3 Steps to Find and Choose the Best Location and Land for Living Off-Grid

The first step in finding and choosing the best location and land for living off-grid is to define your goals and criteria.

What are you looking for in an off-grid location and the type of land? Do you have priorities and preferences that will direct your decision? How about specific deal-breakers and compromises? Here’s some of the factors you may want to consider that can help guide you through these questions:

Climate and Weather

• What kind of climate and weather do you prefer or can tolerate?
• How will the climate and weather affect your energy, water, and food needs and sources?
• How will you cope with extreme weather events, such as storms, floods, droughts, fires, or snow?

Accessibility and Infrastructure

• How easy or difficult is it to access the location and land by road, air, or water?
• How far is it from the nearest town, city, or services?
• How reliable or available are the existing infrastructure, such as electricity, water, sewage, phone, or internet?
• How much will it cost to install or maintain your own off-grid systems?

Below: The only way to first access our property was to blaze a trail by hand down to our build site.

Below: Hauling everything by hand or on a folding trailer.

Legal and Regulatory

• What are the legal and regulatory requirements and restrictions for living off-grid in the location and land?
• How easy or difficult is it to obtain the necessary permits, licenses, or approvals?
• How much will it cost to comply with the laws and regulations?
• How friendly or hostile are the authorities and neighbors to off-grid living?

Size and Price

• How big or small is the location and land?
• How much does it cost to buy or rent?
• How much will it cost to maintain or improve?
• How much can you afford to spend on the location and land?

Features and Resources

• Elevation and slope: How high or low is the location and land? How flat or steep is the terrain? How will the elevation and slope affect your views, exposure, drainage, erosion, or construction?
• Soil and vegetation: How fertile or barren is the soil? How diverse or sparse is the vegetation? How will the soil and vegetation affect your gardening, farming, or landscaping?
• Water and wildlife: How abundant or scarce is the water? How clean or polluted is the water? How diverse or dangerous is the wildlife? How will the water and wildlife affect your off-grid living?

You may want to make a list of your goals and criteria, and rank them by importance or preference. You may also want to set a range or threshold for each factor, and decide what you are willing to compromise or sacrifice for others. This will help you narrow down your options and make informed decisions.

The second step in finding and choosing the best location and land for living off-grid is to research and explore your options.

There are many ways to find and learn about potential locations for living off-grid, both online and offline. Your area may have a real estate website that allows you to filter properties by lot size, cost, and whether there is an exiting structure on the property. It may also provide satellite imagery of the property including the property boundary lines.

Here are some ideas:

Online Methods

• Use online platforms, such as [LandWatch], [Land and Farm], or [Off Grid World], or to search and browse for available locations and lands for sale or rent. Here in nova Scotia we used an online real estate website called [View Point] to sift through available land in our area of interest. 
• Use online tools, such as [Google Maps], [Google Earth], or [Climate Data], to view and analyze the features and resources of the locations and lands.
• Use online forums, blogs, or social media, such as [Reddit], [Small Cabin Forum], [Facebook] pages/communities/groups, and [The Off Grid Cabin] post comments, to connect and communicate with other off-grid enthusiasts, experts, or owners, and ask for their advice, opinions, or recommendations.

You can see below how we used the satellite imagery on View Point to locate our land boundaries help us to blaze the trail to our cabin build site.

Below is BEFORE we cut the path to our build site.

Below is AFTER our road was blazed and the gravel laid down.

Offline Methods

• Use word-of-mouth, newspapers, magazines, or flyers to find and learn about potential locations and lands for living off-grid.
• Visit and explore the locations and lands in person, and see and experience them for yourself.
• Talk with local people, such as the owners, sellers, agents, neighbors, or authorities, and get their insights, feedback, or suggestions.

You may want to use a combination of online and offline methods to research and explore your options, and compare and contrast them based on your goals and criteria. You may also want to keep a record of your findings. Use a spreadsheet, a map, or a notebook to visualize them.

The third and final step in finding and choosing the best location and land for living off-grid is to evaluate and select your choice.

After you have researched and explored your options, you need to weigh the pros and cons of each option, and decide which one is the best fit for your goals and criteria.

Some of the questions you may want to ask yourself are:

• How does the option meet or exceed your goals and criteria? How does it fall short or fail to meet your goals and criteria?
• How does the option compare or contrast with other options? What are the advantages or disadvantages of the option over other options?
• How does the option align or conflict with your values, beliefs, or vision? How does it support or challenge your lifestyle, identity, or purpose?
• How does the option make you feel? How confident or uncertain are you about the option? How excited or anxious are you about the option?

You may want to use a scoring system or a pros and cons list to evaluate your choice. You may also want to consult or involve other people, such as your family, friends, or experts to get their input/feedback. We walked the first properties we “thought” were perfect for us but upon closer inspection found them too swampy, flat and densely forested for our liking. It’s good to get out there and test/trial your choices and see how they feels under your boots.

Once you have evaluated and selected your choice, you need to take action and secure your location. You may need to negotiate and finalize the terms and conditions of the purchase or rental agreement. Then sign the contract and pay a deposit/fee. You’ll need to obtain and complete the necessary paperwork and documentation, such as the title deed, the survey, the zoning, the permits, and/or the insurance. If you’re moving off grid full time then you will have to consider planning the move and the transition, such as packing, transporting, or storing your belongings, or notifying or updating your contacts or accounts.

It’s a satisfying moment when your land purchase agreement is accepted. A true whirlwind of emotions. Then, the fun really begins. Securing your off grid land is a big step and just the beginning of an exciting journey.

Congratulations, you have found and chosen the best location and land for living off-grid! 

Curious to find out how a simple clerical error got us our off grid land at half price?

You can read about that story here.