We bought our £8K home on Facebook – we were sick of the rat race so took our son out of school to live the simple life
MANY people dream of leaving the city and going off-grid, but few of us ever get to live the simple life.
One woman decided to risk everything and take her 11-year-old out of school, after finding her dream home on Facebook Marketplace.
While most of us barely left the house during 2020, Zani Sunshine, was busy uprooting her entire life.
Originally from Atlanta, the 43-year-old had worked as a nurse but when the pandemic hit, she was desperate to leave the city.
The health worker was more than ready though, as she is a keen ‘doomsday prepper’ and had planned for disasters for over a decade.
She later told press: “If something did happen I wanted to be self-sustaining.
“We had water, medical supplies and bug-out bags to leave the city quickly.”
“The fact we’re so dependent on the systems…so many people are not prepared – then there is chaos and violence.”
Rather than staying put, she and her husband Yaseen, also 43, decided to trade in their car for a truck and go on the road.
With her 11-year-old son in tow, the couple travelled over 1,300 miles until they found the perfect location.
Four months later, the family settled near Albuquerque, New Mexico, initially buying 10 acres of land for £8,000 ($10k).
However, the former nurse wouldn’t stop there.
Determined to create her dream off-grid life, Zani later purchased a further five acres on their land for £5,960 ($7.5k) off Facebook Marketplace to park their 26ft travel trailer on.
The savvy buys continuied with her also buying a 40ft destination trailer for £11,921 ($15k) while they set up their new home.
As the family-of-three adjusted to their new life, she started to blog about their alternative life on YouTube.
Meanwhile, her husband Yaseen began by building a mud room next to their trailer for their muddy boots, wood stove and extra storage.
They also had a septic system installed for their waste.
Now the family are in the process of building their own home and have their own solar panels for electricity and a septic system.
They also want to build an underground geothermal greenhouse to grow their own food, so they can be self-sufficient.
Zani has even invested in chickens, meat rabbit and over six months of dried food.
Zani’s goal isn’t to be 100 per cent self-sufficient but she wants to be able to live with what she has if something happens.
While some may say the prepper lives life fearing the worst, Zani claims that she feels free.
The health worker turned content creator said: “It’s a freeing lifestyle.
“I have so much more of a sense of security to know you have so much more control over things.
“People think I’m living in fear.
“It’s not a fear. There’s a possibility and I want to be prepared.
“I feel empowered.”
Her recent book Offgrid Planning Workbook is available on Amazon.
What is off-grid living?
Ever been curious about living the simple life? Here is Fabulous' guide to off-grid living.
If you are confused about the term ‘off-grid’, it simple means not relying on the national power and gas supply.
There is no rules about how off-grid living should look, but those in the movement tend to live in a more eco-freindly way.
This could be using solar panels or farm their own livestock, with many settling in rural areas.