Las Vegas couple sells home to live off-grid in Arizona

A Las Vegas couple sells their home and moves to build an off-grid lifestyle outside of the valley. Down a five-mile-long road off Highway 93, in a remote part of Whitehills Arizona, one will find Richard Macmahon and his wife, Karimah. The couple is in the middle of building their off-grid existence.

[@CrisisActorJonsiri]

This is a real man. I lived off grid with much less for 1 year with more primitive water engineering. This is a real ranch. This Man and Wife are Amazin'! I wish them well.

[@LMBee00]

They should go back to Las Vegas ASAP!

[@Lookout20]

Live off the grid but first let me show the world that I’m going to live off the grid . 😂😂

[@mountaintopliving]

Happy for this couple! Enjoy your peace and good luck with everything ❤️

[@randyg.7940]

Untill escaped prisoners come by and make them slaves

[@danoc51]

I have great respect for these folks!!! And wish them the best time in their new home.

[@ymfpodp]

Much respect and live to them! Best wishes

[@polebenda9599]

I’d love to do that! No drama with people and do whatever we want with no complaint’s

[@ilovemytribe]

No drama with people is the part I like...

[@mikeshafer]

This looks so cool! I bought land in Sandy Valley a few months ago, hoping to build my own place out there and escape the big city life. Not as off-grid as this couple, but still I'm loving it.

[@AllTruthYouMad]

Sandy valley is just as off the grid as White Hills, AZ. It's about the same distance with nothing but small bars and stores like the old days. I've been looking at land in Sandy Valley and It's definitely not the best option for living on the outskirts of Las Vegas. The land is really cheap out there and I see why because the good land is not for sale or priced a lot higher.

[@mikeshafer]

@@AllTruthYouMad what’s wrong with the land in Sandy valley? There are 2000 people out there !

[@mikeshafer]

@@AllTruthYouMad also Sandy valley has electricity. My land is 300ft from the wires. I will have solar but I still want grid as a backup. No need for gas anymore. Water from well and septic. All set ! So I don’t know what you mean when you say the land is “bad” in SV. I’m not a farmer.

[@NugLife219]

That’s awesome! Sounds very peaceful

[@kyfeam]

wife and i bought 2.27 acres in NE Nevada.. going off grid next April.. property tax? $47 a year! putting a shed and 2 RV's on it.. 20 min. from nearest town with everything we need.. paradise.. cant wait!

[@johnmeyer5496]

I live in north central nevada……would never consider anywhere else

[@billping2633]

Till you cant get water delivered because the companies go out of business from restrictions placed on local wells. Then your RVs will be abandoned just like all the others you see out in the desert.

[@johnmeyer5496]

@@billping2633 plenty of water everywhere in nevada, except the Vegas region which I don’t consider nevada

[@adrianlopez2215]

Good for u guys! I love it ❤

[@HalsPals]

Sold my Vegas home 2.5 years ago at the top of the market and moved 100 miles west. No regrets. City dwellers will have their challenges in the coming years as the system crashes down.

[@waterbug1135]

2.5 years so you're still in the phase of hoping for world collapse in order to look like a genius. It's a common belief and for centuries people have hoped for the world to end around them while they'd do well. There's even a term for it, "Crab mentality". Seems an unhappy way to go thru life.

[@bellagio88]

100 miles west ? Back to California ?

[@HalsPals]

@@bellagio88 No, off of the highway to Reno.

[@enrique88005]

300+days of sun. No hurricanes. No tornadoes. No earthquakes. No fires. No crazy storms. Just heat and plenty of it.

[@Wildman-zh8lg]

There are. Tornadoes and fires in Arizona. And the storm can be crazy

[@isaac198428]

*These two are my spirit animals!* Love what they’re doing here & very inspired as well. 👏

[@Deltron6060]

Rain water catch in White Hills AZ???? It rains around 6" per year 😂😂😂

[@benevolent2077]

lmao. Arizona is cheap af tho. 2 people with careers. water is not their problem

[@rtothe7068]

Right and a garden in the desert!

[@milt6208]

6 inches if you are lucky.

