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@@bradleamon4466 who is everybody?

we ran out of motivation and money 🙃 and yep, we'll sum up some interesting learning points for us having spent 3 years in this lifestyle main one would be that we now appreciate the little things like having limitless power, water and sewer connection where the bills cost a tiny fraction of what it cost us to set up off grid systems on our own. it's actually pretty expensive and hard to set up an off grid space to live in, unlike the romanticised view that some people have of living self-sustainably with barely any expenses. Which isn't to say this kind of lifestyle is good or bad, it just has its own difficulties, just like the normal lifestyle of living in the city where everything is expensive also has its own difficulties. there's a lot of interesting points we'll share really, but at the end of the day we learned that happiness is found within, regardless of whether we're living out some kind of epic off grid dream or not

@offgridcitycouple5695 fair enough. I watched all of your videos with interest. I'm a city slicker with a similar dream, hence I found your channel. Look forward to the next video and wish you both all the best for whatever you turn your mind to next.

@@normalguy7898 yeah we also started out with the same dream, only to realise that power from the sun isn't technically free, and water from the sky isn't actually free either - because of all the expenditure that's required to set up those systems. And the whole escaping the matrix idea is also a little flawed considering all pumps, tanks, solar components and building materials (and healthcare) are produced by the very same matrix that so many people wish to escape. The other even more ironic thing is that we thought we'd just be happy all of a sudden by living in nature, but in fact the experience was a lot more challenging than our previous life, and how we felt didn't automatically change either, because that's something that comes from within regardless of exterior circumstances. There was a very big benefit to the whole thing though, like learning to be grateful for the simply luxuries in life, and by living so close to nature I have become mesmerised and humbled by the interconnectedness and harmony within which it exists - and realised we are not separate from it all either. and best part is, this insight is now with us regardless of where we go next. so we're planning to live somewhere around the central coast in a normal home with a normal backyard, and to still grow food in our garden, just on a smaller scale while still benefitting from the nice things society has to offer.

@offgridcitycouple5695 thanks for taking the time to write such a considered response. I totally understand. You guys have also been through a lot in that time. One of the most remarkable things was going through the flood and then continuing on; it must have been very difficult. You both have a great, positive spirit and I think that will support you in whatever you choose to do next. It's very interesting what you have said about appreciating who you are and what you have, including the modern conveniences that cities provide. My take is that people (myself included) use videos such as yours as escapism from the rat race to find a dream where they feel a bit more in charge. This may not be the case in reality, as you have highlighted. A final thing I will say, is while it may be bitter-sweet, something you will always have is an appreciation for both sides of the equation. While others are left only to dream about 'what if?' You should take immense satisfaction from that and being able to create your lives with whatever views you take forward, in lieu of finding out the hard way during your mid-life crisis or retirement! Look forward to seeing some central coast modern homestead-esque update videos and wishing all the best for the future :)

I was looking thru Real Estate and checking out land blocks which will be perfect for my dream then I saw something familiar. Had to check the video in the listing to confirm it’s your block. Though you are moving on to something else, I just wish to say “at least you tried.” I still living in my imagination by watching other people’s videos and scrolling thru listing. Truthfully, I’m grateful to both of you and the others who put up such videos. It allows me to at least “live” thru your dreams. Thank you and all the best for your future endeavours.

@@MrCites1 Northern Rivers ✌️

@ nice. Did you need a DA for that dam? Was it over your harvestable rights limits? It’s so hard to navigate legality with dams

@@MrCites1 well that's the thing, with thousands of pages of policies nowadays it's difficult to arrive at conclusive outcomes... As a helpful start, Water NSW is the governing body when it comes to building dams. They can assist with sharing some useful info for types of dam designs and things to look out for. With them, as long as you're under the max harvestable rights they have no issues or application processes. Our dam was just under the max. When it comes to councils, every council seems to have a different interpretation of the same laws.. simply because they're ambiguous and convoluted in nature. If u want to be 100% in the clear it's good practice to ask the council if they require a DA. Funny enough, we had one person from council let us know they require no DA. Then after we built the dam someone else accused us of having needed a DA. Thankfully we saved the correspondence to show them how their colleague wrote to us saying the contrary. It's a bit of a shame the system is so disjointed, and it took months to receive responses.

@ my exact experience. Local land services hadn’t heard of harvestable rights!

@MrCites1 wow that's an interesting example lol It's a strange world we live in. We've had satellite internet providers tell us that we can't power an off grid modem with solar power, only with a generator...

