Ten tough challenges aging homesteaders face today

Many aging off grid retreat owners, from the group born post World War II between the years 1946-1964, are facing challenges that very few of them have adequately prepared for. They were the generation of fighters trying to survive despite the competition of getting accepted into a good college, landing a job and buying a home. Now, as they enter late retirement age, senior homesteaders have to confront a new set of challenges that threaten to diminish their many years of preparations for surviving a major catastrophe. Are you seeing yourself in this scenario?

No jack? Here's how to work your way into rereat living

Your instincts have been telling you tough times are ahead. Really tough times - like when the banks fold up and the grocery stores get emptied out over night. You’ve been preparing as best you can, setting aside supplies in case of a disaster of unknown proportion. You’ve been thinking about buying a safe rural location for your family to escape to when it’s time to get out of town. But you are way short of cash.

What's your retreat mindset - Castle, cabin or cave?

What do you think of when you consider a place to relocate family for safety and security in the event of a natural disaster or major regional emergency? Is your ideal retreat location an underground bunker carved out of a rural mountainside, a secluded 700 s.f. off-grid cabin in the woods, or a scenic mountaintop lodge in a fortified compound? Your attitude about surviving a major disaster has a lot to do with what your ideal safe house might be. And what’s in your wallet.

Nobody told me I'd get too old for off-grid life

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.

What's the one critical prep that everyone forgets?

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?

15 lessons - How I lost my off grid virginity

My 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.”

Stuff you really ought to know before buying a “retreat” property – Part 3

This 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.

Stuff you really ought to know before buying a “retreat” property – Part 2

This is the second 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.

Survival Homestead, Retreats, HomesteadingOl’ Tennessee RidgerunnerJanuary 28, 2018survival, homesteading, off-grid, retreatsComment

Stuff you really ought to know before buying a “retreat” property – Part 1

I’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.

Who says Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau is a Redoubt?

The 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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