My husband and I are the off grid folks on 50 acres living two hours from the nearest box store lol. We are suited to this life though and we know if our children don't take it up, we'll eventually be too old to do it because it is A TON of work. We love it, we're outside 'working' all day, everyday but it doesn't feel like 'work'. I left a great engineering career and my husband an industrial maintenance career behind and sold the house and live in a small cabin, off grid. I find myself getting to bed early because I'm so excited for the next day..... I went years without ever feeling that kind of joyous anticipation of the coming day. We are in a very remote, mountainous area and where I think you have misjudged things, is that we're separated from 'society'. Our area is full of other people living this way and we might not see each other for months but everyone is on it when someone reaches out for help unlike anything I ever experienced in a city. We are very honest though when people romanticize that it's a simple or slow life that they come stay a month and see there is no shopping, no TV, no bar to go to and we spend way more hours maintaining our lifestyle than most people work in a week. There's no white dresses and Instagram or YT filming, we don't have time for that. We relax by watching the deer, turkeys, bears, lions, listening to the frogs in the creek behind the cabin. I love my life and hate to think one day I might not be physically able to stay. I don't think people were meant to live in these mega cities but a healthy smaller community.
I appreciate your views on slow & intentional living! You’re doing wonderful! Adeline from myBigTinyhouse, UA-cam recommended your channel! I’m a senior who is savouring my life, as I continue to downsize. My husband is still working & I’m enjoying retirement as I continue to learn more life skills that I didn’t have time for raising 4 kids, being a single mom for awhile & working out of the home for 28+ years. I’m ever grateful for good health, family & community.
This is such a fascinating video to find in your feed after you've spent over 3 years living off grid in a tiny cabin with no running water in winter, an outhouse and only a log fire for warmth. But I honestly couldn't agree with you more. For me it was a necessary thing to do (and a very privileged thing to be able to do) because I needed to know if I could do it. If I could be "self-sufficient" and "live off the land". And it turns out I can be (at 35, but probably not at 75). However, I realised after a couple of years that I can be self-sufficient within a community as well. I have a sufficient emergency fund if I lose my job, an emergency stash of food in case I get snowed in and can't get to the shops, and I don't require a lot of material stuff to maintain a comfortable level of living. I help run a community garden on a council estate where everyone, at all levels of income, grow food together and we look out for one another. That's a type of prepping as well that people tend to forget. I don't ever want to live apart from people again and if the end of the world comes, I don't fancy hanging around anyway.
I’m so grateful to have found your channel! I was searching so hard for people of like-mind that don’t just want to live in a tiny home to be off grid, or like you said make it seem like you have to disconnect from the rest of the world just to live tiny. Thank you!! Because I was thinking like… MAN, I’m not going to find my people that just want to live tiny, be more minimalistic and mindful without being a total shut in and prepper.
Keep doing these vlogs. I love your intention. I also live a more minimilistic lifestyle. Got rid of 85% of my cottage things. Built my van into a cosy lounge, bedroom kitchen. Just turned 65. Single, and 💕 my slower life. Enough time to stop and smell the roses.
I appreciate you saying all of that. I cannot get into the idea of farming, or being responsible for farm animals. Not only do I not want to get up at five every morning to care for them, I don't want to spend a small fortune for a vet when they are sick. I'm happy for people who want to do all that. I enjoy paved roads, hot running water, and honestly; I do not want a well. I have seen what can happen when it runs dry or when something dies in it. Ugh. I also do not want to live far from everyone, I'm fairly solitary as is, but living far from the library, or even a small grocery for fresh produce I cannot grow, is not going to happen. I do wonder about the tiny house idea because of where I could park it and not wanting to live far away...but I see that doesn't have to be the case. I'll check out the video you suggest after work. Thanks again for the views and honesty, so refreshing.
Great video. Very thought provoking. The thing is that some years the weather is so extreme that crops fail. We had one really hot dry summer (in the B.C. lower mainland) and farmers saw most of their crops wither and die. So growing all your own food may not always be possible. Funnily enough, when I was young, we did live off grid (except we had electricity) and I hated it. It's not as romantic as it sounds to haul water and have an outhouse instead of a flushing toilet.
