How to Exit the Empire (Without Burning Out or Going Off-Grid) Pt. 1
2026-01-12T21:15:44.000Z
Summary
Series on 4 pathways every modern villager can start todaySubscribe here for more How to Exit the Empire (Without Burning Out or Going Off-Grid) Pt.
Content
Series on 4 pathways every modern villager can start todaySubscribe here for more How to Exit the Empire (Without Burning Out or Going Off-Grid) Pt. 1 Series on 4 pathways every modern villager can start today Nicole Reese Jan 12 READ IN APP I recently finished watching Andor, a Star Wars series about the beginning of the rebellion. The world building was exceptional, and the parallels were chilling. It felt far too relateable to watch a group of rebels resist a cold, calculating empire driven by hunger for power and resources. But it started a joke between me and a fellow solar punk, community-builder friend of mine about the movement and what "the rebellion" means to us. We live inside a machine that insists it is too powerful to escape. This conveyor belt humming beneath our feet keeps us working, spending, and numbing. How are we to have energy left to resist or rebel? Most people feel this in their bones, even if they don't have the language for it. Many of those that can name it feel trapped on the spectrum between outraged activism, existential hopeleness, and passive acceptance. No more. The first order of business as a village builder is to unplug from the empire. It only has power because we give it power, and because it has manufactured our dependency on it. But divesting from the empire doesn't require you to disappear into the woods, renounce electricity, or become a homesteader with 16 goats and a sourdough starter named Ezekiel. It requires something far simpler, far more subversive, and far more communal: A return to sovereign power. A reclaiming of resource flows. A switch of technology choices. An unapologetic choosing of belonging over separation. Let's call these the Four Great Exits. They will the be topic of a 4-part article series of how to unplug from the machine published here on Terrenity. Upgrade to paid And they don't take you away from society. They take you back into humanity. Exit 1: Land According to me, the societal ills and power dysfunctions we see all have a surprising root: land use . Land allocation has historically been decided entirely by commercial interests, not social or communal ones. Yet all of our societal behaviors are dictated by how our environment is set up. Ask yourself these questions: Where do you live? Who are you surrounded by? Does your survival depend on systems that do not care about you? Land, agency, and the right to decide your own rhythms is the most basic form of power. As it stands, building our environment is left up to urban planners forcing densification in the interest of big tech and real estate (when it's been shown that it doesn't actually lower the cost of living). a dire escape from the senate I assume that the majority of people reading this don't have access to or influence over land. Much of wealth concentration has to do with creating a What You Can Do The most ancient form of power is territorial, relational, and personal. Even if you might not have the high trust relationships (yet) to buy land with friends or cofound a village, you can begin taking steps towards place-based autonomy. 1. Start with proximity Choose where you live based on who you want to build with, not how close it is to work (or a Whole Foods). Even one aligned neighbor can change the math of your life more than 30 minutes shaved off your commute. 2. Grow food where you are Rent a plot in a community garden. Grow herbs in your kitchen window. Join a CSA run by someone you can hug, rather than feeding a supply chain that ships chemically sprayed lettuce across three borders. Food is power. When you grow even 1% of what you eat, the empire loses a tiny tributary of control. 3. Live in clusters, not islands If you want collective ownership someday, start with collective living now. Move in with friends. Choose a multifamily house. Coordinate so three of you rent apartments in the same building. And here'ts the thing: the cost curve flattens when you share walls. One family might pay $800k for a single house. Three families could pay that same amount (each paying far less) for a larger shared property with more rooms, more utility, and more collective power. Eventually you might be able to form an LLC to buy property collectively instead of battling soaring rents like a Hydra that just regrows its goddamn serpent head. This is important in an economy where the next generation only makes up 29% of home purchases. In these times, collective living is almost an economic necessity, but it can also be a form of resistance. you and your besties in your new coliving home? The potential challenges Reclaiming power is not frictionless.You will run up against: Zoning that privileges nuclear families Banks that don't know what to do with cooperative buyers Families who think you've joined a cult Friends who balk at shared decision-making Your own internal fears about commitment I was talking through the concept of ecovillages with a PhD scientist who leaned in and said "It's like in school. I always ended up being the one who pulled the most weight in group projects. I'd be terrified of this same thing happening in shared spaces — always having to be the most responsible one." This is normal. We are unwinding 200 years of cultural conditioning toward isolation, and paranoia towards shared burdens. The best way to start is to choose a place to plant roots — physically or relationally — and begin designing your life with people you trust rather than systems that assume your compliance. Final Words Power is the most misunderstood challenge we face in this rebellion. At the To catch parts 2, 3, and 4 of this series, subscribe to the Terrenity publication Upgrade to paid Terrenity . For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. Upgrade to paid Like Comment Restack © 2026 Nicole Reese 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104