Land

Why should we wait till we are old and inform to enjoy the best that life has to offer? We put up with the indignities of life in the City while we work and then if we are lucky, spend our declining years somewhere warm or beautiful or both.

It doesn’t have to be that way. By embracing the off-grid lifestyle, you could be ready for retirement by the time you are 25. You then get to enjoy this lovely place for an extra 40 years, at no extra cost – possibly at a lower cost.…

As the idea of living off the grid goes steadily mainstream, increasing numbers of properties are being offered on the market. Here are two, at very opposite ends of the spectrum….. and the world.

In Argents Hill, Coffs Harbor, Australia, a dwelling for 230,000 ozzie dollars. In Woodstock, NY, a 2.3 million dollar property.

If you want your own private bushland oasis of 100 timbered acres, there is a council-approved two-bed home plus 7m x 5m Colorbond shed. The basics are all in place. A small solar system, generator, water tanks with pump, two seasonal creeks and a hidden dam. An extensive list of fruit trees are already planted.

In Woodstock, an iconic village north of Manhattan, an off-grid retreat for the 15.

“When I first bought this property,” Miller said, “everyone told me you couldn’t build here. But it was exactly where I wanted to live.” Woodstock is one of those iconic places, both beautiful and convenient, and it s great to see an off-grid home there – a showcase that might encourage many others to do the same.…

The village of Dedham is considered one of the most desirable in South-East England. A four bedroom home with garden sells for £750,000 ($1.2m). It lies in the heart of Dedham Vale, an area designated as being of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and immortalised in paintings by John Constable RA, one of Britain’s best known artists.
When Asa and Gwen Pryke ran a successful business from home there, they were accepted as outstanding members of the local community. But since their business closed due to the financial crash they have become outcasts.
The couple were forced to sell up after their bank refused them a loan to finance a large order, so they decided to move themselves and their school-age children into a trio of caravans in a field owned by Gwen’s family. Part of the reason for the high property values in the area is the wealth of local schools with first rate academic records.

Neither their neighbours nor the local council were the least bit interested in their plight, and they were quickly told to move on as if they were squatters or travellers instead of locals who were down on their luck.…