Yes! Bring on healthy platforms for inter-personal reliance instead of striving for solo self-sufficiency. I am susceptible to the rural romantic cottage/tiny house dream (great for a holiday) although I also tell people that there's thousands of tiny homes already in existence in great, legal locations (apartments).
Thank you! They are from a maker called Brass & Bone that I found in a shop called Alternative Thinking in Toronto. The maker isn't online, and that store doesn't sell jewelry on their online store either. If you're ever in Toronto though they have a great selection!
As someone who lives in a city and ponders the feasibility of living out in a more rural environment, I appreciated your comments. I am as susceptible as the next person to romanticizing county life--even though I _know_ that this is ideal is unrealistic. I take comfort in the knowledge that the romaniticization of rural life goes back centuries, at least to the romantic nationalist thinkers in 18th century Europe, who located the "soul" of the nation in its peasantry and their culture. No doubt it goes back farther than that, though, for as long as we've had cities.
Great video. I think the issue of our government being captured and doing things counter to the wellbeing of its citizens has a lot to do with peoples desire to leave the city. If people still had faith in the system, they wouldn't be doing it. People dont trust their government or the system anymore. Given the lies we have all been sold over the past several years, who can blame them?
There is nothing simple about living the 'simple life' unless as I am a widow, no longer working, on a pension, owning my home outright, no debts, no credit card. Savings and a small pantry of 3 months supplies for me and my dogs and chooks..(mostly habit from my working life and when my husband got ill and died our pantry stores were a huge thing to have) rotated and used regualry NOT just sitting about in case of. I wonder how many preppers lost everything in wildfires/floods. My life is not simple it took hard work to get to this stage in my life, fruit trees take years to produce fruit and not every year, nut trees longer for some. Having the money to buy to set up your land, and I only have an acre, and every thing you build/need requires ongoing maintenance, be it your home, your chooks home, fencing, fruit trees, garden, vets for animals. Majority of people who move off grid have to still work. Life of solar panels is not massive, water storage, filters for water (if you have the). Wood..so you want to have wood fire, you can not just chop a tree down and use the wood. It has to be seasoned, otherwise you ruin your wood stove, and that can take anything from one year to several depending on the thickness of the wood. Dry wood is seasoned wood. Here where I live our government is attempting to minimise woodfires/wood stoves. Solar panels as you say will only work if enough sunshine, and most off griders I know have a generator or have friends who will let them charge their phones/laptops even back up storage at their homes. So anytime I see Simple Life/simple living (look at simple living Alaska and see what it really can involve). You also have to be thinking way ahead if you are growing your own food, even with your chickens if you rely on the for eggs or goats for dairy stuff as they do not produce all year, which a lot of people are ignorant off. I grew up on a show from UK called the Good Life and as much as it was a TV show it was relatively honest it what it takes to really get anywhere and the pitfalls in regard to suburban simple living, but in the same way my response to anyone desiring to have a simpler way of life, and to move to a homestead. Begin where You are NOW, and discover how many tomatoes grow on a plant, if you can sucessfully grow them, parsley in a pot, other herbs. You do not need 400 acres to feed yourself or a family and it is very very rare today for anyone to be self sufficient. Where do their original seeds come from? the tools, the items to build with, nuts nails, glues, furniture, mattress, storage containers, jars lids, sugar(who is growing their own sugar . Do people know how many bean plants it takes to grow enough dried beans to make 1kg of dried beans? Feed for your chickens/dogs/cats/goats/cows/ your clothes and shoes. Self sufficiency is a myth I personally believe. Tiny homes may be fine with smaller children but how many people have one or two teenagers and two adults living fulltime in them? Great way to get your own home today, (I really feel for so many people struggling to find rentals or get on the home ladder). Council regualtions and state laws can impact tiny house living and where so much. I can not imagine worrying about someone complainig about my tiny house and having to relocate. (happens). Great to see someone living the tiny home life and such down to earth logical and rational real opinions and voicing them love your channel (no I have found it. for me I do get to just sit and watch my chooks, the wallabies, the birds washing in my bird baths, the wedge tail eagle soaring above. Thank goodness that we are able to have so many choices, be content is the best way I believe to understand what simple slow living is really for me.
