Semi Off Grid Living

It has been an interest of mine to build my own home for some time now. I dont just mean build as in a new construction home in a suburb like some boomer, but I mean build. I want to purchase a plot of land in which I will harvest my own wood and actually build my own cabin. I plan on using as much natural resources as I can. Here are my plans so far:

First Im going to start, of course, by finding the proper plot of land. Ideally you would look for something that has all the natural resources available to you and probably as much acreage as you can afford. For something small, it shouldnt be hard to find around 3-5 acres, though I would want in the area of 10. The plot should have trees, arable land, rocks and stones, and running water either on the property or nearby. I would look for something that has quite a bit of flat land, though it is possible(but harder) to build on a hill.

Ideally, you would want something less exposed although this land looks very fertile. Now just imagine there is some running water nearby or even a small lake.

I think its probably best to stay away from larger bodies of water, especially those that can be seen well from above since they will attract a lot of people in a SHTF situation. The more water, the more people. They will be attracted like flies.

Now, the next step to me would be buying something to plane all the raw lumber you get. Having logs is great until you realise that you have no way of turning them into planks or studs. A quick side note is that you should take pine cones and other things from the trees you chop down to replant them. You want to give as much back to the Earth as it gives to you. The more nature you have around you, the cleaner the air and environment.

In order to plane all the logs, its a wise investment to buy an small industrial planer. These will run you from $3k-$5k , but are a worthy investment. For even a small house made entirely of wood, commercial wood will run you up to $40-$50k. You may not be able to build the entire house out of wood that you plane but it will save a lot of money.

A portable bandsaw mill can be run off of a generator if you dont have access to a shop, I probably would need the generator. This one has a self contained motor so it could be run under any circumstance.

Going about the construction is pretty simple. There are a million and a half blueprints online for how to build a simple log cabin or something similar. Personally, I would be looking for the 350-450sqft range since it is livable with a decent amount of storage space. The actual building aspect is not so simple as it requires a lot of time and effort, but I expect it to be highly rewarding.

I think that the best building method is to frame the base of the house off of concrete posts in the ground, since having the house raised by a little bit prevents the wood from warping due to the ground freezing and thawing.

Ex of a simple raised cabin, furnished with store bought windows and door.

I personally want a 2 story cabin, like something with a loft. The next step is figuring out how you want to live. If you want to live entirely off the grid(I dont), then you need to look into ways to make your living sustainable through other means of electricity. I plan on living half on/half off which means that I would get well water and a septic tank, and probably have electricity run to the house if possible. I do plan on having the house capable for a SHTF situation, but of course I want my modern comforts. The easiest way to do this is to buy solar panels, although if you have running water you can look into hydroelectricity or even getting a small windmill. This will cut costs and is an investment that you can build up.

Thats about all I have right now since I need to learn more about farming and hunting. Finding the perfect plot of land seems like the hardest part since everything else tends to fall in line afterwards. There is a lot more detail I could go into here, like choosing a wood fire stove over gas or electric, but all that is for a later date.