# Live in the woods



## Doc Rice (Dec 28, 2009)

Maybe this is pretty random, but does anyone dream of living in the woods?

I want to try and live in the woods for a year (after I graduate college) and become self sufficient. Like build my own shelter, hunt, etc. 

Along the lines of what Henry David Thoreau did in Emerson's Walden....don't you think that should be something people do before they die? I do. What do you think?

I ask because my parents keep hounding me about what I am going to major in. I originally was accepted to the School of Music at OSU, but they say I shouldn't do that because I can't make money that way. But if I had to, I would just live in the woods :teeth.


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## Amocholes (Nov 5, 2003)

It's a romantic notion but the reality is not so pleasant. I spent some time when I was 20 hitch hiking. Life on the open road, all on my own, etc. Found I was cold and hungry most of the time.


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## Paul (Sep 26, 2005)

As soon as the woods get broadband, I'm there.


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

thats insane. how am i going to watch friends?


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## SilentWitness (Dec 27, 2009)

I've thought the same at various times of my life. I agree with all the other responses though, in reality just trying to survive would be daunting plus not having the internet and favourite shows to watch. 
My brain would explode.


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## Cosmin (Mar 16, 2007)

D11 said:


> I've thought the same at various times of my life. I agree with all the other responses though, in reality just trying to survive would be daunting plus not *having the internet and favourite shows to watch.*
> My brain would explode.


...just like our forefathers :lol

I guess one could live there, but the conditions would suck and I don't think anyone who grew in a certain environment can adapt that easily to such a drastic downgrade.


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## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

Well, if you live on the East Coast, you might want to consider the hiking the Appalachian_Trail; it'll take you roughly 9 months to do the whole thing. I known several people who've done it... even a woman who hiked it alone. Best not to do that, though... unless you bring a weapon.


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## PlayerOffGames (Mar 19, 2007)

go for it


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## shyvr6 (Feb 18, 2008)

My uncle lives in the woods, but he's not exactly roughing it. He lives in a big two story wooden house that he built himself and he has a nice plot of land. I wouldn't mind living there myself.


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## SADuser (Jul 9, 2009)

Doc Rice said:


> Maybe this is pretty random, but does anyone dream of living in the woods?
> 
> I want to try and live in the woods for a year (after I graduate college) and become self sufficient. Like build my own shelter, hunt, etc.
> 
> ...


Living in the wilderness is something i think about too. It'll never happen, but sometimes i hope to be stranded somewhere indefinately, like an island cove. I have a fair idea of how to build a house, and working with raw and salvaged materials would be interesting. I'd need some help with the hunting though. 
I think it'd be great with a few people, collaborating, socialising and meditating all day. Health is my only concern for you though.


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## SilentLoner (Jan 30, 2006)

No. I'd be worried about people finding it. And it maybe I've seen to many horror films.


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## Larkspur (Sep 30, 2009)

I thought I was the only one who dreamed of living in the woods! 

I have mentioned to a few people that I want to "be a hermit in the woods" on several occasions. I would be alone--except for animals-- and build my own shelter, grow my own food, ect. I really want to do this someday. People keep telling me that I need money to survive, but I'm not buying it. I understand that this would be a lot of work, but I think it would be well worth it.


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## CeilingStarer (Dec 29, 2009)

I've been attracted to this idea for many years. I just find it so absurd that we have to work to get money to buy what nature already provided. We enslaved ourselves with the industrial revolution. 

Communes and that don't really interest me, but I'd love to be some hermit in the woods, or get stranded on an island. All the stupid stress of money, jobs, status would mean nothing... it'd be eat or die, which I find refreshing.


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## Doc Rice (Dec 28, 2009)

Larkspur said:


> I thought I was the only one who dreamed of living in the woods!
> 
> I have mentioned to a few people that I want to "be a hermit in the woods" on several occasions. I would be alone--except for animals-- and build my own shelter, grow my own food, ect. I really want to do this someday. People keep telling me that I need money to survive, but I'm not buying it. I understand that this would be a lot of work, but I think it would be well worth it.


