How to disappear and live off the grid

I stayed up late last night to finish reading How to Disappear and Live off the Grid by John C. Kiriacou. He’s a former CIA counterterrorism officer. 

I’ve mixed feelings about the book. Read it more for entrainment purposeless rather than for definitive knowledge on how to disappear. Much of the book is spent on covering the exploits of people who’ve tried to disappear in the past. While that can be entertaining, it’s not useful. How a person could disappear in an earlier time is not so useful today. Most of those methods just don’t work anymore. 

He did point out the differences between someone who’s fleeing the law and someone who’d just trying to leave their old life behind. It also matters how serious the crime is. In short, disappearing from the law is a lot harder due to governments having a lot more resources.

Some stuff is pretty obvious. Careful planning is going to make a difference. Being on social media will get you noticed. Staying in contact with people from your old life will get you found out. 

He makes a big deal about establishing secure communications. I think you have to pick through his recommondations very carefully. Some of his suggestions sound like bad advice to so that antigovernment types will get caught. 

Reading his book one would get the idea that it takes a lot of money to disappear successfully. He makes it seem hopeless for people of limited means. I know that’s not true. 

In my travels I’ve come into some seriously off the grid people. All of them are of limited means.  Some are just avoiding bad financial situations, but one guy was definitely dodging serious legal trouble. I know he was doing it successfully for years. It would not be right to reveal his methods as it would give too many hints to where he’s hiding. 

There are some basics to going off the grid. You always need food, shelter, water, and a certain amount of safety. Being totally isolated from people is bad for your mental health. Most electronics spy on you.  

Having transportation is useful if you can avoid the pitfalls. For example, while a car means freedom, the paperwork of ownership is a leash. Things like gps, toll transponders, On Star, and other services track you. There are pros and cons to public transportation. 

All in all, the book was better for entertainment than useful info. Actually, it was a great source for things that don’t work.

-Sixbears