The 5 Best Places to Live Off Grid in the US

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Living off the grid just got a little bit easier. Below check out some of the best states where you can set up your homestead and some extra things to consider. Before you make any decisions, check this out!

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.
A number of factors should be considered.
To simplify, there are some main factors that people need to consider when buying land for building their off grid homestead.
Climate – Citydata.com has awesome historical weather charts you can look at to help you decide where to move to.

Water – You need a renewable, dependable, clean water source to survive. Period. Especially in desert areas.

Laws – You need to make sure you can build what you want and live the way you want. This means being off grid, disconnected from the power grid (or grid tied solar/wind), and producing your own power and water.

Taxes – You obviously want lower property taxes. Agricultural property is less expensive, but usually is a larger piece of land. This could be a good thing, but not always.

Zoning – Try to pick an agricultural property, or apply for rezoning or a variance with your county to get your taxes lowered.
Land Price – I left land price almost last because this is so subjective. Affordable pricing is important, but it’s not always indicative of a good deal or the best place to buy off grid land.
Timber & Rock – You’ll need building materials

Arizona – Northern Arizona. Cheap land, mild climate and some trees. Water is an issue and you will probably have to haul water to your property, but it’s doable.
California – Northern California specifically has a lot of good land and it’s priced reasonably. Climate is milder than most northern territories, water is readily available, ordinances are less strict, taxes are lower, and land prices are affordable. SoCal is good, but expensive and overpopulated. Land is expensive there and there’s too many people and rules.
Maine – Maine is an off gridders dream! There are lots of properties for sale and much of the land is cheap and remote. Water is plentiful, as is timber and rock to build with. The only drawback is the climate. It gets cold there, and it’s a wet cold. But if you can deal with the winters, it does have beautiful seasons. Summer is bearable and temps in spring and fall are comfortable. Zoning from what I’ve determined is open to off gridders and building codes are relatively reasonable.

Montana – Big sky country! This state is great if you’re a rancher, but it’s bitter cold in the winter and the wind howls across the prairie and grasslands. If you’re looking for land in Montana look in the mountains for shelter from the winds. The same goes for Wyoming and North Dakota. Cold and windy unless you’re in the mountains, and even then it’s bitter cold in the winter. Having said that, Montana is a great state to move off grid. Land prices are reasonable, you can find some good waterfront property on a stream in the mountains for a relatively reasonable price, and water is readily available in most areas. Timber and rock is also plentiful in mountainous areas, but not so much on the prairies.
Oregon – Again, just about anywhere in Oregon is good. There are some desert areas, but western Oregon up and down the Cascade mountain range is very good. Central Oregon is desert, but it’s high desert like in places in central and northern California and the climate is milder there. Summers get hot just like anywhere, and winters are cold, but they do not last as long. Land prices are good and there are plenty of timber properties available too.

Who knew that some states had laws against living off the grid?! Good thing you've got the best places to live off the grid so you can do so with less problems along the way.

For more places best suited for life off the grid, check out Off Grid World.


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7 Comments

  1. Mike Cochran said:

    Land is affordable in Montana MY$#%&!@* Because of developers who buy land for more than three asking price (read: win bidding wars with people who just want somewhere to live) then subdivide it into little chunks with high prices nobody can afford to live here. I’ve seen little 1 acre plots with easements and HOAs for $45k around here. Back in the early 90s my uncle bought 60 acres for just under $80k.

  2. Eric Blanchard said:

    Is that in mountains though? Would think that happen more through prairies where home construction not as limited

  3. Mike Cochran said:

    In valleys mostly. Anything with few or no trees actually costs more because they can market it as “horse property.”

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