free to move about the country

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 ).

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( 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.

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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.

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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 ).

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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 ).

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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.

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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 ).

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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.

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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 )

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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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