[@BrownBomber92181]

No effing way it averages 6" per year there, look how dry it is. More like half of that

[@BillyMartin68]

I’ve lived in Gilbert for 45 years. We’ve had 4.86 inches of rain so far this year. It’s not raining right now. 25% chance we get a tenth of an inch today. I have my umbrella at the ready. 😂

[@johnmeyer5496]

Pay cash…..was my parents lifelong motto and they lived a very happy fulfilling life

[@VanillaShoe]

God bless you 2! Make sure to have plenty ammo and love. Awesome.

[@doriscarter-k1k]

Great kids,nothing like being " debt" free! You worked so hard, you deserved it all. God Bless ❤ you! Maybe Grandma will get to visit before I cross- over to the other side 😂.

[@ladyketurahinwaiting]

God bless them❣️ I think it’s wonderful ! I have lived off grid a few times and loved it. I currently live in Tennessee and have lived in Alaska which was wonderful ❣️ I am now 71 and I wish I had someone to live off grid with. Only difference is I prefer to live in a wooded or mountainous area, not the desert. I say outrageous blessings on them 🙏❣️

[@awareawakemovement6509]

Lovely couple may they be blessed ❤

[@BigKandRtv]

"Being self-sufficient with food..." Look at that place. You tell me: what exactly are they going to grow there?

[@waterbug1135]

Many similar videos and it's always the same... store tags still on the fruit trees. In the ground less than a week. And you never ever see a follow up video. The house lasts longer, but most people get tired of it and move on. And for couples... virtually none make it. Looks great on social media. Lot's of people love the fantasy.

[@myway2653]

Probably pot plants

[@billping2633]

They got scammed from watching videos online. Lots of money wasted. In 5 years or less it will be another abandoned building in the desert.

[@rdbull5890]

Rattlesnakes and scorpions I guess.

[@Ap_twsh]

its a fad, same thing happening in my area small town and people with money buying up the land to build a get awaythen you see it for a stupid price for sale in a year or 2 hahaha

[@danasmith858]

That's not off-grid. That's the retirement plan, commuting an hour still working and he ain't going to grow much on that property

[@rickbeal1544]

No power or water that is off grid

[@notw333]

I can imagine VERY Satisfying. NOT an easy life. Usually for the young and very fit. Great story. Best of luck!

[@LisaRucker-x8k]

I'm happy for you both.i have a couple tips on gardening in the desert.i was watching a KZbin channel of this man in a wheelchair.he use to travel the world and researched deserts gardens.he said he never rototilled the soil it destroys it.he made a pitchfork with 2 ft long machetes on it.he punches down with the pitch fork and rocks it back and forth loosening the soil.he also puts charcoal down in the soil it holds moisture to water the plants.he uses wood ash on top of the soil to keep ants off the plants.he also plants meen trees .the seeds are a natural bug repellent.

[@DavidLittle-y3e]

Beautiful scenery ❤️❤️❤️

[@yolandaramirez9138]

If I was younger I would love to do the same but now 73 with medical issues, good luck to them 🙏♥️🙏♥️

[@albertlopez1143]

True Independent Americans. God Bless

[@waterbug1135]

Independent? That's the current bar? Driving to LV to work is independent now?

[@albertlopez1143]

@@waterbug1135 someone is mad, you can drive from anywhere these days... And I respect your freedom of speech...

[@apaulatauiliili7025]

❤ Great job you did that...

[@davejarvis7522]

SMART. It's Worth the struggle!!😊

[@LuckyCat_Trades]

AWWW! I love them! We're looking to do the same, would be proud to have them as 'neighbors' ! (likely a few miles away LOL)

[@mollysreadings4845]

I like it!

[@extendedp1]

Cute couple, good luck!

[@oei301]

Two amazing people, I wish them only the best.

[@mmeyers111]

They will be back in a year or so. The off grid stuff isn’t all it is built up to be. Everything you do now that you take for granted is more difficult to do.

[@waterbug1135]

Plays very well on social media.

