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Living in the wild

Risen

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I'm thinking of taking the plunge. Contunuing ina full time job, dropping school, and saving all my money to get started on living on my own SOMEWHERE away from people. Just me, nature, and all the animals I can hunt for free and plants I can grow. Logistically, I need three things more than anything else:

1. Land where it'd be legal for me to live off of with limited tax liabilities and other intrusions by government regulation meant to prevent people from being self sufficient and living outside of society. Outside the U.S. if need be.

2. A hardy location with enough water to support 1 human being, enough animals to hunt (no problem if this is a location near the ocean).

3. A good climate fit for growing a few crops and mild winters. A location with a fair amount of wild edible flora would be a plus.


Hunter/gatherer sort of living with a bit agricultural action. Preferably I shouldn't really NEED to raise any livestock, but it'd be an open possibility. It might be more of a necessity if I have to pay a lot of money annually to the government or what have you. The money I save should be enough to supply my tools and starting seeds or possible land costs for a year, though I could make plans to make room to produce a surplus of food items which could be sold.

In any case, does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? The hardest part is obviously finding a good location where you will be ALLOWED to live this way. This is something that should be open to every American in this vast country (of vast swaths of federal land forfeited by the dumb ass states), but alas, that quality has fallen by the wayside as so many things in this country have. Hunting, fishing, growing food, shitting outside; that's easy crap. I'd just need to hone my skills a bit before making the journey and learn quite a few things while saving the money.
 

swordpath

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Alaska!

Make sure you have an allotment set for your internet bill, wherever you may be. Updates, pics, stories etc. will be needed.
 

SurlyAdam

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Yeah, with internet and 3.18 posts per day? Good luck... INTPs don't do this, at least not without a nearby library. You'd be dead in a month.
 

Risen

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Internet aint shit when you have more important, basic, and fundamental things to focus on. Add to that im well disciplined in meditation and marrtial arts, so mental or physical fortitude is no issue whatsoever. Being among an ill society is what saps a person of his/her strength. So does anyone have any serious advice on the subject?
 

swordpath

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Internet aint shit when you have more important, basic, and fundamental things to focus on. Add to that im well disciplined in meditation and marrtial arts, so mental or physical fortitude is no issue whatsoever. Being among an ill society is what saps a person of his/her strength. So does anyone have any serious advice on the subject?

My Alaska recommendation was serious... Make it out there on your own and I'll call you a man. :cool:
 

swordpath

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Well, yeah... Australia would be a neat spot and would probably cater more to Risen's criteria. However, if you want to test your limits, I think Alaska is a good place for that. "Into the Wild" ftw.
 

Amargith

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Can I come with? *dreams*
 

Fluffywolf

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One of my most common daydreams I love to dream about is being sent back in time to prehistoric age building my own home and learning to fend for myself. Yeah, sounds weird, but I can get completely lost in that thought.

...Occasionally there's also a girl. But that depends on when last I masturbated.

Hats off to you if you manage, I might become a ( very far away ) neighbour of yours sometime. :devil:
 

Risen

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My Alaska recommendation was serious... Make it out there on your own and I'll call you a man. :cool:

I've lived in Alaska. There's no way I'm going back there. Besides, the cold snowy winters and dogged dark days would break my resolve. Like I said, I'd much prefer to find a place with MILD winters.
 

swordpath

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Word. "Mild winters"... You are a California boy, no doubt.

How does Australia sound to you?
 

Kingfisher

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well, how removed from society are you talking?

if you are talking about far removed, then the thing with land is; if you are in a remote enough area legality will not even be an issue. i would recommend not living on land you rent or have purchased, because you will have to pay rent/taxes, which will prevent you from actually be removed from society.

south and central america have a great growing season, and a lot more managable weather than alaska. subtropical climates have a lot more consistant weather and would make agriculture easier. you can grow things in a lot of climates (we even have farms in the desert), but i wouldn't pick one you have to struggle against too much.
but if you want to stay in the united sates, the western us still has lots of open land that you can disapear into.

you could also try living on a ranch or a farm for a while, to become more familiar with agriculture. or just go do it, and hope for the best.
 