Yeah I mean why do you need money? I might just go out into some big wooded area in like Scotland, chop down trees with an ax and build a shelter. Obviously I would build it near some river or something, and then I could grow and hunt for food.


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## zomgz (Aug 17, 2009)

I'd rather buy a VW van and move to the beach =D.


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## BeNice (Jan 2, 2004)

I might buy a hiking tent for use this summer, or I may buy a tent once I'm out in California. I would just sleep overnight out in the woods, not very far farm civilization. I might need a better backpack to fit it in. I'm not really familiar with tents but the smallest pack size is ideal. I don't really need to go out and buy a hiking pack. Really, I just need a sleeping bag for the summer.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

No way - I would need to be around activity.


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## Classified (Dec 7, 2004)

I've been camping with my tent all over the world, and the three things that bring me back are food, heat, and hot water.

I would like to live off the grid in the southwest some day. And solve all of those issues.

If you want to watch a good movie about escaping the real world and living in the woods, watch 'Into The Wild'.


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## whiteWhale (Nov 19, 2009)

I probably couldn't live in the wild for too long but going camping every once in a while is great therapy for me. At least once a month when its not too cold I will grab my tent and head up to some BLM or National Forrest land and spend the night.


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## facade (Oct 1, 2009)

I dont know about living off the land or in a tent, but i lived in a very very small town out in the middle of nowhere, and I liked it. Found it peacefull. I could walk out my door disappear for hours going on walks in the woods. I miss it


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## copper (Nov 10, 2003)

My parent's are building a house in a middle of 30 acres of forest land. Lucky them. You can't even see the highway from the house. If I didn't have to work I would be living like that, but it sucks driving very far here in the winter.


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## ryobi (Jan 13, 2009)

Alone in the Wilderness is also a good DVD to see

The Idea appeals to me

But I think the reality of it may be pretty boring


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## CeilingStarer (Dec 29, 2009)

There was an awesome book I read in 8th grade - "Survival" by some Russian guy. This guy escapes a KGB camp and toughs it out in the Siberian Winter surviving off of the land.

I was a little disappointed with "Into the Wild." I hoped for more 'man vs wild' time when he was in Alaska.


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## Dane (Jul 27, 2009)

I want to do this someday too, but only for a while, not permanently. 

Since I was a kid I have taken extended vacations with my family in a "house in the woods" in a wilderness area without electricity. There is hot running water and a gas operated stove and refrigerator but no tv, internet, electric lights, phone etc.

I have also taken fairly long hiking trips on the Appalachain trail and that's much more of a "shock" compared to normal living conditions. I probably miss the hot showers most. It is uncomfortable but you get used to it and I do enjoy it.


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## Amelia (Nov 24, 2003)

I fancy the idea of living in a remote place, but it would have to be in a cosy house.

Maybe you've seen those TV programs about bushcraft skills presented by a guy called Ray Mears: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ray+mears&search_type=&aq=f


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## jook (Nov 25, 2009)

CeilingStarer said:


> I just find it so absurd that we have to work to get money to buy what nature already provided. We enslaved ourselves with the industrial revolution.


I am soooo with you on this. It amazes me that nobody thinks it's crazy as h*** that we spend the majority of our waking hours trying to accumulate pieces of green paper so we can what, live?

CS, If you ran for president I'd vote for ya...Be still my:heart... :squeeze


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## jook (Nov 25, 2009)

Back to the topic...since I was a little girl I dreamed of running off to the woods with my little sister and brother to live in a little shack. That or being a hobo.


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## SOME (Jul 13, 2009)

jook said:


> Back to the topic...since I was a little girl I dreamed of running off to the woods with my little sister and brother to live in a little shack. That or being a hobo.