[@V0YAG3R]

@@waterbug1135Especially the fact that these so-called content creators, many of these types are basically handymen cause you must end up becoming one at the end for this type of endeavors, so they film hours, days and weeks of footage but then edit everything to 5 mins or so of for Insta, KZbin Short fame making people ignore all the rest, especially the boring, hard, tiresome, difficult process and parts 🥴

[@Ap_twsh]

yup few people can actually do it and they look like they are doing it for the trend.

[@midstar1995]

Im off grid only 25 min from all the stores but I do have a mortgage I didn’t buy my house from scratch but it’s still awesome having no utilities

[@DeviBasdeo]

Happy for you guys, good luck

[@XboxJoint]

I lived in a rural desert area north of Los Angeles (about a 1hr and half drive). And believe me living was a challenge..from commuting to work, far from stores/gas stations (and the general stores that were near were expensive) growing plants/food was not always easy due to the extreme heat/ high winds, also it gets really really cold during winter months, wildfire and the dangerous it posed for our livestock( chickens, goats, etc.) WiFi at the time was very spotty and barely worked, I could go on.. but I get a feeling this people don’t understand what they are really getting into, and have this fantasy of living this lifestyle that they’ll grow tired and weary. And believe me “city folks” will eventually get bored and resort back to the city where everything is more convenient. Nothing wrong with that! Because after 22 years I moved into town and love it.

[@GhettoBuddha]

GREAT STORY ..AWESOME COUPLE

[@KerrieMacon]

This is what living in Nevada will make you do.

[@V0YAG3R]

😂

[@myway2653]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@elainewilliams5019]

Not me I live in Henderson Nevada I love it but too each it's own

[@johnangela1933]

It depends on what part of Nevada u live in

[@Wildman-zh8lg]

​@@elainewilliams5019Henderson is the ghetto

[@Jordan-qo9vz]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ every love song was written about them 🌠

[@milt6208]

I did that three years ago. I have to go back to Las Vegas for doctors appointments but I don't hear the cars on the freeways or have to drive on them too.

[@halfhoppamusic]

Get it guys! Love it

[@draculastraphouse7863]

They'd better be packing heat and have a good surveillance system with guard dogs if they're going to try this

[@Pencil-o1p]

True. Now with millions of illegals roaming around, I don’t think it good idea to live isolated like that in the US anymore.

[@dranchd6571]

@@Pencil-o1p It's the home grown junkies they'll have to worry about, but they're not illegal so they don't count.

[@herrprepper2070]

Interesting project. I hope it works for them. During our travels over the years, we saw enough of the country to know that there’s no place can hold a candle to where we already were… the Northwest high country of Wyoming…. population density 2 per square mile… 4 seasons… gun friendly…. privacy friendly… freedom friendly… trees… wildlife… no spiders, scorpions or California carpetbaggers. No need for air conditioning.

[@waterbug1135]

Good for you. Freedom friendly? Put a Harris bumper sticker on your truck. Invite all your neighbors to a flag burning party and see how much freedom you have. You think you have freedom because everyone around you looks, acts and thinks like you. That's comfortable, but isn't freedom. Conversative areas have this constant push into your personal life trying to control how you pray, what you do in your bedroom, etc... You agree with all those intrusions so you don't see it as other people telling you how to live. You call that freedom. OK, whatever. Just don't ever step out of line. Dick and Liz Cheney sure are feeling that form of "freedom".

[@stephaniejones0719]

Love this ❤

[@heroknaderi]

This is very cool. Good for them. Now they can live peacefully and have extra money on hand for more fun.

[@shawnmatthews5944]

Beautiful couple

[@Bryan-e2n]

Oxymoron. Live off grid to be self-sufficient, but dependent on a city job.

[@TheGoodTheBadTheRowdy]

You make it sound so basic haha. My daughter sold her home in socal at peak for a pretty penny, bought a prop in AZ, raised chickens, goats, etc. Produces cheese. Has bees, and also does honey. She lives in a 12x44 tinyhouse on hd axles and a 5th wheel based trailer. Similar to indigo river tinyhouses. It goes under an rv port of her shop building. Which houses a lift, her old music car, a new muscle car, her lc79 landcruiser which is a 2006 with a 1hz diesel motor...she has a 2022 daihatsu hijet she imported as her micro rig instead of an atv. She has a F550 reg cab shorty, diesel. A '12 tacoma with a 5.3L v8 LS swap. she builds, welds, does what she wants. She smiths her own stuff too. Lastly she works at nearby hospital, shes a nurse. To much cookie cutter housing and to many restrictions for housing. To expensive too. Good for folks getting out of the rat race and also out of conventional over priced housing.

