Has off grid living become sexy?

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  • kickbacked

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    I just wonder if this is a real trend of young people living off the grid and using additional means to make money (no judgement from me at all) or if this is a money grab because its basically an untapped market. These videos started being suggested to me after I began watching wranglerstar which is probably known to anyone on here who watches youtube.
     

    indyjohn

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    In the trees
    You all know I'm posting video shorts to YouTube and I appreciate that you watch them- Heartland Trading Post. This time of year the OG will have nothing to do with taking her coveralls off outside of the cabin, so that marketing idea is a non-starter. I don't bite on the click bait because if those start showing up in my suggested videos with more frequency, momma is not gonna be happy. :rolleyes:

    I suspect many of these "off-grid" posters aren't anywhere close to leadeye and shimbumiseeker level but they're prettier so they get views and likes from all those that want to be there. We have spent just 5 years building our off-grid existence and it has been difficult, slow, and expensive. We don't have a trust fund and work regular weekday jobs so everything we've done has been cashflowed. So, if SHTF tomorrow would we make it? Yes, for a while. But food year-round becomes the critical issue. How people survived winters like this one 200 years ago is just beyond me.

    So has off grid living become sexy? Yes. Because of the times we live in. People see (whether they admit it or not) how close we are to dire straits and long for a path that will deliver them away from it. People (whether they admit it or not) live on hope. shimbumiseeker tells how he lived hand to mouth for years, mainstream society has no idea what that's like - let alone how to do it or how to survive it.

    Darwin only wrote about wild animals. His theory applies to all species.
    TheOG.jpg
     

    kickbacked

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    You all know I'm posting video shorts to YouTube and I appreciate that you watch them- Heartland Trading Post. This time of year the OG will have nothing to do with taking her coveralls off outside of the cabin, so that marketing idea is a non-starter. I don't bite on the click bait because if those start showing up in my suggested videos with more frequency, momma is not gonna be happy. :rolleyes:

    I suspect many of these "off-grid" posters aren't anywhere close to leadeye and shimbumiseeker level but they're prettier so they get views and likes from all those that want to be there. We have spent just 5 years building our off-grid existence and it has been difficult, slow, and expensive. We don't have a trust fund and work regular weekday jobs so everything we've done has been cashflowed. So, if SHTF tomorrow would we make it? Yes, for a while. But food year-round becomes the critical issue. How people survived winters like this one 200 years ago is just beyond me.

    So has off grid living become sexy? Yes. Because of the times we live in. People see (whether they admit it or not) how close we are to dire straits and long for a path that will deliver them away from it. People (whether they admit it or not) live on hope. shimbumiseeker tells how he lived hand to mouth for years, mainstream society has no idea what that's like - let alone how to do it or how to survive it.

    Darwin only wrote about wild animals. His theory applies to all species.
    View attachment 127099
    subscribed, wasnt aware anyone here had a youtube account.
     

    indyjohn

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    In the trees
    subscribed, wasnt aware anyone here had a youtube account.
    I haven't banged the drum about it, I've only put links in the Firewooding 2020-2021 Season thread. We started doing the videos for the OG's 96 yr old grandmother who is in assisted living and bored, she used to camp and hike (Appalachian Trail level). She watches them on her iPad. They're fun to do but I appreciate the effort needed to produce content that isn't boring. Still working on that part.
     

    bwframe

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    Btown Rural
    I went to subscribe to indyjohn and OG's channel and found I already had. :noway: to YouTube for no longer sending email video notifications.

    I'm subscribed to one of phylodog's channels, not sure about the other.

    There are quite a few INGOers with YouTube channels. I was just watching a Hickman video yesterday. sgreen3 does many vids. MAC used to be an active INGOer.

    Someone should start a central thread for INGO YouTubers?
     

    indyjohn

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    In the trees
    I went to subscribe to indyjohn and OG's channel and found I already had.
    Someone should start a central thread for INGO YouTubers?
    So, YouTube being YouTube, it notified us that you were a 'new' subscriber.

    It's like dating a hooker. You don't like it but you accomplish a task doing it.
     

    jsx1043

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    Napghanistan
    If you're posting crap on youtube you ain't "off the grid" :nuts:
    Some folks I have a give a pass to, like the gentleman who runs Bushradical.


