FREE TO MOVE ABOUT THE
COUNTRY
Many moons ago,
possibly in my last blog ( James M Dakin blogspot. Also available as
a PDF, link at my web site. This blog has about the first two years
in a PDF. I'm sure I'll be adding more eventually. If anyone
prefers that, to cut down on Online Time, let me know and I'll
accelerate that ) I did an article in which I joyfully reported that
you were no longer tethered to Wal-Mart. My reasoning was that after
becoming NOT the low price leader, why move to areas only having a
Wal-Mart? You could buy expensive groceries anywhere.
*
When I was buying all
of my junk land, one criteria besides Dirt Cheap was that a Wal-Mart
needed to be close. I needed groceries to be as cheap as possible.
I don't live poor because I like being a skinflint, I live poor
because I have better things to do with my life than earn money. You
know that “the worst day fishing is better than the best day
working”? Yeah, my worst day writing and learning is the same way.
I don't mind working. I mind working for idiots who profit off my
labor through no effort of their own.
*
I'm not talking about
business owners. Even the laziest ones still need to constantly
worry about paying back their loans and never having any time off.
Even standing behind a register, by the twelfth hour, becomes
exhausting. I'm talking about half the workforce, the incompetent
managers who don't deserve their salaries. The Diversity Hires.
And, the legions of government parasites profiting off of them. Ever
deal with health inspectors? They make licensing extra difficult, to
make things so confusing you screw crap up ( hmm, imagine that, job
security ), and only allow you to use “professional” equipment at
ten times the price, to bankrupt you quicker. Parasites and
stoolies.
*
Genteel Poverty is a
strategy, not a consequence. My standard of living is higher than
many Yuppie Scum. But I need the proper tools, and Wal-Mart was one
of those. 25% cheaper groceries, added to my practice of mostly
cooking from scratch, and my trip to the store on the bicycle, and I
was In Like Flynn. I could live on almost nothing. But then,
Wal-Mart panicked like a little girl in a room full of mice. They
suddenly got their collective crap handed to them in 2008, after the
bankers stopped lending money like it was water in a rainstorm.
Wally's strategy of hyper-accelerated expansion was in jeopardy.
And of course, customers no longer had a House ATM to use to spend so
freely.
*
In their infinite
wisdom, the illegitimate children from the short bus milk man father
( but, hung like a mule ) and given the Walton last name because Sam
was embarrassed, they decided the cure for a shrinking middle class
was to...change into a middle class store like Target. Sweet
Swearing On A Swing Set Jesus, that was about as brilliant as opening
ice cube stores in Nome. The higher prices scared away poor people,
and the middle class couldn't buy in volume like the lower income
folks used to. I really thought Wally was going to go out of
business. So I suggested opening up your options by not worrying if
your junk land was near a Wal-Mart.
*
Now, it's true that for
a short time last year Wally went way under the competition in
commodity prices, but that didn't last too long. But at least they
have consistently competitive for the last few years. But that is
all they are, competitive. Most of the time. Other times, the
competition has sales UNDER the cost of Wally. So while Wally is no
where near as bad as they used to be ( “I wanna be JUSSSST like
Target. Ah, duh, which way did he go, George?” ), they are no
longer The Low Price Leader. You can live with them or without them.
I like to just cherry pick them for select cheapest items.
*
Now, we are in a
similar situation. Most likely, if you aren't happy with your
current bug in location, you are pondering buying junk land. Not
only does it NOT matter if a Wal-Mart is nearby, I'm seriously
thinking it couldn't possibly matter if there is a job nearby. That
was another of my criteria. I was buying land starting in 2005, and
I had to pay child support until 2012. Looking back it looks easy,
but that financial burden enforced by the threat of jail weighed VERY
heavy on my mind. I have steadily earned Amazon commission since the
first blog in 2006, but it was never enough for the ex-wife AND
groceries.
*
So, I didn't JUST start
earning money writing and forever more discount the need for a real
job. I only reluctantly quit my job in 2017. Between 2012 and 2015,
the newest ex-wife made sure to punish me for moving off grid by
having heart problems involving ambulance and ER visit expenses. Not
much of a coincidence when her first attack was mere months after I
finished paying child support. And at first, they found nothing (
although, we are talking about ER docs, whose only job is to
stabilize, check off Lawyer Avoidance boxes, and ship you out after
sodomizing your wallet ), so I'm still suspicious.
*
But I wasn't working
two jobs to pay for the current wife, I was working to prep like the
very Devil himself was on my heels. All that, obviously, has already
paid for itself. But my point is, I do NOT discount your need for a
job. I always was a bit resentful of authors telling me to move off
grid, when I didn't have the writing income they did making that
possible. Now I know, I had ZERO to be resentful about. A couple
hundred bucks a month is a good income for writing, for all but the
top tier. When I was living in Northern California, back when it was
a real rural paradise, my buddy was a steady author of gold panning
articles for specialized magazines. If I recall correctly, late
80's, he made about $60 an article ( before expenses, postage and
photo's ).
