Move To Terlingua, TX & Live Your Off-Grid Dream!!!
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- A straight, honest discussion about moving to Terlingua, Texas. I discuss buying property (beware of the on-line "brokers", they are selling land NO ONE else wants), work, building, transportation and life in general!
If you have some romantic dream about living off the grid, this is one of 30-some counties in America where you can make your dreams come true.... but only if you are skilled, motivated, possess resources and persistent! If you are a "loser" where you are now, the odds are you will lose here! Remember that old saying: "Wherever you go, there you are!"
If you find this helpful, please pass it on to everyone you know who may be considering a lifestyle change! THAT, is why I am posting this!
Finally, to those who will watch this entire 19 minute video and their only takeaway is that I "don't look disabled" or "am cheating the system"...…. shame on you! Not all disability is visible! I can barely breathe, yet 15 minutes at a time, I built this 8000 square foot compound, FULLY PAID FOR. What have you done, other than be a troll trying to denigrate those with dreams, aspirations and abilities you are too lazy to seek within yourself? It is YOU I am suggesting steer clear of Terlingua..... we have far too many of your kind here already!
I am a 45 year carpenter. Yes 45 years as a carpenter. I an 67 years old. I have built dog houses and billionaire mansions. And I can run a pipe and rope a few wires to make stuff work. Five years ago I would have checked the place out. But I just bought a place in my beloved Idaho. Down on the snake river. Not much snow in the winter. Loved your video. I wish you the best.
I was stationed at Mtn Home, and those were the best 4 years of my life. Idaho had everything an outdoors person could want. Enjoy.
This is one of the best videos that just tells it like it is; for better or worse. Thanks for the honesty of what it actually takes.
He’s telling you to bring money. Or have a skill that makes money.
I love this guy. But that’s what stock brokers told me too
Now there's a real man! Experienced and wise. He uses his wisdom and knowledge to help others. Great personality too. If we all were like this guy, we would live in a better world. Thanks for the vid!
After two days in the desert fun
My skin began to turn red
didnt the desert turn to sea? lol
Hilarious
I moved from Chicago to a small village of 200 people in Argentina and I can tell everyone that I am much happier with the rhythm of my life l. I've been here for one year and I am loving every moment. Thanks for taking the time to read this comment
how is it there?
@@astoica1 the economy here is really bad every high inflation but my wife and I save for a while to be able to do this. We bought a 200 year old hotel for 14000 dollars that was in very bad condition and fixed it up and turned it into our home. Now what we do is live off the land and grow most of our vegetables and raise our own animals. It's very hard work but we enjoy it and have a better quality of life. Let me know if you have any other questions. Sorry it took me a while to reply very bad internet here lol
"a man's got to know his limitations". - Harry Callahan
Thank you for not sugar coating this life. Love the honesty you have.
Someone asked if there is a local realtor I WOULD recommend... but I seem to have lost that comment, sorry! Realtors, like car salespeople, are salesmen, they serve a purpose, but ALL are distasteful to deal with. Around here, the least offensive to deal with is a local resident who is with West Texas RANCH Realty: Don Houser.
DO NOT, DO NOT get confused and get in touch with West Texas Realty, they are a major part of the problem out here!!!!
eco-ranch.us That was me. Thank you for the answer!
Glad I didn’t go through them. Sorry I’m browsing comments from a year ago.
I admire people like you that will be upfront and not make off grid living seem like a cushy lifestyle, especially in an environment like you live in. Skills today, especially working with your hands, for the majority of the younger generations consist of how fast you can send a text on your cell and sitting in front of a computers. We live in the Blue Ridge mountains and not off grid or homesteading. People tell us how beautiful your home and property is, and then ask us, how long did it take you to get this far. We tell them, started in 1974 and still haven't completed our goals. Who did all the work?, well we did because we had the skills to do it. Thank you for your honesty, I hope this video finds it way to a lot of wannabe thinks they can do it with no skills and the money to sustain them.
I felt I had to try. Now if they move here, or one of the other off-grid friendly counties in the country, they have been warned.
You are an amazing man. How you have soldiered on with health challenges and desert temperatures and water issues etc etc, is inspiring.. Thank you so much.
Very sound advice. Good for any undertaking anywhere. And preparedness doesn't always mean things will work out. Adaptability, I think is necessary also. Finances very important.
