living off grid, comfortably, full time.

so i have had this idea that i originally got when i was about 18, i wanted to buy land and sit on it. then i turned 22 and started driving truck OTR 48 states, and the idea evolved into buying land and building a home on it. years later here i am at 25 almost 26 and i want to buy land, build a self sufficient homestead, and live there full time.

previously i had no idea where i wanted to live, but i spent a good two years driving all around this beautiful country, seeing everything for myself. so i have a great idea of where i would prefer not to live, like in northern states. right now i have mostly been set on the 4 corners area of az nm co and ut. mainly nm and co.

theoriginalidea upuntilrecently has only accounted for just myself so ideally i would be fine with just an acre. but i started thinking, what if i got something like 5 acres...what if me and some people found a large plot and went in on it and divvied it up? what if a commune got started? ive been thinking about this too, but i dont know anything about them, never lived on one never visited one, and basically from living in a big city with shady people my whole life i have a problem trusting people just being honest. everything is up in the air right now, but the basic plan is to have a plot somewhere and start building a cheap cabin with self sustainability on it this summer, on my days off. eventually i wont have to work anymore to just live on the land. but if anything i plan to drive through the winter, and live on it during summer with saved money.

ive been doing tons of research these last few days too. anyone have any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions? i wanted to put this in the extended forums but it was giving me a login issue after i registered.

updated by @castaway-j: 02/14/15 02:26:19AM

oh suggestions such as good sources to find and buy cheap land at, my only resource so far is ebay.

From experience, communes aren't nearly as fun as they're cracked up to be. When you visit one, it's like an oasis. everyone seems to be happy and enjoying it, but for the people who live on them, it's not really like that. most people end up miserable. There's tons ofjealousy about other living there. Who dating who? who does more work?who uses too much and doesn't contribute enough?

I've known others who have live in communes too. It's a great idea, but in practice, it's more down than up. Unless you could have separate homes for each person, but again, with so few people around, jealousy will overpower the other emotions you think you'll feel

Have you seen Easy Rider? Do you remember that commune? it's pretty much like that. Even the big ones in california that are allowed to exist, where it's legal to smoke pot. They aren't to friendly to outsiders coming in, and they have tons of social problems

Do not forget taxes you will have to pay on the land!

Baba Fats said:

From experience, communes aren't nearly as fun as they're cracked up to be. When you visit one, it's like an oasis. everyone seems to be happy and enjoying it, but for the people who live on them, it's not really like that. most people end up miserable. There's tons ofjealousy about other living there. Who dating who? who does more work?who uses too much and doesn't contribute enough?

I've known others who have live in communes too. It's a great idea, but in practice, it's more down than up. Unless you could have separate homes for each person, but again, with so few people around, jealousy will overpower the other emotions you think you'll feel

Have you seen Easy Rider? Do you remember that commune? it's pretty much like that. Even the big ones in california that are allowed to exist, where it's legal to smoke pot. They aren't to friendly to outsiders coming in, and they have tons of social problems

true. Even if you grow enough to sell, you won't make to much off of it outside local farmers markets. And it's hard to make a living off of that.

taxes are cheap not worried about em at all.

Neil said:

Do not forget taxes you will have to pay on the land!

I love the idea of communes. I just know from experience that they just don't really work that well. Financially they can be fine. It's the emotional distress that you need to worry about. you are in a society where there are only a few people to get into a relationship with. If you try to bring more people in, that's another mouth to feed and another person using resources. It causes stress in everyone else. There's a fine line that people will want everyone to stay within when it comes to who lives there

I picked up on your word 'honest.' Just want to suggest you stay honest both with yourself and others in this venture. Trust your inner voice always. If you meet sincere honest people, practical details will work themselves out. If it was me, I'd find a rural community or small town where there are like-minded people, and buy land near there. That way you have friends and neighbours nearby but still have your own space. Baba Fats makes a good point. Off-the-grid life can be challenging enough without emotional and ego dramas going on as well. (this is me now, being honest - lol!) Good luck with your plans!

i dont know, i still see myself going into town and still working maybe for the winter months, and taking summer off to plant and just enjoy LIFE, then winters downtime wont actually be downtime at all if i dont want it to be. truck driving companies are cool with this for the most part a lot of drivers do similar things with time off. so i guess there wouldnt be a commune by definition, unless it worked out that way you know that would be cool. kinda good on the whole relationship thing as well. if i were to see that a viable option for anything it would be after that drama stopped altogether lol

Baba Fats said:

I love the idea of communes. I just know from experience that they just don't really work that well. Financially they can be fine. It's the emotional distress that you need to worry about. you are in a society where there are only a few people to get into a relationship with. If you try to bring more people in, that's another mouth to feed and another person using resources. It causes stress in everyone else. There's a fine line that people will want everyone to stay within when it comes to who lives there