Great video! I grew up in Ontario but have been living in Europe for the last 10+ years and am considering a tiny house when I move back next year because I’d like to own a place of my own and have had such poor experiences renting. Im so confused at peoples angry comments though 😅 since when does living off grid/simply mean you have to become a social hermit? There are people with weird ideas in every movement I guess! Anyway, I’m glad I found your channel 😊 God bless
The irony is that people who grew up "in the city" and want to move out to the country and be "self-sufficient" is that they don't realise how community focused farmers and people who live rural are! There are hardly any farmers who grow ALL their own food because its VERY difficult and inefficient to grow many different types of food. They trade all the time. Very few people are truly self-sufficient in the way that people think. We need to be community-sufficient, its really, the only way to do this and not spend your entire life working doing hard labour.
I feel like what youre describing with the romantization of living off grid and providing for yourself is a crossbreed of cottagecore and the whole 'rule of the jungle everyone for themself and only the strong survive'. Theres a lot to be said about how the harking for a simpler time nostalgia of only relying on yourself intersects with some conservative movements, but i do get the appeal in the current economic uhhhhhh situation. Slow living and taking your time to watch the ducks go quack instead being 'productive' just isnt going to be advertised anywhere because on one hand the romanticized aesthetic is something thats literally being sold to you and if you watch ducks youre not being a good workerbee in the capitalist cog machine, and on the other hand because if youre slowing down and enjoying life youre not going to be on social media posting about it because youre busy actually livng that life instead of hustling it.
I can attest to the city life to sorta Rural life. The fact that every significant form of shopping is 45 minutes one way, is ridiculous. While I've been in a small town for the last 2 1/2 years, Its just dumb. Trying to work 10+ hours (not counting the 60 minutes driving to and from work, the come home shower, then go run away with a round trip of 1.5hrs. leaves like 1 or 2 hours a day for anything. its not convenient, healthcare is very sub lacking. Its just bad all round. and even now in 2023 people think they run down trash cottages are worth city home prices. It's not cheap, the land is getting more expensive. Even rural life has become pricey.
I tried to grow my own veggie during the pandemic. Nope didn’t work if I want to survive with only that. That’s when I started to realize how privileged I have been.
You don't necessarily have to survive 100% off of the food you grow! You can always supplement what you have to buy at the store and still make it a worthwhile use of your time and energy.
@@CasaDuroTinyHome That's so true! I have to say that while I absolutely hated the taste of what I grew, I did enjoy almost every single minute of it (up until I ate them actually... lol)!! Hopefully one day I will have a little porch or something that I can grow more things. I definitely want to try the ones you grow haha esp. that I will very likely to move to Ontario soon so it is likely that I can just follow what you did ;) I am still new to your channel but really enjoy your content so far! Look forward to more of your thoughts and discussions :)
some people aren't meant to live a simple life, and for others it is a necessity. We don't all live in the same box. I just have to say that I love that I can endure a lot. If I never need it, great. If I ever do though....I will use it like a super power!
I love your commentary and insight, it’s very much needed! ❤ lol I constantly dream about buying a cabin or tiny house on land. I work 100% remote online so I’d need decent internet connection. Thing is, I don’t drive 😅 so currently it’s not very realistic. There definitely would be cons to it. Agreed that anyone can take on “slow living” or a more minimalist mindset while living in a city or suburb. It’s all about your perspective, taking in the little things and appreciating small moments. Trying to consume less too. You don’t have to move off-grid to do so! It would be nice to of course, but it isn’t possible for everyone. :(
I did not know how to drive before I moved here too! I practiced for a year and took lessons for 3 weeks. It can be done! Even in adulthood. It sucks but it just had to happen. Now it affords me so much freedom
@@CasaDuroTinyHome I know, I really need to just do it. I did have my g1 and I let it expire 🥲. I’m someone that really overthinks things and can let fear keep me in the same place. I pushed myself to get my g1 but I delayed driving lessons and paying for them (for years) because actually doing it just seems so daunting :( I want the instructor to be patient and kind with me, the right person, since I deal with anxiety and stuff. Anxiety around how the instructor will be, potential scenarios I could get into (accidents) or just feeling not fully aware of everything around me. I used to deal with panic attacks (especially in enclosed spaces or situations you can’t leave).. can’t imagine that at the wheel although I don’t deal with panic attacks much anymore. The only pro to not driving and owning a car is not having to deal with the expenses that come with it. 😜
@@itscarolinemary I really relate to all of this actually. I took therapy to help me with panic attacks. Passing by trucks on the highway, even as a passenger, I would hold my breath and look away. My instructor was a very sweet older woman who was wonderful. I realized that my fears were not grounded in reality. Yes, driving a car is dangerous, and understanding that is important to make sound judgment and take the task seriously. I know a lot of reckless drivers who got their license too young and never unlearned bad habits. As a result of getting my license much later in life, I am much more cautious, and although I can't control what other drivers do, I really drilled those "defensive" habits into my head (thank you Young Drivers) and now feel very confident. As you build confidence, the overthinking naturally starts to fade away. I thought I would never have the time to learn, especially because my lessons were over an hour away, and I was working *more than* full time. But if you just have to make something happen, you will make it happen.
