Is there a place in America where a guy can still go out into the wilderness and live like a pioneer?

[Anonymous]

Lately I've felt the pull of a simpler life far from the rat race. A place without society (or significantly less of it anyhow). Are there still places in America where a guy can fell trees, build a cabin and live a simpler life?

[WindAtMyBack]

Most of the country is like that to some degree. Just get well away from the cities. In most cases you'll need the money to buy enough land to do it. Although there are some limited alternatives to buying land. There are tens of thousands of people living off-grid in the US. Some estimates are over a hundred thousand.

Living off grid is not the same thing as just living away from the masses. If you just want to live away from the masses, that leaves the vast majority of the country. Geographically, the cities only take up a tiny fraction of the country.

I lived in a log cabin for a while. It was not off-grid, but it was in a sparsely populated area in the mountains surrounded by forests. It was a very self-sufficient economy with a strong barter economy. You need to be ready for it because it's not for everyone, not even people who think they'd like something like that. I'd strongly suggest a trial run before committing to it.

You absolutely do NOT need to move to Alaska or anything like that. Walden Pond isn't too far from a major city. There are hundreds of millions of acres like that around the country.

[Chazmatazz269]

Alaska still has land available for homesteaders, but it’s very difficult to access. The best plots have been taken and what remains will likely require you to make arrangements with other landowners for access to your own property.

[Asker]

That's what I'm talking about.

[Asker]

Eh, the internet said that ended in 1986.🫤

[Chazmatazz269]

I was just looking into it last year. It’s a different program with the exact same purpose, homesteading.

[Chazmatazz269]

https://homesteadingworld.com/alaska-homesteading/

[Asker]

Yeah, but the land ain't free.

[Chazmatazz269]

It’s never been free. There were tax abatements in order to entice people to come and homestead, but it was never just free land. Otherwise one or two land barons would have snatched up the whole state and parsed it out for huge profits. You pick your plot, pay a registration fee, usually pay some taxes up front, sign a guarantee that you will maintain the property a certain way, then get your deed and take it over. Depending upon the agreement, you could pay little or no taxes for a few years or for a lifetime, depending on the use of the property.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Pick literally any mountain town and buy land, or just become amish

[Asker]

Yeah, I suck at beard growth. And I like zippers.😆

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Then pick the first option

[emeraldsaphire]

The Amish have a pretty ridged social structure. And they don't take kindly to converts unless you are really swayed by their theology

[exitseven]

America still has a lot of wilderness. I imagine that you can find some public land where you could disappear.

[msc545]

Yeah, you can go out and see the Mojave Desert, live like a desert rat if you want, with nobody around.

You can also go live in the High Sierra Mountains of California and Nevada. If you can tolerate the conditions and not die out there, you'll be all by yourself, and nobody will bug you. I spent some time in the Sierras and they're beautiful, but you have to know what you're doing to survive.

[Asker]

I've watched Survivorman. All I need is my multitool.😆

[msc545]

I'm afraid it's going to take a few more things than just that. However, the multi-tool will always be handy.

[DryGermanGuy]

Just take the five states with the lowest population density and you should find lots and lots of places going from rural to downright deserted.

[Ariesman81]

Wait a little bit and the majority of western Canada will be open for business.

[LongLiveBillGates]

How's the new prime minister of Canada? Trudeau was a great leader and it's sad he's no longer the PM of Canada.

[Ariesman81]

@LongLiveBillGates

You got me confused with someone else bro

[DrPepper12]

The last homesteader claim was in Alaska in the 80s I think. Not a bad deal - work the land for 10 years & it's yours!

[LongLiveBillGates]

Who the hell would wanna do that? That's so stupid!

[Staximus]

Yeah, but it's getting harder to find.

[Asker]

Where?

[Staximus]

That depends on how much you want to spend on land

[Staximus]

And if you want land with good dirt where you can grow crops, climate you want, etc

[Asker]

How bout zero. I meant pioneer in every sense of the word. Like finding land in a undeveloped wilderness that you can claim and live.
Probably not eh.

[Staximus]

There are a few states that still have homestead land available. That usually requires building a house within a certain timeframe, and that house must meet certain criteria to be a qualifying structure. They aren't going to just let you build a one room shack out in the sticks anymore like it's still the 1800's. If you buy land instead of try to get free land, you could do whatever the hell you want.

[RedTiefling]

Alaska seems like it. Or northern Oregon.

[BoredGemini]

PNW or Alaska