How To Live Off The Grid In Florida

To live off the grid in Florida, make sure to break all ties with your former life, at least for a while. Understand that living off grid takes a huge level of commitment. Be sure to not carry any modern-day implements like a cell phone or laptop computer. You may have to also consider moving around a bit as well. Here are some other tips that will help you.

Step 1

Be sure not to forward your mail. There is really no reason that anyone today needs to get regular paper mail. Use a computer at a local library to receive emails or other notifications, for example. If you want to live off grid in Florida, you will have to try and avoid contact with former friends and relatives too. There may be instances you need to receive mail, however. Give Florida Power and Light (FPL) a friend's address if you need to.

Step 2

Pay no utility bills. A good way to stay off grid anywhere is to live somewhere you do not have to pay electric, water or phone bills. Be sure never to sign a lease either. Many people have rooms to rent or apartments and homes to share. If you pay cash up front, most homeowners or landlords will never questioned you or where your money comes from. It is not unusual for people to live off grid in Florida for years this way. Rent a houseboat in southwest Florida or contact Centex Homes about solar self-generation efficiency condos. They have offices in Lakeland, Palm Harbor, Clearwater and St. Petersburg, Florida

Step 3

Be sure never to use credit or debit cards. The easiest way to keep track of someone is to run a trace on plastic money. People who wish to live off the grid in Florida should understand authorities have only to contact a credit card company to get an address of somewhere you shop regularly. Even if you should move around often, avoid getting a savings or checking account too. Remember to try and earn your wages "under the table." This means you only receive cash money for any services you render. Know there are more than 500 private investigators in Florida who specialize in tracking down debtors.

Step 4

Grow your own food and build your own house. The best way to live off the grid in Florida is to be entirely self-sufficient. The only drawback is that it make take a huge amount of time and money. Start small and grow your own food and vegetables, for example. Stop shopping at stores and make clothes and other items on your own. You can go to a farm and buy directly from them, too. You can also get cheap building materials by talking with local masons and construction personnel in your area. Some people have been know to acquire land, building materials, like block, wood and cement entirely for free. Enlist the help of others and live communally. Living with a group is a cheaper way to live off the grid in Florida and remain that way. New Homes and Builders of Florida is a directory of Florida-based construction companies. They have a list of hundreds of construction companies in Florida that may be able to help you with cheap building materials.

Step 5

Stay motivated. Friends and family may not appreciate your change of lifestyle. Remain motivated by reading critical essays or books by Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. These two authors wrote about Transcendentalism. It is a philosophical concept that teaches people to idealize more nature-based and spiritual ways of living over institutionalized ones.