    He’s a legit outdoorsman and has spent his adult life living off-grid and building off-grid structures. He was also a contestant on Alone.

    In all actuality, some folks like him have guys like me beat: they live the life they want, on the income they are happy with, and they share their knowledge and adventures with us. The fact that they figured out a way to monetize that life just makes them smarter than me.

    Besides, if they were 100% off grid, they’d just be a hermit in the woods, and we wouldn’t be able to learn from them. If you have a radio to pick up AM/FM, you’re still on grid, LOL.

    Some of the other shysters? They make it look like it’s off grid, then it’s back to the McMansion (or the hotel room if you’re Bear Grylls).
     

    OkieGirl

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    iti anunka (In the trees)
    ...But seriously is this a new thing with young people? Is off grid living becoming the next big thing?
    I'm gonna say 'not likely' to this question. They want the glam of off grid but when you start talking about walking to the outhouse after dark the sparkle tends to fade. One of our teenagers regularly takes groups of friends out for a few days to our primitive cabin. We've had to explain to several of these young people (ages 18 - 24) that they will need to bring proper gear. They will be given a roof over their heads but every other human need should be planned for and/or brought with them (i.e. plenty of water, toilet paper, and a really good sleeping bag). A good example of preferred gear: my son uses headlamps instead of flashlights because it allows both hands to work on whatever task in the dark. He loaned one out to one of his buddies that was unloading after arriving after sundown and that guy thought it was an amazing invention. We encourage their visits because it builds an understanding of reality, but it can be hard not to chuckle at some of their self induced struggles. You can always tell the guys that have been out a few times, they pack light and their gear is solid.

    For a day hiking trip we had a gal who showed up wearing a Chuck Taylor style tennis shoe and another gal was wearing fashion hikers; both wore super cute jeans and had flannel shirts tied about their middle as if that made them ready for adventuring. Our trails are just that...TRAILS...there is mud, there are steep inclines, there are briars, it's heavily wooded and beautiful.
    They were expecting the National Park experience.
     

    shibumiseeker

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    near Bedford on a whole lot of land.
    One of the issues here too is that of time. It takes a -lot- of time to produce a really good video. I generally budget at least an hour per minute of vid, often more. Now I get paid to do it for work and I don’t have to make the production values really high, because they are just for education and training, but I have several vids on my channel that have languished because I simply don’t have the time to finish them. Livestock, garden, and farm chores mean I don’t.

    Putting out 1-2 videos a week which is necessary to have a channel that pays even a few bills makes it a part time job unto itself. Much easier to do when you are a hot young thing willing to show your bod.

    It also takes decent gear. Video quality from inexpensive cameras has gotten amazing, and sound fidelity has gotten better, but it still requires decent processing power to edit and produce unless you like frustration while the processor grinds. You can easily spend a couple of grand on a setup at the hobbyist level without going too deep.

    I never begrudge the folks who are living how they want. I get a little disgusted at the ones who make it a point to latch on to whatever is popular and make a point of loudly proclaiming how cool they are because of it when they don’t put in the work or learning required.
     

    Tactically Fat

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    I'd love to build a modest self-sufficient home once I win the lottery.

    Off grid, though? I enjoy my Internet access too much for that.
     

    indyjohn

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    Off grid, though? I enjoy my Internet access too much for that.

    I think you can do both. With Starlink coming online, Elon Musk is changing the game on how people connect with the rest of the world. I mean seriously- a 128MB connection to the internet from practically anywhere with gear that can be powered by a small inverter with solar panels and a battery bank behind it? That classifies as still off grid to me.
     

    smokingman

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    I just wonder if this is a real trend of young people living off the grid and using additional means to make money (no judgement from me at all) or if this is a money grab because its basically an untapped market. These videos started being suggested to me after I began watching wranglerstar which is probably known to anyone on here who watches youtube.
    I have watched wranglerstar on occasion for the better part of 6 years. I like to repair things rather than throw them away(shovel for example),and wranglerstar has become a part of that. I find his channel and him easy to follow with duplicatable results.
     

    Tactically Fat

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    I think you can do both. With Starlink coming online, Elon Musk is changing the game on how people connect with the rest of the world. I mean seriously- a 128MB connection to the internet from practically anywhere with gear that can be powered by a small inverter with solar panels and a battery bank behind it? That classifies as still off grid to me.

    I'm just 6 numbers away!
     
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