With so many pressures, stresses and everyday concerns, there is a temptation to say goodbye to it all and live away from an urban environment and embrace nature once again.
This concept, known as living off-grid, is somewhat flexible, but it generally involves buying a plot of land or getting permission to live on a plot of rural land, typically through building a sustainable house and living as much off of the land itself as possible.
There are a lot of ways to do this, from building a log cabin to designing a sustainable piece of accommodation with the help of a designer, to using some kind of prefabricated accommodation system.
However, one of the fastest-growing ways to live off-grid is to use shipping container conversions, to the point that it has made off-grid living a more realistic option for more people than ever before.
Here are just a few of the benefits of living off-grid in a shipping container.
Easy To Customise And Easy To Move
Outside of needing a lorry and a crane to get it to the site, shipping containers are very easy buildings to move around and can often store all of the components needed to turn them into a sustainable off-grid house.
This means that a lot of the legwork that was previously mandatory in order to live off-grid is not as required, you can spend less time getting a livable home together and can enjoy the off-grid life more easily.
They are also big enough for most people and pieces of furniture to fit comfortably in, although with the growing popularity of container homes, there is also a wider range of fixtures and fittings designed with shipping container dimensions in mind.
The rise of the tiny homes movement has really helped with this transition as well.
Eco-Friendly
Whilst being ecologically conscious is not the only motivation to living off-grid, many people get into this lifestyle with an eye towards being more conscious of their impact on the world and land around them. Shipping containers are a surprisingly effective green building solution.
Their exact carbon cost will depend on how much recycled steel they are made from and their operation history, but containers tend to require no or very little concrete and are perfect for either fitting solar panels or a green roof on top.
They are also designed to be easily fitted with cladding or insulated, making them much less exposed to the elements than other prefabricated solutions often used for living off-grid.
Security
Living off-grid comes with its own security concerns, especially since the police may be quite some distance away.
However, shipping containers are inherently highly secure by design, particularly if you fit secure locks to the doors. The only way in is through exceptionally loud means, meaning that no opportunist looter will try and access your property.
Durability
Shipping containers can last decades against the brutality of the open seas, so when placed on solid ground and minimally maintained, they can last an extremely long time with little need for alteration and upkeep.
