You would think that being independent, being more self sufficient, being able to take care of yourself, especially in this day and age, would be considered a good thing. You would think that relying less on the government for help would be considered a good thing.
It would seem that more and more states and counties are making that impossible for families and individuals to live their dream, to own private land and to be able to live on their land in the way they see fit. But with codes and zoning, the powers that be are making it illegal to live without being hooked up to the grid, electricity, water, gas and the such.
There are some places that are apparently making it illegal to CAMP on your own property, some areas “allow” you to camp for a certain number of days per year, other places will not allow it at all. I’m not talking about deep in the city, or in a bustling suburb, I’m talking about rural areas, places with acreage, places where you might not even see your neighbors, yet it’s still illegal to live in the manner you wish.
Some states made it illegal to capture RAIN WATER, that one really irritates me, how can anyone regulate what falls from the sky? Just do a Google search about illegal living off-grid and you will find many examples.
Of course, here in the USA, we still have many more freedoms about property ownership and what you can do with and on your property as compared to other countries, it is getting more and more difficult (to impossible) to find areas with few codes and zoning laws, even where I live, there are some laws, mainly having to do with water (wells and septic systems), I find that reasonable, I don’t want the neighbor up the road mucking up our underground water source.
What prompted this rant was an article I read earlier today, https://www.activistpost.com/2015/10/camping-on-your-own-land-is-now-illegal.html, I’m sure much of what is written has been hyped up, or maybe not so much. At any rate, go read it for yourself, honestly I think it was a case of too many people moving there to live off-grid, it got the attention of the local powers that be, perhaps they considered the taxes and income they weren’t receiving from those living this way, I don’t know, I do know that it is a sad thing for those who are trying to get started living off-grid, especially families, they seem to be especially persecuted.
What say you?