner burning and decreases smoke and silt, making it better for those looking to increase their sustainability quotient.
2. Arizona
With roughly 300 days of sunshine, Arizona is the perfect state for solar power enthusiasts. Better yet, you can find a climate for every taste, from the hot deserts of Yuma to Flagstaff’s aspen and juniper forests.
Your biggest hurdle will be finding water. While you can drill a well, you may have to go down hundreds of feet to access a groundwater source, which’ll cost a pretty penny. Collecting rainwater in the state is legal, but some months might leave you with slim pickings.
Zoning and building ordinances vary widely from place to place, but rural areas are often friendly to tiny and manufactured homes.
The only caveat is that you might have quite the drive to get to town for supplies – but it’s not impossible if you plan for self-sufficiency.
3. California
You might not initially think of California as the ideal location for off-the-grid living. While the state ranks number one in population, it’s also one of the nation’s largest, and huge swaths of undeveloped land lie in rural areas.
Like in Arizona, water can be a concern, especially in the state’s dry southern and middle regions. You can have difficulty establishing water rights, and there’s no guarantee your well won’t dry.
Please do your homework if you find the ideal parcel, complete with a river running through it.
You may be unable to use the stream for bathing and water collection.
However, you’ll get plenty of sunshine to fuel your solar batteries. However, waste management can be an issue if you rely on composting toilets. Many jurisdictions allow them if you use a third-party service to haul away solids.
If you don’t hook up to a municipal sewer system, you’ll need a septic tank for gray water.
4. Idaho
The best states for living off the grid aren’t all in tropical or desert regions. If you love the mountains, Idaho offers multiple ranges, including the Rockies, the Smoky Mountains, and the Sawtooth Range.
Although Yellowstone National Park mainly lies within its neighbor, Wyoming, parts of this masterpiece spill over into the state.
You can count on spectacular vistas, but you must stay warm. Although the summertime highs rarely escape the 80s, the lows regularly dip below freezing from November through April.
The relatively low humidity most of the state enjoys means those winter winds cut you all the more deeply – so prepare to bundle up.
However, it would help if you had a relatively easy time raising fruits and vegetables. The state is perhaps best known for its potatoes, but lettuce, kale, tomatoes, and peas also thrive.
If you’re the hunter-gatherer sort, you’ll find ample game. A single elk can net you over 200 pounds of meat – more than enough to survive the winter. Just be sure to brush up on your hunting skills before you commit to finding your food.
5. Colorado
Colorado is another state with mountain views and bountiful game. However, you’ll have to go large if you want to call this state your off-grid home.
A 1972 law requires you to purchase at least 35 acres if you’re going to disconnect from services. Furthermore, many properties within the state’s jurisdiction have codes, covenants, and restrictions written into your deed intended to preserve the surrounding natural environment.
Water could be a problem, not only because the state sees an average of 300 sunny days. Because the state considers H2O a public resource, it’s illegal to gather rainwater per the state’s constitution.
However, this rule is tricky to prosecute because of the difficulty of determining if your use impinges on someone else’s. Nevertheless, you could end up with a legal hassle.
However, Colorado is a fabulous place for solar if you can get around those factors. Those who connect to the grid can earn compensation for the excess energy their property generates.
Of course, doing so may defeat the purpose, but it’s nice to have this option in your back pocket if your life circumstances change.
Politically, the state is an eclectic mix of Wild West independence, so people of any stripe or belief system are sure to find others who share their perspective.
6. Utah
With five national parks, Utah is a mecca for van life enthusiasts and the RV crowd. It’s also one of the friendliest states in the nation for those wanting to go tiny, although not all regions are equally amenable.
For example, Washington County only requires minimum square footage of 300 feet for models placed on permanent foundations – although you need to connect to utilities.
Most locations classify tiny homes on wheels as recreational vehicles. However, Eagle Mountain City allows them in base and tier-one residential zones.
If your DIY skills aren’t up to par for building one from scratch, you’ll find plenty of builders in the state.
Although the state has a dry climate, it’s also relatively mild, with summertime highs averaging in the high 70s and winter lows just below freezing.
The lakes boast several game fish species for the anglers, and mule deer season runs September 17 through October 15. However, authorities occasionally extend it until the end of November when bucks go into a rut and migrate to lower elevations.
