Emplacement
General
Location is one of the most important factors to take into account when going OffGrid. À peu près tout dépend de l'emplacement. Lors de la recherche d'un endroit pour s'installer OffGrid, beaucoup de gens font l'erreur cruciale de ne regarder que les attributs positifs d'un emplacement. Oui, tout le monde devrait avoir une liste de “Je veux ceci” et “i would prefer not that” and matching these criteria somewhat is important for happiness.
Cependant, il est tout aussi important d'inspecter correctement les côtés négatifs des emplacements et leur impact sur l'avenir. Solaire does not make sense if all your land is next to a forest and all you have is shade, it might be hard to source water in the desert, good luck getting a legal permit for drilling a well in Germany, punctual workforce is not a thing in east Europe , cette rivière pourrait bien paraître mais avec cette usine chimique 10 km upstream hmm, etc etc.
Don’t be persuaded to buy land quickly! If the seller of the building plot harasses you by making you know that there are other interested parties you need to pre-empt, then you should take the time to check the building plot very carefully. If the type and characteristics of the building plot have special features in the soils condition, this can result in considerable additional costs in the building of the house. Therefore, the question of soil condition must always be clarified with a soil assessment in case of doubt. Other problems may arise from soil conditions that include water or moor soil. In order to protect you from costly surprises, you should obtain very intensive level of information on the soil condition and load-bearing capacity before purchasing the property.
Points à considérer pour choisir une zone
Climate
Which climate do you wish to live in? Do you have experience living in different climates for a prolonged period of time? Ce village du centre du Mexique pourrait être doux pour deux semaines de vacances d'été, but are you sure you can take the heat all year round being born in Norway? Do you even want the same weather all year around, or would you enjoy a change of seasons? How is your body coping with a certain climate? Beaucoup de fois après avoir vécu 3-4 months in a different climate people get all sorts of funny symptoms because their body did not adjust well. It is highly recommended to travel and try to experience different climates to feel which fits you and your body best.
Culture
Cultures can be vastly different on each and every level of society and human behaviour. Some cultures are harsh and rough at first glance, d'autres sont ouverts, calme et indulgent. Some support the lifestyle going OffGrid more then others, certains l'embrassent comme une tradition nationale.
Sachez que si vous venez “outsider” vous êtes celui qui a besoin de s'adapter à la culture locale! No one likes the foreign smart ass who knows everything better and disrespects local traditions, definatly not a good way to make friends. Same as what can be said as with climate, il est fortement recommandé de voyager et d'essayer de découvrir différentes cultures pour voir celle qui vous convient le mieux.
Loi, Permis, Règlements, Situation juridique
Ce genre de chevauchement avec la culture. More often then not, law and how it is enforced is very much tied to culture. However there is always legal things that will be minorly or majorly different from country to country, d'un état à l'autre ou même d'une ville à l'autre. Depending on what your plans are it should be worthwhile to inspect the legal situation properly.
Des prix, Price Level
Some areas will be cheaper then others, this does not only reflect countries but can also vary vastly within the same country.
Getting land in Somalia will generally drain less numbers from your bank account then acquiring a mansion in Luxenbourg.
Consider not only your budget but also your future maintenance costs and such.
Santé et éducation
Les deux sujets importants. Check how conditions are before moving.
A common mistake from people coming from systems with universal healthcare is to realise healthcare can be excessively expensive. La même procédure qui sera gratuite en “civilised country” could cost you a mortgage and life long payments somewhere else. *USA being the prime example of negativity here.
Police
Informez-vous sur l'état général de la police. De quelles autorités disposent-ils ou non?. La corruption est-elle un problème, etc etc.
Statistiques générales de la société
Les statistiques ne brossent jamais un tableau complet. Vous ne devriez jamais compter aveuglément sur les nombres, mais ils peuvent être un facteur important pour choisir.
Voici quelques exemples à rechercher:
- Les chiffres de l'emploi et du chômage
- Crime statistics for burglaries, etc.
- Interactions avec la police par citoyen chaque année
- Niveaux de revenu moyen
- Niveaux d'éducation
Things to consider for location
Proximity to water
While l'eau is needed to keep you and your OffGrid running,
being too close to large bodies of water like rivers and lakes can also mean you need to take extra precautions because of flooding. In any climate over freezing point larger bodies of water also mean a lot more insects and general wildlife in close proximity. This can be both positive or negative.
Heures de soleil
Solar power production and food production can rely heavily upon this. Plus c'est mieux. For solar to work best it should be placed where there is no shade for the duration of the day.
More details on this can be found in the solar section.
Vent
Wind turbines are a valid source of power. Ils fourniront de l'électricité la nuit et par temps nuageux et par mauvais temps. There is very efficient vertical turbines that basically work in just about all environments. Découvrez la situation du vent autour de votre emplacement.
More Information on wind turbines can be found in the wind section under electricity.
Conditions météorologiques
Le soleil cesse-t-il d'exister pendant 5 mois chaque année? cough greetings to all the tough souls in Finland* How much minus for how long constitutes a harsh winter? Whats the usual and unusual summers like? Has there been flooding? Quelle est la force de la saison des pluies? La météo est un facteur majeur pour vivre hors réseau! It is highly recommended to inform yourself properly about the local weather.
Soil Quality
If you planning on raising crops or larger amounts of livestock it is recommended to check the soil quality if you buy larger pieces of land. Cela dit, for your casual veggie garden of 4 m² its not a big factor; you can easily dump a few m³ of nutrient rich soil for such purposes.
Achats
Vous aurez besoin de choses. Pas seulement de la nourriture, mais des objets de la vie quotidienne, électronique, médicament, maintenance of machinery, etc.
Remote area also means less variety in shopping opportunities and such. Make sure you know how far certain shops are from your location.
Closest populated area
Consider carefully how far out you want to be. UNE 5 km distance to the next populated area can easily be overcome on foot or bike even for smaller children. Being too far out makes things more complex. 20 km ou plus et “à pied” n'est plus vraiment une option viable.
Local Resources
Bois, stone, sand, clay, l'eau, etc are all things you will need one way or another during construction. The more resources are locally available on your land the less you need to “importation”. This usually scales with your distance to the next populated area.