Considering living off the grid.

[ghost5]

I warn you from the start this will be a long read.

I am 19, I stay in Scotland. I am fit and not afraid to work hard. I love the outdoors and feels there's a certain romance when it comes to the thought of living not from but with the land.

I suppose I have thought about it on and off over the years to different extents, the ways I thought of living previously obviously do not seem viable now the more I research but none the less I have always liked the idea. It's a simple life compared to going to work, paying the rent buying the food paying just general expenses week in and week out. Living from payday to payday, this on the other had just does not appeal to me.

I would stay within the forest areas of Scotland. I would visit all vast forest landscape although remember this would be my life choice so all this can be done slowly. I mean truly discovery the life of wild camping.

I would do much research on what living supplies and tools had to be taken and would buy quality tools and goods over the course of months and also do trial camps over the course of a days then maybe a couple then a few so on and so fourth.

Basically I'd would like to gather opinions and perspectives on the idea of living off grid in Scotlands forest areas. Permanently.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Have you read this thread?
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139438

 

[Mesquite]

Basically I'd would like to gather opinions and perspectives on the idea of living off grid in Scotlands forest areas. Permanently.

You can do it but only if you've got money to afford such a lifestyle and own the land or at the very least have the landowners permission to live there. Not to mention correct permission to erect a dwelling of some kind.

 

[mrcharly]

'living off the grid' and 'living off the land' are two different (but related) things. I have friends who have lived off the grid in England and now in Scotland for many years. They do work, however, as a midwife and a teacher.

It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to totally live as an individual. Not at all impossible to live in a rural/country setting, even in unconventional dwelling such as a yurt, growing a substantial proportion of your own food.

 

[forrestdweller]

i'm not quite sure if i understand your post correctly-- are you planning to live wild in the forests?! like a (modern) hunter-gatherer?! i've never been to scotland but i daresay that for legal reasons that would not be possible...... (not to mention that the prime hunting grounds of times long gone are farmland now....)

 

[Janne]

Impossible to do what you want to do.
1: not enough wild game around
2: sheep and cattle are NOT wild game
2A: all land is owned by people that do not want you messing with it
3: most wild game is owned by the land owner
4: before you get enough skills, you are dead from any of 27 reasons
5: when hunter gatherers lived in Europe there was more space, more of everything
6: at best you will die age 35 or so, just like they did
7: no woman will follow you
8: no money - no pub visits - no woman.
9: not even the Same, Inuits, Greenlanders, Amerindians or the Scots are living 100% off the land the old way these days.

I suggest you get a good, solid education, a profitable work, then you can play in the forest just like we do!

 

[woodspirits]

research your plan thoroughly, all aspects of it. idealism will soon confront reality, but do it or you will forever regret not trying.

 

[Janne]

research your plan thoroughly, all aspects of it. idealism will soon confront reality, but do it or you will forever regret not trying.

I would suggest he does not burn his bridges, but tries living the way he wants for a couple of weeks during his holliday.

 

[santaman2000]

Impossible to do what you want to do.
1: not enough wild game around
2: sheep and cattle are NOT wild game
2A: all land is owned by people that do not want you messing with it
3: most wild game is owned by the land owner
4: before you get enough skills, you are dead from any of 27 reasons
5: when hunter gatherers lived in Europe there was more space, more of everything
6: at best you will die age 35 or so, just like they did
7: no woman will follow you
8: no money - no pub visits - no woman.
9: not even the Same, Inuits, Greenlanders, Amerindians or the Scots are living 100% off the land the old way these days.

I suggest you get a good, solid education, a profitable work, then you can play in the forest just like we do!

I see nothing in the Op which says he intends to live soley by hunter/gatherer means (although that may well be his intention) The reference he made to "hard work" suggests that he may be thinking of a self sustaining small farm or a combination of farming and hunter/gatherer.

Mind you it's still not an easy life (nor a "simple" one as he seems to think) You go from the daily grind of going to a jobe to the daily grind of worrying about the weather, the crops, the wildlife migrations, etc.

All that said, it's not neccessarily about "play in the forest" but often about a chosen (and richly rewarding) lifestyle. One that others have pointed out isn't to be taken on lightly.

 

[Willcurrie]

Try crofting

 

[barbourdurham]

In today's UK, I believe that the closest thing to living with/off the land, not having to pay bills or earn a living in the conventional sense, is called 'being homeless'. I don't mean that tongue in cheek, I mean, think about it....

If you're homeless, I suppose that conventional laws and restrictions would have no bearing on an individual as their sole purpose would be to remain alive. Earning a living wage is irrelevant, as would be abiding by the law of the land.

If the OP does intend to live in such a way as to be free from taxes etc (and I'm only assuming that is what they are alluding to) then good luck to them. But I believe that they will need to live a much more nomadic lifestyle than they think.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

 

[BillyBlade]

The trouble is all land is owned by someone. While we are incredibly fortunate in Scotland to have sensible laws regarding wild camping, this plan fails at the first hurdle without some land to call his own.

In all it raises several moral and legal questions extending to the workability of a project such as this with the impact on wildlife you take for food (monitored and maintained in Scotland) and taking societies safety net of health care when not contributing to that society.

In short it would be nice if modern life could provide the option you wish to take but sadly that's not how it is anymore. Take the advice of education and options. It will work out better in the end.

 

[santaman2000]

........In all it raises several moral and legal questions extending to the workability of a project such as.....and taking societies safety net of health care when not contributing to that society......

Very true: assuming the OP does intend to partaking in said healthcare. One of the implications of independent living is that one would assume responsibility for one's own healthcare. That said, without a paycheck, that also would seem impossible. The Amish manage, but only through the group efforts of their local community.

