# Help me become a hermit **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 20, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348 "2003-05-20T17:27:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/1 "2003-05-20T17:27:35Z")
For a variety of reasons I have decided to eventually become a hermit. I am finishing up my senior year of high school and I will be going to college for the next four years. After that, as soon as reasonably possible, I’d like to take up a hermit-like lifestyle. I’ll probably be writing, so that will be my main source of income. I plan on buying a small piece of land down a long driveway off a rural road in the woods. I’m not talking extreme hermit, I’ll probably have a phone and a small car I’ll use from time to time. (yes, sadly this will mean no SDMB. I’ll send a few messages by mail or something, heh) What I need to know is what I’m going to need to make this possible. I need to set up a realistic schedule for the next several years to acheve my goal. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/2 "2003-05-20T18:28:37Z")
Clayton, I’m your man. I’m on a three year plan to get totally out of debt and take off. Here’s my (unfinished) plan. * * * Material Needs – One time. Land $30,000 Large acreage owned or available for hunting/trapping Riverfront necessary for fishing and available water for drinking, laundry, dishes (Also possible hydro-electric source) Cabin $7,000 150 sq ft +/- Solar Array 800 watt/hrs/day @ 12V $5,000 includes generator Composting toilet $1,000 Wood burning stove $600 Heat and internal cooking source Small 12v refrigerator/freezer $1,000 Furniture Bed, cabinets, tables, chairs (already accounted for) Harvesting supplies $500 .22 rifle (small game) 12 gauge shotgun (birds, deer) Fishing supplies (poles, line, lures, flies, net) Gardening / Poultry $200 Tools and equipment (shovel, hoe, wheelbarrow) Chicken wire (coop) General cooking $100 Mason jars, pots, pans, utensils Miscellaneous $200 Hatchet, saw, radio, 12v TV, first aid, bedding, clothes, bleach, 12v lighting Total One Time Cost: $45,600 Material Needs – Reoccurring (per year) Ammunition (.22, birdshot and buckshot) $250 Seeds $50 Canning supplies $25 Staples (sugar, flour, yeast, oil, salt, pepper) $100 Gasoline (generator) $25 Chickens (@ $1 each, feed) $50 Total Reoccurring yearly cost $500 +/- Experience/Knowledge required: Fishing Catching, cleaning, preparing and keeping fish Hunting Killing, dressing, cleaning, preparing, keeping of: Small game (quail, dove) Midsize (Turkey) Large (deer) Gardening What plants will grow successfully in new environment? What are the seasons for planting and harvesting produce? Keeping produce by refrigeration and/or canning Knowledge of edible wild plants Things to Accomplish Before Recess: Receive laser corrective eye surgery Pay off truck debt Pay off Best Buy dept Sell house * * * For more info from the web, search on “homesteading” and “survival”. If you want to talk more, my username here is also my hotmail account. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/3 "2003-05-20T18:31:36Z")
And you already have experience being all alone and on your own, what with the park bench and all… ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/4 "2003-05-20T22:09:26Z")
Why not be a “modern hermit”? You can get yerself a little shack in the middle of nowhere and order your supplies on-line. Check out some of Bruce Daddy’s stuff (the solar power stuff and survival stuff) and find a plot of land. Hell, 90% of Nevada makes perfect hermit digs! Think of the possibilities in Alaska! With a little practice, the only person you will ever see is the UPS driver as he drops a box off and drives away. Thats not too far from my life now, and not really on purpose… The wife wants to move to an even _more remote_ place and set up residency. I figure anywhere within range of a cell site is civilization, and you can get anything you want if you are willing to wait for the UPS truck. One last thought: Its hard to get strange when you’re a hermit. * * * Fagjunk Theology: Not just for sodomite propagandists anymore. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/5 "2003-05-21T02:24:38Z")
Thank you, **Bruce\_Daddy**. The information you provided will be very useful to me. And **gatopescado** , sorry, but the “modern hermit” idea is exactly what I’m trying to get away from. For the location I’m looking for someplace not too hot, not with extreme winters, (much of Canada sounds great, but I’m only really familiar with the far eastern portion. I know there is much more to explore), not too far from a medium size town, maybe 30-40 miles or so. Anyway, thanks everyone, keep any tips comming 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/6 "2003-05-21T03:00:41Z")