I been looking and concidering goinging off grid for a while. Now that I am retiring. I think I may come down your way look around. I've actually been looking hard because I do not like even close to city or urban.
I am more than just a skilled carpenter. A master carpenter 40 years survivalist out of the missouri river bottoms. And I can still dig all day long even at 66 years of age.
You have put a lot of hard work into your place and it has turned out to be a beautiful place! I lived in the Mojave Desert for 17 years in Southern California. It is a very hard place to live. Good job keep up the good work live life to the fullest!
Thank you!
Visited that small town when my family and I went to big bend national park. It’s a quaint little desert town. It’s a different world in West Texas from San Antonio. We loved it. Going back in near future.
What an amazing life. Enjoyed the video. Thank you for sharing.
I LOVE YOU!! Wise man, and very cool!! Message that needs to be out there. Thank you!!
I just caught you for the first time and the 1st minute of this video automatically made me want to subscribe!!!! You are a gift! Thank You!
Thanks!
Your right...that is why people need to learn...they should have an off grid school for people who wants to live off grid...
Thank you for posting this educational video; I bought 20 acres in solitario and I am slowly learning to build and be resourceful, first and foremost establishing shade and water source. I visit the area 4-5 times a year and stay there a few days, perhaps one day I’ll have enough experience for my wife and I to live out there. It is no pic nic as you say, it takes time , patience, TRIAL AND ERROR, among other things. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the matter, subscribed
Come by for a visit!!!
eco-ranch.us would love to check it out! I’m actually in ghost town this weekend, perhaps I’ll stop by. Saw the Terlingua creek today, the recent rains were a blessing from the looks of the flow
Realistic and true, respect Sir! Hats off to you and your wife.
🤣🤣🤣Love your spirit and personality. You just save me in sooooo many ways. Such a wake up call.
Good vid. highly informative, not thinking of this myself but enjoyed watching.
I've been to Terlingua several times in the past decade and camped on a friends land that's in the ranch right off the main road. It's fine for 3 days at a time and bringing a few gallons of water with us, but it would be a rough life until you get sufficient rain catchment setup and a good rainfall to get some water stored. I've also been to the field lab several times and really liked what John did with his setup out there.
I doubt I would ever move out there though. While some friends and I considered buying land in the ranch around 2004 we decided the 650 miles from Houston was just too far as a weekend getaway. My wife inherited acreage in central Texas that gets 2 to 3 times the rain, over 100 miles from a major city that be plan to move to in the next few years.
Given a paid off piece of land with better water, that is far enough away from a nuclear target and the Yellowstone "kill zone" and over 3000 feet above sea level and we would have settled there! We have made the best out of this place and use it as an example of what CAN be done, if need be!
I've bin out there 10 years and you are absolutely right
A man telling it like it is ....thank you very much great video
I’m skilled in carpentry, electrical, plumbing, welding, simple car mechanics, farming, and hydroponic growing. I’ve been building up this resume my whole life because when I was young I knew I’d end up in the middle of nowhere. Spent the last year researching places and stumbled upon Terlingua Texas. Made a planned trip for October 2018 to visit. Would be an honor to buy you a beer and talk to you about the area if at all possible.
Absolutely!!! Get in touch as October gets closer and we can get together!!!!
I love ❤️ your straight talk. Thank you. Good luck with everything. I would love to do this..
I just saved $188 a month for 20 acres to an "online broker"...THANK YOU.
Thinking about it, I've spent most of my life learning the things I'd need to live independently, with the end goal of living a remote life. And this was long before the wave of interest that CZcams has generated. I've lived rough, I've had successful organic gardens, I build, I train dogs and horses, I've traveled the country with a trailer, camping remotely. I've worked many jobs (yes, even bartender, cook and handyman) I love the desert and I love the Northern forests. The list of random skills I've developed would take a page. BUT, now that I'm on the edge of 64, that dream seems to be more remote than Terlingua. Back issues and bouts of depression seem insurmountable. But, I still scroll through thousands of listings for a small, remote house I could buy for cash and ride out the balance of life away from the madhouse of society. Apart from small savings, I have just my 1,000+ SS check. looks like I'll be living vicariously through all the brave souls who took the plunge when they were younger. Got to temper those dreams with quenches of reality, ya know.
