Off the Grid

What does it take to live "off the grid"?

First step as I see it would be to sell the house in the burbs. In order to completely break the ties from the electric, water, gas and community utilities I see no other option. Setting up alternative energy, garden and compost is not suburbia friendly.

Move into the country, maybe grow some peaches.

Now is the time to find farm able, sustainable land on a watershed. The house would have to be extremely efficient in handling Michigan's drastic climate. Maybe build the west facing wall into the side of a hill. That would force the winds over the top instead of smack into the side. Plan the home for windows to face south east to capture a greenhouse effect from the sun. Run solar heated water through radiant pipes in the flooring to cut down on forced air heat. I suppose a small propane system would have to be setup for gas cooking in the kitchen.

Wind and solar energy would create most of the homes power. Maybe geothermal options could be used? A well, powered by wind, would provide the water. Generators would have to be setup for just in case scenarios but would rarely be used if the alternative energy devices work to full potential.

A garden in the back 40 can provide most of the fruits and vegetables. Composting all the waste would drastically reduce garbage so the weekly trash guy is not needed.

Is is possible for a family of 4 addicted to the convenience of utilities, malls, restaurants to cut the ties?

Pot Holes Everywhere

Michigan is known for lengthy and frequent road construction. People often joke that the Orange Construction barrel is Michigan's state tree. Around the corner from our house a major construction project took nearly a year to complete. My mother in law had to add 20 minutes to her daily commute do to bridge construction near her house. Both of these extremely inconvenient construction projects are now complete. However winter has struck us hard and swift causing major issues with local roads. One particular road the separates my mother in laws house from ours has been hit the worst. Last summer the stretch of Orchard Lake Rd was frequently mentioned on the local news when talking about the degrading condition of the roads. The city decided to patch these roads, not resolving the issue, but helping.
Since the latest freeze, thaw and plowing, all the patches are gone, and the pot holes are worse than ever. Its nearly impossible to travel this stretch of road with out blowing a tire or bending a rim. The road is disintegrating. Swerve to miss one hole, puts you into yet a deeper wider hole. The pavement chunks and shards are blown all over the sides of the road. The pot holes are nearly a foot and half deep and just as wide. At this point the road might as well be gravel. Why have the roads been left to crumble?