I tend to avoid the big city and this has been for a very long time. I had to work there for six months on a project, fully expensed, car parking space under the building and I enjoyed the work but still took hours of travel so I moved into a posh hotel close to the centre and very soon got fed up of the city. There was plenty to do, shows, shops, etc. but I just got bored with the bright lights and noise 24/7 being a small town sort of guy. This was a long time before it went downhill, was filled up with CCTV, scanners on the trains, plod with SMGs and chavs, although it was no picnic then either.
I’ve been discussing with an old friend of mine his plans for Bugging In in a house in London. He is in a better situation than most having a nice place where he can store his preps and he has a garage where he keeps his car. I’ve not been there but I have seen photographs and he has described the location to me. I’ve looked at the place and while it is a great place and relatively secure it is going to be impossible to secure if anyone decides that they want to come in and Plod is not going to be around to frighten them off after fifteen minutes. He is a very straight guy and no way would he consider anything illegal. He raised his eyebrows in his disapproving way when I suggested he got a perfectly legal shotgun license.
In addition there is nowhere where he can grow crops in any quantity and, importantly, protect them. So he is down to just what he can hide and store in his home.
I would say that he could survive short term in his location but as soon as the feral scum expand into his posh area they will find easy pickings with people like him and his neighbours.
Not a very good position to be in. He won’t move though he thinks that although the country will collapse it will do so in a spiffingly civilised way and he will have a nice civilised exit to family and friends up here in the North West.
It is funny how different people think. Despite all the things I have told him about and all the things he reads in the papers he still thinks that a nice visible CCTV camera in the back garden covering most of the rear of the house and a remote monitoring company is going to protect him just fine. People won’t break down quickly and he will have time to pack everything and leave.
He made me consider and try and find a way he could survive in the inner city. I spent some time looking at maps and Google Earth and what mods, illegal or otherwise, he could do to his home that would help. I sent him a nice list of risks and actions he can take but in reality the only solution for him is to move. He could easily but he likes the shows and the bright lights, the restaurants, pubs and events so he won’t leave. Just tell me what I need to make it OK was his response. The problem is that we are all taking risks and some of them will cause us problems but in his case there are risks that we cannot mitigate against. He is relying on his heavy right foot on the accelerator of his nice posh car and clear roads. Too risky for me.
It also made me think about the other major cities in the UK. Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow and the smaller ones and I’ve come to the conclusion that it is going to be impossible to secure any location in any inner city in the UK. Than covers about 90% of the population, probably including most of us. Unless you have enough money to buy a chunk of property that you can convert and with access to an underground facility that you can convert and store your preps in. That way would work but for the 99.99% of us who don’t have that option it comes down to relocating or having a very good bug out plan. Perhaps with your own helicopter.
I think a lot of people putting aside preps are going to get a big shock for an economic event. It will be the worst possible for us preppers as everyone will be left alive to fight to live. I’ve done what I can here and being on the outskirts I think I can certainly hide for long enough but in a city centre while people are everywhere. I think those in the inner cities have no real chance unless they are very lucky with the location. I can see a few locations that would be OK for some time but I also see the feral scum coming around eventually. Although that could be handled if you were prepared and plans set in motion.
Think your options carefully and consider getting out while you can. A small house in Londonstan will buy a largest and more remote house in the country. The council need them for all the people moving in.
Nice to see we are in almost total agreement, I accept some very skilled, fit and mobile street wise young folks could survive for ages as hunter gatherers, scavengers or foragers, But I’ve yet to see anyone come up with a viable plan to live with a family long term in the UKs cities. Just the failure of the utilities I think will turn the cities into stinking disease ridden sewers within 2 weeks of the power going out.
BUT as I have finally learned you can take a horse to water but you cant make it drink, I’ve given up trying to peruade folks to get out now, and I just give em my opinion and advice and leave em to it.
I do not believe that we will be able to think of all the things that will happen, nor how to protect ourselves in any location.
All we can do is the best we can, can afford, and pray.
Ellen,
I agree but there are certain situations that are better than others. I’m struggling to see how an ordinary law abiding family can survive a collapse in an inner city without some serious prepping regarding their living accomodation.
As someone who has been in the forces, I agree that we have to try to help people with their antics at Bugging out if nec, but all I seem to get when talking to people is ‘your a little strange’ so when I was lucky enough to find the woman I married was as into ‘bushcrafting, shooting and survivalism, as my self I deemed my self very lucky. At this present time my other half is looking like mad for a nice little place out in the country, although ws are very lucky in having 5000 acres that we have permission to shoot and camp on whenever we like within 10 miles of our present home.
So I have preperations to G.O.O.D. if nec, we still want our own so we don’t have to.
Forgot to say, we are in york area.
Agree with you about getting a motivated partner Kiddsy, my wife became as rabid as me about survivalism whilst I was still in the army but in the Cold War days. We were prepping for Global Thermonuclear war !!! Crazy or what. We are just 40 plus miles north of you in Durham
Kiddsy,
That is some luck you have both in your other half and your land permissions. You should buy a few acres there to make your base.
Oh N R andS S K Believe me we are very lucky in the areas we have to ‘ practice ‘ in but we are still trying to convince the owners of one site that they need to sell us a derilect cottage, but we are still trying, but in the in economic climate as is, I hope they may consider, it may not be A palace but it would not bother us.
Sorry N R
PPS sorry S D it is 10 30 after the pub
LOL. No problem.
I know city living will be just short of hell-ish, but I imagine all of them as pac man’s gobbling up everything in the city and then spreading out. Hence my conclusion that no place is safe.
Yes, I took into considerations all of the things that could cause them to be cannabalistic zombies but for some reason all I can see is a sea of pac man’s chopping away.
So I feel that the population is going to have to decrease quite a bit at the onset of anything.