I thoroughly enjoyed your video. Wife and I have spent 3 months in 7 out of the last 10 winters volunteering at Castolon and love the Chihuahuan Desert. I hope our paths cross next time we're down there.
I appreciate you educating us of the challenges so that we may make and informed decision to be there.
Terlingua and West Texas have a special place in my heart. I’ve been coming every year from Dallas as far back as I can remember and will be there this May! I’ve always wanted to buy property out there, and most likely will when I am older and have the funds to do so. So crazy how underrated this place is. Something about it calls me back every year (sometimes I go two or three times) When I leave Dallas I leave whatever stress or energy behind and completely cut myself off from the outside world (pretty easy when there is no cell service!) Thanks for making this video.
Robert touched on a couple issues in a very large issue. Livability on The Ranch in Far West Texas.
Everything that is alive wants to see you hurt or killed. Plants most places are not aggressive, but Ranch plants are angry vindictive things that use sharp tools to hide their stored water inside them from bears and mountain lions and feral pigs. Many species of poison snakes that can kill you. Tarantulas and scorpions are also going to brighten your day.
1% of the homes and businesses have utility power and 1% of those have a well. So everybody is forced to makes minimal electric and minimal water through alternative methods that are hit and miss. Temperatures reach way above 110 degrees on warm sunny days and it’s almost always warm and sunny. Most Ranch property is way away from limited services like schools, hospitals, doctors, veterinarians, post offices, UPS etc. Want to see a movie or get a Big Mac it’s about 200 miles away. When it does rain, 100% unpredictably, roads are often times closed for 2 days. In town when it rains, it will be 2 days before you can drive home. Most people have No cell phone service . Most places don’t have Internet, telephones or wifi, so you are living in the stone ages of technology. The one local gas station can easily and often does, run out of fuel. Many of the Ranch roads require high clearance 4WD. Because of the lack of services, if you do find a house to live in, insurance is about impossible to find or afford because if you have a fire, the volunteer fire department is too far away to put the fire out. And they can only bring so much water when they do show up two hours later. Have a heart attack or stroke? It’s a death call on this remote Ranch. Kiss it goodbye.
Only people that make it here are people who could make it anywhere because they have money and resources to constantly wage a quiet war with the harsh desert. The ones who win the battle do so because they try to change very little, they learn to do with less, lots less. The romantic videos of John and Robert are like the serpent offering Eve an easy apple. Believe me, Terlingua Ranch is no easy apple. (I own 88 acres on The Ranch with utility power, well, telephone, internet, wifi, cellphones, satellite phone, two jeeps, and a nice house. People who scrape out a living in this desert are a special people, it’s not easy)
I’m 31 and I commute to work by bike 3.5 miles, 7 over all. Sometimes I walk and it takes me over an hour to get to work. If you are 50, 60 and walk 5 miles a day to get to work you are pretty fit.
Great video Buddy....very well said with great insight.....thank you for the valuable information ill take it with me on my journey to off grid living god bless.
love how you show the not so pleasant side of your passion... instead of hiding It like many other content creators seem to do.
Thank you! That is the reason my channel is not "monetized". I am returning what Life has taught me.... TEACHING things we need to know to survive the new world we are creating. If I depend on money from these, my honesty will be jaded by the need for views. Right now my attitude is: "watch them or not, I don't care" and then the truth, from my perspective, comes out.
Well done sir. You most be the most honest person on Utube.
Your right about rampant consumerism..
Words of wisdom.... I've considered visiting the area and checking it out. I love working with my hands and seeing what I've accomplished at the end of the day. Its a satisfying feeling.
Great honest, REAL advice. I had to subscribe to see more. Thank you!
Great video I'll go off the grit soon I do it all my self thanks for telling the truth for those that have no skills or know the desert and what it takes to live there thank you
Truck driver is a handyman, electrician, mechanic, plumber, dishwasher, housekeeper, an accountant, first responder and many more all in one. 😎👍
So are all the other unemployed guys out here......
Love your video! THanks for sharing.
very bold, it takes a lot of courage to tell me the truth. I respect that.
Didn't take me very long to hit that sub button & the top bell for all vids after about 10 min. into the vid!
Thanks for all the advice & seeking more throughout other vids of your's & the ones to come!