[@wolfthornhawkridge5705]

Good for them.

[@blackant51]

Do what makes you happy! 👍🏾

[@coryfisher5777]

I envy both of them.

[@randyg.7940]

Not me...that looks post apocalyptic.

[@elmono3939]

In 10 years it will be another abandoned property in the middle of nowhere, covered with graffiti, where photographers bring their models for nude photo shoots. See ya in ten!

[@waterbug1135]

10 is generous. They have already survived longer than most, so credit there. Driving to LV every work day is no doubt making this possible. Almost 1/2 their waking hours are off property. If they get to the point of quitting their jobs is when reality comes.

[@contactpq]

Most of the Nay-Sayers in the comments saying they "Wouldn't" or just being negative is because they "Can't" or are just to afraid to be different .. just crazy to see folks crapping on others dreams because they don't have any or are just to afraid ot pursue their own dreams

[@guitarlessonswith4480]

Cute couple ❤

[@archstanton3636]

They are gonna be bummed when i move in next door for 50K and a septic tank. Actually a cool story and wish them all the best.

[@allstarwatchg]

I'm Happy for them people are changing they minds to be away of everything in a quiet place living in peace

[@myway2653]

Good for them

[@youngkwak9931]

People think they like isolation and living off grid but give it a few months you will appreciate living on grid

[@SpaceRanger187]

Doesn't mean you have no contact with the outside world..Let me guess you think the meaning of life is to buy more Amazon

[@01-King_Bee]

I've been off grid in North East Arizona since 1997. My kids grew up here and now my grandkids are growing up here.

[@Mark-qv4bn]

It's close to where I live. I love Arizona.

[@Crisco-b4b]

To each their own.

[@alansmith5255]

I love it!

[@karenmbbaxter]

I love the desert

[@luis__jrtx]

I've been buying "struggle" properties for the last decade. It's not for everyone but it works for me.

[@SparkyTuttle]

That is so sweet. You both have more courage in your pinkies than I ever would. The first thing I thought of was snakes. Then I thought of crazy people. Lol! I'm behind you 100%, but I will be back in Las Vegas!❤

[@DE-vs2xy]

Courage? To run from civilatazion and live on a dirt farm alone? That’s not courage, that’s paranoia.

[@VegasNights702]

Rattlesnakes out there, ssssssss

[@V0YAG3R]

No Step On Snek 🐍

[@shaunnit]

I hope you never get pulled over by the Arizona PD. They are animals protect your buetiful wife brother!

[@saudigold50]

Beautiful ✌🏼💛

[@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059]

Growing tthier own food?? NOPE.

[@waterbug1135]

Even if they could...which is impossible beyond prickly pear, basil, rashes and some leafy greens for maybe 2 months of the year...but even if a variety of vegetables could be grown...and she said she'd be fine just living on vegetable which she didn't appear to be doing so far... that get's old. I think most people think a garden is like the grocery store. Go into the garden everyday and pick the foods you feel like. Nah. When the tomatoes are ripe you're eating tomatoes at every meal for weeks. Green beans, cantaloupe, corn and everything else all go ripe at the same time. So then you're canning and freezing. Most of that isn't pleasant to eat. Getting good quality canning and freezing is hard.

[@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059]

@@waterbug1135 I live in the Mojave and do grow some veggies, but no way could you be "self sufficient" out here... Even for the stuff I have, you need raised beds, drip irrigation, and compost every year etc etc.. Even a small farm would be difficult to manage on just rainwater catchment....

[@Ap_twsh]

@@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059 you need to drill a deep well and a lot of solar to run everything. a couple isn't going to deal with this and the lady seems like she is in it for the trend.

