The Pros Of Off-The-Grid Living Every Fiction Writer Should Know

What if your next character didn’t just "survive" off-grid—they thrived? In this episode, we explore the real-life benefits of off-grid living that can infuse your fiction with depth and realism. From your characters growing their own food to eliminating dependency on the power grid, we’ll unpack how self-sufficiency leads to healthier lifestyles, sharper survival instincts, and helps your stories brim with authenticity. Learn how to incorporate off-grid living—resilience, simplicity, and freedom—into your worldbuilding and characters. Whether you’re writing dystopia, historical fiction, rural drama, or a good old-fashioned romance, these insights could spark your next great scene.

Transcript

What if your characters could escape the chaos of modern life and step into a world where every day is built on self-sufficiency, fresh food, and the kind of physical work that fuels both body and mind? Living off the grid isn’t just about survival—it’s about finding fulfillment, deepening family bonds, and crafting a life of true independence. In this episode, we’ll explore the unexpected joys of off-grid living, giving you rich, realistic details to weave into your stories, to bring your characters and settings to life.

Welcome to Writing Rural with Alley, the fiction writer’s weekly inspiration station for rural life and lifestyles, from historical to post-apocalyptic, helping you bring your rural stories to life! I’m Alley, and this is episode #109, Freedom Unplugged: Bringing Off-Grid to Life in Fiction. Stick around to the end to find out all the ways things could possibly go wrong in your story. Now, let’s get into this.

My last two episodes were about the downside of living off the grid. It only makes sense to cover the benefits of living off-grid. The order of importance will be very individualized to the character. Knowing what your character values most will help establish not only an important character aspect but also help to make logical sense of why they are off-grid. Don’t think I am leaving out historical, because many of these things will be useful to know about your characters and settings in history. 

First on the list today is, the healthy and more importantly, yummy fresh food they will have. Almost every single person who lives off the grid has a garden. Fresh from the garden food has a flavor you can’t get from food in the stores. By the time the food is in the stores, it could have been months since it was freshly picked. 

Amazing flavor is also true if they are foraging for food. Some common ones here in the US include acorns, truffles, ginger, mushrooms, walnuts, pecans, mulberries, blackberries, raspberries, black cherries, garlic, onions, sage, dandelions, wood sorrel, wild lettuce, and many more. 

If you are writing a specific country, make sure to do some research about what is native to that area of the world. Also, make sure to research for the time you are writing and if so, was it called the same thing at that time? Growing up, I always heard the plantain weed referred to as “white man’s footprint” because it first came here with the white man, and grows wherever he walks. (Yes, I have Native American heritage.) According to my research, it is one of the plants the Puritans brought with them. AKA the first settlers from Europe. I was an adult before I found out it had a different name. Although, to be fair, I should have seen that sooner. 

Other fresh foods include meats. These could be animals they raised, such as chickens, pigs, or cows. They could also hunt for their meet. Common animals here in the US are turkey, rabbits, squirrels, ducks, deer, and a few others. Fishing is another way to get meat, and one that is very common. Again, if you are writing a specific country, make sure to do some research about what is native, and if it was native in the time you’re writing about. 

And let’s not forget fresh eggs and milk. With fresh milk, your characters can make fresh butter, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, sour cream, whipped cream, buttermilk, ice cream, (I’m seeing a cream theme here) pudding, custard, and I almost guarantee someone else knows of more things I have not thought of. 

Now, with all of this fresh food, and no internet, your character will have plenty of time to learn to cook. Not the thrown together out of a box as we are all so used to, but home cooked from scratch meals. If your character has always lived off of the grid, it’s likely they already know how to do this. For new off the grid characters, this can be a learning curve. One that is fun, but can end in a few not so great attempts, but they will learn and grow. In time, most people also start learning how to make their own ketchup, applesauce, seasonings, and more. These home-cooked meals are much healthier than what is bought at the store. 

Speaking of healthy, living off the grid can be a workout in and of itself. There is more walking. Your character likely needs to haul water, and as I stated in several episodes, this can quickly add up. If they have animals, they will also need hay to feed them in the winter, or straw for bedding to keep them warm. These are stored in the barn based on the needs of the animals. Small square bails of hay weigh between 40 and 60 pounds, while large round bails typically weigh between 1,200 and 2,000 pounds. 

Cows eat about 32 pounds of food per day. One milking cow with a calf will eat 2-3 large round bails of hay per winter according to a web search. Keep in mind that many people (not all) have small herds. Let’s say 18 cows total. The same web search states that the winter feed needed adds up to 129,000 pounds of hay. If we assume the bails, all weight 2,000 pounds, your character needs approximately 65 large round bales of hay. If they use small square bales, (Assuming they are all 60 pounds each) they will need 2,150. In both cases, the hay will need placed in the barn, and in many cases hand tossed into the barn. Talk about a work out! 

My point to that rather long math problem is that living off the grid can be very healthy. Your characters will be getting natural workouts in their day-to-day lives, and then larger ones at certain times of the year. (Like when the hay is brought in for the winter.) This, coupled with the healthier eating of fresh foods, can lead to very healthy characters. I’m not saying they will never get sick. But I am saying if they are in modern times and go off the grid, they are likely to be hearty characters a year or two after they started. 

Now all of this is called clean living. That means there are fewer or even no chemicals going into a person. If your character is worried about the environment, this is a great way for an eco warrior to show it and not just say it. Wells also don’t have chemicals in the water to “clean” it. (I know you can’t see, but I am air quoting clean.) I personally can’t drink water in our local (closest) town without feeling as if I am burning my throat. That’s how much chlorine they use. 