Thank you!! I am trying now, harder than ever, to give you great information and remain "relevant"!!
No one has slammed the door. DON'T BREAK THE LAW. DO IT.......L E G A L L Y
I am SO happy you made this video. I've been a regular visitor to the area for a couple of decades now and it continues to amaze me how unaware people are just VISITING the desert. Reality is the area is a harsh land and it does NOT forgive you for mistakes. You have my admiration for homesteading there and good on you for letting other potential homesteaders know what they can expect. As much as I love spending time in Big Bend NP, Study Butte, Terlingua and the state park I want trees too much to want to live there myself.
Never seen any of your videos before. Subscribed because youre fun to listen to. Thanks for the wisdom.
Thank you!
Hear that! I'm not looking to get worked to death, that is for sure, I've spent the last 46 years doing that! With a 34 year career in the HVAC trade with bad knees and back surgeries to show for it. I also realize a person is only fooling themselves with visions of living off-grid as the life. If anything it is more work! But a different kind of work and that is what a lot of people haven't figured out... And that "living off-grid" still takes money! And at times, more than you usually have. The same old game just different rules and faces.
As always, I am late to the party, but this is an excellent video. The deserts of West Texas are hard, giving folks a heads up before they come out and learn the hard way, well, many thanks to you. You maybe saved a few folks from some very difficult lessons.
That was harsh, but needed! After five years, it still stands!
Such wise words, I hope you put the dreamers off and you get the folks that are going to thrive
Thank you so much for all your wise words. Greetings from California.
"So how you gonna grow hydroponically, if you don't have the hydro to ponic it with?" Fair question... fair question. Love your straight talk!
Very tough to words to live by, but somethings that definitely need to be said. I'm taken back by how many people have admitted wanting to come out there, seemingly lacking a lot of the things you've talked about.
love the rant, quite informative and entertaining. Thanks
Okay, you convinced me, I'm not coming. Thanks so much for your heartfelt heartwarming video.
To the trolls that comment about my "disability" and how it seems I am "mooching off THEIR taxes", or cheating in some way...… not that you actually read anything.... you just post snarky, cretinistic comments that make you feel better while sitting in your Mother's basement eating a ham sandwich, wishing YOU has the skills and balls to do what I do…… this video is several years old. I was badly injured and did collect Social Security disability for a short time. However, those days are far behind and I am as fully able to work as any man my age NOW. SS disability, can be a short term, or long term benefit. Mine was short term. However, I qualified for it because I NEVER worked "under the table" as so many of you do and have.
I worked for 47 years, paying FICA taxes as required. Now that I am over 66, I qualify for more SS retirement income than you probably earn at a job, if you even have one! This video was NOT about me, however you may want to make it so in order to be a simpering troll. It is about unskilled, ham sandwich eaters like yourself who think they can re-invent themselves in a remote area.
Sorry folks, there is a saying you need to remember that goes like this: "Wherever you go, there you are". You are doomed to failure!
YOU CANNOT ESCAPE YOURSELF AND THE MESS YOU MADE OF YOUR LIVES!
eco-ranch.us Social Security is an insurance program anyway, not welfare. Anybody who’s paid into it is entitled to the help, when they need it. I swear people who sneer at the disabled or retired are either brainwashed or must hate their own jobs, maybe both.
I haven’t seen any disability with you it seems that you are more than abled living in w tx.
My father had a way of responding to me asking “where we were” and he would say, “we are right here! We must make the best of it!” He would always be lost, but he was right. We were there, and that’s where we were. You always have the stars to guide you somewhere else.
This is the best informational vid I seen about off-grid living in west Texas, I noticed you said you worked the mines? I too work the underground coal mines in eastern Kentucky been running a roof bolter since 96 and I dream of getting the hell out of here but I don’t want to get out there and strike out, I’m sure a lot of people just can’t hack it and leave.
Interesting and real. Thank you for your candor sir
It is unbelievable,on point. I made almost every mistake you mentioned and even though I didn’t loose may properly I work ten times more than anybody around me so I don’t loose my property and I succeed only because I am extremely handy. May next property will be in Texas and that’s why I was searching for info and you nailed it. Thank you very much.
Great job on this video. Of course, I am like so many other people that daydream about living like that, but with my medical issues and minimal handyman skills, it will stay a daydream.