:lol me too. For some reason being a hobo seemed kinda fun. I would love to live in the woods and be self-reliance


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## ninjagirl (Nov 6, 2009)

wow! I can't believe there are so many others that share this dream. This is something I have always wanted to do. I feel at peace when I am in the wilderness. If I wasn't married I would give up everything and go be a hermit in the woods. Living off the land, being self-suficient, would be so great. I too agree that life is wasted earning little pieces of paper when everything we need to survive and even live a good life, nature provides to us for free. It wouldn't be easy, but I enjoy hard work. One of my new dreams is to create a community of people who live in the wilderness, are self-suficient and commited to living in harmony with nature, away from 'normal' society. Although sadly that will probably never happen.


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## Doc Rice (Dec 28, 2009)

ninjagirl said:


> I too agree that life is wasted earning little pieces of paper when everything we need to survive and even live a good life, nature provides to us for free.


Agreed. As long as you build your house near a fresh water source, and had somewhere to either plant crops or hunt, then you'd be set.


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## quietgal (Oct 18, 2007)

I've dreamed about it too, but honestly...I love comfort too much. I like having heat and being able to take my daily hot shower, having a toilet that flushes, and a kitchen with a fridge and a stove. And I think I'd be too weak to build my own shelter unless it was just a tent or something. If I had a couple of strong guys with me though...well, heh, that would be nice in more ways than one.

I wouldn't mind learning to grow more of my own food though, and learning to catch and prepare a fish.


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## SilentLoner (Jan 30, 2006)

Doc Rice said:


> Agreed. As long as you build your house near a fresh water source, and had somewhere to either plant crops or hunt, then you'd be set.


As long as you don't get injured, sick or come across someone with criminal intentions.


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## Doc Rice (Dec 28, 2009)

SilentLoner said:


> As long as you don't get injured, sick or come across someone with criminal intentions.


Hmm good point. But I guess there's a risk involved in everything we do.


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## CeilingStarer (Dec 29, 2009)

You probably wouldn't get half the sickness of city life, avoiding all that processed food & preservatives etc.

I'd certainly teach myself herbal medicine, and how to splint up broken bones and the like. If I had a heart attack, I'd probably just accept my fate, as a consequence of my chosen lifestyle.


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## Classified (Dec 7, 2004)

irishK said:


> I sometimes think about an island though. That would be great. An island with a treehouse. And an art studio. yes, thats it.


I want to make my own island, well more like a big barge that has sand, palm trees, and fake rock formations.

I would like close enough to land to visit, but wouldn't need to very often.


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## Akane (Jan 2, 2008)

I live a 45min drive from anything. I raise and have occasionally butchered my own animals. We've spent up to a week camping. There's something to be said for working plumbing. Toilet paper is also good. Outhouses are bad. Having to walk away from your campsite/house every time you have to pee including in the dark or cold sucks. Showers are good. Although I've spent entire summers taking cold showers before. Heat. AC you can do without if you have that lifestyle. My computer overheats and cooks me in the process but without a computer that wouldn't be a problem. You won't die from lack of ac provided you have water and don't over exert yourself in really hot areas. No heat=death around here though and most forested areas with low population densities are darn cold as well. It takes more blankets and things than most people have in their houses plus usually someone else's body heat to keep you from freezing to death if you don't have a safe source of heat around here. Plenty also kill themselves every winter with unsafe sources of heat. Even with a fire you can't clean yourself in winter. You'll suffer hypothermia removing all your clothes or getting too wet.

People aren't actually designed to be good vegetarians. Even if you try to grow or collect food you will suffer nutrient deficiencies if you can't come up with animal sources. At minimum eggs and it takes a lot of time to collect and crack enough tiny bird eggs to make a difference. It requires a very broad mix of plant sources to get near what humans need and then we still only survive because many foods you buy in stores have all the vitamins and minerals you need added to them. We cannot make b12 from plant sources and we need some of the amino acids that aren't found in plants. We also can't digest many plants without cooking for an extended period of time. True herbivores make these and then we acquire it from them. Even if you get over the idea of killing something though there are many ways to contaminate meat and possibly kill yourself. Aside from the difficulty of just seperating the edible from inedible parts. It's way too much work. I don't do it by choice now but if you let chicks hatch then you have to kill the extra male offspring or find someone else who will. There's really no way around it.