@@CasaDuroTinyHome thank you for such a comforting & motivating reply! 💗hopefully sometime I'll make it happen. agreed, highways aren't fun! I grew up with a very nervous driver so that also plays into it!
its very true, and many people just come to this world from a place of privilege, but some just wanna live in nature, love been alone allot and been self sufficient to some extant all those things can be very good for some peoples mental health . some forms of that has always existed- Europeans go out trawling alloat - its in their culture, vans, some people will have a country house and a house in the city. and real enviermentalists are ower that living and building in cities might be more sustainable . The problem is that americans make everything into a trend and just rouins it- Yoga, minimalism, remote living.... so not everything is a trend- but the need to live in nature and creat some thing by hand is totally understandable from even a biological and evolution pov... I would love to live in nature- but if in my villege someone is growing great organic vegies its totally cool that i dont have to wear myself out for it....
If I were a prepper, the LAST thing I would do is share with the public that I have a stash. Once they need it to survive, people will hunt them down & take it....by force. Lol. Agreed with your video. It's annoying these days when however someone decides to think or live, they assume they are elevated above those who think & live differently. We should all respect other people's choices.
I love watching simple living videos on YT, but do find it triggering when they are monetizing on their decision to live a remote life of novelty. It's this whole sick cycle on media where everyone is fantasizing about living the dream, so they drive traffic and get to monetize being the one living the dream...but, not everyone can be the one living the dream!!!
I have watched many off-grid youtubers and you can always tell the genuine ones apart from the influencers. They have really low production value, are like just old folgies holding a camera in their shaky hand telling you how to actually get through the rough patches. They might have a few thousand followers. I really appreciate their authenticity!
Interesting topic. I've been redesigning my laundry system the past few weeks, ditching my washer/dryer machines and doing laundry by hand instead. The only machine i'm using is an electric spin dryer, which is perfect for my needs! I haven't been happy with my washer/dryer system for years!! They WASTE water, electricity, time, and give poor results. I feel so FREE NOW FINALLY!! 😄
I never try to put people in a box. That was the whole point of this video, as I said, to "explore nuance". I think everyone deserves to pursue their own ideas of happiness as well. I'm not sure if you actually watched the video before leaving this angry comment?
You can't be self-sufficient AND hopelessly ADDICTED to society at the same time. If you're not REALLY an "off-grid" person then just stay in the city and stop LYING to yourself.
My husband and I are the off grid folks on 50 acres living two hours from the nearest box store lol. We are suited to this life though and we know if our children don't take it up, we'll eventually be too old to do it because it is A TON of work. We love it, we're outside 'working' all day, everyday but it doesn't feel like 'work'. I left a great engineering career and my husband an industrial maintenance career behind and sold the house and live in a small cabin, off grid. I find myself getting to bed early because I'm so excited for the next day..... I went years without ever feeling that kind of joyous anticipation of the coming day. We are in a very remote, mountainous area and where I think you have misjudged things, is that we're separated from 'society'. Our area is full of other people living this way and we might not see each other for months but everyone is on it when someone reaches out for help unlike anything I ever experienced in a city. We are very honest though when people romanticize that it's a simple or slow life that they come stay a month and see there is no shopping, no TV, no bar to go to and we spend way more hours maintaining our lifestyle than most people work in a week. There's no white dresses and Instagram or YT filming, we don't have time for that. We relax by watching the deer, turkeys, bears, lions, listening to the frogs in the creek behind the cabin. I love my life and hate to think one day I might not be physically able to stay. I don't think people were meant to live in these mega cities but a healthy smaller community.
