I have read about off-gridders who live in the middle-of-nowhere in Southern California near the Mexico border because it's possible to live on next to nothing. Like they support themselves on as little as $600/month (or did, whenever the piece in question was written). They also do stupid stuff like reclaim ordinance as a means to make money and sometimes get blown up that way.

It's possible this was mentioned in the book "Salt Dreams," a book about water issues in Southern California. But I couldn't swear to that.