10 Questions Every Prepper Should Ask BEFORE Going off the Grid

It is, after all, called the wild for a reason.

And In the wild, you need to have a realistic conversation with yourself to assess whether or not you have the skills and resources to survive in your chosen wilderness refuge. 

Your survival when living off the grid may well be determined by how well you can answer these following 10 questions:

1.    Do you Have Enough Money?

As counterintuitive as it may seem, it will cost you money to get you to your intended destination, so you should look at your financial resources to guarantee that you will be able to afford to get you to your intended stomping grounds.

2.    How Will You Power Your Stomping Grounds?

Living off the grid means going at it alone when it comes time to power your simpler lifestyle.  Typically speaking, solar and wind power are excellent ways to keep the power flowing and keep the lights on when you are far away from the local utility grid, so identify sites that provide abundant sunlight and moderate winds. Keep warm and cook your meals with campfires. If you are out for a camping trip and not in a survival situation, be sure to check your area to make sure they are permitted first.

3.    Lions and Tigers and Bears? Oh My…

Living off the land means feeding off the land, and you need to know the food sources that live alongside you in your new home.  Do you know what animals are indigenous to your new home, and the best way to track, hunt, clean, and prepare your next meal? (Even more importantly, do you know how to identify the signs of and avoid the ones that may see you as THEIR next meal?)

4.    Does it Look Edible?

As any outdoorsman can tell you, when dinner is on the hoof there is no guarantee that dinner will make it to the table.  As such, have you done the necessary homework to safely identify edible roots, berries, and plant material that you will need to survive when meat just isn’t an option?

5.    How Much Work is it to get Water?

While you can go quite some time without food, a lack of water will quickly kill your dreams of living comfortably off the grid as a survivalist.  When buying property with an eye towards living off the grid, give serious consideration to your water source.  Whether it’s natural springs, deep wells, or available lakes you shouldn’t consider putting down roots unless there is a steady water supply to feed them.

6.    Can You Ensure Your Water’s Safety?

Having water is essential to your survival, but only if you can drink it!

Ensuring that your water is safe to drink is of paramount importance once you have identified a water source.  While the running water of a babbling brook might look pure and clean, it may be no safer to drink than a stagnant, green puddle. Unless you catch the water yourself from a rainfall, you should NEVER trust any water source. Remember, you’re not the only one using it!   Do you have the knowledge to successfully purify your water supply?

7.    Do You Have the Mineral Rights to Your Property?

Closely related to the question of securing an adequate water supply is to know that you have the right to use it.  When negotiating for a piece of property to set up your homestead, make sure that you have secured the water and mineral rights to the property.  Mineral rights are incredibly important as they provide you the right to explore, develop, extract and market resources found on your property, this could be your ticket to wealth!

8.    What Makes a Home?

If you can set up a tent you have your first few nights covered, but what will you use for a more permanent shelter?  Making a final decision on what you will use for a home is closely related to the first question presented in this list, “Do you have enough money?”  Whether you’re opting for a log cabin or thinking about throwing an RV on your new homestead, you need to start thinking now about what kind of long term shelter you want to enjoy spending your time in. 

9.    How Are Your First Aid Skills?

If you have a tendency to faint at the sight of blood, you need to get over it very quickly. Accidents happen and you need to be ready to deal with them…  That being said however, being qualified to perform basic lifesaving procedures is only learned through training, which must be completed long before you find yourself in a position to have to use those skills.  Do you have the skills, or temperament, to perform those lifesaving procedures when it comes time to use them?  If not, do yourself a favor and take, at minimum, a few basic first aid classes, you may find that you actually enjoy them!

10.   Are Your Expectations Realistic?

Finally, you need to examine your expectations.  Obviously, the allure and romance of living off the grid is a compelling one, and that is what has drawn your interest in the first place, but are your expectations being influenced by rose colored glasses?

Living off grid isn’t easy.  If it were, many more of us would already be doing it.

There is a certain sense of security (albeit misplaced) in coming home, flicking on a light switch, adjusting the temperature of your thermostat, and enjoying a night of warmth amid the glow of your flat screen TV. So you need to ask yourself, are you really ready, willing, and able to survive a life off the grid?

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