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Escape Fantasy #3: Going off the grid

December 2, 2010 By 6 Comments

My latest escape fantasy isn’t really a fantasy so much as a distant option.  Recently, a friend of mine sent an article to me on the “Tiny House Movement” that got me thinking.  The article talked about a guy who built an 89 square foot house and went off the grid. 

Yes, you read that right, 89 square feet.  That is much smaller than the attic Alex and I live in (of course, we do have access to the other rooms in the house, but the dogs don’t.)  You don’t have to live in a tiny house to go off the grid, but you sure cut down on your heating bill that way.  It’s also handy because it is portable, so you can just plop it down wherever you want.  It would actually be easier to tow than my original RV fantasy, so there’s an advantage right there.  Being cooped up with the dogs kind of cuts it out, though.  They can be pretty stinky.

Going off the grid means that you don’t depend on any utility companies.  I had about two seconds of “gee, wouldn’t that be cool” before realizing I was reading about the advantages on a website.  A website on a computer.  Powered by electricity.  From a utility company.  Since right now my big obsession is blogging and social media – and because I don’t want to go back to a manual typewriter to work on my novel – this posed a problem.  I have yet to find any wood-burning computers.

But off-the-griders appear to be allowed to make their own electricity or use bottled gas when necessary, so all I’d need is a windmill or something to make my own.  I saw another article on a guy who invented a pretty efficient generator using a waterwheel.   Added bonus, I could grind my own wheat.   Now that sounds pretty cool to me.  I’d just have to make sure I got some land near a running stream (which you’d probably want anyway, otherwise you’re digging a well or fetching water with a bucket.) 

There’s still an initial investment you have to be willing to make for the raw land and some sort of building, be it a tiny house, mobile home, or some structure cobbled together from discarded materials, but apparently it’s pretty cheap.  I take that back.  Used mobile homes can be cheap and cobbled structures are really cheap, but the tiny homes run about $40K, for a pre-fab or half that if you build it yourself.  I don’t have enough for a tiny house and land to go with, so I guess it’s the mobile home or cobble option.  Then there’s the power issue.  Big money comes with wind turbines.  Those puppies run about $3-5k per kilowatt of capacity and the average home takes about 10 kilowatts to run.  The waterwheel is a steal at around $4k and is a much more romantic option, so I’d probably go with that.  So, I’m thinking that you could probably make it off the grid somewhere for about $20-30k and be fairly set.

A lot of the off-the-griders do not have “regular” jobs, which is one of the big attractions for me.  They don’t have a ton of bills, and do a lot of bartering (I assume they have gardens, or raise chickens or something) so they go for part-time or non-office oriented vocations.  One guy I read about is a caretaker for some government land and cleans houses when he needs extra cash.  I actually own my grandmother’s loom and can weave, so maybe I could be one of those hippie-crafty people who sells her wares at fairs (when not tending my goats and bees.  Don’t laugh, it’s my fantasy.  I won’t laugh at yours if you tell me one.)

Then again, I really like going out to dinner, seeing movies, going to plays and concerts, and not having to hop on a bike to generate electricity when I want to watch TV.  The type of land where you go off the grid is generally not near your major metropolitan areas, so I’m not sure it would be an easy transition for me.  On the other hand, Alex and I do pretty well by ourselves and there are all sorts of support groups out there, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

Who am I kidding?  One really cold winter with no heat or a drought where I can’t bathe daily and I’d probably run screaming from my cobbled home and straight to a hotel.  One more fantasy down the drain. 

There’s got to be an escape that works for me!

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Escape scenario #2: Leave the country

November 18, 2010 By 4 Comments

“Why don’t we just bag it all and move to Costa Rica?”

I had so much fun researching my traveling the country in a motor home scheme; I thought I’d move on to a couple more possibilities.  Alex and I have discussed packing up and moving to Costa Rica where the few dollars we have left will stretch farther and they have no extradition laws. (Not that we plan on going on a murder spree or anything, it’s just good to know.)  We have an extra advantage in that Alex is fluent in Spanish, so we should be able to get around easily.  My Spanish extends only as far as dirty words and asking for a beer or the bathroom, but I can also tell when I’m being talked about, so I think I could manage.

However, after I started researching this option I found it to be more troublesome than the motor home option.  Apparently, it’s darn hard to get any kind of job once you get to Costa Rica, and it isn’t as cheap as you might think.  I did like the idea that we could drive there – of course, the roads are sketchy and you have to make sure none of the countries you are driving through are in the middle of nasty internal strife.   The good part is we could bring the dogs without having to put them in quarantine.  But the laws are structured to employ Costa Ricans, not expats, so you either need to have a reasonable retirement (with bank proof of funds), invest in a business that you can’t work in (you can administer, but no labor) or figure out a way to “telecommute” from your stateside job.

