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  1. #1
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    Buying land off grid

    in...Canada, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand or...where else?

    Has anyone here ever bought land in a remote area, by chance?

    Anywhere outside the U.S. (for myself and my wife) would probably include some issues with visas, etc.
    And if I do go with the U.S. it'll be narrowed down further to the Pacific NW.

    I haven’t gotten deep enough yet to figure out what countries are off-limits but I am gravitating more so towards mountainous and wintry (for at least part of the year).

    Hoping to locate something off grid with 50+ acres (20 hectares), paved road in the vicinity, direct dirt road access, 20-30 miles from closest small town, river or creek bisection, at least 50% forested area, bountiful in wild animals, flora/fauna, mountain or water view and in a place where there are no (present or immediate) concerns about neighbors.

    I’d want to start spending my off time there and eventually put a team together to construct a log cabin, probably a storage shed and a small barn aimed at alternative sources of energy.

    Not aiming for a commercial enterprise, nor an investment, really.
    It will just (eventually) be a place to relax, hunt, fish, self-sustain and be.

    Please chime in if you know of any decent land deals, have some knowledge or experience to share or have a similar plan.


    landwatch.com seems to own a virtual corner on the market for CAN and the US.

  2. #2
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    Dony forget your bug out bag

  3. #3
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    It's possible to buy land in most parts of Mexico (more bureaucracy than in the first world), except for land adjacent to the ocean, which has much in the way of unique rules to prevent foreigners from monopolizing all the beach front.

    If you're out in the boonies of Mexico, you'll need to be comfortable with guns, as you kinda are your own police in terms of protecting your property. Human and animal threats. Mexico has attractive, low bureaucracy tourist visa options. As long you promise you won't work, its easy to be legal if you are American, Canadian or British (legal spouses of other nationalities, you'd have to investigate that - I've been there several times, and without fail I saw non-American Asian faces, if that means anything). You have to show you have enough money to support yourself and have a valid passport is really about it.

    Most of the north half of Mexico is arid, you have to go to the south half generally speaking to get legit fauna. That said, there are probably some pockets in the north half that would be exceptions. The middle of Mexico gets mountainous (higher elevations), and that's where you will find places that are not baking year round.

    As far as getting stuff built goes, accounts of getting things done in Mexico, many of them are similar to accounts of getting things done in LOS. When will workmen show up, how good are they at what they do, getting supplies, expect headaches.

    50 acres might be hard to achieve, when land gets parceled up for sale, the parcels tend to be smaller, as foreigners in general don't want to come and be actual farmers/ranchers. However, money does of course talk.

    Mexico is on my top 5 list as far as a place to at some point go hang for a few years. Me, I'll aim for a city or at least a town, as I am the Urbanman after all.

  4. #4
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    Off-grid has to do with how you live, not how you buy land. It is almost impossible to buy land anywhere in the world without government interference, a fundamental thing about government being that that they have control of the land. However there are many places where once you've bought land the government will then leave you pretty much alone for the rest of your lives, except for taxes. That's about as off-grid as real life gets. It is possible to live genuinely and fully off-grid but that's a bloody awful lifestyle and oodyou're likely to be dead of starvation or murder within five years of starting. Semi off-grid will give you the control you want and still allow you access to food and gasoline.


    Those people unfortunate enough to survive genuinely off-grid lifestyles, nazis, race-warriors, and religious freaks and such, and not in some soft western play-time version of off-grid, would, could, and do kill to get away from that particular nightmare. In real life the only way to prosper off-grid is to get Discovery Channel to record your travails and pay you for it.


    Nevertheless. Dream on, Grizzly Adams
    Last edited by DrB0b; 18-03-2017 at 05:16 AM.
    The Above Post May Contain Strong Language, Flashing Lights, or Violent Scenes.

  5. #5
    Thailand Expat armstrong's Avatar
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  6. #6
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    Australia is suffering from drought due to El Nino, and it will probably continue on and off.

    Perhaps New Zealand might suit your tastes ? Have a look at some of the scenery online....

  7. #7
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    Canada. There are towns that'll give land away free to encourage people to move in. I doubt they'd give you 50 acres but there could well be some good deals to be had.

  8. #8
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    cheers all

  9. #9
    Thailand Expat Slick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hick
    And if I do go with the U.S. it'll be narrowed down further to the Pacific NW.
    All right Ill bite.

    Just to make sure:

    You are American right?

    And why the NW?

    Quote Originally Posted by hick
    have some knowledge or experience to share or have a similar plan.
    Yeah I spend a while on this subject and wasted a lot of employment fuck-off time on it. I had 120 +/- acres in the Ozarks thats now sold and 20 acres in rural FL for sale locally.