[@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059]

@@Ap_twsh She said they were planning to sell this, once a couple more houses were built here, do the same thing in Tennessee, and then Alaska. Her hubby is a developer. Did you not see the entire video? They are certainly not there for the long haul.

[@frankwenos641]

Very beautiful place

[@moonshinefuel]

Depends how far out it is away from civilization, seen many homes like this get abandoned and ramshackled in California because of the very remote location. You can't leave these kinds of places unattended in such remote areas.

[@waterbug1135]

Correct. These are hobby homesteads. The fun is in the dreaming and building. I did it. Great fun. Living there after everything is built... boring AF.

[@Ap_twsh]

yup might have to forcefully evict squatters. That ain't fun.

[@M5tworude]

I lived off grid in Alaska, 80 miles from the nearest road and I flew a float plane to get to my house. After Obama's assault on the middle class, Obamacare, our insurance cost for the worst plan available was over $34,000. I moved to another country and love it.

[@Thomas63r2]

$50k an acre? I don't know how many acres Richard and Karimah bought, but add all their building costs and power and water and this is no low budget undertaking. He is a small time home builder who hopes to cash out in a few years, go to Tennessee and do it again, and then finally build his off grid dream home in Alaska. Alaska is littered with these kinds of crashed dreams, its a harsher and more unforgiving environment than Whitehills AZ.

[@bltvd]

I know it is crazy! I live in rural New Mexico where the land is 1-2 thousand an acre and it is way nicer than this.

[@DMAN-xk5ni]

Definitely not worth the commute. And their still living in hot weather with nothing around. Even worse.

[@fringestream990]

The difference is they don't have to commute, if they don't have a mortgage lol

[@waterbug1135]

I know many people who live "in the city" with 60-90 minute commutes one way.

[@elbartoyoutube2915]

That gun couple from Tremors lol 😆

[@kyleb1984]

She gonna leave after 4 months. She's think she gonna be some big time influencer doing this haha

[@fluxfaze]

Brown acres is the place to be Harsh living is the life for me Sand spreading out so far and wide Keep Las Vegas, just give me that dried out life

[@waterbug1135]

Haha

[@whatwillbem6825]

What are you 10 years old???

[@fluxfaze]

@@whatwillbem6825 At heart, always. Second verse: Four Seasons is where I'd rather stay. I get leathery from hot air all day. I just adore a Presidential view. Dah-ling I love you but give me The Strip, yahoo!

[@whatwillbem6825]

@@fluxfaze ha ha

[@royjohnson9043]

all is good doing this until you get a diagnosis

[@jeanne8507]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@BlueCollarDude101]

They did it right! People want to live free, without government interference and without being crammed together with a bunch of other people

[@stevenwinterhill3623]

Be careful with Rattlesnakes ⚠️

[@Godfirst9845]

Just awesome

[@riskingmybiscuit4209]

Alaska would be a dream . I can see then getting to Alaska.

[@angelarene559]

Awesome!

[@lmcc0072]

Living off grid is becoming more and more popular. Some Americans that are living in the Philippines are partially or totally living off the grid. Solar setups are much less expensive than they are here (including storage batteries) and digging a well for water is simple. You’d think that solar would be much more affordable in the U.S. with the push to “go green”. In Arizona there is plenty of sun so electricity shouldn’t be a problem as long as they have a suitable number of storage batteries. Water is going to be the real challenge for them unless they’re able to dig a well.

[@The_Real_LTL]

If anything ever happens to that woman's it was her husband. Idk why he would mention his friends statements of killing their wives but it definitely turned this segment from cute to a bit, concerning.. can we get frequent wellness checks for her.

[@randyg.7940]

Agreed

[@danasmith858]

He won't do that then. Who would do the work for him?

[@simontills7090]

What? Please.

[@sentienthamster]

I've lived in a rv for the past 14 months with my wife and 4 dogs while we build. Let me just say.... I understand.

[@mega-hb4re]

Smart people getting away from the stupidity

[@tomriggle3217]

Smart people

[@Michael-we9vp]

BEWARE! WATER WELLS ARE DRYING UP FAST IN THE WHITE HILLS AREA.

[@elzaaltmann]

Oh the peace.......😊❤.

