614: Michelle Nijhuis, part 1: Living off the grid for 15 years
Where was Michelle Nijhuis all my life?
She lived off the electric grid for fifteen years and I was about two months in, so we shared stories of the experiences. She did it much longer and her fiance had to assemble everything from scratch. I’m only two months in and can use off-the-shelf parts, but I’m in Manhattan, so can’t set up a permanent system. Some similarities: connecting with nature, learning to respect power, living with less resulting in living more. Michelle shares her challenges of connecting with the human world when disconnected to a power grid, but I don’t think you’ll hear regret.
I have to correct myself: I said kilowatt-hour when I meant watt-hour. My battery isn’t 1,000 times bigger than I said.
It’s hard to put into words the benefits of living without electrical power at the touch of a button. I recommend turning off your power every now and then. I wish I had earlier.