So, I looked into some other countries known for being cheap.  There were several “live for under $500 a month” articles that made Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia look good.  That is, until you read the comments from people who lived in those countries.  Even the ones who loved the places said it cost considerably more than $500 a month.  Apparently, the really cheap apartments do not come with a kitchen, and the employment laws are just as strict as Costa Rica.  Looks like the dogs could come, though.  You just have to get the right official to say they look healthy enough to bypass the quarantine.

I’m not even going to go into the whole visa question.

Once again, it becomes clear that the only way to escape is to have someone give us a healthy allowance or somehow make a ton of money off writing.

Still open for suggestions!

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The tricky logistics of bailing on society in a motor home

November 11, 2010 By 5 Comments

In a moment of frustration at my present state of affairs, I posted on Facebook and Twitter that I was again seriously considering “bagging it all, buying a motor home, and wandering the country fighting crime (or maybe just trying different types of pie at truck stops.)”  This resulted in a large number of responses on both sites that mainly encouraged the pie option.  This made me think, though.  No one really discouraged the RV aspect; many said they’d like to come along – especially since pie would be involved.  I take it to mean that many of us have a secret fantasy of running away; shedding jobs and responsibilities in favor of adventure and dessert.

What I’m not sure about is how easy this would be to achieve.  The first roadblock is the acquisition of an RV.  The average price I found within 150 miles of my home was a used tow model for about $10k (there were some less expensive, but then it starts to get more scary than fun.)  Now, I have a pickup truck, so that would work, but anyone else needing the independent kind is going to shell out much more.  This would leave many of us with very little for the fuel needed to get to even the first truck stop.  If you can afford the RV and the fuel, you still must consider other niceties like food and clothing for the rest of your life.

Last night’s fantasy involved running a pie and travel blog that somehow made money to fund this adventure, but I assume anyone who would take on this lifestyle would just stop and get jobs whenever and wherever they run out of money.  I’d say this would also mean that the type of job runs toward the day-laborer/gas station attendant/dive-bar waitress category, as the stress on applicants maintaining continuous employment is not as high as the more office-oriented vocations.  I’ve never had this type of job; they seem low-paid and thankless, but then, I’m not paid that great now, nor can I pack my house and drive away if I wish.  I’m thinking you would also want all pay to be cash under the table, ridding you of nasty tax responsibilities and the necessity of a bank account and PO box somewhere.

Owning a motor home also doesn’t seem to get rid of having to pay for lodging.  RV campsites look like they average around $20-50 per day to stay, which can add up to more than a rent or house payment.  You can  get better weekly or monthly rates at a trailer park, but then you risk the inevitable tornado carrying you away. Maybe you can just pull over somewhere or stay in a Wal-Mart lot when you don’t have to dump waste or worry about electricity.

Looks like unless I can get a major sponsor to fund my mania, running away in a motor home is not going to be my ticket to freedom.  Now that I’ve looked into the matter, I can see the result being about three months of fun followed by ending up mired in a trailer park in a podunk town with a job serving the worst pie at the local truck stop.   

I’m a little disappointed.  However, I’m open to ideas if anyone has something better!

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Could I get a break, please?

August 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Because it has taken so long to process the short sale on my home in Memphis, I now have to redo a bunch of my submission packet.  I have to rewrite a letter stating why they should consider me, send in my taxes, and lay out my financials for them.  AGAIN.  ARRGGHH!

I swear; it is so tempting to just quit.  I mean, my credit is already screwed seven ways to Sunday, how much worse can it get?  I suppose the good part is I just started a short sale on some investment property in Florida, so I already got most of the information together. (Don’t get me started on the FL property, we were suckered and it hurts.)

I just want all the crap to be over.  I can’t seem to turn around without something new causing difficulties.  If it isn’t the house, it’s the old properties; if we’re feeling good for a day or two, someone gets sick. 

Right now, my dog Max has some nasty crud that gave him horrible diarrhea and vomiting.  We’ve got meds for him and the vet is doing more testing, which of course means more money.  I hope to heaven it’s not something major; there’s nothing worse than having to weigh a beloved pet’s health against cost. 

The interesting part of the Max dilemma is the comparison between his treatment and my own.  I had uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea from food poisoning a few months back.  I went to the emergency room and it took five hours for them to see me.  The final bill for my visit (which amounted to an hour’s worth of treatment and a bunch of tests I knew weren’t necessary) was $7,000.  With my insurance discounts, etc. I ended up paying $3,000.  We called the vet for Max and got him in an hour later.  If he was a person we’d probably still be waiting.  The bill so far is about $400, mainly because they are doing some tests for pancreatitis and possible Lyme’s disease.  By the way, they asked if we were ok with the tests; they got our permission first.  So I really should look at his bill as a bargain.  Goodness knows what we’d be looking at if it had been Alex instead of Max.  Of course, I have better insurance now, but when you think about it, it’s pretty crazy.

I’d just like a little relief from the stress.  My jaw is starting to hurt again.  That’s always a sign I’m too tense.

 I keep wondering how long the little bit of money we have left would last if we just ran away to Costa Rica. After all, Alex is fluent in Spanish and I got my new passport…

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