Where would you start looking for off grid property?

[mudflap]

Ok, I'm geeking out on Earthships. It's at the top of my list of home-building methods. This one is more on the fancy side, but the general premise is the same for this type of build. Why don't we build like this today? Passive heating and cooling. The idea is so simple. Plus you collect the rainwater and reuse it for showers, toilets, and watering plants.

because too many folks are willing to settle for stick-homes.

and the 30 years of debt-slavery that goes with them.

I'm telling you - one thing I've learned from building my own home is this: men (and their wives) are supposed to be physically active - to build, design, create, invent, problem-solve, imagine, accomplish, etc. The idea that you can "fulfill the measure of your creation" by wearing a suit, commuting 2 hours a day back and forth to a "cube farm" to stare at a computer screen all day - well, that's just another one of Satan's lies. It's slavery.

[Cruiserdude]

Ok, I'm geeking out on Earthships. It's at the top of my list of home-building methods. This one is more on the fancy side, but the general premise is the same for this type of build. Why don't we build like this today? Passive heating and cooling. The idea is so simple. Plus you collect the rainwater and reuse it for showers, toilets, and watering plants.

because too many folks are willing to settle for stick-homes.

and the 30 years of debt-slavery that goes with them.

I'm telling you - one thing I've learned from building my own home is this: men (and their wives) are supposed to be physically active - to build, design, create, invent, problem-solve, imagine, accomplish, etc. The idea that you can "fulfill the measure of your creation" by wearing a suit, commuting 2 hours a day back and forth to a "cube farm" to stare at a computer screen all day - well, that's just another one of Satan's lies. It's slavery.

Yuuuuup

[RosyPosy]

I'm telling you - one thing I've learned from building my own home is this: men (and their wives) are supposed to be physically active - to build, design, create, invent, problem-solve, imagine, accomplish, etc. The idea that you can "fulfill the measure of your creation" by wearing a suit, commuting 2 hours a day back and forth to a "cube farm" to stare at a computer screen all day - well, that's just another one of Satan's lies. It's slavery.

Quick off topic comment. But this is why I'm an automotive tech. I'm active and have to problem solve.

But building one's own home, or atleast contributing to building it. Sounds fulfilling and economical.

[Ymarsakar]

That is what trees do. They collect water and drip it in one area of the ground, to create a ground water reservoir that later feeds plants when droughts come. Without that shade and cover, the water would quickly evaporate. Nature has many ideas that humanity could learn from, if it wasn't busy mining the place to death.

Also hilarious earthship. Next will be space arks or space ships or airships.

No wonder treehouses were popular with the ancients. The place comes half way furnished.

We don't build like this today because form follows function. Satan needs a particular architecture in the cities and roads to harness energy, and this "natural" stuff ain't gonna cut it.

Ok, I'm geeking out on Earthships. It's at the top of my list of home-building methods. This one is more on the fancy side, but the general premise is the same for this type of build. Why don't we build like this today? Passive heating and cooling. The idea is so simple. Plus you collect the rainwater and reuse it for showers, toilets, and watering plants.

[Ymarsakar]

Those are very good ideas. Post secession USA will be doing them.

Although depending on the world line people are in, a lot of help will come from advanced technologies. Notably the stuff used to build the pyramids.

I propose: a network of independent folks and/or co-ops all over the country / world, all connected by some sort of "federated" or "distributed" internet / mesh network / ham radio. We could have our own mail system, freight system, online shopping, support groups, parts suppliers, food networks. Freedomcells.org is a good place to make local connections as well as interconnecting on various subjects. for the networking - I'm still working on that one - but this thread has some options: viewtopic.php?p=1149942#p1149942

I've fixed up a second laptop to use as a server - going to try yunohost this time - has the ability to run an e-commerce server, blogging support, federated networking (you can run a fork of Diaspora on it, apparently). I currently run a laptop in a closet as a "freedombox" server - right now, just a small website - but freedombox doesn't seem to be evolving in a direction that supports a lot of "parallel society" apps like I think it should (mostly: no ecommerce and no social networking). Yunohost looks like it is including more apps, so I'll give it a shot.

