18 Ways To Get Paid To Live In The Wilderness!
Do you want to get paid to live in the wilderness?
Do you love waking up to the birds singing, surrounded by tall trees and lush greenery?
Maybe you camp & hike regularly to be closer to nature and love to go on an adventure to explore unfamiliar territory.
I get very excited whenever I get to explore the wilderness and offbeat places. In Ireland, there are so many places like this that I can’t wait to explore!
If you like camping in the wilderness or love hiking, you’d be surprised if I told you that you can earn some moolah from this hobby of yours!
This article provides an extensive list of the jobs in the wilderness that you can consider taking!
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Some of the links here are affiliate links, and I may earn if you click on them AT NO EXTRA cost to you. I hope you find the information here useful! Thanks.
Get Paid To Live In The Wilderness
1. Start A Wilderness Niche Blog
You’ve guessed it right! The top of the list of outdoor careers is one of my favorites, and I could not write this article without talking about it!
I bet you’re thinking blogging is so 1992 that nobody makes money from it anymore….
Well, I’m delighted to let you know that you are wrong!
You CAN actually learn how to make money blogging and earn a lot.
Don’t believe me? I make A LOTTA money from all my 6 blogs, like $15,000-$18,000 a month!
So, trust me when I say this.
To begin with, you can start with a wilderness niche blog.
You can write articles with guides on how to survive in a forest, what to prepare to live in the wilderness, the gear needed to live in a forest, etc.
You can also write about the essentials when hiking as a beginner, camping for beginners, and many more.
As a blogger, you will become the subject matter expert to your readers when it comes to this niche.
For example, I have a blog that focuses on traveling as a solo woman.
In this blog, I focus on writing articles that are going to help my target audience, solo female travelers.
As a solo female traveler, I focus on tackling the issues or worries other females would have when traveling alone.
My articles help them to plan their first solo trip with confidence!
This is how you can start your blog and you can money through many ways such as affiliate marketing, blog ads, courses, and many more!
If you need a step-by-step guide on how to make money blogging, you can get it from my course.
This is what I wish I had when I started as a blogger years ago.
It’s time for you to learn how to earn money from blogging, once and for all!
You can set up your blog over the weekend if you took my course and I always recommend Bluehost to my students. They are simply the best host!
2. Get Paid To Live In The Wilderness – Become A Wilderness Photographer
If you enjoy taking photographs of landscapes, forests, mountains, rivers, and other elements of wilderness, you can consider becoming a wilderness photographer.
But I am not a professional, I only take pictures for fun, you may be thinking.
You don’t need to be a professional photographer to sell your photos online.
You can capture the beauty of the wilderness and sell it online to monetize your beautiful clicks.
All you need to do is take good and beautiful pictures of the wilderness!
You can use your social media such as Instagram to promote your portfolio. This will increase your visibility, particularly amongst wilderness lovers.
Yes, I love beautiful pictures of the wilderness and I take a lot of pictures on my hikes. I use them for my blog articles and simply share them with my community on Instagram.
Another option is to upload your photos on platforms such as FOAP, Alamy, and Shutterstock and get paid for them.
You can add a link in your bio & promote it to your followers to buy your exclusive photos on these platforms.
3. Check With Your State To Live In The Wilderness
There are states in the US that pay you to move there and some are paying over $10,000!
This may come as a surprise, but it is true.
States such as West Virginia, Owensboro, Topeka, and Alaska with great outdoor access offering incentives to attract people into moving there.
These states have ample trails, mountains, ski areas, and rivers for active people to explore.
The common requirements for moving to these states are you need to be a remote worker, or able to secure a job in the state.
Some of these opportunities are aimed at attracting outdoor enthusiasts to move to their states.
You can find out more details about their requirements and benefits on their respective website.
You are given cash and other benefits if you move. Who would say no to that?
4. Become A Wilderness Influencer
Next up on the list of jobs in the outdoors is becoming an influencer. You heard that right!