Completly agréé with you😊
I appreciate your views on slow & intentional living! You’re doing wonderful! Adeline from myBigTinyhouse, UA-cam recommended your channel! I’m a senior who is savouring my life, as I continue to downsize. My husband is still working & I’m enjoying retirement as I continue to learn more life skills that I didn’t have time for raising 4 kids, being a single mom for awhile & working out of the home for 28+ years. I’m ever grateful for good health, family & community.
This is such a fascinating video to find in your feed after you've spent over 3 years living off grid in a tiny cabin with no running water in winter, an outhouse and only a log fire for warmth. But I honestly couldn't agree with you more.
For me it was a necessary thing to do (and a very privileged thing to be able to do) because I needed to know if I could do it. If I could be "self-sufficient" and "live off the land". And it turns out I can be (at 35, but probably not at 75).
However, I realised after a couple of years that I can be self-sufficient within a community as well. I have a sufficient emergency fund if I lose my job, an emergency stash of food in case I get snowed in and can't get to the shops, and I don't require a lot of material stuff to maintain a comfortable level of living. I help run a community garden on a council estate where everyone, at all levels of income, grow food together and we look out for one another. That's a type of prepping as well that people tend to forget.
I don't ever want to live apart from people again and if the end of the world comes, I don't fancy hanging around anyway.
Thank you Gin for sharing your experience! I really appreciate it.
Here from Adeline’s channel. 👋🏼
Welcome to my little corner of the internet! 👋
That was a fantastic video. You've given me so much to think about.
Thank you so much Adelina!
I’m so grateful to have found your channel! I was searching so hard for people of like-mind that don’t just want to live in a tiny home to be off grid, or like you said make it seem like you have to disconnect from the rest of the world just to live tiny. Thank you!! Because I was thinking like… MAN, I’m not going to find my people that just want to live tiny, be more minimalistic and mindful without being a total shut in and prepper.
Keep doing these vlogs. I love your intention. I also live a more minimilistic lifestyle. Got rid of 85% of my cottage things. Built my van into a cosy lounge, bedroom kitchen. Just turned 65. Single, and 💕 my slower life. Enough time to stop and smell the roses.
Thank you Mary! I'm glad you're enjoying the content ☺
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I appreciate you saying all of that. I cannot get into the idea of farming, or being responsible for farm animals. Not only do I not want to get up at five every morning to care for them, I don't want to spend a small fortune for a vet when they are sick. I'm happy for people who want to do all that. I enjoy paved roads, hot running water, and honestly; I do not want a well. I have seen what can happen when it runs dry or when something dies in it. Ugh. I also do not want to live far from everyone, I'm fairly solitary as is, but living far from the library, or even a small grocery for fresh produce I cannot grow, is not going to happen. I do wonder about the tiny house idea because of where I could park it and not wanting to live far away...but I see that doesn't have to be the case. I'll check out the video you suggest after work. Thanks again for the views and honesty, so refreshing.
Thank you so much for this comment Jessica! I really appreciate it 🙏
Great video. Very thought provoking. The thing is that some years the weather is so extreme that crops fail. We had one really hot dry summer (in the B.C. lower mainland) and farmers saw most of their crops wither and die. So growing all your own food may not always be possible. Funnily enough, when I was young, we did live off grid (except we had electricity) and I hated it. It's not as romantic as it sounds to haul water and have an outhouse instead of a flushing toilet.
Coming over from my big tiny house life I really liked your video thank you for sharing Michelle from Ogden UT.
Thanks for being here Michelle! 👋
when you said "why can't I just enjoy this thing I'm doing right now?" , i felt that.
Yes! Bring on healthy platforms for inter-personal reliance instead of striving for solo self-sufficiency. I am susceptible to the rural romantic cottage/tiny house dream (great for a holiday) although I also tell people that there's thousands of tiny homes already in existence in great, legal locations (apartments).
