Has off grid living become sexy?

[kickbacked]

Recently Ive been watching off grid cabin building on youtube. Mostly building a one room cabin weekend get away type stuff. In my watching I started noticing suggested videos with click bait thumbnail pictures of very attractive females. This of course meant I had to investigate this for science. I found quite interesting findings. 1 confirmed large youtube channel being funded by an only fans account among other things (patreon, etc), but i suspect there were more. And one large channel that had a top tier adult industry star (previous science expedition). All these channels seemed to be coming out of the PNW. This got me thinking 1. Are these setup? Very good video editing for people living off grid. Do they just bear grylls it for the camera? 2. What are the gun laws like in the PNW and what does land cost? Only joking. But seriously is this a new thing with young people? Is off grid living becoming the next big thing?

 

[Leadeye]

I live about as close to the frontier as you can in Indiana. Being somewhat off the grid I don't see it as sexy, maybe that's because I'm in my 60s. I does mean extra work though. We heat the house with wood all winter, but when you live in the middle of a forest that's not hard to do. I have an intermittent and expensive internet connection, what utilities we have are backed up with automatic propane powered generation. After that it's just supplies, we have not been able to leave since 2/9 because of the snow and driveway grade and it hasn't been much of an inconvenience.

I have a local friend here who lives much further off the grid than I do. He has a lot more work to do to maintain that status, but does very well.

 

[Magyars]

Back in Va. We built a 16x24 off grid cabin on our hunting property... solar, wood stove, 12V shower, propane stove and what I refer to as colonial air conditioning, got the idea from going to Montecello....couldn't dig a hole for an outhouse, ground wouldn't perk so we used a composting set up

 

[Magyars]

I live about as close to the frontier as you can in Indiana. Being somewhat off the grid I don't see it as sexy, maybe that's because I'm in my 60s. I does mean extra work though. We heat the house with wood all winter, but when you live in the middle of a forest that's not hard to do. I have an intermittent and expensive internet connection, what utilities we have are backed up with automatic propane powered generation. After that it's just supplies, we have not been able to leave since 2/9 because of the snow and driveway grade and it hasn't been much of an inconvenience.

I have a local friend here who lives much further off the grid than I do. He has a lot more work to do to maintain that status, but does very well.

Feel your pain. I'm recently retired and while we aren't off grid, we do have some solar, wood stove etc...I keep a few cords of firewood on hand but cutting and splitting ain't what it used to be...I think the trees and logs are getting heavier

 

[shibumiseeker]

Tiny homes, van-life, off-grid, and simplistic living are the buzzwords among the young urban hip crowd these days. You see them on youtube because those are the people with the technical skills and time to make these kinds of things. Many of them are trust-fund babies or have some other form of income they don't have to work for. You need upwards of 1-2 million subscribers to make a living off youtube. And yeah, the clickbait to get you to watch is to have attractive young people being the thumbnails.

I watched one couple who were doing vanlife touring through Europe for a little while because they did Iceland and in 2019 I was going to Iceland for a couple weeks and I kinda got into watching where they were going. But I got really fed up with it because the thumbnail teaser was always her in really skimpy bikinis that maybe had about ten seconds in the 30 min vid. Don't get me wrong, I -like- looking at attractive young people, but I felt it was kind of slimy to make that their clickbait, and then most of their videos were about how they were living the oh-so pure vegan lifestyle, blah blah blah. Their production values are excellent because they have the time to do it.

I've been off-grid most of my life. I bought my place right out of high school more than thirty years ago and built everything out here myself, by hand. I lived hand to mouth for ten years to pay the place off and have never earned more than 30k a year. I live very frugally, and the windfalls I've gotten have gone into reinvesting in the place. I'm now at a place where I can have a little extra because I have no debt and only work part time doing things I enjoy. We produce about 10% of our own food and all of our own power and heating.

I've been teaching myself video editing for my job and set up a youtube channel where I post mostly how to do stuff, but honestly, anyone who really lives an off-grid homestead does not have much free time unless they have money from something else and don't have to work for a living. Most of the "real" off-grid and homesteaders have great stuff if they are on youtube but often the production values suck.

 

[Leadeye]

Shib is the best and most committed off the grid guy I've ever met.

 

[jsx1043]

Tiny homes, van-life, off-grid, and simplistic living are the buzzwords among the young urban hip crowd these days.

