So you win the lottery.

[Luke]

http://www.privateislandsonline.com/
They're not that expensive. Finding an island that is large enough for farming food&medicinal herbs that has a replenishing water supply that's large enough, now that's another story.

After taxes, and with what you need to keep up with that house....$5million usd isn't even close. To live at almost any of those islands for ten years you're looking at $50-100millionusd.

[Menegrothx]

After taxes, and with what you need to keep up with that house....$5million usd isn't even close. To live at almost any of those islands for ten years you're looking at $50-100millionusd.

OP said that the 5M was after taxes. I can't say that I've done much research on this particular topic, but I don't see why you would have to pay any taxes after you own a piece of land in the middle of nowhere. I'm not sure if some of those islands really belong to any nation at all.
Note that I said self sufficient house: the point is that after investing in the property and the house, you don't have any more running costs. Again, I haven't really done any research or calculations on this topic, but I think if you pay 2½-3 millions for an island and put 1 million in the house, you can build a pretty solid bunker with that money. Transporting the materials and work force to the island and back will cost a lot though. The biggest concern is whether things like solar panels will last a life time, or will you need spare ones/repair parts. And the location of the island naturally. Is it susceptible to hurricanes, droughts or other things of that nature.

[Fragems]

When moving to a "middle of nowhere" lakes region (like where I live) you gotta first check and see if it's a tourist destination.

My town is. The population doubles come July, the roads become congested, and I start to get damn irritated. Tried to get an ice cream in "the village" the other day and couldn't find a place to park.

My dream home would be closer to the ocean than a lake, honestly.

I have lived around WV all of my life plenty of hills to get lost in there. Just have to worry about the occasional spring breakers that take a wrong turn lol.

[EllertMichael]

I'd like to say I'd be responsible but most likely I'd spend at least 50 grand on the old hundred dollar bill and fishing pole trick outside of an orphanage.

From there I'd probably buy a cash only bar to laundry money and work there to mess with drunk people. Probably use a proxy to buy and manage the bar just so I could keep my anonymity.

Maybe I'd buy a farm, legally grow marijuana and never have to work again. This one has actually been a life long dream of mine and I don't even smoke.

A+ post.

[Luke]

OP said that the 5M was after taxes. I can't say that I've done much research on this particular topic, but I don't see why you would have to pay any taxes after you own a piece of land in the middle of nowhere.

And where are you going to get your stuff (clothing/food/cable/etc.) that doesn't have a tax cost?

You buy a private island for $5millionusd, and you're tapped out within a year. Possibly in months.

If you want to poop in the ocean, hunt your own food and go Swiss Family Robinson style, sure. That might be possible. But a self sustainable house in itself can cost millions.

[Menegrothx]

And where are you going to get your stuff (clothing/food/cable/etc.) that doesn't have a tax cost?

Again, I did say self-sufficient.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-sufficiency

Self-sufficiency (also called self-containment) is the state of not requiring any aid, support, or interaction, for survival; it is therefore a type of personal or collective autonomy. On a national scale, a totally self-sufficient economy that does not trade with the outside world is called an autarky.

The term self-sufficiency is usually applied to varieties of sustainable living in which nothing is consumed outside of what is produced by the self-sufficient individuals. Examples of attempts at self-sufficiency in North America include simple living, homesteading, off-the-grid, survivalism, DIY ethic and the back-to-the-land movement.

Practices that enable or aid self-sufficiency include autonomous building, permaculture, sustainable agriculture, and renewable energy.

The term is also applied to limited forms of self-sufficiency, for example growing one's own food or becoming economically independent of state subsidies.

The idea here is that after the initial investment, you have everything you need in order to sustain yourself, and can live with out money from that point on.

With modern technology (like small sized external hard drives with room for thousands of books, games, comics, movies and TV shows, among other things), you don't really have to live like a caveman even if you are self-sufficient. There are many people in America who live the lifestyle. Naturally on a small island, it's a lot harder and you have to be sure that your surroundings are able to sustain small scale food and energy production.

[Luke]

And where are you going to get your stuff (clothing/food/cable/etc.) that doesn't have a tax cost?

Again...

You said it for me.

Again:

But a self sustainable house in itself can cost millions.

You are not getting a self sustainable house on a private island and live comfortably for five million clams.

[Menegrothx]

There are plenty of survivalists with a middle class background. If you consider that the average survivalist most likely has a budget of less than ½ million, then a budget 10 times of that, even if shipping materials to a remote location costs a lot of money, sounds somewhat feasible. Were not talking of a mansion here, just a utilitarian house with the bare necessities, in other words no running water, and only pieces of furniture inside the house would be a table, a sofa, a bed+a computer and a kitchen.

[Luke]

There are plenty of survivalists with a middle class background. If you consider that the average survivalist most likely has a budget of less than ½ million, then a budget 10 times of that, even if shipping materials to a remote location costs a lot of money, sounds somewhat feasible. Were not talking of a mansion here, just a utilitarian house with the bare necessities, in other words no running water, and only pieces of furniture inside the house would be a table, a sofa, a bed+a computer and a kitchen.

Well in that case.

[Menegrothx]

I wouldn't call living of the land doing nothing - it's the most natural and rewarding job you can do, from an evolutionary standpoint And if future ends up being more Deus Ex than Star Trek, I think it's the best investment you can make, at least if you're selfish and not interested in doing anything about the situation.