"Primitive Living" is an expensive hobby. I imagine most of the people on this show either own the land they are living off, or it is owned by their families. Land is expensive. I doubt it is public land, otherwise law enforcement would be all over them.
shareWell duh. These people weren't born in the woods. I take it they became alienated with living a modern lifestyle, sold everything, bought some land, and are now living the way they want. It's not an expensive hobby it' a very real lifestyle that people have been living for thousands of years.
open up your textbooks and turn to the chapter concerning your death.
It doesn't have to be expensive if you somehow have the land to do it. There's nothing wrong with it either, it's a solid way of life that lasted for thousands of years and will probably be returned to in the future.
That being said, Colbert alone has said he used to be a wealthy businessman and a commodities trader I think, so he probably had (has) a lot of money to set himself up with the resources and knowledge he needed
A few years ago I attempted an extended minimalist backcountry camping trip. The plan was to travel around and live out in several national forests in the Pacific Northwest for about 4-6 weeks. It was something that I always wanted to try out, having grown up in the city. Almost immediately - I was visited by forest service people who made me put out my campfire and take down my shelter, and game wardens asking to see permits for just about everything imaginable. Another day while sleeping in a meadow - I was awakened by a man with a rifle who insisted that I was on his private property (even though my map showed no such thing) and that I had to leave. The trip sucked and I gave up after about a week. The people on this show must own the land they live in, otherwise they wouldn't be allowed to do most of the things they do - but many of them also look very young - which makes me believe that they came from money
shareIn the first episode the people flat out state it's their land. Tony and Amelia live on the side of that hill because it was the only land they could afford and it's close to her families property. Thorn said he purchased his land about two years prior. Gabriel is on his friends land and it looked like his wife might be Native so he might be living with her on a reservation where she'd be entitled to land. And Colbert bought his land 20 years ago.
I imagine buying sub-premium land out in the middle of nowhere is substantially cheaper than buying a house in the suburbs.
Thank you for clarifying this terrencepatrix. I clearly missed the mention of them owning the land - especially in the case of Thorn.
shareColbert said last week he was selling the furs he had because he had to make a tax payment on his swamp land. I can't imagine it cost a whole lot 20 years ago, plus given his background I'm sure he had good money before he started living in the woods
shareActually you can buy your own land as a young person without having too much money. You just need to either be lucky, or spend really little and save. My husband and I are in our (young) thirties and we just bought our cabin with land to homestead on. I do not work (as a regular job that gets me a salary but I raise chicken, sell art etc) and we've got kids. We just don't spend money and we found a good deal.
Friend of mine in his twenties made a really good investment that made him rich...He was just careful with the little money he had and found a good deal.
Yeah, also vacant land is fairly inexpensive when you're further away from the amenities we all are used to. They didn't really buy waterfront property, so they're landlocked-ish.
In the case of 2 month old Alisha, Brian, YOU ARE THE FATHER
The trip sucked and I gave up after about a week.