Many of us dream of getting away from the rat race…getting away from a society we feel we don’t belong in, but can we afford to make the initial investment and LIVE OFF GRID in the first place?
There is a COST to living off grid many don’t consider…is it doable?…YES, but if you don’t have the initial money to put away for the OFF GRID start-up it’s going to be difficult to get everything moving. We discuss all of this in far more detail in our LIVING OFF GRID eBook
You really got THREE options when GOING OFF GRID…
1.) If you are Renting…Stay put where you are and start making environmentally friendly choices to slowly live a sustainable life for you and your family in your current situation....and SAVE MONEY doing it!
2.) If you OWN a home stay put, but start doing #1, but also start looking into renewable energy for your home as well as purchasing an electric vehicle and growing a Garden/Greenhouse and perhaps get some livestock like chickens for the backyard. (Everyone is well aware if on Oahu you most likely don’t have much of a yard so you’ll need to get inventive.)
3.) If you OWN…sell or rent out your current property and look into purchasing a home on HAWAII ISLAND that is mostly off grid already and has a good amount of acreage. Your other option is to look into purchasing land in either Kona or Hilo area. Depending on your preference of location and how much you can rent or sell your home for will dictate what will be possible to get on Hawaii island.
You do want to purchase land with a running water source…that is easier said than done, but it can be done…You are more than likely to come across land with a water supply on the Hilo side.
Land costs are going to vary from 20K up for 400K. That will either be just for the land or a fully functional home that is off grid and has a water and food source already in place…You can even purchase a fully operational Coffee or Mac nut farm with a home on it, off grid, in the 400-500K range with 3-6 acres of land.
So your DREAM is possible if you put the time into finding your little slice of paradise. You can start with 2 Acres of land and no home or a complete Off Grid Home and plenty of land. It depends on what financial resources you have at your disposal.
Knowing that…what are your main costs to living off grid if you are just starting with a piece of land?
Let’s average out the costs for your OFF GRID Property…
Your land will probably cost you 100K and building a decent sized home on that property will probably be about 100K as well. The size of your home is going to dictate how much renewable energy you are going to be using or need like Solar and another form of Hybrid energy as a backup, like Hydro or Wind, to be used when the Sun is not powering your energy systems like the Tesla Powerwall. Another issue will be how many people will be living in your home…the more people, the more energy consumption. You’ll either spend more money increasing your renewable energy or start making smart choices and controlling how much energy you and your family use.
You’ll need your Water Catchment (10K), You’ll need your Septic system (15K), you’ll need your Tesla Powerwall that will hold your energy supply. Depending on how many Powerwalls you’ll want these power units can cost (6-12K) installed and functional for up to two systems. You may just want two systems installed so you have a big backup system of energy in case you don’t get sun for a week or longer. You never know living in Hilo…but you’ll be sure not to have a water supply problem.
There are more options for your off grid home like an Aquaponics system, Greenhouse, live stock etc, but those will be your choice and these options you can add as you go.The only other costs will be the Basic maintenance of your off grid systems and if you learn how to take care and manage them yourself they will only cost you time not money. Last, you’ll obviously need the Proper building permits for your home if you plan on building everything from the ground up. If you don’t, one day if you want to sell you won’t be able to because more than likely the State or county you live in will put a lien on your home until you do.
So final cost and investment in a fully functional OFF GRID HOUSE you build from the ground up would have a cost between: 200K-300K. The fluctuation in cost will depend on how simplistic or radical you want to go off grid. It’s very possible to go off grid and leave this socially structured world we live in behind.