    I guess the main thing is why? Whats your background?

    TBH man, its not for everyone, at all. If you are going to do it, I recommend the US by far.

    I can tell you one thing, there is satellite internet available from Hughes Net everywhere now. Its expensive, but works & its data capped. 10mbs and youtube & stuff works well. Even when cellular phones do not. If I remember correctly its about $120/month for 30gb of data.

    Tons of things to take into consideration.

  10. #10
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    Here you go, way over your price, not off the grid, but damn....

    Vacant Land for Sale | LandLeader | Own this Town! ~ Tiller, Oregon 97484






  11. #11
    Days Work Done! Norton's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by crackerjack101
    Canada
    You bet. Way off the grid.

    https://www.ecoproperty.ca/listings/...ritories-37357

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slick View Post
    You are American right?

    And why the NW?
    Right. I like the wet weather there and have a lot of experience hiking & camping in the back country of the aforementioned states...and many others TBH: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado to name a few more that I like.

    Quote Originally Posted by Slick View Post
    I guess the main thing is why? Whats your background?
    I'm comfortable in the wilderness, miss the wilderness and have plenty of experience with hunting, fishing, foraging, edible identification, gardening, contour map reading, survivalist training, firearms and other weapons training among some other skills.

    TBH, am not really very interested in people's opinions about whether or not I should do this or that....in terms of the finances, risks, dangers and so on.

    Please consider me to be a fairly informed individual on these matters. I've been sizing up land offers (mainly in AK) for more than a decade and have visited numerous offers in person. Time and patience are at play and I won't be jumping into anything without first exploring every surrounding avenue, talking to all involved personally and visiting /staying near the site for more than a week.
    Although, I do appreciate your concerns.

    However, I've posted it here (rather than in an off-grid forum), so I realize that fielding other poster's concerns, beliefs, doubts, critiques, etc. is part of it.

    I have zero interest in being online out there but I would have an emergency satellite phone and I do thank you for the info.

    Why? Take a break from people, the internet, find true solace again, observe wildlife, have some me time....provide for myself, build a sustainable getaway, get back to nature, breathe (and have a lot of space to work on projects while on vacation from the Arab world).
    Last edited by hick; 18-03-2017 at 01:05 PM.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by aging one View Post
    Here you go, way over your price, not off the grid, but damn....
    Holy fuckin' hell, doesn't that look awesome!

    Can you imagine?

    Just shy of 4 mill.....no AO, I could swing that.....along with about 30 of my friends.

  14. #14
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    Here we go....dream a lil' dream here:




    As a general rule, foreigners are not allowed to own freehold islands in Thailand; but exceptions are...


    Islands for Sale in Thailand, Asia

  15. #15
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    So up to now I'm seeing:

    Canada, U.S., New Z, Mexico as possibilities.

  16. #16
    Thailand Expat armstrong's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hick
    rather than in an off-grid forum)
    is there really a forum for people living off the grid to get together online and try to out wildernesss eachother?

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by armstrong View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by hick
    rather than in an off-grid forum)
    is there really a forum for people living off the grid to get together online and try to out wildernesss eachother?
    Heh

    several

    Although the "outdo" part isn't always the modus operandi outside of Thai fora, my man.

  18. #18
    or TizYou?
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    I owned 27 hectares about 60klm north west of Brisbane in the early 1990s.
    Original idea was to bread miniature cattle (Dexter).
    But decided to sell when I got a contract to work in the Middle East.
    It would probably be worth a small fortune now....

  19. #19
    Thailand Expat VocalNeal's Avatar
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    What about Brazil? More farming or gardening than hunting and fishing but...

  20. #20
    Thailand Expat Slick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hick
    TBH, am not really very interested in people's opinions about whether or not I should do this or that....in terms of the finances, risks, dangers and so on.
    Wasn't trying to convince you not to do it, I just didnt want to type a wall of text to a tire kicker, ya know?

    Quote Originally Posted by hick
    'm comfortable in the wilderness, miss the wilderness and have plenty of experience with hunting, fishing, foraging, edible identification, gardening, contour map reading, survivalist training, weapons training among some other skills.
    Same here. Just a few to provide some 'street cred'



    Quote Originally Posted by hick
    have some knowledge or experience to share or have a similar plan.
    Not trying to convince you not to do anything, and I'm sure youve thought about all this, but here is a general overview of my experience:

    I wanted the same thing, but it ends up a 24/7 job with barely any of the fun stuff you mention. Seriously. Trees fall, pump breaks, leave for a couple months and it takes a month working by yourself with a tractor & bush hog to get things livable. Grass needs cut. Took me 2, 10 hour days to cut 17 acres with a 5' bushhog and thats as long as I don't hit a gopher hole and shear a pin etc...