Alwar

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Stay away from the forest, people have a misconception that it is abundant with resources. The biomass is concentrated in the wood, on the plains/steppes/savanna the biomass is concentrated in large land grazing animals for delicious meat to feed our large human brains. Living off hunting is very risky.

Assuming you are ethnic European or otherwise lactose tolerant, get a dairy cow. Also, chickens are good to keep the bugs in check in the garden. They will provide eggs and the occasional stewing hen. If you have an acre or two of pasture, a couple beeves will provide all the meat you can handle.

There is no way to survive off the grid for very long as an individual. You will need supplies from society at some point to keep up. You can minimize the dependence though.
 

Risen

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Stay away from the forest, people have a misconception that it is abundant with resources. The biomass is concentrated in the wood, on the plains/steppes/savanna the biomass is concentrated in large land grazing animals for delicious meat to feed our large human brains. Living off hunting is very risky.

Yes, I figured as much. Add to that the fact that hunting amongst tress and crap is more difficult.

Assuming you are ethnic European or otherwise lactose tolerant, get a dairy cow. Also, chickens are good to keep the bugs in check in the garden. They will provide eggs and the occasional stewing hen. If you have an acre or two of pasture, a couple beeves will provide all the meat you can handle.

No, I'm black, and lactose sensitive as luck would have it. I never drink milk, and one does wonder how to get a good amount of calcium with this type of living. It's not so vital considering I only plan to do this for about a year~ year and a half to see how it goes. However, I'm strongly in favor of living somewhere near a body of water that supports a healthy population of fish. Then finding protein should be made much easier, and I'd imagine the fish bones could be boiled and ground up to yield something to keep one's bones healthy and strong.

Depending where I'd be able to go I'd consider the small livestock, but probably not cows.

There is no way to survive off the grid for very long as an individual. You will need supplies from society at some point to keep up. You can minimize the dependence though.

Of course. Human beings do, for the most part, need other human beings for practical reasons. I'd be going in there with enough money saved and provisions to get things kick started on travel, shelter, and provisions. That'd be about all the help I need from society for the duration of the excursion, unless I somehow find I can't make it off the land with hunting and growing food, or perhaps some sort of medical emergency.
 

Alwar

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Oh, a year or two would be a cakewalk if you come prepared. Hell, you could get a couple years worth of grains for times when food isn't available and just keep learning to provide for yourself more and more. You can survive on the grains but you will constantly crave meat and will be motivated to find it.

Fish is good, especially since you'd catch them with nets instead of the silly hook/sinker method (which is for sport). Most lakes have a lot of fisherman (as forests have a lot of hunters) though and may not allow nets. You might be able to find a river or large creek with abundant fish, unlikely though.

I'm not sure where you could go to experiment with this. Maybe a campground near a lake. Trying it out for a year or so might be fun, a lot of people do this sort of thing and learn to appreciate frugality.
 

Kyrielle

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If you do this, I would adivse you become quickly familiar with all local flora before you head out. Knowing what is edible, medicinal, and poisonous will help you considerably. It's going to take some time for you to grow anything and be able to harvest it regularly, so you're going to need to find some other way to obtain the nutrients you usually require from vegetation.

I think it would be wise for you to scout the intended location heavily and repeatedly throughout the course of several months to identify what the land will offer you. See what kinds of useful plants grow there naturally and where the animals tend to roam. If you choose a place near clean water, you'll increase your chances of finding animals to hunt.

Of course, this is all said assuming you were going to be doing this for several years rather than just one year.
 

Nonsensical

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I think that's a great idea, Risen. I lived out in Colorado in the mountains for a while, and think it'd be an ideal hotspot. My dad had a friend who lived off the grid. She built her house on a mountain and lives there through the winters.

You'd need to definitely get yourself in a financial calm to be able to pull it off. A good location with water and vegetation, too. You could drill a well or a water pump, that's what they do off the grid for water if you don't get it from streams. You'd need to be constantly getting fire wood, too.

It sounds like a great idea, but just be smart about it because it can be tough. But it's possible and you seem like somebody who would thrive because of it.

It's something I've always dreamed of, too. Away from the corrupted society where money and power plague the streets and houses.

good luck, man!
 
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