@@Cards36555 🙏✌️

@@aimanjajo9951 thanks for your nice words and for checking out our journey 🙂 We're planning to make a video all about considerations in the near future, but yes the zoning is definitely an important one. Then there's flat vs. hilly. Flat is likely to have some flooding, which makes it a lot more affordable, hundreds of thousands of dollars cheaper. Hilly is obviously many people's dream like having a house on a hill, hence costs more. However, hills make bushfires more severe, and walking up a steep hill with a wheel barrow or reversing a trailer is a pain. If it's steep enough, you also become susceptible to land slides, and the wind can be a lot more severe too. It's a very intricate balance of pros and cons really. Such as looking into what the neighbourhood is like. Some areas are mainly farmland, so your neighbours would all be farmers. Out in the bush there are a lot more green minded people, and they can be anti-development, which can complicate things if you want to clear some vegetation for a firebreak for example. And even though RU1 zoning mentions extensive farming, the reality is that humans have cleared a few too many forests. So when it comes to buying uncleared land, the legislation is very convoluted, and generally against any new clearing (understandably so). Then there's soil properties to consider if you want to grow a crop, such as fertility, sodicity, pH etc. Another one is climate. Colder climates have less mosquitos, but harder to grow stuff. Warmer climates become very warm in summer.... These are just some thoughts 🤔

@@aimanjajo9951 and we've run out of motivation and money after 3 years of hustling it out off grid, so we've actually put the land on the market for someone else to take over and make their dreams happen out there. You can inspect it this weekend if you like, we're in Gibberagee, northern Rivers.

@offgridcitycouple5695 awesome thank you for the detailed response. Really enjoying all your content and look forward to more of it. Definitely lots of considerations, we are definitely looking to do something similar to you both, however with kids in toe it make you calculate things more. Both myself and my other half have gathered a lot of knowledge around production and self dependence, and we produce a lot from our little 300m2 land and home. So super excited to make the next step, just have to calculate it

@@offgridcitycouple5695 oh wow shocking news on that. Very interested to take a look, although it maybe to steep for me on price range, but definitely very interested in taking a look

@@offgridcitycouple5695 I don't see it advertised anywhere, where can I look it up please?

@@woshinwb thanks for checking out our journey ✌️ We don't post all that often, algorithms like a lot of content so every time we put out a new video it seems to bump us up, and vice versa. Regarding the size of home, that is determined by the engineering plans which say that the structure needs to be at least 1m away from the edge of the mound. We're aiming for 2m away from the edge 👍 As for limitations of RU1 zoning, there doesn't seem to be any immediate limits for how many bedrooms you can build. Council approval for most things seems to be a more complex and expensive process nowadays compared to for example 30 years ago where you'd send in the plans and council would say "no worries". Nowadays there's bushfire reports, environmental reports, septic design, etc etc. And considering our situations isn't a standard off the plan design, it probably won't be all that quick or easy to have approved

@@marcelpost4052 sounds like someone hasn't tried it 🙃

@@Seedyrom247 yeah wow with $15K per year it may be better to set that money aside and earn interest on it 😐 Sorry u watched it today out of all days, but on a brighter note it was a great experience in hindsight. The water only rose during daylight so that was a +, and it was pretty mild compared to some floods with how much time we had to sort our refuge out. And of course overall it was a great experience for developing character growth, strength and humility. Not all life lessons are packaged nicely ✌️

@@Kevin-u3q7m oh crap sorry you guys didn't find water... Surely we should have a way to predict these things by now that's a very expensive exercise to come out with nothing 😕

@@morvenkeckavich6669 g'day 👋 Awesome to hear your install went well, guess the windmills probably can't give a consistent 30+ litres per minute hey And as for not setting it to 100% it was the same premise as not operating an engine close to redline revs, and same with not working so hard we wreck ourselves 😀 So overall it was with the intent of extending longevity, and not having the pump fluctuate as much when a cloud passes because more often than not with thin clouds it can still operate at 50-80% rather than speeding up and slowing down and putting more strain on everything

@ yeah cheers. No the windmills certainly can’t. It’s the hot still days where you need h2o the most that catches them out. Thanks for that. That’s generally my principal with most things too. I think I’ll back her off to 80%! I don’t know what it is about these things but they get in your head. Great little units! 👍🏾