You can make money by posting on social media everything that you do in a day as a wilderness influencer.
You can share what are the tools, products, and accessories that are necessary to live in the wilderness.
For example, if you camp a lot, you could share with your followers what campaign essentials are, the products you use, how and what you pack, camping gear, etc.
You can also recommend the brands that you trust with your followers.
Become an affiliate with those companies, which means you would get a special discount code that you could share with your followers and earn a commission whenever someone makes a purchase using your code.
Another way to make money is by becoming the brand ambassador of an outdoor product brand or posting sponsored posts in collaboration with an outdoor brand.
All you need to do is to build a community with strong engagement and provide value to them.
When you have a community that trusts you, you can take it to the next level such as creating your own brand line.
You don’t need to have thousands and millions of followers to do this.
I made $8,970 from coaching services alone, and at that time I had less than 5,000 followers only.
So, don’t feel discouraged yet.
Remember that you need to show up regularly, be consistent in what you are doing, and also be cautious with the brands that you’re collaborating with to ensure that they align with your niche, beliefs, and identity.
5. Get Paid To Live In The Wilderness – Rent Out Your Land
If you own land in a wilderness area, whether through ownership or inheritance, you have the opportunity to generate income by renting it out.
If the land is empty, you can build a small cabin or lodging space for people who are seeking a wilderness retreat or run an event.
However, if the land comes with a lodging space, you can make some renovations to turn it into a rental property that can be rented out to visitors.
You can add basic infrastructure and furniture such as bathrooms, bedrooms, toilets, kitchens, tables, chairs, and so on depending on the purpose of your rental space.
You can consider renting it out to hunters, campers, photoshoots, meditation or yoga retreats, or outdoor enthusiasts looking for a secluded and natural setting to enjoy their retreat.
Depending on the purpose of the stay, you can charge them by the day or by the hour and add some additional charges if you want to.
6. Start A YouTube Channel To Share Your Experience
Next on the list is, starting a YouTube channel. Besides becoming a blogger and influencer you can also consider becoming a YouTuber or you can do all three or two together.
Many influencers have a YouTube channel as well as social media accounts and they make money from all the platforms.
You can create a YouTube channel to show your subscribers what is it like to live in the wilderness.
Take them with you on your journey by showing them wilderness survival skills such as cooking without a kitchen while camping, looking for wild produce, fishing, and various other outdoor techniques.
This YouTube channel called Brave Wilderness has a whopping 21.3 Million subscribers.
So, don’t think that nobody would watch your video. Judging by the number of subscribers for the channel above, it seems like there’s a substantial audience interested in wilderness living.
7. Run Events Or Retreats
In today’s fast-paced world, many people seek peace from the bustling city environment, longing for calm and peace.
If you are a meditation, yoga, spiritual instructor, or seminar or conference trainer, you can consider conducting events or retreats in the wilderness.
This becomes your unique selling point.
Many would be very interested in joining events and retreats in the wilderness to escape the bustling city and take a break from their phones.
Establishing strong connections with cabin or lodging facility owners in the wilderness and partnering with them would lead to significant success in running these events and retreats.
You can run small gatherings like workshops, seminars, conferences, parties, or networking events, all aimed at bringing people together for meaningful connections and interactions.
Other popular things to do are running meditation, yoga, wellness, spiritual, or couples retreats.
8. Write For Outdoor Activities & Wilderness Living Publications
Number 8 on the list is freelance writing.
You can become a freelance writer and write for someone else’s blog or publications in outdoor activities and wilderness living niches.
When I left my corporate job, I did a lot of freelance jobs to stay afloat and I made a lot of money through freelance writing.
Find a company, brand, or blog in the wilderness and outdoor activities niches and pitch to become their writer.
A Freelance writer usually finds their own clients through pitching. Your pitch might get noticed or go unnoticed.
You must keep pitching to clients, write for them, and ultimately secure them as your recurring customers.
