Man living off-grid with family on remote ranch hopes to create 1800s lifestyle after fearing ‘global society collapse’

An American homesteader who decided to ditch city life after realising “the global collapse of society as we know it is a real possibility” now resides off-grid with his wife and their son on a ranch in a house built in just two weeks for under 40,000 US dollars while they lived in a shed, and said their life is “truly an old Western experience”.

Adam Shumate, 36, his wife, Courtney, 28, and their three-year-old son, Joe, uprooted from their city life in Boise, Idaho, in 2021, selling their house and most of their possessions, to move into a 10 by 20 ft shed while building their new home in the mountains of north Montana.

With help from locals, the family built their ranch, along with a barn to house their goats and chickens, for around 38,000 dollars (£31,000) in just two weeks.

Now, the family spends just 180 dollars (£150) a month on essentials and a phone bill with unlimited wifi, with all of their electricity and hot water coming from solar power.

They have a 200 sq ft garden where they harvest wild plants and berries, and Adam hunts animals with an AR-15 platform gun.

Joe is home schooled with his parents aiming to give him an “environment that is more or less like the 1800s.”

Adam wants to encourage others to live off-grid, as he believes the more people there are living this lifestyle “the more stable our world will be”, and is trying to do so by posting videos on his YouTube channel about the family’s day-to-day life, foraging, cooking and prayers.

He does not regret the decision to live remotely and says his favourite thing about off-grid life is he is not “associated with a modern-day slavery system”.

Adam told PA Real Life: “Most of our days are spent tending to the garden, and in a couple weeks we’ll be hunting these mountains for deer to help us survive the winter.

“We do make the pilgrimage to town on occasion, however we want to get to a point where we never have to go to the store again.

“We’re working on building a root cellar right now to put all our canned meats from hunting and canned veggies from the garden.”

Before the family moved off-grid, they “were very much city people”, living in Boise, and owned a business in a shopping centre.

Around 10 years ago, Adam began to ponder living remotely.

He said: “When I saw the direction the world was heading I realised the global collapse of society as we know it is a real possibility…I have worked tirelessly since to ditch the city life.”

He approached Courtney with the idea in 2020, and she was on board straight away.

Adam said: “My wife has a great intuition and understands the times we are living in, so she followed her gut and came along for the journey.”

But his wider family were not as accepting, he said: “Our family was, and continues to be, worried about us.

“Ironically, we probably worry about them still living in the city more than they worry about us being out in the boondocks.

“Given the state of the world, I wouldn’t recommend anyone live in the city.”

In early 2021, Adam and his family sold their house and most of their possessions, and decided to move to the mountains in north Montana.

Adam said: “The abundance of resources in this location made it an ideal spot to be truly self-sufficient.”

While building the ranch, Adam and his family lived in a shed that was “more suitable for a few rakes and a lawn mower.”

Over the following two weeks, Adam, with the help of some locals, built his 1,000 sq ft house out of wood, as well as a barn to house his two dairy goats and a chicken coop.

“The four brothers that built our place work like lightning – we looked up one day and the house was up,” Adam said.

“Our neighbours have a sawmill and logged all their own wood to build our house.

“They would come up on horseback in the snow to help build the house.

“It is truly an old Western experience.

“Let’s just say there’s still good people left out there that are led by God in their works.”

After spending around 38,000 dollars (£31,000) on the building work, the family wanted to reduce their monthly outgoings as much as possible.

Adam and his wife also decided to home school their son.

“Little Joe has quite a few good homestead friends his age and will soon be a part of a community home school programme put on by moms, not a school district,” Adam said.

“I think it’s all about surrounding him with an environment that is more or less like the 1800s.”

Despite loving his off-grid lifestyle, he said: “There are some things I miss from the city, but there’s nothing more rewarding than knowing where your meat and veggies come from and breathing non-polluted air.”

Having lived off-grid for over two years, Adam is passionate about teaching others how to live remotely, as he believes the more people there are living this lifestyle “the more stable our world will be”.

In September 2023, Adam decided to set up a YouTube channel, HomesteadByFaith, where he often posts insights into the family’s foraging, cooking and prayers.

Looking back on the last few years, Adam does not regret his decision to live off-grid, saying: “My favourite thing about living off grid is I’m not associated with a modern day slavery system.

“Most people are imprisoned here on earth – however there’s no prison bars, yet no one seems to be able to escape.”