I know a man who lived in Terlingua for 7 years, & left it, he left his home, & moved to Kingsland, TX. He just couldn't take the desolute no more.
Really insightful video. A lot of people think moving out to the middle of nowhere is going to solve all their problems. You have to have the motivation, dedication and resources as well. I see people trying and failing out here all the time. Luckily we are in an area that gets a bit more water but we are working and learning all the time. If you move to the middle of nowhere with a woman you need to make sure you are on the same page. I'm extremely lucky because my wife and I are extremely motivated and love working hard. It's very rewarding when you are able to turn a piece of land into something usable. Don't let the hard work dissuade you from moving to the middle of nowhere, but come with a plan and expect an extremely hard life that can be very rewarding. Thanks for the great video, I'm very glad to have found your channel.
Thank you!!!
IPHONE 272 LOL!! 🔥 I love it! Keep it up man! Love the videos!
Sage advice!
All excellent reasons why I am in Arizona nomad. I don't have to own any land, I just move as the weather determines From government land to government land. BLM or national forest land. High altitude in the summer desert in the Winter. Always within reasonable Distance of a real grocery store.
LOVE your spirit! Fixing to hit the Subscribe button.
Love the straight forward talk. I'm planning to buy a small ranch here in Arizona in a couple of months. I have my plan in place for my job but if I had to find different work I've been a welder fabricator for the last 26 years,however I'm trying to not do it professionally these days. I'm originally from Dalhart Texas in the panhandle, it's rather flat and empty there! Keep up the great videos sir!
The problem is that most people that are sick of all the debt, high tech, and stuff are... well, the people that are also often drawn to it. I mean, you only have tons of debt if you are living outside your means. You only get overloaded with the technology and stuff if you are buying it. No one makes these folks do any of that... they CHOSE to do it. Them moving to an isolated place isn't going to change who they are at heart. All it will do is make it harder, if not impossible, to be who they are at heart.
I'm in debt and I live in my dad's kitchen behind pieces of cardboard. I have no quality of life. No personal space or privacy. I've never had anything in life. A lot of other 18 to 34 year-olds are like me nowadays, especially in California with cost of living so high. It has much more to do with the economy these days than living outside of your means.
Living behind cardboard in your Dad's kitchen sound made up. But if the comment is real, I am not trolling you, but blaming the economy sounds like an excuse for not trying. Even today with the damage that guy with the dead racoon on his head is doing to our country, new immigrants are coming here and not just surviving, but thriving! Try living exactly as they do for a couple years...…. we did. You WILL get ahead!
@John Brandt Absolutely agree John, you can't run away from what you are!
Dry, rocky place....
But still Looks nice. 👍
Great inspirations.👍
Good honest info. Thank you!
love it ! and the chickens are awesome ; beautiful setting in texas desert
I used to live in Terlingua ( in the 1980s ) and it's not for everybody. I loved it there, and have visited several times since. But, my profession requires high-speed internet ( which was not available reliably back then ), and have since lived in Silicon Valley and that's a completely different life, obviously.
The desert is a really great place to live - the primary problem isn't the heat - it's the dust. But, a swamp cooler and your house can mitigate it.
My brother still owns a spot on Terlingua Creek, which I hope to buy from him at some point. The land costs are cheap, but the closest reasonable healthcare is Alpine - 80+ miles away. Study Butte has a small general store as does Lajitas, but most city-folk will not be impressed. Soooo - most of us drove once every week-or-two to Alpine, ice chests in the backseat to buy as many groceries as we could. If you are disciplined on the grocery days, you'll eat better overall.
Anyway, we always said that NOBODY lives in Terlingua "by accident." EVERYBODY is in Terlingua ON PURPOSE.
lol thats great i havnt meet anyone out there an owned land for few years im not there full time also have another home in new mexico but everythings great out there setting up everthing is going great
So you are saying that in Terlingua there was not high speed internet in the 1980s..... that is hard to believe...
Where did you move where you could you get high speed internet in the 80s?
Having skills is key. Either that or a trailer load of cash! I have always tried to build and fix everything myself since I was 15. Now 42 I can handle most jobs myself. I can’t imagine anyone moving out there unless they can actually do things themselves. Most people I bump into these days can barely change a light glove.
