Les stroud (survivor man) lives off the grid in Canada. This documentary was produced in 2006.

Do you think living off the grid is too overwhelming for an average family ?

What kind of job can a person live off the grid ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=zjxHQrTm5f8&NR=1

We live off-grid in Arizona. It would have cost us $100,000 to have the power company run lines to us (plus a $250,000 deposit) so that we could send them a monthly check. It cost $42,500 for the PV solar system ($4500 of that was the battery rack ). We figure we'll get 10 years out of the batteries and longer for the panels, though they will probably get cheaper and more efficient in the future. Batteries, too, I hope.

My wife works for HP and they encourage their employees to telecommute, if they can...so here we are. I'm retired.

You mean he USED to. I think the cabin was only in personal use for a year or two. He and his wife separated. The cabin was subsequently turned into a primative living lodge.

Some others who live or promote "off-the-grid": Cody Lundin, Ed Begley Jr., Daryl Hannah.

IMO, the "off the grid" term is too flexible. At one end it's a 100% sustainable living, which is extremely overwhelming if you are limited to your ranch, if there are no people around (to help and trade), and if your family is not big enough to harvest/produce all of the necessities efficiently.

On the other hand you can find a lot of help in the right technology, and in fact you are never really isolated from other people (unless you are in TEOTWAWKI situation). Simple example - there are hordes of homeless people living completely "off the grid" in a much more real sense than Les' family in that show.

What Les is doing there is just demonstration of the ways to cut some expenses which seems unavoidable to the common knowledge. He is going shopping to the mall for supplies anyway.

I believe there is no other job possible for living off the grid people, except the full time job of surviving off the grid Otherwise it will be hard to survive or that's not an off the grid living. Money belongs to the grid.

Living without electricity was common within living memory in rural areas. My still-living mother had no electricity on the farm until she married.

My still-living father did grow up with electricity for their light bulb (singular) and radio. They were urban. Granddad was in construction and carpentry, or most any job with a paycheck in the Great Depression.

Until five years ago a neighbor six doors down the block had no electricity because it was too expensive to be worth it. It was startling for newcomers to see smoke coming from the chimney in August in Texas at dinnertime. I'm not sure what job she had before retiring.

I'm not sure how I'd tell if a co-worker did without electricity at home.