    You say you don't want internet, but trust me, its a literal necessity. The amount of time it takes in your truck to get around (hours 1 way) to find 911 spares for some essential thing, general spares, planned particular items etc... In the US the postal delivery system & internet reaches all the way out to the boonies. 90% of the stuff you need can be ordered online and delivered for the same price or cheaper, and you just have to go to the post office in ur truck.

    Tractor Supply & Harbor Freight deliver door to door, with a lift gate etc...

    I don't know how large of a family unit you have thats of a useable workforce but I can say from experience its impossible to manage 50 acres in any livable state alone, let alone if its a part time hobby thing. It'll be overgrown in a single season in the livable areas.

    You have to know how to do most anything involving the building process. AC & DC wiring and electricity, diagnostics on small engines & tractors, you name it. 50 Acres requires a shop, full of tools & welding machines & compressors. Alot of this stuff can be acquired with the purchase of the property, but you gotta know how to use it all. Luckily I did but I couldn't imagine if someone just knew the basics & had to manage. Residential wiring is a huge one that people underestimate.

    Anyway I could blabber for hours on the subject, but I would do the states since, well, gunz, topographical surveys, muh freedomz, tech, etc... Makes no sense to try all this in a country you're not a national of.

    Ozarks is where I would look if I was you. 200K USD and you got around 120 acres & cabin, streams, caves, more wildlife than some zoos. Cold winters & warm summers. Livable & farmable. Natural water for wildlife. Remote as fuck. No electricity & totally off grid.

    Same area & same price 50 acres & decent home with shop. Probably about 5 acres around the house that has to be managed and the rest can be kept wild. Thats manageable but still a lot of work for just a person or 3.

  21. #21
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    Thanks for the tips, Slick!

  22. #22
    Thailand Expat VocalNeal's Avatar
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    If it must be US here is a resource. http://www.celltowerinfo.com/wp-cont...Washington.jpg

  23. #23
    Thailand Expat CaptainNemo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrB0b View Post
    Off-grid has to do with how you live, not how you buy land. It is almost impossible to buy land anywhere in the world without government interference, a fundamental thing about government being that that they have control of the land.
    ...except for Antartica, but then there are obviously a whole lot of other issues to contend with. Living permanently at sea is arguably a more "genuine" off-grid lifestyle, but you'll soon become very painfully aware of how dependent your life is on others.

  24. #24
    Thailand Expat Slick's Avatar
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    This is the internet company. Make up an address to see the prices. Its a bit better now with 50 GB monthly for $99.00, typical contract of course.

    https://www.hughesnet.com/get-started

    And their new Gen 5 satellite - EchoStar XIX was launched, interestingly enough, by SpaceX out of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Pretty neat.

    People bang on about how fucked up and horrible the US is, but its not at all, and we got this cool shit happening all the time

    https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016...-echostar-xix/

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by UrbanMan View Post
    It's possible to buy land in most parts of Mexico (more bureaucracy than in the first world), except for land adjacent to the ocean, which has much in the way of unique rules to prevent foreigners from monopolizing all the beach front.

    If you're out in the boonies of Mexico, you'll need to be comfortable with guns, as you kinda are your own police in terms of protecting your property. Human and animal threats. Mexico has attractive, low bureaucracy tourist visa options. As long you promise you won't work, its easy to be legal if you are American, Canadian or British (legal spouses of other nationalities, you'd have to investigate that - I've been there several times, and without fail I saw non-American Asian faces, if that means anything). You have to show you have enough money to support yourself and have a valid passport is really about it.

    Most of the north half of Mexico is arid, you have to go to the south half generally speaking to get legit fauna. That said, there are probably some pockets in the north half that would be exceptions. The middle of Mexico gets mountainous (higher elevations), and that's where you will find places that are not baking year round.

    As far as getting stuff built goes, accounts of getting things done in Mexico, many of them are similar to accounts of getting things done in LOS. When will workmen show up, how good are they at what they do, getting supplies, expect headaches.

    50 acres might be hard to achieve, when land gets parceled up for sale, the parcels tend to be smaller, as foreigners in general don't want to come and be actual farmers/ranchers. However, money does of course talk.

    Mexico is on my top 5 list as far as a place to at some point go hang for a few years. Me, I'll aim for a city or at least a town, as I am the Urbanman after all.
    I don't think Mexico is a very good place to buy land now, maybe 20 years ago, but not anymore.

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