7. Maine
Maine is perhaps the best place on the East Coast for off-grid living if you don’t like warm climates like Georgia and Florida. The laws here are generally quite favorable to off-grid living, although you will need to pull permits and occasionally submit to inspections to qualify.
However, you’ll need to prepare for long, cold winters, which means lots of power. Fortunately, the state offers generous incentives for solar and wind technology use.
Additionally, there is no shortage of firewood in most locations—use a rack to keep your log supply off the soggy ground.
The state’s laws are also kind to tiny homes and treat manufactured models as single-family dwellings. There’s abundant game for hunters and the nearby Atlantic Ocean offers up the fruits of the sea for your dining pleasure.
8. Oregon
Oregon has a reputation for drawing active, outdoorsy adventure types, so it’s perhaps not surprising that it appears on this list of the best places to live off the grid.
The state’s relatively low population and expansive area provide plenty of places to set up your homestead. You won’t find the climate too extreme in much of the state, although it can get rainy and cold.
Please be advised that you will have an income-generating requirement if you purchase land zoned for farming. How much you must earn depends on the size of your parcel, but you shouldn’t have too much trouble producing it if you put your plot to good agricultural use.
The state isn’t the friendliest toward tiny homes. Although zoning varies, most rules involve minimum square footage requirements. However, you may be able to set up an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on someone else’s parcel if they’re willing to rent the land to you.
9. Nebraska
Nebraska has miles of open farmland, so seeing it on this list of the best places to live off the grid isn’t surprising. Much of the state prides itself on its agricultural heritage, which entails a hefty dose of self-sufficiency.
The climate here can be harsh, with hot summers and freezing winters. However, humidity often facilitates water collection. The state is among the best for raising crops – corn, beans, grains, and potatoes all flourish.
The state’s vast expanses and low population mean many homesteaders choose to homeschool their kids. If you have little ones, please rest assured that the laws for doing so are relatively simple, requiring you only to apply for an exemption under Rule 13.
10. New Mexico
Rounding out this list of the best places to live off the grid is the land of enchantment. This state is home to Earthship Biotecture, a self-sustaining, off-grid community where residents construct their homes using recycled and natural materials.
They even offer public tours to teach others how to embrace this lifestyle. “Eve” – the largest structure in the center – comprises repurposed bottles and cans.
Most of New Mexico has a hot desert climate, but the mountains see cold and snow. There is abundant sunshine, but water can be a concern.
The government encourages rainwater harvesting—the city of Santa Fe even requires collection features on new builds.
If you want to live free and easy with nearly unlimited flexibility on land use, look for a region with no zoning ordinances.
However, please be advised that even these areas have building codes – so erect a structure without pulling the proper permits at your own risk. Authorities could make you dismantle it, costing you time, money, and heartache.
Is Life Better Off The Grid?
More individuals are choosing to live off the grid in an attempt to gain greater control over their lives and resources.
This lifestyle offers an alternative to reliance on urban infrastructures, fostering self-sufficiency and autonomy. Living off the grid allows you to harness natural resources for power, cultivate your food, and reduce your ecological footprint.
However, this way of life has challenges, requiring significant effort, skills, and resilience. Despite this, the benefits of personal independence and environmental stewardship make living off the grid rewarding for many.
Final Words
Choosing places to live off the grid requires careful consideration of various factors to ensure a sustainable and quality life. Access to natural resources is one such crucial factor.
The availability of fresh water, fertile soil for agriculture, and abundant wildlife for hunting can significantly impact the ease of off-grid living. Renewable energy potential is another essential aspect to consider.
Evaluating the area’s potential for harnessing solar, wind, or hydroelectric power will ensure a constant and sustainable energy supply.
Climate suitability also plays a vital role in deciding where to live off the grid. It’s essential to consider the local temperature variances, precipitation levels, and potential for extreme weather conditions that could affect survival and comfort.
Understanding the legal and regulatory environment is also necessary. Local laws regarding off-grid living vary widely and can significantly impact your experience.
Community support can make the transition to off-grid living smoother. The presence of like-minded individuals or established off-grid communities can provide invaluable advice and assistance.
Lastly, assessing self-sufficiency challenges is crucial as sourcing necessities can be complex in remote areas. Therefore, careful planning and assessment are paramount when choosing places to live off the grid.
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