You can just stay in your room all the time and post on the SDMB all day. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/7 "2003-05-21T03:26:02Z")
**Clay** , are you looking to be off the grid in the way **Bruce\_Daddy** suggests? That’s always been a half-dream of mine. Anyway, a key, IMO, is to live in a place with little/no property tax. That can be a huge yearly expense. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/8 "2003-05-21T13:46:59Z")
I almost forgot: Swiss Army knife. In case a boulder falls on your arm. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/9 "2003-05-21T14:25:42Z")
That is… um… pleasent. Oh, and what is an easy way to find areas with very low property tax? ---
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/10 "2003-05-21T17:51:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by clayton\_e \* > \*\*Oh, and what is an easy way to find areas with very low property tax? \*\* I think you can dig into U.S. Census data for this. (You were planning on being an American hermit, right?) From this article, [http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2003/03/31/focus6.html](http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2003/03/31/focus6.html) > [@](#): > > That’s according to an American City Business Journals analysis of taxation data from the U.S. Census Bureau. It shows that seven metropolitan areas in New York have the nation’s highest property-tax rates, topped by Syracuse. > > It’s a different story in Louisiana, home to the five metros that have America’s lowest property-tax rates, with Baton Rouge being the cheapest. The state exempts homeowners from paying any taxes on the first $75,000 of their property’s assessed value. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about Census data to be able to tell you how to go about finding particularly low property-tax areas for your hermitage (although it does sound like Louisiana is a good place to start). ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/11 "2003-05-21T20:15:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bruce\_Daddy \* > \*\*Clayton, I’m your man. I’m on a three year plan to get totally out of debt and take off. Here’s my (unfinished) plan. > > * * * > > Material Needs – One time. > Land > $30,000 > Large acreage owned or available for hunting/trapping > Riverfront necessary for fishing and available water for drinking, laundry, dishes > (Also possible hydro-electric source) > > Cabin > $7,000 > 150 sq ft +/- > > Solar Array 800 watt/hrs/day @ 12V > $5,000 > includes generator > > Composting toilet > $1,000 > > Wood burning stove > $600 > Heat and internal cooking source > > Small 12v refrigerator/freezer > $1,000 > > Furniture > Bed, cabinets, tables, chairs (already accounted for) > > * * * > > \*\* You probably don’t want to cook on your woodburning stove. You have to get the stove really hot, and if it’s already hot out things can get kind of, well, hot. I suppose you can just take all your clothes off since it doesn’t matter anyway. Propane can be used for cooking _and_ refrigeration, so you might want to look into that. Also 150 square feet is a wee bit more than 12 x 12 so your furniture should be in the singular (table, chair, cabinet, etc.) 😃 If you’re going to grow stuff to eat, you need to protect it from from all those critters who like to come around and dine on your splendid garden. So you’ll need some good fencing or other methods for keeping deer, rabbits, etc. out. You should rig up a system to catch and store rain water. Also locate a good spring. You never know what’s being dumped in a river. Bring lots and lots and lots of books. And a hammock. Gotta have a hammock. Make sure you can do what you want on your land before you pay for it. For instance, a composting toilet probably won’t fly if you’re on watershed property (nobody wants your poo in their drinking water). Also, code enforcement officers are well aware of all the tricks and “temporary” shelters that become less than temporary, so you’re better off finding a place where the rules (or lack of) fit your lifestyle. If you’re going to use a car, pull out the front seat and use a log to sit on instead. That’ll score you some major hermit chic points. As does holding stuff together with baling wire. Forget the phone. Phones are for wimps. Think Ham Radio. Whatever you do, stay out of debt as much as you possibly can. That’ll kill ya. ---
