One step closer to off grid living!

After 15 months of patiently waiting, we have an accepted offer on land that will allow us to put up (and live out of!!) an off-grid yurt.

I lost count of how many properties we looked at throughout our search. We learned over and over again about the restrictions in place for off-grid living. We were looking across a couple of different counties in Northern Wisconsin and quickly found out about the red tape we were working with— mainly county or town-wide square footage minimums that we wouldn’t meet (one county is a 500 square-foot minimum and the town we currently live in has a 960 square-foot minimum), and septic requirements we wouldn’t meet. The septic requirement makes sense to me (our alternate is a composting toilet), but the square footage requirement drives me crazy. We will have a 21-foot yurt, which is 346.36 square feet (but who’s counting?).

In the last 6 months or so we had all but whittled our search down to the two townships that allow living out of a dry cabin full time (not as strict sanitary rules) and did not have a square footage minimum. We also expanded our search to include small cabins that had already been built. I was close to “giving up” so many times throughout this search.

Aerial view from listing photos (our parcel is not on water, but across the street from it)

I expected that when we finally found land it would be a “pop the champagne” kind of moment. In reality, my stomach flipped and I tried to avoid talking about it for a couple of days. I felt like I had more reasons to be nervous than to be excited. My optimism was challenged during the search enough times that I know it’s best to steel myself from the joy before it is a done deal.

Next Steps

The work gets started now, and I still feel like there is a chance that we hit some red-tape despite our best researching efforts.

Here’s what we need to do:

• Hire an excavator out to make a driveway and level a pad for building.

• Construct a platform for the yurt to go on. We will likely hire this out as well to hopefully get it done before the snow falls.

• Buy a pick-up truck

• Drive to Toronto (~13 hours away) to pick up our yurt from the manufacturer

• Erect the yurt. This shouldn’t take more than a day with around 4 people.

• Solidify decisions on utilities of the yurt, like what wood stove, solar generator, and fridge we want.

• Put up a shed on our property as well, to house our building supplies and seasonal items that won’t live in our 350-square-foot yurt all the time

• Build an outhouse with a composting toilet (has to pass inspection, too!)

• Extra credit: install a wood-fired sauna, construct a simple kitchen in the interior

Example photo of the platform we need to build from the manufacturer

Timeline

I am cautiously optimistic that we might be able to move in before the deep winter really comes. As of now, it sounds like the excavation project should take around 3 days and should be able to get started shortly after we close. It also sounds like we have solid help lined up for the platform-building task that can happen about a week after the excavation project.

From there, things fall more into our hands. Zach and I both have full-time jobs right now, but plan to prioritize working on the property to get things going. Right now, I might anticipate the biggest hold-ups being in the installation of utilities, like the wood stove and composting toilet— both of which are 100% necessary before legally (or comfortably) allowed to live in the yurt.

Finances

We know that this may not be a financial savvy way to invest in property. I have no idea how the value of a forested parcel changes when an off-grid yurt is placed on it. There aren’t “neighborhood comps” for me to look at. I do know though, that this can go a couple of different ways: we can live here forever (very unlikely), we can live here for a couple of years and then sell the property, or we can live here for a couple of years and then hold onto the property to rent it out (also unlikely due to sanitation and water regulations for rental properties), or have it as a vacation spot/ home base.

However it goes, we can always make more money and we will likely gain a life experience that will change us forever. Perhaps, living in a small off-grid space will be the best thing for our financial future as we will have the confidence to always live with less.

Downsizing

I know that there will be growing pains to adjusting to life off-grid. I will have to dramatically improve my fire-building skills and understanding the appliances that keep things running. Honestly, I’m nervous about downsizing from our 500-square-foot apartment to a 350-square-foot yurt.

I’ve been experimenting with living with less in preparation for this. I know I can do it, but I still have that pre-race jittery, “butterfly in my stomach” type of feeling about it. I know that downsizing even more is an opportunity for growth.

While I have all sorts of nerves about this big purchase, I have to remind myself that this should be a time for celebration. I’ve been daydreaming about this for some time now, and it finally feels fruitful.

I cannot allow my fear of the unknown and the uncertainty rob my joy for the opportunity that is unfolding in front of me.

This is worth celebrating.

Daydreams of the week:

I’m excited to take you on this journey! My goal is to share every step of the way. Maybe you will find some inspiration, or entertainment in what we do. Or maybe, I will just be able to look back at all of this and be glad that I have it all recorded somewhere.

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Also, a few recommendations:

From the Archives:

My sister has resurrected her substack and it is so good!

Progress Report 01: Dressing more like myself

I was on a podcast! Subscribe and listen below or listen for free on Spotify!

Ripple Effects

Anyways, thanks for being a sounding board for me. And thanks for reading!