LawnStarter, self-described "Uber for lawn
care," conducted a study and listed the best states for living "off the grid"
in the United States; Louisiana came in 7th. They claimed that at this time,
while social-distancing guidelines are enforced country-wide, there would be no
better time to completely isolate than right now. However, LawnStarter acknowledged
that not everywhere in the United States has the same practices of privacy and
that places across the country have various different lifestyles.
LawnStarter compared the 50 states and the
District of Columbia and ranked them based on multiple different factors, such
as off-grid feasibility, infrastructure, climate, cost, and safety. They reported
that their "data set ranges from average per-acre cost of farmland to legality
of rainwater-harvesting to average monthly temperature." Needless to say, this
was a thorough and investigative study. They ranked states in these subjects
using a number scale, with the number 1 indicating the best.
Louisiana had high rankings overall. Our state
ranked 2nd in average monthly precipitation in inches, 3rd in property taxes, 6th
in number of rural health clinics per 1,000 square miles, 11th in potential for
wind power, 12th for phone coverage, and 28th for legality of living off the grid.
These scorings placed Louisiana as the 7th best state for living off the grid.
Most of the higher-ranked states are from the
Mid-South, such as Kentucky, the top state, which ranked highly in all
categories. South Carolina also scored highly due to the low cost of living and
the relatively conventional climate. The Upper Midwest also had highly ranked
states, particularly Minnesota, which ranked highly in road quality and
potential wind power. Most of these states also have laws that encourage living
off the grid, which is partially why they were ranked so highly.
Click here to view the entire study and
the full list of 2021's best and worst states for living off the grid.