**Author:** ![Howard\_Juneau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bb73d2/32.png) [@Howard\_Juneau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Howard_Juneau)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/12 "2003-05-21T21:15:12Z")
Find a library that has back issues of **Countryside & Small Stock Journal**. It’s a reader-written magazine full of insights and practical tips for living “off the sidewalks”. As **Bruce\_Daddy** points out, avoid debt like the plague. Start your land search today. Plan ahead, but learn to flex. Cultivate patience as a virtue. Do you plan on being a _single_ hermit or a _married_ hermit? So many jobs require 2 people (for example, building shelter goes exponentially faster when you’ve got a helper). What do you plan on studying in college? ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/13 "2003-05-21T23:45:23Z")
**Howard Juneau** , this upcomming year I’ll be doing Canadian Studies at Plattsburgh State, in Northern NY. I hope to use that to get into McGill in Montreal the next year, where I’ll probably study history and writing. In my eventual hermit future I hope to be writing for most of my income with limited seasonal work as necessary. I won’t be on the extreme edge of hermitdom (is that a word?), because I will be married. I’ll cut back on most things not necessary while still being able to support a family. My gf will be a nurse, so we will have to be somewhat near a good sized town. And **mack** , I’ve got the ham thing covered. KC2IBN checking in. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/14 "2003-05-22T00:16:09Z")
Do you need a wife? If I could convince SO to do this with me (with the addition of cable, high speed internet, and a couple of horses), I’d be happy. Ava ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/15 "2003-05-22T00:57:46Z")
**avabeth** , yeah… I’m pretty sure me and my gf will be together in a few years. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/16 "2003-05-22T01:02:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by clayton\_e \* > \*\ ***avabeth** , yeah… I’m pretty sure me and my gf will be together in a few years. \*\* Ahh, good. SO and I will wave at the two of you from the mountain on the other side:). Ava ---
**Author:** ![idiotsavant77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58956e/32.png) [@idiotsavant77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/idiotsavant77)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/17 "2003-05-22T02:18:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by clayton\_e \* > **For a variety of reasons I have decided to eventually become a hermit. I am finishing up my senior year of high school and I will be going to college for the next four years. After that, as soon as reasonably possible, I’d like to take up a hermit-like lifestyle.** As I type this, I’m still trying to figure out what your motives are to becoming a hermit. When I first read what you wrote, I thought I might know why you were saying that. But you are completely serious, and I find that funny, in a way that is not making fun of you. I’m a sophomore in high school, and if it were up to me, I would become a hermit in a second. But I don’t believe I would be a very good one, because I wouldn’t want to plan anything. I would simply pack up and look for a place where I could be away from the hypocrisy and immaturity of high school. So why do you want to become a hermit?:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![whistlepig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/73ab20/32.png) [@whistlepig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whistlepig)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/18 "2003-05-22T02:37:26Z")
Although you’ve probably ruled it out with cold winter, I’d discourage you from being a hermit in Montana. Ever since that Kazyinski fellow, they aren’t viewed so kindly. But if you do move to a rural area, take it upon yourself to do some community volunteering. We see a lot of people move in, stay for a couple of years and then leave. Your life will be easier if you are a good neighbor. ---
**Author:** ![kaycee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@kaycee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaycee)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/19 "2003-05-22T03:12:18Z")
You might check out the central area of the Oregon coast, last affordable place in Oregon. There is moderate climate and real rural areas. check out [http://www.rwre.com](http://www.rwre.com) taxes are about as low as you can get. I moved here from Seattle, my partner from Dallas, Tx. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348/20 "2003-05-22T15:45:43Z")
**kaycee** , I like the Oregon idea, I can’t get much further while on the same continent from where I am right now if I go there. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-become-a-hermit/176348.md?page=2)