Pros and Cons of Alternative Housing and Off-Grid living

Many of us want to experience off-grid living for at least some time in our life. Some even dream of it – to such an extent that they aim to do it full-time.

And why not. It’s a bliss in many ways – the freedom, exotic locations, mobility in some cases, fresh air, the adventure. Seems like an Adam and Eve paradise.

But the devil is in the details. Off-Grid living is adventurous and fun, but also very challenging.

In this article, we intend to present to you most of the major challenges that you may have to face if you decide to live off-grid, far from inhabitation – be it on a boat, a tiny house on a hilltop or a RV.

But first things first. What do we really mean by off-grid living?

Table of Contents

• What is Off-Grid living?
• Advantages of Off-Grid living
• Challenges of Off-Grid living

What is Off-Grid living?

Off-Grid living refers to a living setup that is not connected to or served by publicly or privately managed utilities (such as electricity, gas, or water).

Some also define it in terms of being far from inhabitation and other people, or not connected to them via internet, social media, cell connectivity, etc.

Many alternative housing options provide us the ability to experience such off-grid living situations, e.g. RVs, Boats, Tiny houses built on remote locations, etc.

Though living in an alternative house does not necessarily mean that you are completely off-grid. For example, you may be living in a RV but park it near a carnival, or maybe you are living on a boat that is docked at a Miami marina.

But most people do choose alternative housing options because they want to experience the off-grid living setup and the freedom and self-reliance that comes with it

Note

In the context of electricity supply and power, Off-Grid means that we are not connected to the electrical grid. That is, we are not reliant on power from the power house in our city. Rather the house is self-reliant, as far as power is concerned. Maybe it has solar panels installed, or is using some other renewable energy. So, alternative housing is often a minimalist and eco-friendly way of life.

But if not done right, things may not be so rosy and peachy all the time. In many cases off-grid living often leads to even bigger carbon footprint and more fossil fuel consumption. For example, many a times people use propane for heating the house, or burn excessive diesel and gas to go from point A to B.

Advantages of Off-Grid living

Well, we won’t invest must time in listing the pros of this off-grid lifestyle. After all they are pretty obvious.

• Absolute freedom, especially if you are in the middle of nowhere.
• Awesome views, fresh air, and a sense of adventure. This lifestyle is perfect for wildlife lovers and those of us who feel more alive in the lap of nature than at a late-night party.
• Some alternative houses allow us to be mobile - mobility to move from one town to another, or live far away from any inhabitation. For example, if you are on a RV or boat.
• You will lose a lot of weight and your muscles will get stronger. No need to join a gym. Your lifestyle will have all the exercise embedded in it naturally.
• You will become a minimalist, if you are not already. You cannot afford to be a hoarder or claustrophobic in most of the alternative house setups. On the bright side, if done correctly, this is a much more sustainable and eco-friendly way of living.
• And did we mention all the new places you will visit and new people you will meet. That’s something people living in traditional brick-and-mortar houses leave for after-retirement life. Why wait so long, especially if you can work from home and your house is mobile. Welcome to 21st century!

Now, let’s have a look at the disadvantages or challenges of off-grid living. This lifestyle is not all sunshine. It has many dark sides too. Better to know them now, than experience them later like a bolt from the blue.

Challenges of Off-Grid living

Expertise required

Setting up and maintaining alternative houses need some expertise. So, before you take a plunge make sure you can manage it.

• Can you drive and manage a RV?
• Do you know how to sail a boat?
• Can you troubleshoot solar power and battery issues in your tiny hilltop container house?

Ideally, you should experience this lifestyle for few days before you start doing it full-time. For example, you may rent a RV or a boat and spend some days on it. Visit people who are living in tiny, portable, container houses. Learn from their experiences.

Costs

Living on a boat, RV or a tiny container house may seem cheaper than living on a traditional brick-and-mortar house, and it is, but there are many recurrent running costs that you will have to face.

• You may have to pay parking fee for your RV. If you are docking your boat at some marina, then you will have to pay liveaboard slip fee.
• Your RV/boat insurance costs will go up if you are living on it full time.
• There will always be something that you need to fix. So, maintenance costs get higher, the more you make use of your mobile home. The more you can maintain the boat yourself, the more you will save. If you are hiring people to do all things for you, your bills will sky-rocket very soon. But things will get easier with time for sure. You will learn the tricks of the trade.

Limited space and amenities

In most of the alternative housing facilities there is limited space. So, you have to be minimalist – keep only the very basic things and commodities with you.

This may mean – no dishwasher, no washing machine, smaller fridge, etc.

If you are camping on a remote location, you may not even get a decent cell or internet connection. So, no WiFi, no social media, no texts, no calls.

Washroom and Toilet struggles

On most of the alternative housing setups you will have to contend with small size washroom. There’s no running water and the number of personal care items you can take on board will also be limited. Though if you have a decent size storage capacity (say 8-10 gallons), you can take a decent shower. It’s not as bad as many people make it out to be.

Toilet facilities will also take some time for you to get used to. We cannot just dump our waste into the sea water or in the wild. It is collected in a container on board the boat/RV. We have to get it emptied from time to time.

Need for Discipline and Planning

You will have to plan everything in advance and shop for essential items beforehand. You cannot afford to miss any item, or it may make a dent in your care-free living, or even force you to come back.

• What if you run out of toilet paper?
• What if you forgot to buy salt?

Many things can go wrong here, and if you are far away from any kind of inhabitation, chances are you won’t find a supermarket nearby.

Emergency Situations

Any off-grid lifestyle also has a risky side attached to it.

• What if you need immediate medical assistance?
• What if your boat’s engine or RV’s generator loses power in the middle of nowhere?

However, you may minimize these risks to some extent by taking some precautions. Always keep an eye on the weather, make sure someone knows where you are, or someone you can contact in case of emergency.

And as far as possible, avoid venturing out alone for long durations. Off-grid is awesome, especially if you have a partner. This will also reduce the risks to a large extent.

Security

This is one of the biggest worries for some. Sure, off-grid living comes with perks like scenic locations, adventure, freedom, etc. However, with every good thing in our life, something bad also tags along.

With off-grid lifestyle, security concerns will always be there. RVs and container houses are definitely easier to break into if no one’s around. Even boats on high seas may be robbed – though it’s comparatively rare.

And if you are camping alone in a secluded place, probably far away from habitation or any police help, security will be solely your responsibility. So, make sure you arrange something for self-defence.

Lack of Privacy

If you are travelling with your family or even with your life-partner, say in a RV or a boat, you may sometimes miss that “me time”. You will always be confined in a small space with your loved ones. And you will be far apart from other loved ones that you have left in your hometown – your parents, friends, pets.

So, this lifestyle may prove to be a double whammy for some of us:

• It will push away many of our close friends and relatives. And as they say, out of sight, out of mind!
• It will push us way too closer to some of our loved ones – which is generally our life-partner in most cases. Make sure you are comfortable with that kind of prolonged intimacy.

Even if you are staying alone, it may be a challenge. Not many people are comfortable living alone for long duration of time. For example, even though I am an introvert, and love my “me time”, I do like company of others for time to time. It’s a very basic human tendency – we are social animals after all, we have been living in groups and hunting in packs since ages.

Winding Up

Whatever be your predicament, do test the waters before you take the final plunge. For everything you gain, you should be ready to lose something. See if you are ready for that trade. That’s our two cents for you.

We hope we were able to provide you a general idea regarding the pros and cons of off-grid living. If you are an optimistic and adventurous person that covets freedom, there will be no disadvantages as such – just mere small challenges to overcome.