Now, in case you havn’t guessed it, living off the grid is a more sustainable lifestyle. By sustainable I mean it requires fewer resources from outside of the home or land they live on than the average person. This is a huge draw for many people. 

Although you have most likely heard this referred to as being self-sufficient. Why? Because if your character can do it themself, why would they need or want to have someone else do it? Especially if they have to pay them to do the job. 

Another thing is the resources. I personally don’t need to go to the store for eggs. Why? Because I have my own chickens. For me, it saves a lot of money. Not only that, but the chickens do a great job of eating any bugs like ticks that come into our yard. 

The resilience that this can create in some people is highly valued. Many doomsday preppers or people who fear societal collapse believe this to be the biggest benefits of going off grid. They want to know if society collapses, or the world ends as we know it, that they could survive and not be beholden to anyone. Not a person, not a government. And yes, that is one of the biggest things I personally hear about out of that community. Not that people think society will end tomorrow, but that even Rome fell. Better to be prepared and not need it, than need it, and not be prepared. 

Each type of off the grid person is very likely to find a community of like-minded people. There are several types of off the grid communities. The most well known are the doomsday preppers who we just talked about. Others include homesteaders, eco warriors, religious groups (this would include the Amish), back to the basics, and even people struggling with trauma or PTSD that can’t handle city life with all the people. Some people are just looking for privacy and solitude. Yes, there are more groups and communities, but these are the most common ones. 

Likely the most talked about upside is the lack of bills. If you are off the grid, you don’t have to pay water bills, electric bills, sewer bills, and others. Yes, your characters will need alternatives, but not paying those bills and being able to save the money or use it in other ways is what some people dream of! 

One note on this is that off the grid start-up costs can eat into the money saved, and it is over time they will see the savings, not up front. Most people are willing to wait. 

Another thing people love is the freedom. They can do what they want, when they want. Having the ability to set their own schedule both day and night. This makes the days flexible, which is very helpful, when characters have small children, are ill, or just need a change. Now, historically, it was harder to work at night since there was no light, but people have been making it work for thousands of years when they had things they needed to do. Get creative if you are writing a night owl, because people are very creative. 

They also don’t worry about what other people are doing on social media, because they are not on social media. (At least in the vast majority of cases.) Not only does this give them the freedom not to worry about what others think, they can explore what they enjoy without criticism, or comparisons with others. They can customize their home, garden and land into whatever makes them happy. 

A very nice effect this has on most people is that they feel happier. Why? Because they start to feel like they have a purpose in life. As if they are moving their life, and not being moved by life. Learning to feelings of accomplishment, and even peace. They start to take pride in their home, and don’t feel as if it is weighing them down with an endless list of things that need done. Likely because without distraction from the TV and internet, they have plenty of time. 

One of the worries they no longer fear is power outages. We have all heard about the rolling blackouts in Calafornia. Here in tornado alley we worry about blackouts when there is bad weather. This could be tornados, or even winter storms. 

When my oldest was just crawling, we had an ice storm that took out the power. Personally, we were out of power for nine days, and we were some of the lucky ones. Somehow our neighbors two miles away were out of power for 47 days. These neighbors were a large family with about five homes, and they all went to the parents’ home because they were the only ones with a way to heat. If I remember right, they had around 20 people in a 3 or 4 room home. It was tiny for that many. 

This leads to the next point: when your characters are off the grid, they have loads of family time. This can make for tight-knit families, inside jokes, help with almost all chores, and a whole lot more. 

One other thing to note here is that many people move into remote areas off the grid because they want to be closer to nature. Many people find this relaxing. Again, it can lead to happier lives for some characters. 

Fun fact: It’s estimated that roughly 180,000 households, or 250,000 people, live off the grid in the US as of the time I am recording this in 2025. 

One quick reminder before we get to all the ways things could go wrong in your story. 

Before we get to the best part, if you enjoy this podcast, I hope you’ll take a minute to follow, rate, and review on your favorite podcasting platform. And if you are listening on YouTube, subscribe, hit the like button, and drop me a comment; I love to hear from you and answer questions! Don’t forget to share with a friend. 

Now, for everyone’s favorite part, what could possibly go wrong in your story? 

Likely to go wrong: Your characters are with their loved ones all day, every day, and this leads to heated arguments. 

Likely to go wrong: Your character is excited to live off the grid with no bills. However, after a week, they realize they have no idea how to get rid of their trash. 

Possible to go wrong: Your character is living off the grid and because of a storm the door hinge is damaged. They go to replace it and realize they can’t look up YouTube tutorials in the middle of nowhere, because it’s a deadzone. 

Possible to go wrong: Your character is helping to move hay and are so exhausted and sore at the end of the day they are struggling to walk. 

Unlikely to go wrong: Your character has a horrible time learning to cook, and eats burned food for a whole month. 

Unlikely to go wrong: Your character is excited to make their home everything they love. However, they are not good at design, and struggle to make the home turn out the way they want it to. 

Improbable but still technically in the realm of possibilities: Your character is very excited to have a bills free lifestyle. They spend all their extra money on things they always dreamed of. One day a storm comes, and a tree falls on their roof leaving a big hole in the roof. With no savings, they have no way to pay for the parts to repair the roof. 

Improbable but still technically in the realm of possibilities: Your characters are snowed in with their family, and suffer from cabin fever. Things could get ugly. 

Thanks for listening! Until next time, happy wordsmithing.