Living Off-Grid in Vermont: Our Journey to a Sustainable Life
Homesteading Adventure in Vermont: Transforming a Dream into a Lifestyle Off the Grid
As urban dwellers longing for a greener, more self-sufficient existence, we found ourselves dreaming of a life in the Vermont wilderness. This is our story - a journey of learning, challenges, and rewards as we transformed our off-grid living dream into reality.
Off-Grid Homestead: A Dream List
With the desire to trade office jobs and city life for a life of sustainability, we created our "dream list" for our perfect off-grid home in Vermont. Top priorities included:- Private, forested location- Wood heat and a sufficient woodlot- Agricultural land for gardens, livestock, and more- Proximity to a small store for essentials- Access to water- No easements or right-of-ways- Set in beautiful Vermont
The Hunt for Our Off-Grid Sanctuary
As we scoured the market for years, hoping to find our dream homestead, we faced many challenges. Abandoned properties, floodplains, and junkyards dominated the options within our budget. But we remained patient, saving, and adjusting our expectations.
With persistence, we found the perfect property - a former organic farm with a greenhouse and multiple structures nestled deep within the woods. However, the catch was it was off-grid. Despite lacking experience in off-grid energy, the learning opportunity was too intriguing to pass up.
Embracing Our New Life
After careful consideration, we made the leap into off-grid living. We soon learned about solar panels, wind turbines, battery storage, and other essential off-grid systems, while discovering ways to maintain modern conveniences and making countless improvements to our power system over the past decade.
Today, we operate as independent contractors from our off-grid homestead, raising our family in this unique lifestyle, with our children knowing nothing but syrup tapping, foraging, and animal rearing.
Resources for the Off-Grid Journey
Eager to share our experiences and lessons learned, we invite you to subscribe to our newsletter for more insights into self-sufficiency and off-grid living. Whether you are considering taking the plunge yourself or simply curious about this lifestyle, we are here to help you learn from our journey.
Navigating Off-Grid Living in Vermont
Our off-grid homestead in Vermont is powered by renewable energy sources, such as solar panels, battery storage, and wind turbines. To maintain modern conveniences, we focus on efficient water collection, food preservation, and communication systems enabling a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. However, Vermont's climate can be challenging, with variable sunlight and wind patterns; nevertheless, this variability also offers opportunities for developing innovative solutions.
The off-grid community in Vermont is a supportive network, helping people transition to off-grid living by sharing knowledge and resources. With determination, resilience, and support from one another, we can embrace the off-grid lifestyle and create more sustainable futures for ourselves and our communities.
- Our dream list for our off-grid homestead in Vermont included agricultural land not only for gardens but also for livestock, making animal husbandry a significant part of our new lifestyle.
- As we delve deeper into our off-grid life in Vermont, we are part of a community that supports each other in embracing a home-and-garden lifestyle, with an emphasis on sustainability and self-sufficiency.
