TV show - Live Free or Die

[shotgunwilly]

For those of you that still have cable... Has anyone seen this show on National Geographic called "Live Free or Die"?  It's about various people that are basically trying to solely "live off the land," with no real sources of income.  One man did state that his yearly expenses are around $2000, and he trapped animals and sold pelts for his little money.  Most of them are in the south east I believe (Tennessee, Georgia.)  I watched an episode last night and was kind of intrigued by it.  There's a lot of shows out there that are staged and scripted, but the people in this one looked somewhat legit. 

Sometimes I wish I could just move out to the wilderness and live like these people are. 

[eil]

Interesting idea, living off zero income. Guess you could only realistically do this in places with no property taxes. Do such places exist?

Still, $2k annual expenses is pretty bad-ass.

[shotgunwilly]

The taxes are a good question.  I believe a few of the people had bought cheap tracts of land in the middle of nowhere, and one of them was living on a chunk of unused land that a friend of his owned.

[shotgunwilly]

Another thing I forgot to mention was that these people came from a life of normal living, houses, cars, jobs, etc. and then made the choice to leave it all behind. 

[Gone Fishing]

Haven't seen it but thanks for the heads up, I usually enjoy stuff like this.  In fact, my first ER plan  was to work for a couple years out of high school, save up $30k, invest it,  move to Alaska and live off the land for 30 years, then come back to a $1M portfolio and "retire".  Didn't work out quite like that, but the gears were turning... 

[iris lily]

But you still have to buy health insurance or else pay the "fee*" dictated by the ACA.

* Thank you, Justice Roberts.

[wtjbatman]

But you still have to buy health insurance or else pay the "fee*" dictated by the ACA.

* Thank you, Justice Roberts.

Don't you mean...

[Spartana]

But you still have to buy health insurance or else pay the "fee*" dictated by the ACA.

* Thank you, Justice Roberts.

Nah, you'd be in one of the approx. 8 exempt groups if you earned less then a certain amount - approx. $15,500 - so wouldn't have to pay the "non-insurance- user tax...er...fee".

I don't have cable and haven't seen this show but could be interesting. That is a lifestyle (back to the land, live off the grid, work sun up to sun down to provide a bare subsidence living) that doesn't appeal to me at all but I do like to watch others do it....from the luxury of my couch while eating some Chunky Monkey ice cream!

[Cheddar Stacker]

Watching it right now. Good stuff.

[kelly1mm]

Interesting idea, living off zero income. Guess you could only realistically do this in places with no property taxes. Do such places exist?

Still, $2k annual expenses is pretty bad-ass.

Maryland, believe it or not.  Basically, assuming non-retirement assets of less than 300k and the property in question being less than 300k, you pay $0 property tax up to $9000 of income per year.  After that, you (basically) pay 9% of your income (max) towards your property taxes.

As to the ACA tax - at less than 133% of FPL you would qualify for Medicaid (again, in Maryland)

[Cheddar Stacker]

Very neat show, worth a watch, definitely not staged/faked. Most of the people are very mustachian. They've consciously chosen to abandon money, societal pressures, and the new tradition in order to live like frontiersmen/natives. They all appear extremely happy, although some are a bit hungry. Most of them live off small game and beans. One guy who failed to get a squirrel states: "you know what I call vegetarians....bad hunters."

Very simple life. Obviously hard work at times, but eating a dinner you cooked after harvesting your crops and butchering your own, self caught meat on the floor of your own small cabin is very appealing to me. And they ate it straight from the frying pan with their hands. One of the featured groups was a married couple and the wife virtually grew up in this fashion with her father, and they live right across the road from him.

[shotgunwilly]

Very neat show, worth a watch, definitely not staged/faked. Most of the people are very mustachian. They've consciously chosen to abandon money, societal pressures, and the new tradition in order to live like frontiersmen/natives. They all appear extremely happy, although some are a bit hungry. Most of them live off small game and beans. One guy who failed to get a squirrel states: "you know what I call vegetarians....bad hunters."

Very simple life. Obviously hard work at times, but eating a dinner you cooked after harvesting your crops and butchering your own, self caught meat on the floor of your own small cabin is very appealing to me. And they ate it straight from the frying pan with their hands. One of the featured groups was a married couple and the wife virtually grew up in this fashion with her father, and they live right across the road from him.