@morvenkeckavich6669 nice, it is lucky that solar panels are good for hot sunny days when we need water most. When we first set our pump up it was like magic, water out of nowhere 😀 Someone in the comments has said to install a sleeve on it from a PVC pipe so it sucks water from the bottom and sediment isn't passed through the pump. Seems like a good idea but there's no way we're pulling the pump out unless absolutely necessary lol

@@J..O..D cheers for stopping by our channel ✌️ if we had access to a padfoot roller that would've been even better for both the mound and dam. Some parts in the dam were pretty sandy though and probably would've leaked despite the best compaction, thankfully the DamIt stuff saved us from having to rework everything. Bermuda grass and other crawling grasses are now finally stabilising the edges of the dam nicely. If only we knew about the right kinds of grass from the start, that erosion would've been stopped a lot quicker. But with nature taking over again it's all history 🙂

@@mlpwoiuejsjewelsh788 nope 👍

@@Charlie-wr6dy amazing you got there in the end. Someone else just commented on another video saying they spent $25K on a bore just to find no water... You guys are lucky to have persisted. It seems to be one of those bizarre instances where in Africa and India the elders literally pray and do spiritual rituals before drilling a bore because there's nothing else to do really than hope for a blessing. You'd think we'd have some kind of reliable technology by now that's more accurate, but here we are

@@Houseofbulger yep still good 👍 someone else mentioned in these comments that theirs is good 3 years on

@@Mekanav810 thanks for stopping by ✌️

@@fredwhitmore6342 thankfully no crocodiles in the northern Rivers, they're further up north starting in mid Queensland. Does look like the same kind of water crocs live in though 😬

@@GreenHavenFarmStay yeah it does, but we still have some jelly sitting on the bottom. Which should mean that if there was a little leak forming in the future it should repair itself

@@judithmaurer7622 just very fast grass / weeds growth 🙂 hope you're well ✌️

@@honeybacres best part is that in nature it all sorts itself out, so best way is to try and replicate what we observe in the natural world

@@GreenValleyFarm-2537 cheers ✌️ the roots from reeds and grasses that make their way in there should become a natural geofabric, but if it was a cascading constant flow of water then geofabric is probably necessary

@@RobsAquaponics ✌️

@@janrobertbos ✌️

@@Surfingboye everything is easy with a machine 😅 other than always fixing them of course Nothing too exciting at the moment, the off grid life is an expensive hobby so just work to make more money is the plan 👍

@@JEON_CENA these guys are cavoodles; half poodle, half cavalier King Charles spaniel. So they're a type of breed nowadays, but one that is technically a crossbreed, meaning less susceptibility to genetic complications. Funny thing is, all our dogs are cavoodles but all look different. So if yours are same size then there could be a couple options, but it'd likely be a poodle cross ✌️

@@denisegraham5148 it's all about gradual change so that it basically happens as it would in nature, and also trying to align the timing of everything so that the puppies have a chance to get nice and hungry before we feed them. Which also works hand in hand with their sleeping/waking routines. So as an example, a bit over half way through the 8 weeks, they started to sleep separate from mum at night, and we'd feed them at the same time every morning (6am), so they knew that if they woke us up at 430am they would need to wait and be hungry until 6am to eat, which gradually trained them to wake up later and hence be less disruptive for us. Then after they were full of food, Luna could feed them as much as she wanted to throughout the day, then at lunch time we'd separate them again so they have a chance to get hungry before dinner, and then after dinner she could feed them again so it doesn't get uncomfortable for her at night being full of milk. So this isn't a fully straightforward answer lol, but by having clear boundaries and a strategy that you stick to, it makes the whole process more enjoyable, less stressful and less tiring.

Been practicing looking at the camera since then, slowly getting there 🙂

@@anthonymorris9139 just normal concrete mix, and amount depends on the size of the hole, we expected to use 2 bags per hole but it ended up being about 3 bags. Always good to get extra to ensure the job's done right, otherwise you'll have a cold join if u top up the concrete after the first lot sets.

@@freedomfighter8958 🤠

@@markbyerley6967 cheers ✌️

@@haokipletkhotinthang9564 yeah not the whole way down, just where the water seeps in 👍

@@lynnd2993 no worries, glad you found it helpful 🙂

@@kivaya that metal casing went down to the bedrock only, and was jackhammered into it a bit. Then past the bedrock it was no longer necessary. Wow 60m is a long way down, the worst droughts shouldn't affect a depth like that 🙂

@@user-hu4hx6bm6m without them we'd have none of the modern day luxuries that we have today really. Would be good to find an even better source of energy one day 👍