[sacnoradhq]

Getting to it and making a living between it and elsewhere is the problem. (Most American's aren't office workers.)

Also, much of the land isn't exactly ideal due to hazards.[0]

Furthermore, being 10+ miles from a serious hospital is a threat to life.

0. https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/map

[cyberax]

I assume that if you're talking about living "off-grid", then you're prepared to either work remotely, have another residence, or another source of income.

Pretty much all of the US is a potential hazard zone. You have earthquake danger on the West coast, tornadoes on the Great Plains, floods and hurricanes on the East coast, and so on. You deal with that by buying insurance.

> Furthermore, being 10+ miles from a serious hospital is a threat to life.

Again, you can buy air ambulance insurance. It's pretty popular in Alaska, and is fairly cheap (around $100 a year for the family of 4).

I am planning to build an off-the grid house, and it's surprisingly doable.

[oceanplexian]

It's not that it's a "hazard zone", it's that cheap land is bottom of the barrel.

I looked at a lot of these properties. The land is poorly graded, the drainage and soil quality is poor (Will fail a perc test), roads are terrible and wash out, and rural communities often lack basic services. I'm not talking entertainment, I mean your nearest grocery store is a Chevron Gas Station 30 miles away.

A lot more engineering and planning goes into making land livable than simply plopping a house on it and calling it a day.

[keiferski]

Most of Appalachia is fine and has no risk of natural disasters.