finding independence in a dependent society

Admittedly, I'm not yet ready to go off the grid. I suppose this needs a little backstory: I'm currently reading a book called 'Off the Grid', which in my interpretation is essentially the quest for true indepependence in living free from resource wastefulness, society and "The Man"; it also echoes another closely-held book in my collection, which is 'Walden', by Henry David Thoreau. 

Off the Grid is something of a modern-day interpretation but it is also something else on its own. It is nothing but inspiring, especially to one such as me, who lives on the mental fringes of rebellion and spiritual nomadism nearly every day. But in the tangible realm, things are not so simple to pull off; it takes careful planning and ingenuity. None of which I lack, just not in the needed proportions at present.

One day, it would be nice to at least have a second home, a refuge of sorts, that exists free of "the grid" and the greed of what society is becoming. The dream is of self-sustainability, self-reliance; to have there be small pockets of sustainable communities nation-wide, sharing, trading, co-existing. After all, we're all in this together.