Hey.

I’m Rob. I live on 8 acres in rural upstate New York with a 17kW solar array, a Tesla, and an old house I’m slowly fixing up myself. I’m an engineer by day. I drive Uber some nights. And I’m working toward one thing: getting my time back.

What independence means to me

It’s not about off-grid living or doomsday prepping. It’s simpler than that. I want to wake up on a Monday and decide what to do with my day. Time is the scarcest thing we have, and I don’t want to spend all of it cooped up at work.

I’ve been at the same job for nearly 20 years. The company is small, the boss is getting older, and I know the clock is ticking. So I’m building toward a point where my assets and side income can cover my living expenses – about $3,000 a month – without needing a W2 to survive.

I’m not there yet. But I’m closer than I was.

The property

I live in a 1,450 square foot house on 8 acres. I share about 90 acres of old farmland with my uncle – it was a pig farm, now it’s mostly woods. We’re of Finnish descent, so on Sundays we do chores together and then sit in the sauna. There’s a sauna house with a pond sandwiched between two hills. It’s quiet. It’s good.

The house is old. Right now I’m jacking up a corner of it to level the floors. I do my own plumbing and electrical when I can. Large renovation projects are tough with a full-time job, but I get things done on Saturdays.

I don’t get mail delivery out here. My PO box leaks when it rains. It’s not glamorous, but it’s mine.

The solar setup

I had a 17kW ground-mount solar array installed – 32 panels on an IronRidge rack. I went bigger than I needed for the house because I drive a Tesla Model Y and charge at home. Between household use and charging the car (including Uber miles), the array needs to cover a lot. I’ll be posting real production numbers as the data comes in.

Why I’m writing this

A few reasons:

1. Documentation – Writing things down helps me think. It also means I can look back and see what actually worked vs. what I thought would work.
2. Honesty – There’s too much inflated independence content out there. People claiming they went off-grid in a weekend for $200. I want this to be the opposite. Real numbers. Real timelines. Real setbacks.
3. Connection – If you’re working on similar stuff, I’d rather hear from you than write into the void. Drop me a line if something here resonates.

What this site is not

• Not a store
• Not a course funnel
• Not a get-rich-quick blog
• Not political – independence is practical, not ideological

I’m not trying to sell you anything. If that changes, I’ll be upfront about it.

Where to start

Check out the latest posts to see what I’ve been working on. Or jump to whatever topic interests you.

Thanks for reading.