Thank you for the great video. May I ask. Where did you get those beautiful earrings?
Thank you! They are from a maker called Brass & Bone that I found in a shop called Alternative Thinking in Toronto. The maker isn't online, and that store doesn't sell jewelry on their online store either. If you're ever in Toronto though they have a great selection!
As someone who lives in a city and ponders the feasibility of living out in a more rural environment, I appreciated your comments. I am as susceptible as the next person to romanticizing county life--even though I _know_ that this is ideal is unrealistic. I take comfort in the knowledge that the romaniticization of rural life goes back centuries, at least to the romantic nationalist thinkers in 18th century Europe, who located the "soul" of the nation in its peasantry and their culture. No doubt it goes back farther than that, though, for as long as we've had cities.
I reqlly appreciate this vlog. I. Just want to enjoy a simpler life, that matches where I am and where I'm going. Stay safe and TFS🧡
Great video. I think the issue of our government being captured and doing things counter to the wellbeing of its citizens has a lot to do with peoples desire to leave the city. If people still had faith in the system, they wouldn't be doing it. People dont trust their government or the system anymore. Given the lies we have all been sold over the past several years, who can blame them?
"I just want to look outside my window and watch ducks." Big mood
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Wonderful réflexions😉👍
There is nothing simple about living the 'simple life' unless as I am a widow, no longer working, on a pension, owning my home outright, no debts, no credit card. Savings and a small pantry of 3 months supplies for me and my dogs and chooks..(mostly habit from my working life and when my husband got ill and died our pantry stores were a huge thing to have) rotated and used regualry NOT just sitting about in case of. I wonder how many preppers lost everything in wildfires/floods. My life is not simple it took hard work to get to this stage in my life, fruit trees take years to produce fruit and not every year, nut trees longer for some. Having the money to buy to set up your land, and I only have an acre, and every thing you build/need requires ongoing maintenance, be it your home, your chooks home, fencing, fruit trees, garden, vets for animals. Majority of people who move off grid have to still work. Life of solar panels is not massive, water storage, filters for water (if you have the). Wood..so you want to have wood fire, you can not just chop a tree down and use the wood. It has to be seasoned, otherwise you ruin your wood stove, and that can take anything from one year to several depending on the thickness of the wood. Dry wood is seasoned wood. Here where I live our government is attempting to minimise woodfires/wood stoves.
Solar panels as you say will only work if enough sunshine, and most off griders I know have a generator or have friends who will let them charge their phones/laptops even back up storage at their homes.
So anytime I see Simple Life/simple living (look at simple living Alaska and see what it really can involve). You also have to be thinking way ahead if you are growing your own food, even with your chickens if you rely on the for eggs or goats for dairy stuff as they do not produce all year, which a lot of people are ignorant off.
I grew up on a show from UK called the Good Life and as much as it was a TV show it was relatively honest it what it takes to really get anywhere and the pitfalls in regard to suburban simple living, but in the same way my response to anyone desiring to have a simpler way of life, and to move to a homestead. Begin where You are NOW, and discover how many tomatoes grow on a plant, if you can sucessfully grow them, parsley in a pot, other herbs. You do not need 400 acres to feed yourself or a family and it is very very rare today for anyone to be self sufficient. Where do their original seeds come from? the tools, the items to build with, nuts nails, glues, furniture, mattress, storage containers, jars lids, sugar(who is growing their own sugar . Do people know how many bean plants it takes to grow enough dried beans to make 1kg of dried beans? Feed for your chickens/dogs/cats/goats/cows/ your clothes and shoes. Self sufficiency is a myth I personally believe.
Tiny homes may be fine with smaller children but how many people have one or two teenagers and two adults living fulltime in them? Great way to get your own home today, (I really feel for so many people struggling to find rentals or get on the home ladder). Council regualtions and state laws can impact tiny house living and where so much. I can not imagine worrying about someone complainig about my tiny house and having to relocate. (happens). Great to see someone living the tiny home life and such down to earth logical and rational real opinions and voicing them love your channel (no I have found it.
for me I do get to just sit and watch my chooks, the wallabies, the birds washing in my bird baths, the wedge tail eagle soaring above.
Thank goodness that we are able to have so many choices, be content is the best way I believe to understand what simple slow living is really for me.
