Which way of living is more awesome?

I'm not sure if this is the right sub-forum, so please move it if it isn't.

Anyhow, if I think about what would be the coolest way of living I can think of 2 things that don't seem to go together. So I'll have to choose if I want to make one a reality.

1. Living in a zero-energy house (off the grid, generating your own energy and so on) and growing your own food.
2. Living in an electric camper and being able to travel everywhere.

The second might be less comfortable than the first, but I LOVE to travel. However, if you choose the first option then you wouldn't need any more money for energy or food after the house is finished. It would be really nice if you didn't need money anymore to survive.

Which would you choose and why?

If anyone knows how to combine the camper idea with the zero-energy/zero-money idea then I would be highly interested. :2thumbsup:

 

I'd definitely choose 1), even if I like travelling it is less important for me than living completly on my own.

How are you planning to do it? It definitely wouldn't be easy to live completly money-free...

 

I have actually been looking into both options. It's my goal to make living off the grid the bare minimum as far as my permanent living goes.

Have you looked into tiny houses? http://www.ecojoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/tiny-house-under-tree.jpg

Several design plans come with a trailer so you can travel. Energy for the house could come from the sun or wind depending on permanence.

The issue of growing food and traveling still stands.

In response to your question, I'd choose 2. My desire to travel is too strong now.

 

I'd definitely go for the first option, and hope one day to make it a reality. Why?

I'm an organic agriculture kinda guy who gets his sanity by grubbing about in the soil. I talk to earthworms, celebrate the ladybug hatch, put out water for the bees and wasps, and pretty much just live for the garden throughout the growing season. I'm also environmentally conscious and want to do what I can to minimize the harm my existence does to the ecosystem. Never mind that in order to do self-sufficiency really well you pretty much have to have a pickup truck... it's less of an impact if my pickup goes into town once or twice a week to the farmer's market and produce stands than to have 20 or 30 vehicles a week leaving town to visit my farm stand.

I've traveled extensively in my time and would be happiest if I never again had to go more than 20 miles from home. I do my best to avoid it already, as anything that's not available locally can be ordered online and brought right to my door by UPS or FedEx. The freight cost is cheaper than driving a hundred miles to the nearest big town anyway.

 

In an off the grid house growing your own veggies, you are a producer. Travelling, you are a consumer. The world has too many consumers and not enough producers.

 

it would be awesome to have a lot of land. its so cheap right now!

 

Very true, but I feel that if my footprint is small enough, then I can live contently. I wouldn't want to be a permanent consumer, though. I'd prefer to settle down and cultivate eventually.

It's free in some places like Nebraska, Kansas, Alaska and a few more states trying to attract businesses and permanent residents. Do a bit of research and you'll find land.

 

Any ideas how long it might still be avaiable and if it is possible to get land and move there if you are not USA citizen?

Wow that would be great opportunity for me.

 

I do both.

We are all consumers to some extent and the choice in the first place is which economy you are going to avail yourself of, the economy of desire or the economy of need.

The economy of desire is hugely wasteful and inefficient as so much is sought after that offers only transient satisfaction. Hunger by definition, is never satisfied and by and large you do not know what you are hungry for.

The economy of need is met with providence on an equal basis, always.

If you travel, do it on foot and take nothing with you. If you wish to travel to exotic places, thinking is the best way to travel. The purpose of travel is to be somewhere. No matter where you are, you are in direct relationship with here.

I live on my own land in the forest off the grid. The only permanent structure on the land is a well and septic system. I live in a geographical area of native abundance and take advantage of forest produce including fish, berries, nuts, mushrooms, and herbs.

I have no bills due to the system other than property tax which is low because I occupy essentially raw land.

 

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/7-towns-where-land-is-free.html

The land is there as long as nobody else has taken it. As far as not being a US citizen, I'm not sure. If the towns are desperately seeking people, I don't see why they would turn you away...

 

That's really awesome, thedope! How did you go about establishing yourself in the wild?

 

I first established myself in the city, had a career. When I had mastered that I began to search for my own measure or to find out how I measured up to nature.

 

I voted zero energy living off the land. My life goal is pretty much just that, so yeah.