Off-grid. Never thought I would end up living like that. It’s so beautiful, yet so raw and real at the same time. And let’s be honest: it’s not for everyone. It does require some guts (what I don’t always have 🙂 )

With the right people around you, it can be your little paradise. You live in sync with nature, surrounded by silence and space. You become deeply aware of your resources: water, electricity, food. Every drop of water matters. Every watt of energy is earned.

You learn new things every single day. Installing solar panels, setting up a veggie garden, building a rainwater system… the list is endless. This life slows you down in the best possible way.

But let’s talk about the things no one really tells you.

Insects
Oh boy. There are so many species, you sometimes have no clue what you’re even looking at.
“What is this thing? A scorpion?!”

Every month seems to have its own little invasion. One month, beetles are slamming into your windows like tiny kamikaze pilots. The next, you’re getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Right now? The wasps are definitely ruling. And they don’t care about personal space.

Wildlife
We don’t just have a dog. Somewhere along the way, we also got a big happy frog under the house, rabbits, foxes… and yesterday I spotted a little snake. Everyone’s welcome, apparently 🙂 And that’s not even counting all the animals outside the fence.

During winter, we share the area with the hunters and the boars. It gets lively out there.

Dust
Endless piles of dust.
You eat dust. You wear dust. Your clothes are permanently covered in it. We visit the carwash weekly and are probably their most loyal customer. Can you imagine how that dust looks like in combination with the misty, moisty mornings in Raposeira? Yep. It becomes mud. And our sweet fluffy dog loves to roll around in it. Our clothes aren’t getting any cleaner 🙂

Water
Keeping your plants alive during summer? Now that’s a challenge.
Most of your precious, self-collected water goes straight to the plants in the garden, plants, and more plants. You’ll find yourself spending hours each week just keeping everything moisturised.
Water pressure? That’s something you have to generate yourself. And sometimes… it just doesn’t work.

But watching those little green things grow? Totally worth it.

Wind
Living on top of a mountain, in a wide open space means one thing: wind. Lots of it. Welcome to Tiny House challenge number one. 60 km/h seems to be the average, and yes, you can feel it shaking inside.

The wind has literally kept our front door shut before. And our eco-friendly outdoor toilet? It already flew away once.
The plants we’re counting on to shield us from the wind… well, they’re growing painfully slow. Thanks to the wind, of course. 😄

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Still, despite the chaos and the challenges, we wouldn’t trade it for anything. Living off-grid teaches you to be resourceful, to appreciate the little things, and to truly live.

It’s not easy, but it’s real. And honestly? It’s kind of magic. 💛

Curious what off-grid looks like day to day?
Come say hi over on Instagram [@gosto_blog] I share the (slightly dusty) beauty of it all 💛

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