We live in the country on a well. No power, no water. The standard joke out here in Missouri goes like this. I know what its like to live in a third world country, I have Ameren UE power";^)
I don't try and power the whole house so the transfer switch powers a separate box that powers the well and some kitchen, bedroom, furnace fan and garage breakers. Lets us cook. Can watch TV from the bed. Powers the garage in case I need to be working on a vehicle. The furnace fan so we will have heat in the winter.
Generally you don't size a generator for running the whole house as you rarely run everything all at once. Size it to run just what you'll need. For instance you don't need to power a stovetop, just cook with the microwave.
The other thing to watch for is surge current. For instance in Florida you may want to run an AC. Make sure that the unit can handle the startup surge without popping the generators breaker.
We live in the country on a well. No power, no water. The standard joke out here in Missouri goes like this. I know what its like to live in a third world country, I have Ameren UE power”;^)