Alternative Energy Incentives

• Living a self-sustained lifestyle doesn't mean you'll have to live without the finer advances of modern humanity. Not in the 21st century, anyway. What it means is that you'll have to find the cheapest places to install your own system of power generation that's not powered with fossil fuels like coal or gasoline. Many states offer tax incentives to those who install alternative energy systems using solar, wind and biofuel on homes, businesses and automobiles, according to the North Carolina State University (See Resources).
  
  

Good Farming

• Living in a rural region will offer distance from commercial influences as well as the best soil for cultivating a thriving yield of livestock, fruits, vegetables and herbs. Part of a self-sustained lifestyle is avoiding the costs of degrading chemical treatments in favor of an organic approach. Study a thorough guide to organic farming, like the online version from the University of California, Davis, and consult the U.S. Department of Agriculture's State Fact Sheet when deciding where the best farming opportunities lie for the type of crops you want to plant. You may find that some urban communities like Cleveland or New York offer grants to farmers willing to lay their crops in abandoned lots.
  
  

Community

• Choosing to live a self-sustained life means finding alternative means of providing for all of your human needs and wants. If your family is multi-talented and handy, you'll be able to build a house, dig a well, install plumbing, farm without a tractor, raise livestock and supe up the house and cars with sufficient alternative energy. Everyone else will have to study up on these subjects and seek help from the community for cost-effective fixes. Finding other self-sustained homesteads in your immediate area or over the Internet will be helpful. Self-Sustaining Communities International provides an online vehicle for finding the best places to plunk down your homestead.
  
  

Other Considerations

• Decide before you start what modern conveniences you want to jettison and which you'd like to keep. Will you forgo television or live where you can at least receive a broadband connection. If you want waste and water service, you'll have to find a location with those services provided. Otherwise, you'll have to provide for these needs yourself with pluck and aplomb. In every state, a university-led cooperative extension can provide free advice and composting materials for all farmers in that particular climate. Also in every state is a self-sustaining homestead where they think they've found the best place to live that way.