I really appreciate you sharing your perspective! I could not agree with you more, self-sufficiency is a myth, being content is the best way to be 💯
Great video! I grew up in Ontario but have been living in Europe for the last 10+ years and am considering a tiny house when I move back next year because I’d like to own a place of my own and have had such poor experiences renting. Im so confused at peoples angry comments though 😅 since when does living off grid/simply mean you have to become a social hermit? There are people with weird ideas in every movement I guess! Anyway, I’m glad I found your channel 😊 God bless
Thank you for watching! Wishing you all the best with your move back next year!
The irony is that people who grew up "in the city" and want to move out to the country and be "self-sufficient" is that they don't realise how community focused farmers and people who live rural are! There are hardly any farmers who grow ALL their own food because its VERY difficult and inefficient to grow many different types of food. They trade all the time.
Very few people are truly self-sufficient in the way that people think.
We need to be community-sufficient, its really, the only way to do this and not spend your entire life working doing hard labour.
Yeeesss community-sufficient 👏 well said!
I feel like what youre describing with the romantization of living off grid and providing for yourself is a crossbreed of cottagecore and the whole 'rule of the jungle everyone for themself and only the strong survive'. Theres a lot to be said about how the harking for a simpler time nostalgia of only relying on yourself intersects with some conservative movements, but i do get the appeal in the current economic uhhhhhh situation.
Slow living and taking your time to watch the ducks go quack instead being 'productive' just isnt going to be advertised anywhere because on one hand the romanticized aesthetic is something thats literally being sold to you and if you watch ducks youre not being a good workerbee in the capitalist cog machine, and on the other hand because if youre slowing down and enjoying life youre not going to be on social media posting about it because youre busy actually livng that life instead of hustling it.
I can attest to the city life to sorta Rural life. The fact that every significant form of shopping is 45 minutes one way, is ridiculous. While I've been in a small town for the last 2 1/2 years, Its just dumb. Trying to work 10+ hours (not counting the 60 minutes driving to and from work, the come home shower, then go run away with a round trip of 1.5hrs. leaves like 1 or 2 hours a day for anything. its not convenient, healthcare is very sub lacking. Its just bad all round. and even now in 2023 people think they run down trash cottages are worth city home prices. It's not cheap, the land is getting more expensive. Even rural life has become pricey.
I tried to grow my own veggie during the pandemic. Nope didn’t work if I want to survive with only that. That’s when I started to realize how privileged I have been.
You don't necessarily have to survive 100% off of the food you grow! You can always supplement what you have to buy at the store and still make it a worthwhile use of your time and energy.
@@CasaDuroTinyHome That's so true! I have to say that while I absolutely hated the taste of what I grew, I did enjoy almost every single minute of it (up until I ate them actually... lol)!! Hopefully one day I will have a little porch or something that I can grow more things. I definitely want to try the ones you grow haha esp. that I will very likely to move to Ontario soon so it is likely that I can just follow what you did ;) I am still new to your channel but really enjoy your content so far! Look forward to more of your thoughts and discussions :)
Great video! Thanks for calling out the insanity of the rat race, and for the honest perspective on the "simple" life.
some people aren't meant to live a simple life, and for others it is a necessity. We don't all live in the same box. I just have to say that I love that I can endure a lot. If I never need it, great. If I ever do though....I will use it like a super power!
I love your commentary and insight, it’s very much needed! ❤ lol I constantly dream about buying a cabin or tiny house on land. I work 100% remote online so I’d need decent internet connection. Thing is, I don’t drive 😅 so currently it’s not very realistic. There definitely would be cons to it.
