

Water is an issue and you will probably have to haul water to your property, but it’s doable.Ĭalifornia – Northern California specifically has a lot of good land and it’s priced reasonably. Best places to live off grid in the U.S.Īrizona – Northern Arizona. Well, that’s a good start and now I can use this to gauge whether a property is located in a good area to go off grid. Timber & Rock – You’ll need building materials! Like I said above about desert land, it’s cheap for a reason. Affordable pricing is important, but it’s not always indicative of a good deal or the best place to buy off grid land.

Land Price – I left land price almost last because this is so subjective. Depending on the location and your neighbors, you might be able to get rezoned fairly easily to allow that kind of operation.Ħ. It depends on the county and city planning department, but you could get your property rezoned agricultural if you can provide a good reason for the rezoning, such as creating a garden or micro-farm, or raising livestock of some kind. Zoning – Try to pick an agricultural property, or apply for rezoning or a variance with your county to get your taxes lowered. A smaller property will be zoned residential, but residential property taxes are higher on agriculturally zoned land.ĥ. This could be a good thing, but not always.Ī larger parcel of land is typically more expensive and requires a larger outlay of cash upfront. Agricultural property is less expensive, but usually is a larger piece of land. Taxes – You obviously want lower property taxes. This means being off grid, disconnected from the power grid (or grid-tied solar/wind), and producing your own power and water.īuilding codes must be followed or find a place that does not enforce the codes, or better yet find a place that has little or no building codes which means a remote property far from a city or town usually.Ĥ. Laws – You need to make sure you can build what you want and live the way you want. You can buy 100 acres of desert land for the same amount or less that what you’d pay for waterfront property in milder climate zones.ģ. Desert land is cheap and it’s cheap for a reason. Water – You need a renewable, dependable, clean water source to survive. has awesome historical weather charts you can look at to help you decide where to move to.Ģ. Climate – Do you want to live in a place with all four seasons, 2 seasons, or where it’s nice year-round? Do you like rain, snow, sun, heat, cold? Figuring that out seems easy, but it takes research. To simplify, there are some main factors that people need to consider when buying land for building their off grid homestead.ġ. Factors to consider when choosing land for off grid living

You have to have a place to go to before you can move off grid, and while that seems obvious, it’s not as obvious when choosing the perfect off grid land and property location.Ī number of factors should be considered: land prices, county building codes and local ordinances, property taxes, zoning restrictions, covenants, water availability, septic system regulations (which are usually governed by state and federal agencies), and lots of other factors. I’ll start the list off in alphabetical order, and then I’ll give my opinion on the best states to live off grid based on benefits and availability. Before I list them you need to know how I choose the states and what I’m looking for in off grid land. The reasons are many, but most have to do with land prices and local county building codes and ordinances. What’s the best place to live off the grid in the USA? While technically you could live off grid anywhere, there are some places that are better suited for living off the grid than others.