Thank you, great information. Happy New Year. Going to Arizona. But thank you very much.
TRUTH! you are doing a great public service! Love the rooster - and your wonder dog. 💞
Good on ya brother. I respect your honesty. Maybe I'll have the pleasure of meeting you some day.
Come any time!
I am building my house out of rocks and mud. I know how to plumb am a finish carpenter I learned how to wire, I am learning how to pour concrete. Lol I taught myself how to cut tile, I used to farm apples and cherries I can knit crochet and sew. Jeje and I'm 67 year ol woman. Woo woo crept i moved to Baja California Sur where the desert meets the Sea.
thank you very much for the information. Yes, water source is a must.
I really enjoyed this video. thank you sir.
Yeah, you have 6 to 8 inches of rain a year and you ought to be there the day it comes.
For rich people. I better stay in New Mexico. Just kidding, love your place and what you done. Wishing you much luck.
Where there's a WELL there's a way ! Great video and advice ! Terlingua Texas looks like a great place for seniors like myself to visit ! I love the desert, but I do remember really hot days and freezing cold nights at times ! Best wishes to Robert and the lucky residents in Terlingua Texas !!!
Thank you very much for the information I'm really appreciated , 😃👍
Awesome ! I have 5 bucks and a CDL, I'm on my way ! ...
Not ! Very good video, people need to think it through. Planning is always the key. Education is the only way to achieve your dreams. Ya can't watch a few videos and think you can survive.
5 miles of dirt road is why that land was so cheap.
Yes
This seems like rock-solid advice. Greetings from your neighbor in west Texas.
Very informative video!!..thank you..
I agree with everything you said here. A little over 3 years ago, I moved off grid in the mountains of Tennessee. I have solar, and a natural spring for water. It's tough living a true off grid lifestyle in an area that has so much abundance. I can only imagine what kind of struggle would come with having little to no water. I commend you for your strength and perseverance out there in those arid conditions!
Mountainman That's why I have my sites set on Ozarks. More water, game, fishing and farm land. I'm not above eating possum and dandelion greens.
I was planning to come out there, but you make it sound too hard! Now I've changed my mind! I've lived here in the lush green mountains for over eighty two years and I always wanted to go to the desert where it might rain twice in a year and the nearest stream or river was eighty miles away and didn't run but about forty % of the time! Now you've talked me out of it dang it!
My friend, with NO ill intention intended, after 82 years of life, you need to stay right where you are. Visit here, maybe, but to live, NO! Your health may be fine now, or for 30 more years, but you and I both are ONE cardiac episode away from a nursing home. Make the most of where you are!
Bravo! Look forward to your other vids!
I love it! Great job!
Need this to kill what was growing into an obsession. Thinking maybe I will just buy that Selmer bass clarinet after all.
I'd love to come over to a community like this and see if I could help some ppl with solar and wind power, I wouldn't charge a dime, I just love helping folks get independent, I'm a Underground Coal Miner from Southern West Virginia, I can do any damn thing😉💯
A country boy can always survive!! 😁
I am considering creating a small community here on 20 acres. It would have something like ten or twelve 16'x16' cabins and a communal greenhouse of about 20000 square feet. No long term commitment, just monthly rent and most of that could be worked off. I have learned that while many 20-35 year-olds would LIKE to live like this, few want to invest the money required in something they may "grow away from" in a few years. A community like this would give them a chance to do it with little investment.
Good, solid advice. Thanks.
Thanks for the heads up!
a good honest video. people should listen but they won't. can't fix stupid!
I live off grid. Everything is paid for and my bills are $180 a month. However, it cost me $250K to get here. The biggest problem with off griders is the misconception that lazy people can live for free or very cheap. Off grid living is expensive to set up and requires hard work and sacrifice to survive. It's not a free ride. If you're lazy or broke stay home.
My husband and I just visited about a month ago. We were only there for 2 days but believe me, I did not want to leave.
Hi Robert Earl, thanks for the heads up. I have been messing with this idea since the late 80's when I was driving trucks through the New Mexico and Arizona desserts on my way to deliver in California. I saw signs for $100 an acre right off of I-40. Family and friend ties always kept me from pullin' the trigger. I will most likely continue to live vicariously through you. Godspeed brother.
Thanks for watching.... and commenting!!!