If you figure out how to feed yourself and regulate temperature then there's injuries. As a kid we had plenty of relatives come from big cities and then we'd all get in to a race or something. Sprained ankles every time. They didn't know how to run on fields with bumps, dips, and occasional corn stalks or mounds from alfalfa plants. Try it on rocks and branches. You might break something. I fractured my foot once running down a hill of rocks. Misjudged a step and came down heavy with the sharp edge along the arch in my foot. Not a big deal since that will heal on it's own but if you had to feed yourself you might be in trouble. You might die of dehydration or freeze to death over night because you injured a leg/foot and can't go anywhere. Trust me hopping on one leg over uneven terrain is not a good situation to get in to. Don't ask me how I didn't break the other ankle. Ice covered rocks=bad. 

Then the number of times I've almost walked right over possums or skunks in the dark. Raccoons get darn big in the middle of nowhere. Google the 50lb one. They are more concerning than coyotes. Bears would be a much bigger concern if you were in an area that could have them. Luckily that's one thing I don't have to worry is going to come out of the dark. You wouldn't believe how dark it is out here on a cloudy night. I've actually tried to go find escaped horses on a night that you truly could not see your hand if you held it up a few inches from your face. I used a remaining horse to ride out to the others just letting the horse find the way. Eventually disembodied heads appeared out of the dark within a few feet of me and I realized I was in the middle of the escaped herd. Then they all ran for the stable where the lights were on and I got to go along for the ride. It gets dark where there are no lights. You really get to see the difference between full moon or new moon and cloudy or clear nights.

There are definitely things to be said for modern conveniences and you might be better off moving to a very small town instead of being a hermit. Odds are low you'll walk out in to the woods and survive very long. Even if you had some form of shelter already. I do want to make a self sufficient farm but I want to run it on solar and wind power. The only external lines going to the house will be internet but we won't have to give up much. Electricity, computers, heat, ac, running water, grocery stores, gardens are much easier when you can buy peat moss and compost in large quantities anyway, I'd say tv but I don't get it now.... It would all still be there. It just might have to be rationed a bit and some effort required to get to a store or health care. Not that we aren't already far enough from that.


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## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

Hoth said:


> As soon as the woods get broadband, I'm there.


I require broadband, digital cable, and TiVo to live.


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## Doc Rice (Dec 28, 2009)

Akane, you make some very compelling arguments and mention a ton of things to consider, but even with all that being said...wouldn't it just be great to try it for a year? It will really force you to use a substantial amount of ingenuity. It would be a test of the body and mind. Besides, you only live once, so why not try and experience everything?


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## ireallyjust (Dec 2, 2012)

*yes*

yes. i do. but i'm female. and it's scary. i'd have to buy a rifle. i'd mostly be afraid of people out there. i live in canada. so it's cold. so one would assume there'd be fewer crazy people willing to rough it up here. but then, maybe, it would just be the craziest. anyway, i love the idea. i've been thinking about it a lot lately. i'd love to buy like a 100-acre property and build my own log cabin on it. and just wander around. i might get a little cabin fever with no social interactions, but i agree with you: i feel like that's something i should find out about myself before i die. hopefully i'll find some happy medium.


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## jim11 (May 23, 2011)

Interesting idea but it seems like we are not conditioned to live in the woods anymore. We get used to live in the city/town/farm but not in the middle of the woods. 

I like the idea but don't have the courage to do so.


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## copper (Nov 10, 2003)

My parent's bought 30 acres of forest land and built a house 1000 feet from the highway. They have all sorts of wildlife including Partridges, deer, black bear, wolves, coyotes, and right now they have a female turkey my dad puts out food for. It always looks at them through the patio door windows.


