The years have gone by fast since the initial excitement. Seems like just yesterday you were selling your suburban home or your condo in the city and making the big move to your pastoral retreat property as insurance for your family in case of a major national catastrophe. Now a new reality is setting in - modern maturity is taking its toll on you physically and mentally.
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Living off grid keeps you pretty busy most times, but the winter months, even though they are short here, offer some time to take stock of your situation and plan for the coming year. One work product from my winter planning this year was documented in a two-part article published in January, 2018 on Survivalblog. In summary, my article focuses on an issue that’s well-understood to property owners who buy and sell real estate frequently, but retreat and homestead owners – not so much. How much thought do you give to your retreat end game?
Read MoreMy introduction to off grid living came as a shocking and unwelcome inconvenience. I was a 13-year-old city kid living large as a drummer in a pop rock and roll band when my lifestyle changed abruptly into that of a shivering off-grid homesteader. The reality of living in the woods without electricity or indoor plumbing was incredulous to me. As they say, it was a character-building experience with some very useful life lessons learned that I’ll share if you care to walk with me down “memory lane.”
Read MoreThis is the third and final segment of a “you better know” list I developed to help property owners organize and market the unique attributes of their existing retreat properties when they make a decision to sell it to the next generation of prepared individuals. This is an updated list that I prepared several years ago when I was researching rural properties to buy myself.
Read MoreI’m a recovering Realtor. That means I’m not involved in licensed real estate sales any longer because the business has changed quite a bit over the last 20 years. I don’t find it to be satisfying any longer. What is satisfying for me now is helping property owners organize and market the unique attributes of their existing retreat properties when they make a decision to sell it to the next generation of prepared individuals. That’s why I created this list.
Read MoreThe Western states have long been recognized as the “ideal” location by proponents of sustainable living, rural homesteading and perpetuation of a survival retreat lifestyle. There are, however, a few excellent alternatives to the Western Redoubt for relocating your family to a more secure and defensible retreat. At the top of the short list of realistic choices for self-reliant rural living is Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau in the Southern Appalachian Redoubt. Here’s why.
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