What Would Happen If You Were to Go Off Grid?

If, just if, you were to lose your job, your income, your place to live what would you do?

What if, just if, you did not have anything or anyone to turn to for help and you actually found yourself on the street; could you make it outside?

If you were in the position of having to survive without a place to live would you be safe?

Thousands of people have lived off grid  for a millenium, from the Civil War, Depression, 1960's and today with the Recession and they were fine, whatever makes me think somethig could go wrong?

Is it because the older I get the more hesitant I am to put myself in harm's way? Also as a nurse the worse case scenario automatically pops into my mind. The real answer, however, is that circumstances can put anyone out of their comfortable spot and onto the street easily and quickly.

Once that is realized, the need to have a disaster plan in place is imperative. That plan needs to include all the items you put together for a natural disaster. If you have lived in a place prone to flooding or hurricanes this will be easy for you. Make sure all your important papers are in a rain proof package, get a first aid kit and add to that kit your routine medications for three months, a written list of all your meds as well as your physician and pharmacy name and numbers.

Note: Unfortunately this information may be nil if you do stay off grid for a significant amount of time. You will not have the money or the insurance for physician and if you are lucky your medications will come from state provided insurance.

Next, gather as many dry goods as you can handle. If you are lucky enough to be left with a vehicle, pack more dry good food stuff than clothes! This is very important. Most people think clothes will be needed, especially if there will not be a way to clean them. however, clean clothes is not important compared to eating. You can eat in dirty clothes but sitting around in clean clothes will not fill an empty stomach.

"Lions and tigers and bears oh my!"

This quote is something that makes everyone smile. Dorothy certainly had a strong support system didn't she? No one was the victim of anything worse than a bit of stuffing lost and a swat on the nose!  And in the end all turned out well; the wicked witch was destroyed, everyone's dreams came true and Dorothy and Toto were returned home safe and sound.

Would one be so lucky?

Unfortunately, once a person is outside their chances of returning to status quo is poor. Especially in today's economy, the risk of having an accident or being the victim of a street/gang encounter or just contracting an infection and not getting treatment increases threefold. And, as graceonline pointed out, the people living on the streets in a city are also in danger of detting hooked on drugs.

If you decide to go totally off grid and live outside of the city a new set of dangers unfolds. Now you have to think about wildlife. It is true, it is a real danger. If you go camping you don't even think about the danger, except to bear proof your spot. Bears are not the only wildlife however that could cause problems.

Do you think about spiders as wildlife? What about ants or bees? Something as small as a beesting would not cause problems would it? Forget about the people who are allergic to beestings, those people wouldn't live outside anyway. What would happen if one, insignificant beesting became infected? If the sting is on a leg an infection could turn into cellulitis, then into the blood and that type of infection could be life threatening. Ever thought about ticks? If a tick goes unnoticed flu like symptoms may arise and ten possible disease could occur! Some things that are obvious are broken bones, deep cuts, infections caused by water or even dehydration due to not enough water can all cause severe problems.

What about not having proper hygiene or waste handling? If you go where there is not even a primitive toilet facility you have to dig your own latrine. Do you know how and where to do this? Are you aware of the consequences if you do it wrong?

If you are outside do you know what elevation you are in and are you in a flood basin? Disaster can occur if rain happens north of you and the water flows to where you are camped! If a flood happens during the night would you be safe or would it flood your area and possible yourself as well?

These are only a few "what if" scenarios. Would you be able to survive in the city or in the wilderness if you had to?