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So! Could you really do it? Would you do it?

Ya'd need a committed family.
Lot's of work there, especially while getting your stride.

Jealous - yep.
What a different life it would be.

ETA: and yes, somewhere warm(er). Lot's less work that way.
 
pretty sweet cabin! hating people the way i do [laugh] yeah, i'd give it a go. those photos made it look peaceful and serene but i imagine it gets nasty with the weather a lot of times.
 
John Muir or Thoreau style, not a chance. With one or two others (a healthy SO to share the load and help chase away the cold on those long winter nights [kiss] at the least) and I think I could do it.

Of course, my SO is in her mid 40s and already talking about Florida, so I think our isolation would have to be in the 'glades or otherwise where warm temperatures are the norm!
 
I couldn't do it. One person who could was Dick Proenneke in Alaska, http://dickproenneke.com/DickProenneke.html . Every once in a while PBS run a show on him. It's well worth the time and especially incredible to see him build his own tools.

"Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin on the shore of Twin Lakes. The first summer he scouted for the best cabin site, and cut and peeled the logs he would need for his cabin. Dick Proenneke returned the next summer to finish the cabin where he lived for over 30 years. Dick filmed his adventures, and Bob Swerer later turned the film into a video so we can all watch this amazing man build his cabin by hand."
 
I'm a winter person so I don't think the cold and snow would be an issue for me. Though I'm woefully lacking in a lot of the necessary skills needed to really make a go of it. I'm sure you'd pick it up, but this old dog would probably have problems picking up new tricks. Now if I ran into an old trapper who could teach me the ropes for a bit, that would work! AKA: Jeremiah Johnson style.
 
Nope, no way. I could live in a small remote community say in Northern Maine, but not as isolated as they are!
 
Haven't any of you watched Naked and Afraid? Many people can't last 21 days even with a support and medical group camped near them. [laugh]
 
Glockster30 said:
Haven't any of you watched Naked and Afraid? Many people can't last 21 days even with a support and medical group camped near them. [laugh]
Click to expand...

This is why I stopped watching Survivor. Contestants were starving and one guy took the initiative to kill a pig to eat. You would have thought he had killed a small child with all the internet backlash. So much that they made it illegal to do on the next season. Um, it's called Survivor! You eat anything to not be hungry. If you don't get that you shouldn't be watching the show.
 
That's pretty extreme IMO but if they're into that type of remote living, so be it. It takes a very rare breed of individual to embrace that lifestyle choice and not go bonkers. Having to live that existence because of need (SHTF, etc...) is one thing but doing it as a matter of choice is quite a decision. Social interaction with other people, more than just your immediate family, is an important part of being human. I could probably get by if there were other families living close enough by that you could get together with every once in a while for a social gathering, i.e. a party!
 
Ben Diss said:
It's not good for the kids. They grew up messed up. Look at Jewel.
Click to expand...

David and Romey let [son] play video game Grand Theft Auto as part of his education. "It gives him confidence, a light-heartedness in play, to not take things seriously."

Meh, the kid will be fine!
 
Slotheadslim said:
I couldn't do it. One person who could was Dick Proenneke in Alaska, http://dickproenneke.com/DickProenneke.html . Every once in a while PBS run a show on him. It's well worth the time and especially incredible to see him build his own tools.

"Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin on the shore of Twin Lakes. The first summer he scouted for the best cabin site, and cut and peeled the logs he would need for his cabin. Dick Proenneke returned the next summer to finish the cabin where he lived for over 30 years. Dick filmed his adventures, and Bob Swerer later turned the film into a video so we can all watch this amazing man build his cabin by hand."
Click to expand...

Kind of similar deal here.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I would miss friends and family interaction and other normal activities. I often wonder if people who do this type of stuff really love it or if they are just proving a point. They are not really living off the land as they go grocery shopping and have a lot of canned goods and other staples.
 
Win said:
How do they spend $12,000/year? I'd love it but my wife would be against it.
Click to expand...

They're not living off lingonberries and treebark. They get 1,000 cans of food every year. They have modern machinery: snowmobiles, chainsaws, etc. They need fuel. The kid plays GTA - that means that they have some sort of electrical system - that costs $.

Oh, and everything, other than snow, is expensive up there.
 
Not in Alaska plus would you want to live with only two other people without contact with anyone else? Not the biggest people person but I couldn't. Plus wouldn't you miss all your fellow nes'ers lol
 
If I could I would without hesitation however the wife not so much. The weather is nothing compared to how people are in the Communistwealth because the majority suck.
 
bigpick said:
... Plus wouldn't you miss all your fellow nes'ers lol
Click to expand...

I love y'all but for the most part I communicate with you guys by computer. As long as the cabin has satellite tv and an internet connection I'm good.

I would miss the wee one with the big appetite and a couple others who shall remain nameless so they won't think they got written into the will.
 
I would be I interested to know how do they make the $12k per year? Also, who pays the bill if they need to be saved by the coastguard helicopter as they said. I like these stories except if I find out they are mooching off the system.
 

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