Across the United States, most towns have electricity, running water and local government, but deep in California’s desert lies a place that hundreds call home despite lacking those basics. Hidden in California’s Colorado Desert, around 50 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, Slab City has become one of the country’s most unusual settlements. The off-grid community, spread across the concrete foundations of a former U.S. Marine Corps training base abandoned after World War II, attracts artists, retirees, survivalists, seasonal visitors and people seeking an alternative to mainstream society. According to Smithsonian Magazine , residents often describe the city as “the last free place,” though others see it as a symbol of both freedom and hardship.
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