You’ve decided you are ready to leave the hectic city life behind in exchange for life in the countryside on your own homestead. The “rat race” of society is getting old and you want to live your best life. Although it involves a tremendous amount of hard work, homesteading is a wonderful way to achieve an incredibly fulfilling life! In this article, I will show you exactly how to start your very own Off-Grid Homestead.
As with anything, it is best to know what you are getting into, and who you are getting your information from. Read my blog post Hello Friends to find out more about me and my family’s off-grid journey. I’m thrilled to give you some solid ideas on how to start your dream Off-Grid Homestead – let’s dive in!
Plan Your Move
As with any move, you have to diligently plan for the new environment you will be immersed into. When relocating to an off-grid homestead prepare to plan, un-plan, re-plan, triple plan and plan again! Planning is so important in an off-grid move because it could be a matter of life and death. Omg, Rori, stop being so dramatic! Well, the statement was a little over the top, but I only speak the truth. If you plan to move somewhere where the weather gets to below freezing or scorching temperatures, you MUST have a plan of where to source your heat or cooling from!
It’s just as important to know where your food, water, electricity and cooking fuel will come from (in addition to the heat/cooling source). For an amazing planning resource check out my Freebie “Off-Grid Preparation Checklist“. It has every detail you will need to keep in mind for planning your big off-grid homestead move.
Budget Your Move
Take it from our family’s experience! It is no fun to run out of money in the middle of building your dream homestead!
If you plan to work an online job while living on your off-grid homestead, make sure that you are making a steady income from that job before you make the big move. Equally as important, you need to have reliable Wi-Fi on your homestead to be able to work from home. Here on our homestead, we use Starlink and have found it to be incredibly fast and reliable.
For more marvelous information about budgeting your off-grid move check out my blog post Homesteading on a Budget I have set up a step-by-step guide on all things budget for your off-grid homestead – happy budgeting!
Pick Your Spot
Are you one of those crazy people that love snow so much you want to live in it? Or are you the other type of crazy that prefers a sweaty, humid climate? Whatever type of weather you love, make sure to think about what type of weather you prefer to live in.
The U.S. (and Mexico where we live) have incredibly diverse landscapes with varying climates. It’s imperative to think about what climate will make you the happiest (and perhaps your family, as well).
Equally as important for garden enthusiasts, you should take into account what growing zone your garden is located in. If you are not a fan of canning, there are places you can grow your veggies year-round to avoid doing that homestead task. Not to brag, but here in Baja California we are blessed with a temperate climate that grants us the ability to grow fruits and veggies year-round!
Discuss the Move with Loved Ones
This step may not apply to those who live the lone wolf lifestyle, but for many it may be important to prepare your loved ones for the move to an off-grid homestead. From my own experience, many of our family members were worried about our family moving to Mexico from the U.S. My partner and I had to do a good amount of reassuring that we would okay and that we had chosen a safe, rural location to live in. Once we showed them pictures and told them about our kind neighbors, they were on board.
Remember that most family members are worried for us because they love us.
Another very important component to this step is preparing your children for the big move. Moving from a city or suburb to a rural homestead can be very drastic, especially if you have not spent much time in the countryside. Give room for big feelings and sad emotions. The hardest part for kids is usually leaving their friends, so be sure to give your kids plenty of time to say goodbye and offer them ways to keep in touch with their friends.
There you have it! Take it from me, as a certified procrastinator, I did not plan or budget enough and I wish I did. Preparedness is one of the most important qualities a homesteader can have, so get on it!