You can build up your clientele, and make money living in the wilderness as a freelance writer, as long as you can get a good internet connection and submit your article on time.
If you’re wondering how to start your side hustle as a freelance writer, I created a course that tells you step-by-step what to do and also how to pitch to clients.
I shared my templates for pitching to clients, resources, and all that I learned from my research and experiences as a freelance writer.
9. Share Your Opinions On Outdoor Gear And Brands
Living in the wilderness likely requires gear that is more specialized and distinct from what city people typically use.
You can share your honest opinions on outdoor gear and get paid in return.
Outdoor gear review websites such as GearJunkie, OutdoorGearLab, and The Adventure Junkies pay their contributors for reviews and opinions.
This can also link back to the points that I shared earlier. You can review a brand’s gear via a sponsored post, share about it on your YouTube channel, or write a review on your blog.
I wrote an article for wide-fit walking boots that I personally tested and reviewed.
I like writing articles to share my honest opinions about outdoor brands and products that I personally used and tested.
10. Start A Worm Farm
Did you know there’s a demand for worm’s poop? As weird and disgusting as it sounds, surprisingly a worm farm generates from $10,000 to $50,000 per year.
Worm Farm means you collect worm poop and sell it as a fertilizer to local farms, land owners, or at a farmer’s market.
You can set up a worm farm in the wilderness by using plastic storage containers to grow the worms.
Purchase the worms to start the worm farm. Apparently, red wigglers are the most common worms used in worm farms.
You can find the step-by-step guide to setting up a worm farm in this article.
Make money with small or large worm farms while you live in the wilderness.
11. Host Guided Wilderness Tours
Number 11 on the list is hosting guided wilderness tours.
If you’re like Tarzan and know the wilderness inside out, you can lead a tour for people who want to experience life in the wild.
You can lead tours such as bird watching and nature observation tours, wilderness survival skills workshops, and adventurous activities such as kayaking, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, hiking, and many more.
12. Sell Firewood
One of the most common jobs in the wild is selling firewood.
You can collect fallen trees and split wood to sell for camping or home heating. People need woods to keep their homes warm in the winter season.
Sell logs on the side of a road or partner up with a store nearby to sell your wood and earn some money.
13. Make & Sell Wood Tinkers From Trees
An advantage of living in the wilderness is being surrounded by trees, which can serve as one of the primary sources of income for those who are living in the wilderness.
You can use the fallen trees and split wood that you are collecting to sell as firewood and craft wooden trinkets to sell.
From hand-carved wood figurines and ornaments to wood furniture, you can create anything and sell it on a local farmer’s market or an online platform like Etsy.
Thai enables you to reach more people who are interested in handmade wooden items.
14. Get Paid To Live In The Wilderness – Become A Park Ranger
A Park Ranger is someone who takes care of a park or nature reserve.
They ensure people follow the rules, help visitors, and protect plants and animals. I am sure that are more to their job than what I’ve just described.
You can consider becoming a park ranger and earn money while protecting and preserving the wilderness.
However, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
You can refer to the steps to becoming a Park Ranger, and the process can vary from one place to another be it between countries or states.
It’s better to check directly with the park or nature reserve where you wish to become a Park Ranger.
15. Work As A Cabin Caretaker
Number 15 on the outdoor careers list is Cabin Caretaker. This is similar to any property caretaker jobs but you are taking care of a cabin in the wilderness.
You can become a caretaker who looks after and maintains the property.
Their duties are cleaning and upkeep the cabins, ensuring the cabin is stocked with necessary supplies, and conducting repairs and maintenance as and when needed.
If the cabin is for the public, the caretakers are responsible for greeting and assisting guests, managing reservations and check-ins, and ensuring the safety and security of the property.
You can apply for any cabin caretaker’s job in your area, state, or country and get paid to live in the wilderness.
16. Write & Sell E-Books
This ties in with the earlier points, where I talked about blogging, becoming an influencer, and freelance writing opportunities.
