We set out on this mission for the sole purpose of engaging more with our own lives and creating a corner of the world that is ours and ours alone. We never wanted to be role models, or beacons on the hill.
It was never our goal to teach or to be a part of a movement. That is why, nearly two years ago, we dropped out. We opted to have our little piece of land in the middle of nowhere that was shared among 9 people. We started as seven, but then Carol got married and Carol got pregnant and then we were 9 and we were ok with that.
Facebook would not take the page down. There were sites where we were linked that eventually led back to where we were.
How hard is it to get off the grid? Not very. We all have lives of course. We all have jobs off property and we go into Greenville just about 30 miles away at least twice a week. Some of us have Wi-Fi in our homes and we all have phones. We are not out in the middle of nowhere. We are not savages!
We chose to go "underground" so to speak and I am going to share some secrets with you. We chose to go underground because some of the stuff we are doing would be frowned upon by the city. We have also found out that things are a lot easier without politics and silliness. We are talking about our lives here and so we keep visitors to a minimum or not at all. I am going to continue this blog and do some other things as well, but I think people need to know the truth about what they are up against when attempting something like this.
When we first got started, there was a lot of talk. I mean A LOT of talk. There were people who were not involved who were saying they were. There were people who were trying to get involved and were immediately turning around and telling the city what we were doing. There was gossip and frustration that we just did not want to deal with. The problem was that what people thought was fun and games was our livelihood and belief so we attacked if from a different angle.
My home is 420 sq. ft. and I put every stick of it together myself. The same goes for the other residents here. The only way that we were able to do it was by not telling anyone what we were doing. Yes, it is great to have a support system and people to ask about things in construction that we could not do alone, but for the most part, the internet, Lowe's, or the local library could answer any questions we had.
So there is an irony to our way of life. We have worked so hard to get away from everyone that people are constantly tracking us down to find out how we did it.
I am a scientist by trade and one of the true traits of the scientific method is whether or not the results can be duplicated. We have built seven houses, but can we build a city? We are preparing to take the next leap in our philosophy and grow our concept. We are going to do the same thing that we have done before someplace else.
This blog is going to talk a lot about specifics of construction and the process overall but the main thing that we are going to tackle is the reality of doing what we have done with City in the Woods and how you can do it...if you can do it.
Ceres.
What I find interesting is your intention conflicts with the reality of day to day living. We may have similar desires, but the surprises and challenges are so different. I think your blog is an inspiration for me to tell my story in action and processing the reality which for me is done in conversations rather than blog, and your way lasts forever. I am always surprised to hear later the story that is told so differently than I remember telling it in the first place. Kudos...
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