My journey has been an interesting one.
About 20 years ago, we purchased a home in Cobb County, Georgia (northwest suburb of Atlanta) in a neighborhood with a HOA. We had a big lot (0.7 acres) with a power line easement right down the middle ... so my house was on the front 1/3 of an acre, couldn't build or improve in the middle section, and we had this 1/4 acre just sitting in the back. It started with raised beds. Then came the chicken run. Soon we had a little micro-farm back there producing almost all our needs for veggies and eggs. We joined a co-op that raised their own dairy cows, steers, and hogs so we got to a point where most of our food came from either the coop or our backyard.
When I got ill, we relocated to Maryland so I could be seen full-time by Johns Hopkins. Ended up saving my life - I have a degenerative nerve disease similar to ALS but somewhat treatable through infusions. Yes, the doctors at Hopkins think my service in the military are a factor in my illness and yes, I have been fighting with the VA for over 10 years ... but that is a different post.
I was able to go back to work (I work in IT / cybersecurity) and ended up getting into solar as my new hobby since our HOA in Maryland wouldn't allow anything like what we had in Georgia. I currently have a solar PPA through Vivint with no battery backup.
Part of my illness involves autonomic neuropathy - which includes things like not being able to fully control my blood pressure or body temperature anymore. This has added interest in whole house uninterruptible power to my interest in solar since not having a cool home in the summer could now be life or death for me. As the kids are graduating high school and heading off to college, my mind has started turning toward my disability / retirement plan as we downsize.
Ultimately, I would love to find some land close enough to Baltimore that I can still make it to Hopkins in a couple hours for my appointments but will let me go back to some form of homesteading ... as much as my disability will allow, anyway. I love the idea of going completely off-grid but realistically would probably be looking at still being connected ... just in case.
Looking 3-4 years out, who knows what new technology is going to come out, but I am planning now and starting to play with technology so I will know it and hopefully still be healthy enough to install it myself. I am trying to learn as much as I can from Will and those here on the forums.
And to Steve_S ... yes, I have already had that "well, there went THAT hour" experience here on the forums.