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## SnowFlakesFire (Aug 23, 2012)

No. I love the toilet and ice cream too much


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## fallen18 (Aug 25, 2011)

I used to want to do that when I was younger run away with my older sister to live in the Forrest I had my tent & goodbye note ready and everything lol but now that I'm older I realized that it wasn't a good idea. You're going to be either too cold, to hot, or wake up to nasty humidity. There's bugs you're going to have to deal with Mosquitos, ticks. Pesky animals like raccoons, foxes, or worse depending on where you live that can give you rabies if they bite you. You're probably going to smell (no offense) but where are you going to shower? bad hygiene leads to risks of more infections and such. It's just dangerous, if you where going with a few friends on a small camping trip I'd say that would be okay maybe even nice, but living in the Forrest for a year or over seems a bit too extreme for me.


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## MobiusX (Nov 14, 2008)

I wish I had a tree house as a kid but not in the woods, more like in an urban environment.


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## burrito (Aug 29, 2012)

If I ever had the money i would like to build a cottage outside of a small skiing town in the mountains in the woods or by a lake. Something that had plumbing and electricity etc but was still away from the busy city life. Somewhere to escape to every now and then just to relax.


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## the alley cat (May 17, 2012)

I've lived in the woods for almost my whole life. Not in a tent and living off the land of course, but in a house with my family. Our house is built into a riverbank and completely surrounded by woods. We don't have a lot of land but we do have access to a scout camp on the other side of the river.


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## Eschara (Dec 12, 2012)

Idk the woods are too easy. Try living in desert caves, or honestly if your serious just go to that big Hawaiian island. I think its actually called the big island and its a giant rainforest without all the bugs or jaguars and theirs beaches and fruit trees and its always 80 degrees year round


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## bringbacknature (Jun 1, 2013)

*I want to get out too*



CeilingStarer said:


> I've been attracted to this idea for many years. I just find it so absurd that we have to work to get money to buy what nature already provided. We enslaved ourselves with the industrial revolution.
> 
> Communes and that don't really interest me, but I'd love to be some hermit in the woods, or get stranded on an island. All the stupid stress of money, jobs, status would mean nothing... it'd be eat or die, which I find refreshing.


I totally agree with this, I've been trying to think of ways to get out of it, but there ain't nothing you can do without a lot of darned money in this world, even go live in nature.


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## bringbacknature (Jun 1, 2013)

fallen18 said:


> I used to want to do that when I was younger run away with my older sister to live in the Forrest I had my tent & goodbye note ready and everything lol but now that I'm older I realized that it wasn't a good idea. You're going to be either too cold, to hot, or wake up to nasty humidity. There's bugs you're going to have to deal with Mosquitos, ticks. Pesky animals like raccoons, foxes, or worse depending on where you live that can give you rabies if they bite you. You're probably going to smell (no offense) but where are you going to shower? bad hygiene leads to risks of more infections and such. It's just dangerous, if you where going with a few friends on a small camping trip I'd say that would be okay maybe even nice, but living in the Forrest for a year or over seems a bit too extreme for me.


That's what you call nature man


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## slytherin (Dec 30, 2012)

Yeah I've definitely thought about the self-sufficiency thing but it's far too difficult and requires not thinking about anything else, which I would not be ok with. I would still love to live in the woods though, just...close to civilization and with a nice house with heating and whatnot.


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## Owl-99 (Mar 7, 2012)

slytherin said:


> Yeah I've definitely thought about the self-sufficiency thing but it's far too difficult and requires not thinking about anything else, which I would not be ok with. I would still love to live in the woods though, just...close to civilization and with a nice house with heating and whatnot.


Sure you can have that if you have a spare half a million to spend.


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## rawrguy (Mar 29, 2008)

Sounds boring and dangerous.


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## IveGotToast (Jan 1, 2013)

When i was 17 i went through this Transcendentalist phase. After reading about Emerson, Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Leo Tolstoy, and Chris McCandless, i decided to do the same. But then i started thinking that it would be better if i could find someone to do it with, Better yet, a group. So if any of you are *absolutely serious* about this let me know.