The above mentioned has indeed grown exponentially in the last decade. What started as the documentation of bushcrafters and survival experts living off the land morphed into homesteaders and then to masses, the freedom of being disconnected from the big machine became a very hot commodity. Eco-centric “greenie” hipsters and well-to-do business owners wanted places away from the rush of society and that were “sustainable” ecologically. Not necessarily self-sustainable since most weren’t doing all of the work necessary to live completely off the grid, although that trend is growing.

Before the ‘Rona, van life was growing leaps and bounds as young folks who loved the outdoors were rigging old vans and mini campers to vagabond their way through their 20s and 30s. I ran across a lot of them in backpacking circles both online and in person. It’s actually pretty popular to live out of the van and work part time in a mountain town doing low-end work to earn just enough money to buy the supplies you need and some gas to get to the next 14er. Some even have middle-class jobs as writers, accountants, etc., jobs that are completely online; they can use satellite internet or work on stuff offline and upload when they hit a hotspot.

Shows like Building Off the Grid, Maine Cabin Masters, Homestead Rescue, and, believe it or not, Alaska: The Last Frontier and whatever the stupid show is with the fake hillbilly family in Alaska, have entered the public space and made off-grid living appear easier and sexier than it is. (That’s not to say that I don’t want my place in the boonies, but I’m also not a trust fund baby or wealthy businessman with $50,000 to throw at a vacation cabin.)

 

[bwframe]

Do we not know how to link?

 

[phylodog]

I have no dreams of ever getting any more off grid than I am but I do enjoy watching the videos and have learned a lot of helpful info since moving to a rural area.

 

[Ingomike]

I think the shows and vids do have an impact and many parents are funding their kids get-away that they themselves never got to do. For some we are getting just too crowded and even just getting away watching these shows can be a mental relief.

 

[kickbacked]

Do we not know how to link?

Sure thing. Only video ive watched is the first one, the guy definitely doesnt seem like he could live in the woods. Havent watched the others but you can see what i mean about click baity stuff.

 

[actaeon277]

Yes, many of them are only in the van on camera.
Not all, but many.

And many use women for click bait.
Not all, but many.

But "van life" and living off the grid have been on YouTube for awhile.

 

[actaeon277]

Do we not know how to link?

go to you tube
type in van life, or off grid

 

[kickbacked]

It seems like this trend may be a good thing. If you live in very liberal places and decide that you want to venture outdoors because of these influencers, you quickly discover why hunting is important, why firearm ownership is important, basic skills, etc. Maybe there is hope for us after all?

 

[Sylvain]

I've seen dudes build "off grid" bunkers on Youtube.
Complete with internet access, city power and utilities ...

 

[Leadeye]

Nothing wrong with conveniences if you can use them but not be dependent on them. I live like Phylo only much further out, utilities get less reliable but it's not hard to compensate for that. I try to make it as easy as possible as both the wife and I are in our 60s. I'm still employed part time, but work more at my convenience so that pays for the extras.

Serious bod on that woman fishing, but I would bet she is cold.

 

[churchmouse]

Nothing wrong with conveniences if you can use them but not be dependent on them. I live like Phylo only much further out, utilities get less reliable but it's not hard to compensate for that. I try to make it as easy as possible as both the wife and I are in our 60s. I'm still employed part time, but work more at my convenience so that pays for the extras.

Serious bod on that woman fishing, but I would bet she is cold.

She is for sure corn fed possibly Hoosier bred.

 

[bwframe]

Sure thing. Only video ive watched is the first one, the guy definitely doesnt seem like he could live in the woods. Havent watched the others but you can see what i mean about click baity stuff.

Thank you. I have had YouTube suggest two of those to me, based on my viewing. Along with the silly, scantily clad, lil red hiedi hood.

A really appreciate attractive talented women and am happy to promote and share their vids with others. Women that can really shoot or really fish or really homestead, I'm all about them.

I don't care at all for hot models posing with guns or fishing gear or other stuff males are typically interested in to promote things they have never done or don't do.

For the same reason, I don't go to the "women with..." threads on INGO. I don't think they belong on a gun owners forum. It demeans us and promotes an impression gun owners care more about boobs than women that actually have skills.

Plenty of other places on the web to look at hot chicks, boobies and a whole lot more.

go to you tube
type in van life, or off grid

Thanks for the lesson! I'll look into this you tube that you speak of.

 

[Leadeye]

Nothing wrong with that, particularly if you live on the frontier. I suspect that the really thin model types wouldn't last long.

 

[actaeon277]

Face it. There is a reason they say, "Sex Sells!"
So they put a pretty "face" on the thumbnail to get the traffic.