From Programmer to Off-Gridder Critter: Barry’s Journey

Barry, formerly a computer programmer working eight-hour days, had a life-changing thought in 1999 while converting databases from a two-year to a four-year date format for Y2K. He pondered what he would do if an EMP or electrical grid failure occurred, rendering his programming skills worthless. Barry had no marketable skills other than programming and didn’t know how he would eat, grow food, or survive. He contemplated going off-grid, but it took several years before he and his family purchased a single acre of land in 2014, which they transformed into their home over the course of four years. Barry learned how to build solar arrays and wind turbines, construct septic systems, weld, grow his own fruits and vegetables, and more. Though the work seems never-ending, Barry and his family enjoy each other’s company while sitting by the fire and saving electricity in the winter. Barry shares his experience in the hopes of inspiring others to go off-grid and offers tips on how to make it happen. After 5 years off-grid he now considers himself an “Off-Gridder Critter”.