Yep. And I thought their cabins were actually really neat.  I wish I lived in something like that.  I was also really impressed by the wife.

[Cheddar Stacker]

In case anyone without cable is interested in learning more:

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/live-free-or-die/galleries/meet-the-primitives/at/meet-gabriel-2086224/

[hybrid]

But you still have to buy health insurance or else pay the "fee*" dictated by the ACA.

* Thank you, Justice Roberts.

Ahhhh, so when someone does get seriously injured or ill, does end up in a hospital, and does get treated, then what? Medicaid (translate - our tax dollars) handles it, right?

Mandating fiscal responsibility rankles libertarians, fiscal irresponsibility dumbassery in the name of libertarian ideals rankles most everyone else. When Mountain Man gets hurt or seriously ill, and he will one day, we all get to pay for Mountain Mans libertarian ideals. So yes, thank you indeed Justice Roberts. I bet iris lily had health insurance before the ACA mandate.
 

[Eric]

Can we not turn this thread into an ACA debate?  Pretty please?

[Eric]

In case anyone without cable is interested in learning more:

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/live-free-or-die/galleries/meet-the-primitives/at/meet-gabriel-2086224/

Thanks!

I did a search on Netflix for it last night to see if it was available but only came up with a movie from a couple of years ago with the same title.  I guess I should've searched harder.  It's really interesting.

[hybrid]

Can we not turn this thread into an ACA debate?  Pretty please?

But it's so much more lively than reality TV! Nevertheless, I'll honor the request not to derail further (though what happens to Mountain Man when he does eventually need to fall back on civilization seems interesting).

[Cheddar Stacker]

Can we not turn this thread into an ACA debate?  Pretty please?

But it's so much more lively than reality TV! Nevertheless, I'll honor the request not to derail further (though what happens to Mountain Man when he does eventually need to fall back on civilization seems interesting).

These guys actually make their own medicine by using local plantlife. I don't think it cures cancer though, just little stuff. I would bet they are more likely to die from some random accident, bear attack, fall off a cliff, etc. than ever making it into a hospital. These don't appear to be the type of people that would enjoy a hospital bed simply to prolong their life 3 months. They want to live, not simply be alive.

[Stlbroke]

I was really looking forward to this show but so far I think it sucks.  These people are pretty much living like the homeless.  They eat road kill, rats, or go hungry.  The only decent one is the trapper in the swamps that gets food and money with what he traps. They have no gardens or meat sources like chicken or rabbits. It's basically a documentary of homelessness in the woods.

[Cheddar Stacker]

I was really looking forward to this show but so far I think it sucks.  These people are pretty much living like the homeless.  They eat road kill, rats, or go hungry.  The only decent one is the trapper in the swamps that gets food and money with what he traps. They have no gardens or meat sources like chicken or rabbits. It's basically a documentary of homelessness in the woods.

Yeah, no. They are living like the homeless....except 3 of 4 have homes they built, and 1 has a hut. One ate road kill, and they didn't have to, they took advantage of an opportunity. At least one has an extensive garden. They've created water filtration systems, fashioned hunting implements, and displayed many other primative skills. They show isn't perfect, but I think for the most part these people are badass.

[Roland of Gilead]

Yukon Men in Alaska was probably a bit more like the living off the land but I think the Uncertainty Principle applies there (the process of examining their way of life alters that way of life).

In a lot of areas Alaska has no real estate tax, you can hunt/trap and live a subsistence lifestyle.  The older main character on the show evidently did just that many years ago.  He was dropped off from a plane in remote Alaska and built his own cabin and lived off the land.

[Elderwood17]

I was really looking forward to this show but so far I think it sucks.  These people are pretty much living like the homeless.  They eat road kill, rats, or go hungry.  The only decent one is the trapper in the swamps that gets food and money with what he traps. They have no gardens or meat sources like chicken or rabbits. It's basically a documentary of homelessness in the woods.

I was intrigued by the commercials and wanted to watch it.  Maybe I will not bother now.  Thanks for the review!