You can write and sell E-books on various topics related to the wilderness and generate income from it.
Topics such as outdoor cooking and recipes, nature conservation and environmental education, hiking and backpacking trails, nature photography, and many more.
Select a topic that you can write and people would find it useful to buy and read it.
17. Join Affiliate Programs
You can join any affiliate program in the niche of the outdoor product.
Research affiliate programs and look for gear and equipment brands that offer affiliate programs. There are plenty of websites that you can explore.
If you have found one, review their program’s terms and conditions.
Pay attention to their rates, cookie duration, payment methods, and specific requirements or restrictions.
Once you find it suitable, sign up for it. This of course includes filling out an online application form and providing details about your website, blog, or social media handles.
After submitting your application, you need to wait for approval, and if your application gets rejected you need to identify what was the error and submit it again.
If your application is successful, you can proceed with sharing your unique affiliate links whether through creating a post to share the products or using other methods.
If you want to learn how to master affiliate marketing, I have created a comprehensive online class that will teach you how to do it.
Don’t worry if you don’t know anything about affiliate marketing, I gotchu!
18. Get Paid To Live In The Wilderness – Email Newsletter Subscription
Last on the list is creating a newsletter signup to share updates, tips, and exclusive content related to wilderness living and outdoor activities.
It’s another way to earn an income if you don’t want to own a blog.
You can leverage the power of the internet by introducing the newsletter subscription to your social media followers or YouTube channel viewers, encouraging them to subscribe.
You can write about your personal experiences, your struggles, and wins openly and sincerely from the bottom of your heart.
People appreciate reading genuine newsletters.
I ran a live workshop to teach people how to monetize using email newsletters.
One of my students who is a new mom, joined my live workshop and now she sends her weekly love letters as a new mom to her community.
I feel so good reading her weekly love letters even though I don’t have a kid yet.
So, what are you waiting for? You can generate income through this email newsletter while living in the wilderness.
FAQs On Get Paid To Live In The Wilderness
How Do You Make Money Living In The Wilderness?
So, how do you make money living in the wilderness? You can by doing these:
- Renting out your land
- Selling rights to timber (logging done by somebody else)
- Rent out your land for events, photo shoots, weddings, etc
- Commercial agriculture
- Commercial harvesting of wild food
- Organize events and/or retreat
- Tourism (Agriculture or ecological)
Is It Possible To Just Live In The Wilderness?
Is it possible to just live in the wilderness? I must say that living in the wilderness is no joke.
It’s important to learn some survival skills and join some useful training to equip yourself with the skills and knowledge required to survive in the wilderness.
Remember, it’s not always easy and pleasant.
Can You Live In Alaska Wilderness For Free?
So, can you live in Alaska wilderness for free?
It’s not free to live in the Alaska wilderness.
However, lands are available for private ownership through bid auctions or remote recreation cabin sites.
To have an off-grid homestead, you need to own the land you live on and ensure everything complies with local authorities’ regulations.
How Do I Start A Life In The Wilderness?
Are you thinking how do I start a life in the wilderness?
Some tips on How to live in the wilderness;
- Building survival shelters and keeping yourself warm
- Finding water to drink to survive
- Learning what is edible and what’s not
- Preparing yourself with tools and gadgets
- Learning about plants and trees
What Are People Who Live In The Wilderness Called?
So, what are people who live in the wilderness called?
They are called a forest dweller. Such a cool name isn’t it?
Have you decided how you’re going to get paid to live in the wilderness?
I hope the list of careers in the wilderness above helps you to start earning or making some extra cash from doing what you love.
Pick the ones that suit you and turn them into something that perhaps gives you better financial security.
Becoming a blogger gave me the freedom to do what I love, which is traveling, and soon it gave me the financial security that enabled me to turn this into my lifestyle.
There’s no better feeling than earning money from doing what you like to do. You’ve got this!
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