[@brucevannguyen]

With all the crazies going on id live off grid too

[@TheDoomWizard]

I moved off-grid this year but all I have is water. They're children have no future. You cannot survive collapse.

[@mrt9781]

They are only about 30min south of Las Vegas , for those that don’t know .

[@amkilaya]

🎉❤ love it

[@Pencil-o1p]

I don’t see how the couple can live off grid in Arizona. It hardly rains there. Weather is too hot. The soil is also bad. So they can’t really plant anything there naturally.

[@Pencil-o1p]

Self-sufficiency isn’t easy as people may think. It’s tremendous work. If you weren’t raised with it, it will take a big toil on you.

[@waterbug1135]

It is possible. Around the world there are many places where people have lived like this for centuries. I live in Phoenix and I'm learning to live without AC. Americans have a choice so the question is would a person want to live like this for life? I do it just to see what it would be like. I have no plan to do it for life. The soil isn't really the issue, or even water. It's the heat. Vegetable plants just can't take up water fast enough and cells aren't protected enough so they cook, plant declines and dies. Prickly pear can be grown, basil maybe. Fast grow things like some leafy greens and rashes for a couple months, so maybe a week of actual harvest. Not enough to survive on imo even if you had to.

[@th3azscorpio]

Exactly. Of all the places they could have gone off grid. I would have chosen a much greener, milder climate region, if I was going to do this.

[@dens3096]

People should understand what they’re building there is actually very expensive. The house, the finishes, the solar panels, the water well, etc. They still driving to Vegas for 1 hour, the gas cost would be insane. Where self-sufficiency is? 😂

[@draculastraphouse7863]

The guy even claims that he can't just drive to home depot to get stuff for the house but he literally drives to the city everyday? Lmao what a clown

[@Trashman702]

No mortgage. Basically no property tax. No debt. No Utility bills and you’re bitching about buying gas ?

[@waterbug1135]

@@Trashman702 Valid point. I live in Phoenix and many people who live "in the city" have a 60-90 minute drive to work one way. Building in the boonies can be reasonable. I do assume their cheap prop tax is for the land and will increase when the house is completed. I pay $1660/yr in Phoenix, but I get a lot for that money. In the boonies their tax might only be $300-500 for the house but get almost no services. To me that's expensive. The biggest expense they'll have is when they throw in the towel. It will start with 1 in the couple not liking this life. So there's maybe a year of relationship crap. They're doing really well so far. Living in a trailer, building, not many couples survive that. Divorce risk is super high. And then the abandonment of the property entirely. So to me the total cost amortized over maybe 1 or 2 years of actually living in a house is extremely high. Selling that property will not be easy and the $300-500 prop tax continues. Once abandoned the trashing begins. Maybe they pull it off. Ever see a video of a couple who have lived like this in the a US desert for more than 5 years? I haven't. There are a few single men living like this for years, but no couples I see online. Assume there are some, but the risk seems high.

[@nathanielr8098]

This dude really commutes that long in a big ass truck. Not reeally living off grid if youre still working so far away

[@computerbiscuit]

What aggravates me about being on the grid is that I went to my friends for a couple of months from my house and didn’t use any gas or water, yet those two companies charged me a minimum service fee of $75 for using NOTHING.

[@christinavelazquez8931]

Reminds me of the song, green acres with zsa zsa Gabor! 🤔👍✌️😘

[@JeungFats]

Excellent idea imo, i believe that space will be extremely valueable now and even more in the future. Companies will want that land soon if not latrr on

[@GrantCarter-ey3pc]

Thats whats up girl 👍. Az wild. Tennessee. And Alaska

[@BringYourOwnGuns]

Both my Mom and me and my family, left Vegas in the last few years. My mom is living off grid in AZ, and my family moved to the sticks in NC. We are all ranching now. Vegas became unlivable for my family. Crime, drugs, high prices.

[@RexYoung206]

900 sf is not a tiny house.

[@RoadTripzz14]

Well… At one time everyone lived off grid. Probably a reason no one does anymore.

[@gecko-ko362]

And than an inspector comes and tells them this is illegal. 😂

[@JacobPHX]

Shut up hater