 

[Robson Valley]

The biochemical "energy budget", aka staying alive, is a substantial issue for a human. Andy Wier's novel, The Martian, is a good primer with accurate science.

 

[BillyBlade]

The other question is the posters actual skill set as opposed to the skill level he perceives he has. I bushcraft with an ex career military man with every course you can think of under his belt from jungle to mountain and he is also qualified to teach them.

Through idle discussion with him over the years he admits what's proposed here is verging on the impossible for even someone highly skilled for an indefinite timescale.

 

[Janne]

I state again, it can not be done long term. Imagine this: after a while, you have no more money. You lose one of your tools. Say - the ax. What then?
Steal a new one?
Make one from flint?

You get a decayed toith and tooth ache. What is next?
You have no money to see a dentist!

 

[Janne]

I would stay within the forest areas of Scotland. I would visit all vast forest landscape
truly discovery the life of wild camping.

trisl camps

idea of living off grid in Scotlands forest areas. Permanently.

I see nothing in the Op which says he intends to live soley by hunter/gatherer means (although that may well be his intention) The reference he made to "hard work" suggests that he may be thinking of a self sustaining small farm or a combination of farming and hunter/gatherer.

Mind you it's still not an easy life (nor a "simple" one as he seems to think) You go from the daily grind of going to a jobe to the daily grind of worrying about the weather, the crops, the wildlife migrations, etc.

All that said, it's not neccessarily about "play in the forest" but often about a chosen (and richly rewarding) lifestyle. One that others have pointed out isn't to be taken on lightly.

I hope I did not take the OP's part sentences out of context, but I feel that he wants to do Hunter Gathering, and no crofting, farming or such.

Well, I think that we play around in the forest. Having fun, getting new skills, using old ones. As opposed to the work we do to get money.

 

[BillyBlade]

I interpreted it the same as you did Janne.

Pretty soon the OP would find himself taking a sheep out of desperation and there isn't much scope for wild living in jail sadly.

Although at least he would get his worn out teeth fixed up gratis.

 

[Toddy]

I have friends who live 'off grid', in self built structures, in Scotland. They all chance things to earn money. They turn their hands to all sorts of things to make money; they're very adept at "Urban foraging" when given the chance. They all live off the state when they can. They can't live otherwise even though they are for the most part very skilled crafts folk. They can't grow or hunt enough food to survive healthily and they can't replace things like clothing, shoes, bedding, or even sanitary items.
We're fortunate that doctors and hospitals and prescriptions don't cost a halfpenny at point of use here. Eye tests are free but Dentists cost money, even with huge NHS discounts….and toothache is a blight and a misery and all too easy.

Our ancestors survived only with huge foraging areas that covered many habitats, they were seasonally aware, and they didn't do it alone, they did it in family groups….and those family groups had evolved and grown up absorbing both the knowledge base and skills of previous generations as well as the areas they used; and they had connections to other similar groups too. Only when farming really got a grip did population numbers really start to grow.

At it's most basic level, in Scotland, in a dreich Winter, then there's sixteen hours of darkness. That's a hell of a long time wet, cold, hungry and lonely, for weeks on end.
Summer, with the other extreme sounds lovely. Pity about the midgies, the ticks, the keds and the clegs, and let's not forget the waterborne parasites either. Right enough, there's no guarantee that Summer will be dry here. It's June and it's sodden wet here again.

If you haven't got this Winter's crops growing by now, they won't be any good in time to store. If you can't store, then you need fresh, day in day out. You need to know the land, what wild crops you can actually eat, and where they grew in Summer so that you can maybe forage roots in Winter….pity that foraging will likely expend more energy than you'll gain from them though….energy balance becomes crucial. So you need money to buy the staples of your diet, or at least some of them.

And, and it's a big and, all this pre-supposes that you can find land where no one will mind you doing your own thing.
Shorelines can provide a lot of protein, but the area will strip the heat from you so fast at times that you'll need calories, lots of calories.
In a deep woodland, there's nowt much but trees. Our food sources grow best at woodland fringes, meadows and glades, along river and loch shores. Not hidden away in the depth of dark pine woods. Besides, comparatively speaking, pinewood is rubbish to burn for heat, cooking and light. All that effort and it's gone in no time, while oak, ash and the like burn for hours and hours. Tell you though, if you cut down someone's oak or ash or the like enough to last you, you can bet that they'll be looking for you, and when found it's destruction of property. You don't want to be homeless with a police record, you really, really, don't.

Best advice ? if you don't want to study for a trade or go to college/uni, or get a job, away and find a group of people who live off grid in eco villages or smallholdings. You might offer them free labour in exchange for food and board while you learn everything you can about a myriad different things. Not to say they'll take you up on it; basically you're a burden, but if you're willing to work and they have a bit of extra, and they could use the labour, you might get lucky. Volunteer at one of the inner city homeless projects, help out and learn what not to do.
Or get your passport sorted out and apply to the folks at WWOOF, away and learn stuff, work your butt off, see a bit of the world, and build up both a knowledge base and the kind of experience that other folks can only dream about.

Keep things like driving licences up to date, bear in mind that you need 35 years of National Insurance contributions (and you can pay them voluntarily if you're not in work as such) for a state pension, eventually, and arrange a permanent 'address' where official documents can be delivered. Not having one makes things like your passport and driving licence, as well as NHS registration and bank accounts, a problem.

We are a very urbanised society, and in this digital age, while walking away from it all might have it's appeal, the reality is that it's not so easy as all that.

Anyway, after that screed, I hope life is good, that you find company you enjoy along the way, and it'd be interesting to hear how you get on.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[BillyBlade]

Fair to say with Toddys excellent contribution above we can close the thread. She nailed it.