Living in the UK, Georgia Kitson felt constantly anxious and stressed about money and being in debt all the time. She and her husband Jack felt like they were working long hours and incredibly hard all the time, but they still could not afford their bills.
Now, the couple and their two young children are living a completely different lifestyle by living off grid in rural Spain – and say they could not be happier.
Generating their own power with a solar-powered system, collecting rainwater; using a well and compost toilets; growing their own fruit and vegetables and having chickens, which lay them plenty of eggs, the family say their new life has given them independence and freedom.
Georgia, 34, said she now wants to inspire other people to do the same and escape the rat race by not being afraid to live an alternative lifestyle in another country. She now helps people dreaming of the same freedom who want to explore an off-grid life.
“Today, our electricity comes from the sun, our water from a well, and our heating from local wood,” she said. “We live debt-free surrounded by nature and our monthly expenses are super cheap.
“It is just a really lovely way of life and it has given us something that money can’t buy – independence and freedom.”
Georgia wanted to escape the rat race and live an alternative lifestyleGeorgia grew up in the West Midlands and was working as a holistic therapist. She met her husband Jack 10 years ago and started to realise she did not want to live a “normal” lifestyle being stuck in a daily grind. “Everyone thought I was crazy when I talked about wanting off grid living or possibly living in a commune to try and reduce my outgoings and the cost of living,” she recalled.
However, Jack shared Georgia’s off grid living visions and the couple aspired to change their life in the future. But in the meantime, they found their life in the UK relentless with the struggle to survive financially.
“I was working as a self employed holistic therapist and Jack was a freelance gardener. We were working our guts off but still couldn’t afford to pay our bills,” she said.
“We had our daughter Poppy at this point, who is now nine, and we were almost passing ships as we could not afford to put her in nursery – and we didn’t want to, as we wanted to raise her ourselves without help from nursery or the system.
“We were constantly in debt and couldn’t afford our bills. We were renting a rural cottage and didn’t have any heating in our home for two years as it had an oil tank, but we couldn’t afford to fill it.
“It was really disheartening, because we were both working so hard, and it’s not like we were on benefits or anything. We were trying really hard, but just couldn’t keep up with the cost of living.
“And this was around nine years ago and it seems like the cost of living has become even worse in the UK since then. If we still lived there now, we would be screwed.”
Georgia’s husband Jack shared her vision for off-grid livingThe couple knew that Jack’s grandmother was going to leave him some inheritance, so they thought about what they could do with the bit of money and considered buying a shipping container to live in, a bargeboat, or even living in a van – anything to have a mortgage-free lifestyle.
“We knew we wanted to move to Spain eventually, but we initially thought we would have our second child and do it in the future.
“However, the opportunity came to buy somewhere in Spain, so we made the leap. We sold our furniture and possessions and moved there and have never looked back.”
Georgia and Jack managed to buy a house in Spain for the equivalent of £80,000 with some help from Georgia’s parents, as well as the money from Jack’s grandmother. This money bought them a property in Catalonia with a 36-acre olive farm.
“For a price of a deposit for a home in the UK, we managed to buy outright a property with land in a rural area in Spain,” explained Georgia. “It was two properties when we bought it – the main farmhouse and a guesthouse with three bedrooms across the two properties. We knocked it into one property in the end to make a bigger house.”
Georgia Kitson and her family live a life of freedom and independence in rural SpainThe property they bought was a house in the mountains, which was completely off grid, totally powered by solar, with a generator run by petrol as a backup for when there was no sun. They collected rainwater for water and stored it in an underground water tank.
They lived in that home for six years, but then decided to sell it and bought the home they are now living in, which is still in Catalonia by the coast.
“We actually sold the mountain house for £250,000 and put that money into buying this property – it will actually be three houses, as there is the main house and two outbuildings, which we are converting into guesthouses.
“The property we have bought now has huge potential. We are turning it off grid and have put a solar system in. The property has a well, so we are tapping into that to get our water.
“This home is actually on the grid, but we are using solar for power and only using the grid as a backup. It is a clever system, as if there is no sun and it’s cloudy, it will flip back on to the grid.
“We are renovating the property and are going to plant a food forest. We have got chickens who lay around 13 eggs a day and we grow vegetables.
“We heat the home with wood that Jack chops down using a chainsaw and all our waste from toilets goes to septic tanks which soak away into the ground.
Georgia Kitson has chickens that lay around 13 eggs a day“We have one acre of land with this property, which is much more manageable than the 36 acres we had. We have grape vines, olive trees, pomegranate trees, lemon trees, walnut trees and carib trees, and we plan on planting another 100 trees over the next 12 months and want to produce a mini food forest.”
The couple now have two daughters, Poppy, nine, and Freddy, three. Georgia says it is a wonderful lifestyle for them all to be surrounded by nature and enjoy a slower pace of life.
Georgia set herself up as a virtual assistant five years ago and offers life coaching and online business mentorship to help people design their dream life abroad and build the online income streams to make it possible.
Georgia works to help other people who want to explore an off grid lifestyleAs a result of people constantly asking her about how to live off grid and living abroad, she also set up a website called Off Grid Only, which features off-grid homes for sale in Spain and across Europe, along with advice and tips for off-grid living.
“We can live off one salary because our outgoings are so low,” explained Georgia. “Jack helps me out with virtual assistant clients when I am busy, but most of the time, he is renovating the properties as there is so much to do.
“I want other people to know that it is possible to live an alternative lifestyle and have a happier life.
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“We love it here in Spain and everyone has been so friendly and welcoming, and it is so family and community-orientated here. The way of life is much slower and it is just different from the UK. I have never sat in a traffic jam in seven years of living here!
“We are living a really lovely lifestyle and eat out regularly and go to the beach a lot as we live by the sea and we have a swimming pool. The weather is wonderful too. In the UK, especially in winter, I felt very trapped by the dull skies.
“We love our new life in Spain and I don’t think I’d ever want to go back to live in the UK by choice.”
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