What is the least expensive way and how to have electricity independent of city services for a residence?

I want to set up a house, at first i thought of solar and generator but was not specific enough, totally independent of electric, water ect of city services.
I am in Mexico so plenty of sun, a bit of wind or breeze every day.
Also on a budgeted income this needs to be cost effective.
The house has 3 bedrooms, living room kitchen, dining room and 2 bathrooms.
Made with cement an brick and tile floors.
Ask a question if I have not adressed it and I will add it in details, Thanks you.

Wonderful help and ideas I want to say thank you to all.
For more info our house is now
water heater, stove: propane
refrigerator: electric
several fans to cool down the house as my wife is from USA and a mother who is ill that need to stay not too hot.
Mexico actaully is very conservative in energy.
All electric is turned off and unplugged when not in use.
Water heater is not on, (not even a pilot) when not in use, for showers light 30 min prior.
My wife tried this in the states.
it cut her bill down by 7/8th cost of her monthly bills in energy use.
I just want to be able to use a air conditioner or heater without having a quadruple size bill, as if energy is used past a certain point the bill jumps dramatically.

In your area solar makes the most sense, but you could start small and work up. depending if you have any power source at all at this time? Having an alternative energy source usually means you must be willing to alter your consumption of power, sometimes drastically! But the satisfaction of being off the grid is something that is very satisfying! Even when you go without some of the things most other people have.
We started with what was there at the house we bought. A generator. Then we added a solar system. We added more panels and more batteries eventually, and upgraded the type of batteries. If I still lived there it would be great to add wind, for when there is no sun. The property is on a hill, so there is almost always a breeze somewhere! There is also a small water resource, but probably not enough to utilize in a cost effective manner. There are some great Yahoo Groups that deal with this subject matter, search them and have a great time!

I lived with solar power and a generator for seven years... my ex still lives there and the system has been in place since 1989. Still goin' strong... still a viable alternative. It cost the same as hooking up to the grid when we considered how many poles it would take to get the power to the house... then the power company wanted to put a transformer in the front yard. Nope... we said "I don't think so!" and we're still glad we did!

Possible sources include windmills, solar panels, and hydroelectric (if you have a stream running nearby).

How much it will cost will depend on how much juice you need to supply. The more watts you need, the higher the cost. If you have a steady breeze in your area, I'd go with wind. You'd also need an array of batteries to provide storage.

I'm not sure what you are thinking when you say "cost effective", but if you mean really cheap, forget it. There can be significant capital outlay to set any of this up (the price of the battery bank alone will be several thousand US dollars).

Probably the least expensive way would be if you had a stream you could harness. You might not even need the batteries if the flow was dependable enough.

The way electric bill keep going up here in the states, if there was such a system, you wouldn't have any trouble finding a power supply.

There is no cheap way. There is a company in Manatee County Florida that make Methane gas from animal waste and then uses the Methane to power a generator.

Here is the kicker: It ain't cheap.

Sorry, I can't remember the companys name.

use a propane/or gasoline stove and a propane fridge, kerosene or gasoline lanterns for light, maybe a windmill for the water well and a gravity fed system for water distribution, and a propane or solar water heater.

to be off the grid u need to think about the things that you can live without and those you cant.

if you can live without a fridge at all, then i guess you could just about live like folks did in 1890, except with indoor plumbing.

what state are you in.....do you need heat in the winter or not?

for further ideas i suggest you drive 30 miles from the nearest power line and see how they do it

Windmill.

Solar is a good choice in your area, but just like in the old days a wind mill is cheaper. but mother nature allways provides sun even through clouds but not allways wind