*
( And to be clear, I
count myself blessed with my minions, who are far more generous than
average. I'm NOT crying Po Mouth. In fact, don't even think of
donating unless you can live without it, you won't miss it, and you
don't need it for preps ) I am also NOT telling you that you need to
have a source of income to move off grid to junk land. I am saying,
I have a strong sense of the Force that most of the jobs are gone and
there might be nothing to “get”. Far better with no job on paid
for land, than in town without a job, but also rent. Town living
gives the illusion of a safety net, as in more panhandling and more
potential jobs and more dumpsters to rummage in.
*
But, Jim! I NEED some
money. No one can live on nothing. That is true. But if there are
no jobs, it simply doesn't matter where you live. That is my main
point. All the jobs are gone, but it doesn't seem like it because
the stores, while closed, are not officially out of business. But
that is only because they are not paying rent. The same with all
these “furloughed” ( in reality, fired, but not officially so
they can pretend ) employees not paying rent, the situation SEEMS
like Business As Usual, without a huge surge in homelessness. How
long can that last, because it seems to me like this could all fall
off a cliff soonest, as the governors stick by their “bankrupt them
all but the biggest corporations” orders.
*
I'm going to continue
with that, tomorrow. But for now, a quick and messy guide to moving
to junk land, super cheap ( for my new people, mainly ).
*
Stop, and forget every
piece of advice you've heard on YouTube or read on conventional
homesteading. Whatever you think you NEED, you no longer have the
option of getting. So forget a babbling brook and woods and pasture
and barns and energy efficient house and four wheel drive. The
economy just took its biggest squishy, ever, even worse than the
hyperinflated Continental period. You are about out of time. Buy
whatever you can afford, without debt ( only buy on payments if you
are assured on a job there nearby, and only take on payments you can
eliminate quickly-I would say no more than a years worth ).
*
If it is desert junk
land, tough titty. Obviously, this is for Po Folk. Those with
assets can be more picky, and buy better crop production land, or
take the time to find tax delinquent land, or whatever. The link for
cheap land is below in the fine print, under “land under $1k”.
Now, buy whatever level of camping gear you can afford, be it a
junker RV or just a tent ( adobe is free, you just need roofing. But
you need something immediately, also ). Now go camping. As simple
as that. I would advise being within biking distance of a grocery
store, in case you can't even make the car insurance payment.
*
A single $89 solar
panel and $63 sealed 12v battery ( see below in “today's Amazon
link” ) and LED bulbs and you have enough electricity for light.
You WILL need adequate light. Trust me, it is depressing otherwise.
Don't rely on candles exclusively. Even if all you have is a high
lumen AA battery powered lantern, you need good light. Use a sawdust
toilet ( a five gallon bucket will do-they sell the seat at Wally in
the camping section ). Dig a hole with a glass lid for a solar
composting toilet, for the sawdust ( dry use only, pee elsewhere. 10
to 1 water to urine is diluted enough to help plants grow. Do NOT
dump in the same spot though, even diluted ).
*
Haul water from town.
Wash your dishes in your cooking pot, and rinse with a squirt bottle
( a 20 ounce Coke bottle with a nail hole in the lid, and squeeze )
to conserve water. Whores Bath, with a small hand towel rather than
a washcloth. Soak, wring, wet. Soap, wring and wash off. I've
bathed with as low as a quart of water doing it this way. Alternate
bathing and shaving every other day, or for gals, bathing and hair
washing. Use a wet wipe for your ass. Use a Laundromat for your
clothes. Use propane for cooking, and do NOT buy crap “Ozark
Trails” Wal-Mart camping equipment. They USED to be good. Buy a
cast iron propane camping stove burner from Sportsman's Guide-it is
barely more expensive than Wally's cheap sheet metal unit.
*
Wear wool clothing to
keep the heat down in the winter, and a wool blanket, cotton
comforter and synthetic down comforter atop that ( with a squishy
foam pad UNDER the mattress to reflect heat ) mean you need zero heat
all night. You haul water, there are no pipes to freeze. Keep some
water in pots, in case the water containers freeze. And that should
about cover off grid camping/living. Easy peasy lemon squeesy.
( .Y. )
( today's elated Amazon link click HERE )
*
note: yesterday we lost power about five hours, so I apologize on any comments delay. The wind was FIERCE! Like, fighting to stay upright walking bad.
*
note: yesterday we lost power about five hours, so I apologize on any comments delay. The wind was FIERCE! Like, fighting to stay upright walking bad.
*
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