Agreed that anyone can take on “slow living” or a more minimalist mindset while living in a city or suburb. It’s all about your perspective, taking in the little things and appreciating small moments. Trying to consume less too. You don’t have to move off-grid to do so! It would be nice to of course, but it isn’t possible for everyone. :(
I did not know how to drive before I moved here too! I practiced for a year and took lessons for 3 weeks. It can be done! Even in adulthood. It sucks but it just had to happen. Now it affords me so much freedom
@@CasaDuroTinyHome I know, I really need to just do it. I did have my g1 and I let it expire 🥲. I’m someone that really overthinks things and can let fear keep me in the same place. I pushed myself to get my g1 but I delayed driving lessons and paying for them (for years) because actually doing it just seems so daunting :( I want the instructor to be patient and kind with me, the right person, since I deal with anxiety and stuff. Anxiety around how the instructor will be, potential scenarios I could get into (accidents) or just feeling not fully aware of everything around me. I used to deal with panic attacks (especially in enclosed spaces or situations you can’t leave).. can’t imagine that at the wheel although I don’t deal with panic attacks much anymore. The only pro to not driving and owning a car is not having to deal with the expenses that come with it. 😜
@@itscarolinemary I really relate to all of this actually. I took therapy to help me with panic attacks. Passing by trucks on the highway, even as a passenger, I would hold my breath and look away. My instructor was a very sweet older woman who was wonderful. I realized that my fears were not grounded in reality. Yes, driving a car is dangerous, and understanding that is important to make sound judgment and take the task seriously. I know a lot of reckless drivers who got their license too young and never unlearned bad habits. As a result of getting my license much later in life, I am much more cautious, and although I can't control what other drivers do, I really drilled those "defensive" habits into my head (thank you Young Drivers) and now feel very confident. As you build confidence, the overthinking naturally starts to fade away. I thought I would never have the time to learn, especially because my lessons were over an hour away, and I was working *more than* full time. But if you just have to make something happen, you will make it happen.
@@CasaDuroTinyHome thank you for such a comforting & motivating reply! 💗hopefully sometime I'll make it happen. agreed, highways aren't fun! I grew up with a very nervous driver so that also plays into it!
its very true, and many people just come to this world from a place of privilege, but some just wanna live
in nature, love been alone allot and been self sufficient to some extant all those things can be very good for some peoples mental health . some forms of that has always existed- Europeans go out trawling alloat - its in their culture, vans, some people will have a country house and a house in the city. and real enviermentalists are ower that living and building in cities might be more sustainable .
The problem is that americans make everything into a trend and just rouins it- Yoga, minimalism, remote living.... so not everything is a trend- but the need to live in nature and creat some thing by hand is totally understandable from even a biological and evolution pov... I would love to live in nature- but if in my villege someone is growing great organic vegies its totally cool that i dont have to wear myself out for it....
👍 ⬅️ I ment this emoji 😂
Got a follow from me, on IG too! 🤦♂️
Thank you Jonathan! I appreciate you being here 🤗
If I were a prepper, the LAST thing I would do is share with the public that I have a stash. Once they need it to survive, people will hunt them down & take it....by force. Lol. Agreed with your video. It's annoying these days when however someone decides to think or live, they assume they are elevated above those who think & live differently. We should all respect other people's choices.
💯 live & let live
Where are your parents from?
My mom is from a town called Lourinhã on the mainland. My dad is from São Miguel in the Açores
I love watching simple living videos on YT, but do find it triggering when they are monetizing on their decision to live a remote life of novelty. It's this whole sick cycle on media where everyone is fantasizing about living the dream, so they drive traffic and get to monetize being the one living the dream...but, not everyone can be the one living the dream!!!
I have watched many off-grid youtubers and you can always tell the genuine ones apart from the influencers. They have really low production value, are like just old folgies holding a camera in their shaky hand telling you how to actually get through the rough patches. They might have a few thousand followers. I really appreciate their authenticity!
Interesting topic. I've been redesigning my laundry system the past few weeks, ditching my washer/dryer machines and doing laundry by hand instead. The only machine i'm using is an electric spin dryer, which is perfect for my needs! I haven't been happy with my washer/dryer system for years!! They WASTE water, electricity, time, and give poor results. I feel so FREE NOW FINALLY!! 😄
this is america , we have the right to peruse our own idea of happiness . quit triing to put people in a box that suits you.
I never try to put people in a box. That was the whole point of this video, as I said, to "explore nuance". I think everyone deserves to pursue their own ideas of happiness as well. I'm not sure if you actually watched the video before leaving this angry comment?
You can't be self-sufficient AND hopelessly ADDICTED to society at the same time.
If you're not REALLY an "off-grid" person then just stay in the city and stop LYING to yourself.
Is this a bot? I'm confused LOL