[mudflap]

this might be of interest to some of the AZ folks:

https://www.thearkofsustainability.com/

found it on freedomcells.org

[Reluctant Watchman]

Lots of great info here if you are interested in compressed earth blocks (CEB). I'm actually leaning toward this method for my home or even an earthship hybrid. Use the passive heating/cooling principles of the earthship, but use CEBs to build the walls instead of tires:

http://www.adobemachine.com/

The machines listed here are the most affordable I've been able to find online.

[mudflap]

Been following this guy for years - not sure if I ever shared his personal blog:

https://joeyh.name/offgrid/

(he wrote the software I use on my microblog)

[pjbrownie]

Ozarks, Appalachia will have all of this for the price you want.

But Appalachia is also very close to the highest urban population centers in North America. Ozarks are better. There are hoards of opioid addicted meth-heads in the hollers though, so when the government subsidies run out, they may start wandering from their singlewides.

Rocky Mountains are the best for being away from population centers, with neighbors who are more prepped out, but they are more expensive and colder. Central to Northern Idaho is probably the best, with the mildest temperatures, and there is still plenty of water.

If you need to stay in Utah, the Bolder/central southern Utah area meets most of this criteria except for water, although it can be found.

I don't think you can get everything on your list.

I prioritize being away from major population centers, so that puts me squarely in the West. Southern Missouri may work but still too close to major population centers for my taste (St. Louis, KC) but preferable to areas on the West Coast or Appalachia.

I want neighbors who are preppers, not hillbillies. They will go zombie on you very quickly. See Deliverance.

Water is a necessity but doesn't need to be plentiful. You can make it in an arid area as long as you can get access. Cold can be mitigated through construction, greenhouses, and a walipini.

[mudflap]

yes ^ but more important than location is going to be how much debt you have. God can bless the righteous no matter where they live.

[Fred]

Also putting windows in will make it no more claustrophobic than any regular house. You just have round outer walls.

Maybe the guy building the one I went into just didn't have enough windows for my comfort. He'd also made it two-story. (It was not complete, either; he was just nice enough to let us in to look at it.)

Perhaps going for the largest they make and putting more than one together like RW said might make it work for me (I really do like the idea and, from the outside, they look cool). In any case, others might not have the closed-in; walls-falling-on-you feeling I had.

Maybe, if I built one (or had one built), I could make straight inner walls and use the areas that creates for something like book cases, storage closets, etc.

There is no such thing as the largest one they make. You make them whatever size you want. There are no limits. There are different designs though.
Almost all Geodesic Domes are based on the Icosahedron.
Dodecahedron.
Octahedron.
Tetrahedron.

Here is everything you want to know about domes: http://www.domerama.com/

They have calculators to determine the length of each strut. You design it before you build it. Just like any house. And like any house, there are no size limits.

domes.png

So, in case anyone is interested, here are some plans.

[Fred]

No tools required. Not even a screwdriver.
Children can put these together.
Very strong.

[Silver Pie]

No tools required. Not even a screwdriver.
Children can put these together.
Very strong.

Yum! It would be awesome to try this.

[mudflap]

No tools required. Not even a screwdriver.
Children can put these together.
Very strong.

Children, you say?

[Fred]

No tools required. Not even a screwdriver.
Children can put these together.
Very strong.

Children, you say?

That's pretty impressive. But takes considerably more knowledge and expertise than the dome. The girls could put the dome together without dad.

[mudflap]

No tools required. Not even a screwdriver.
Children can put these together.
Very strong.

Children, you say?

That's pretty impressive. But takes considerably more knowledge and expertise than the dome. The girls could put the dome together without dad.

I'll grant you that.

but not by much. LHBA's youngest builder was a 14 yr old who took the class and then built a log cabin on his parent's property by himself.