This Gen Zer craved a life of freedom, and ultimately found one in a way many of her peers likely wouldn't have assumed could even be possible — living in a remote cabin in Alaska without any running water or heat. Karma Wilcox, 19, moved back into the cabin last year in Homer, Alaska, where she spent her childhood.
Though she was born in California, her dad raised her in the cabin until she was 8 years old. While temperatures can drop as low as 24 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, Karma was more focused on the fact of wanting more independence.
“The insulation is not the best, the logs are cut down and layered around the cabin with moss, with sticks nailed in between to keep some warmth in,” she said. “My main source of heating is firewood, which is on 24/7, and I go through about a box of logs a day.”
She went on to share that her dad, the creator of the Altruist Relief Kitchen, has made updates to the cabin. “The cabin looked very different when I lived there before,” she explained. “My dad has fitted a new roof.”
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When she was 8, Karma moved back to San Francisco with her mom, a life coach. For a while, she also lived in central Hollywood. When it comes to being back at the cabin, she said her dad was the one who convinced her to make the move.
“The cabin is such a good place to grow up as a child because you have no worries,” she said. “We used to play in the garden and go on really long hikes, and ever since coming back, it’s been nice to relive the memories.” She added on that she goes snowboarding almost every day and spends time in the garden.
Karma rents the cabin for a low rate of $275 per month from her dad's godfather. Without having to pay for Wi-Fi, she's able to connect with others by using 5G, which provides her with really good signal.
“People think Alaska is really off grid but it’s actually not — my 5G works just fine,” she said. She described the two-story cabin, saying that the downstairs is the living room, with a kitchen and lounge, while the upstairs has two bedrooms.
Though she agrees that the cabin is a "lovely place," Karma doesn't think she'll reside there forever. “I can’t live with no running water for my whole life, but I’ll probably stay in here for another year before I go to med school,” she said. “I don’t want to stay in Homer, but I would like to go back there in the future.”
Homer has an estimated population of 5,900. People in the comments reacted to Karma's living conditions.
"You can put like clear plastic on the windows to keep the heat in but you’ll still have natural light :)," one person wrote.
"You are living my dream life," another person commented. "Minus the money issues. I love cold temps with a fire going."