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## slytherin (Dec 30, 2012)

IveGotToast said:


> When i was 17 i went through this Transcendentalist phase. After reading about Emerson, Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Leo Tolstoy, and Chris McCandless, i decided to do the same. But then i started thinking that it would be better if i could find someone to do it with, Better yet, a group. So if any of you are *absolutely serious* about this let me know.


Lets start a cult


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## Lipstick and Lashes (Jun 1, 2013)

In a cabin in the woods yes! I am happiest without feeling neighbors were living on top of me.


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## Canucklehead (Aug 28, 2012)

Better be internet


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## soshi (May 24, 2013)

I would love to live in the woods, Skyrim style


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## legacy425 (Feb 25, 2014)

CeilingStarer said:


> I've been attracted to this idea for many years. I just find it so absurd that we have to work to get money to buy what nature already provided. We enslaved ourselves with the industrial revolution.
> 
> Communes and that don't really interest me, but I'd love to be some hermit in the woods, or get stranded on an island. All the stupid stress of money, jobs, status would mean nothing... it'd be eat or die, which I find refreshing.


This forum just made me feel so happy. I had hope that there were still people out there who dreamed of natural living. I have always had this feeling like I belong elsewhere. Its not that I feel unsafe or unwanted in the city or anything. I just feel like everyone is driving around, working all day in cars they cant afford, jobs they hate, etc. Ask anyone about flippy bird or Justin Bieber and they could go on and on, but ask someone about their pineal gland and they'll just look at me like im a weirdo. It saddens me so much that society is losing the desire to clarify our minds and spirits! Anyhow, just venting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :yes


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## legacy425 (Feb 25, 2014)

IveGotToast said:


> When i was 17 i went through this Transcendentalist phase. After reading about Emerson, Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Leo Tolstoy, and Chris McCandless, i decided to do the same. But then i started thinking that it would be better if i could find someone to do it with, Better yet, a group. So if any of you are *absolutely serious* about this let me know.


I have had this way of thinking for the last five years or so. I mean seriously considering the natural life of lving in nature, being self sufficient. I feel like the fast paced, materialistic society is not for me right now. I realize the hardship and differences I would experience and I believe with excellent preparation, it would be a very enlightening experience  let me know if you are still interested or if you would like to simply chat about the possibilities.


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## DeniseAfterAll (Jul 28, 2012)

I would honestly rather live in the woods than with flatmates .

Of course .. given a third option .. I'd rather live in a house with a fancy lawn and a cute little garage .. on top of a hill .. 1 mile away from a gay & lesbian bar .


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## Enoxyla (Jan 16, 2014)

i always had this fantasy of livin on a lonely, exotic island. that'd be so cool.


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## Kiba (Apr 26, 2013)

I loved Walden, and ya, i've always wanted to do something similar, but maybe somewhere secluded in Europe instead.


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## shortcake (Sep 2, 2012)

I've watched Wrong Turn too many times for that to possibly be a good idea anymore.


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## AceEmoKid (Apr 27, 2012)

If the woods were not such a potentially dangerous place requiring extensive knowledge of animal inhabitants, plants, landscape, and general survival skills, yes. In fact, living (at the edge) of the woods is often a fantasy realm I inhabit in daydreams. Unfortunately, I am not survivalist. But the idea is something I fancy.


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## markwalters2 (Mar 18, 2013)

I would if there's a hot and willing babe. Then we can copulate like rabbits in the wild for one year.


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## LydeaCharlotteGirl (Aug 27, 2013)

I would'nt really want to, woods can be claustrophobic/eerie. Much prefer the idea of living high up on remote open moorland/hills.


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## Whatev (Feb 6, 2012)

Buy some wild plant book so you know not to use poison ivy as toliet paper.


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## TopDawgENT (Feb 4, 2014)

Everytime i watch " into the wild " (great movie) i feel like i want to do it.


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