Is Living Off-Grid an Option for Retirement?

Is Living Off-Grid an Option for Retirement?

Are you dreaming of living off-grid, or asked yourself, “Is living off-grid an option for retirement?” Moving out of town and becoming self-sufficient can be very fulfilling if you live in an urban area and have yearned for a simpler life.

With the trend in tiny houses, and celebrities like Ed Begley, Jr. and Darryl Hannah promoting off-grid living, this method of sustainability is gaining in popularity.

According to Home Power Magazine, 180,000 families in the United States live off-grid. The Internet and readily available “how-to” guides have made it easy to learn what it takes to leave the rat race and become self-sufficient.

While most off-gridders are families with children, many retirement-age couples find the off-grid lifestyle very rewarding.

Not wanting to slave away at a job until age 70, these tenacious individuals have quit their jobs and followed their dreams of living a more stress-free, healthy, and satisfying lifestyle.

What it Means to Live Off-Grid

In conventional terms, it means self-sufficiency without reliance on public utilities such as electricity, water, sewer, and natural gas. Homes can generate power from solar, and wind, and use well water instead of city supply.

Off-gridders are reliant on themselves for everyday needs. (Check out my article “What is a Self-Reliant Retiree” to get tips on what that means – HINT: It’s not about living off-grid)

Are you retiring and seriously considering living 100% off-grid?  More power to you.  You are fearless and I commend you.

Another Option – Value-Based Retirement Living

If living completely off-grid sounds like utter nonsense, and you can’t wrap your head around building a house with solar panels or digging a well, I have a solution for you. I’ll call it semi-off-grid living, or more appropriately, value-based living.

Think of off-grid living vs value-based living this way. When you bake a cake from a box it isn’t completely homemade. You mix in a few ingredients, blend them, pour the batter into the pans, and place them in the oven.

Having the flour, butter, cocoa, and vanilla, much less growing wheat and grinding the berries is not a requirement for success!

The cake is moist and delicious, but it’s semi-homemade.

Living a value-based life is like baking a cake from a box; you strive for self-sufficiency but still have to pay the electric bill.

As city-slickers turned rural dwellers for the last 12 years, I can testify that minimal living is the way to go. We sold the house, got out of debt, and pay cash for everything while living productive and abundant lives.

True, there have been some jobs here and there to help pay the bills, but nothing permanent. It’s been a rewarding and enriching life.

We live in a nice home, eat home-grown vegetables, enjoy watching wildlife from our back door, take trips, entertain, and are part of the community.

3 Steps Before You Make Your Decision

Living abundantly in retirement is easy, but first, you and your spouse need to decide to:

Get out of debt – Once and for all cut up the credit cards, pay off the bills, and live on a cash basis. This doesn’t mean you don’t have any cards, it means that you give up the buy now, pay later mentality. Think about a time when people paid for items at the time of purchase, instead of using credit for everything. Empower yourself, reduce debt, and decrease financial stress.

Read: What is it Like to be Debt-Free? 8 Traits of a Debt-Free Retiree

Determine where you will live – For this to be successful, you may need to distance yourself from the judgmental views of friends and family who might consider your ideas to be unconventional. They may pressure you to stick to your old lifestyle and expect you to conform to the status quo. If you sell your house and move a reasonable distance, you are less likely to worry about judgment from peers. Benefit from starting a new adventure and living life to the fullest.

How will you earn your living? – If you’re like most baby boomers, you probably don’t have enough money to retire and live a pre-retirement lifestyle. But don’t worry, that’s what Rebel Retirement is all about – not getting stuck working endlessly just because a financial planner told you to. Put your thinking cap on and consider all the possibilities. Maybe you could support yourself with a side hustle selling vegetables, or crafts at a weekly market, opening a bait shop for local fishermen, or starting an online store to sell artwork you’ve created in your garage. What did you always want to do when you were 12 years old?

Brainstorm Ways to Economize

-Get rid of cable and/or satellite television services. Stream movies and TV shows from your computer. Get your news from there, too. You’ll be better informed and may find yourself reading more books.

 -Get rid of gym memberships. Exercise by taking walks, hiking,  and cycling. Work out to videos on YouTube. You also might like chopping wood.

-Start an organic vegetable garden. Benefit from the healthful nutrition of growing your own natural foods, while saving on the cost of groceries.

-Raise chickens. I would do this, but bears would relentlessly tear away at the chicken coop. I have heard that you’ve never tasted chicken until you’ve eaten a fresh one.

-Heat your home with wood. If possible, heat your home with wood. Wood stoves provide comfortable, even heat. And it does away with a monthly heating bill. I am so much a fan of wood stoves that the occasional time or two when we turn on the forced air, I think the noise and quality of heat, are unsatisfactory.

Conclusion

What are your goals?

Whether you decide to live off-grid, or semi-off-grid, it doesn’t mean that you will be living in a rickety-run-down old shack in the middle of nowhere. There are plenty of nice communities where you can live a simple, efficient lifestyle. Don’t let negative opinions paralyze you. Once you take steps toward self-sufficiency, your growing independence will result in a happier, healthier you. Much of your success will be your attitude. Think it over. What are your goals?

Catherine King and Wayne Adam’s self-sustaining island lifestyle may be a bit over the top for me, but they certainly provide a wealth of inspiration! Check out the video here.

Last updated 09/11/24

Related Article You May Like:

• Just-in-Time Retirement
• Why Baby Boomers Move to Walkable Towns
• Should I Move When I Retire – Only if You Have What it Takes

Do you have plans to downsize, rightsize, or live a minimal lifestyle? Please feel free to comment below! And before you go, please take a moment to subscribe to our newsletter, and like us on Facebook!