Are you looking to take a break from the outside world and live off the land for a while? Well, one thing is sure – it's no easy task, and it takes a lot of planning and preparation. We see many people do it in movies, but actually pulling it off in real life can be really difficult and make a lot of people feel cutoff from the outside world. This article will be looking at everything you need to consider when thinking about living off the land.

Types of Living off the Land

Complete

With living off the land, you are absolutely self-sufficient - you don't use any form of utilities or rely on anyone else to survive. This type of off-grid living takes things to the extreme, and you will need a lot of determination and physical and mental preparation to pull it off. When going entirely off the grid, the only things you can have are the bare essentials you will need to survive. These include; shelter, water, and food. Hey, maybe you even want to hunt and grow your own food and harvest rain for your water source?

Partial

This one is the most common of the living off the land options. With this, you seclude yourself from the outside world and are still self-sufficient. However, you can have luxuries such as electricity, WiFi, and more. Partial off-grid living is not too difficult to plan and is much easier to pull off.

Tips for living off the land

Choose a spot.

Location is the first thing that aids in living off-the-land. It's not exactly easy to live off the land when you are in the middle of a busy town with noisy neighbors. As such, the first and most important thing to look at is where exactly you will be living, and it should be, of course, a secluded location. So you need to start looking for land in remote places to buy. When buying land, you should think about the suitability and how the surroundings could convenience you. It should have a suitable climate, good soil for cultivation, and some livestock and potentially access to hunting grounds. You don't need much land, and it's best not to spend too much on buying the land as it's only the first step. Just a few acres is OK.

Make a shelter plan.

After getting land, you need to start thinking about your shelter options. Now some lands have cabins or tiny homes built into them, so when buying land, you should look out for them as they will save you a whole lot of time and allow you to live off the land faster. However, if your land didn't come with a house or shelter, you have to start looking into how you will get one of your own. If you have some handyman skills, you could build a tiny house yourself. If you don't have such skills, it's a good idea to start a few online courses on carpentry and such now or get someone to build it for you. You can always get a Tiny House on Wheels or mobile home if you need to live off the land and don't have time for building.

Make a food supply plan.

Your food source is significant and should be well thought of before living off the land. Now your food source could be intensely reliant on your location or land or not. If you plan on living off the ground, your site should definitely have suitable soil. Wherever you pick would already have some livestock from which you can get your food. If not, you should start looking into livestock and rearing them. You should also begin taking courses on growing and preserving your own food, how to fish, how to hunt, and take some cooking classes if you don't already know how to cook. If you don't plan on living off the land, you should start looking at your food options. You can choose to live on canned foods or buy non-perishable foods to cook. You should buy at least six months of food.

Think about where you get your water.

Water is also going to be very important in your life off the beaten path. You will need it for showering, brushing your teeth, cooking, and drinking. As such, before you live off the land, you need to look at your water options. If there is a lake, river, or any source of water near your location, then you are good to go. However, if not, you will need to plan on creating your own source of water. You could look into digging a well here and get help from your friends and family or get professional services. You can also plan a rainwater system to collect and filter it for you. This can be done in addition to the well or not; however, if a rain system will be your sole water source, make sure your location is subject to a lot of rainfall.

Make a plan for your energy supply.

If you plan on having a little luxury like power when you are living off the land and living off grid, you should definitely start working out what your energy source is going to be. Seeing as being off grid means your energy source should be self-sufficient. You're going to need a reliable power source to prevent momentary loss of power. This means you should not use a generator as your primary power source but only for emergencies. Your best option for a primary power source is a solar panel. It can store a lot of power and are environment-friendly. Seeing as a solar panel will need professional installation, now is an excellent time to start looking into a solar installation company. Suppose your location has limited sunlight due to the climate and other factors. In that case, you could look into getting windmills or water turbines if your site supports them instead.

Start training

Another thing to start doing is training. You need to prepare yourself for living off the land. You can't just start without training, and I hope you adapt quickly. If you live off the land when you are off the grid, now is an excellent time to grow your own food, preserving and consuming it. If you plan on hunting, you need to start learning how to catch your food as well.

You will also need to reduce your energy use and how much you rely on technology. This also applies to you even if you plan to use power while you are off the grid, as there would be times you wouldn't have power. You could consider going camping often, preparing your mind, and getting used to being self-sufficient. You will also need to start working out and taking courses such as basic carpentry, plumbing, using first aids, and more.

Join forums and connect with people with experience

Like with other endeavors, one of the best ways to prepare yourself is to learn from other people. You need to join forums on living off the land and contact others currently living off the land. They can give you beneficial advice and tell you about some of their experiences, which will help you learn everything to learn and complete your living off-the-land preparations.

FAQs

How much does it cost to live off the land?

There really isn't any fixed price for living off the land. It will depend on how you plan on living off the land, that is if you plan to grow your own food, build your own shelter, and so on. One thing is for sure, though. However you plan on living off the land, it will be much cheaper than living in the big city, but will be harder to make any money living in the middle of nowhere. While you are living off the land, it is also essential you still find a source of income, that is, if you plan on staying off-grid for long. You can consider getting a work-from-home job or setting up a passive income stream in advance.

Do you have to pay taxes if you live off the land?

While it is true that living off the land has a lower cost of living, taxes are not one of the costs you avoid when you live off the land or off grid. People who live off-the-land are still responsible for property taxes on their land, whether or not it is off-grid. Income, property, excise, and payroll are all taxes that people who live off-the-grid must still pay.

Why go off-grid?

Living off the land has a lot of advantages, and many individuals claim to have saved a substantial amount of money in just a year of living off the land. ''Off-Gridders'' also live on their own terms, with a liberated lifestyle and the freedom to live anywhere they want.

‍