We all do it. Dream about what could be if….
From what I can see the one main area most of us would change is our location. Some want their own farm or smallholding, others want a fully stocked bunker whilst some would go as far as their own island or a boat.
It shows that most of us do not live in our ideal location. I don’t. Although I have done what I can to improve my chances of survival I would move if I had the money. My job and my family influence my location and I would not move far.
For those of us that cannot change our location and are unlikely to ever have the finances we will just have to make do with where we are. Whether we live in our ideal location or not we must identify the risks and mitigate those that we can. Some we have to live with whilst others will nag us because we know they reduce our chances of survival but there is little we can do in our situation.
Sadly, this is life there is no solution for some issues and the best we can do is going to have to do. We may find that it may not be an issue after all but we still have to consider the worse case and cater for that.
Even those that move into their ideal home still face issues. Some created by the move to a new location and each location has its own risks and issues that we have to deal with.
First we have to identify them. Some will be easy and others will need more experience to identify. Remember that for every plus point there is usually an associated negative point. For example; House is situated at the top of a hill, flood risk is zero but you will be visible for miles.
Second we have to evaluate them. What exactly is the likely risk and, importantly, what is the worst case risk. For example; There is a risk that your neighbours could come calling when power runs out but you now that most are elderly and are likely to be taken in by family to be looked after. Worse case though is they will come for help, all of them.
Third we decide what we can do to mitigate the risk. What is possible and how much resource will it take. Perhaps consider phased approaches where we do the minimum possible but have plans to change if that doesn’t work. For example; You have concerns that you will gt raided by the chavs down the road. You could put food in your pantry but you mitigate its loss by storing additional stores in the loft. However, they may search the house so you also have additional stores buried in the back garden.
Fourth we decide if we can live with it or can’t afford to mitigate the risk. Is it really worth bothering about? in some cases it will be easy but others are trickier. For example; You are living out in the country up a difficult to find and get along track. Emergency services just can’t get there easily. A fire, a medical emergency or even getting any help will be difficult.
Finally we must always remember,like every other aspect of what we do to evaluate the situation again every few months and when the situations change. For example; A bunch of Hells Angels move into the farm house about a mile up the road next to you.
Everybodies situation is unique and every locations has it’s own advantages and disadvantages. Each one makes a difference to your chances of survival. Do something now to improve your chances and improve the odds.
If I had the money must not be an excuse to do nothing.
My first time here, good to know there are thousands of nutters like me
Reading down a few comments about foodstuff purchase–(can’t possibly read them all) so far I haven’t seen anything that tells you to read the calorific values on the label. Its no use having cans of veg, say, at 200 cal per can, when a jar of peanut butter packs 10 times the energy value and is full of nutritional benefits ad costs less.
I prep-buy on cost per 100 cal
Its also in glass or plastic, and will last indefinetly. ( Ive just opened a jar 10 years ‘out of date’ and it’s fine.)
The other big nono—is you don’t tell anyone you’re a prepper, except other preppers.
If the shit doesn’t hit the fan, nobodys the wiser
if it does, you don’t want to be the only one in your street having taken precautions, with everyone knowing where there’s food.
I don’t think you stress that enough
As to ‘bugging out’, thats a silly idea from the USA where there might be somewhere to bug out to
exactly where in UK do the buggers-out have in mind? In a real crisis, a car/trailer full of stuff is likely to get as far as the nearest main road–if they’re lucky
Preppers with their pictures in the Mail really are nutters
first point first, we dont refer to ourselves as nutters….the nutters are the non prepared sheeple! as for peanut butter-i hate the stuff-remember:” store what you eat, eat what you store”, and finally, “bugging out” depends where you are located, there are places to bug out to if you know where to look! agree with you about “preppers” getting their photos in newspapers…very bad OPSEC!!
Good point about the calories but I believe that for longer term you need a more balanced diet. So Yes. Calories are important and this should be in your BOB but for your stay at home long term. Normal foods.
With ‘nutters’ I was attempting self-deprecating humour
As to peanut butter, I’m not over-fond of it myself.
But it packs the most calories into the smallest space at the cheapest price for long lasting storage.
You may not like it very much, but you will eat it nevertheless
I dont eat what i dont like, hence my reference to “store what you eat, eat what you store”, anything else is false economy.
In times of hardship, food is food.
In a state of emergency what you like or don’t like will be irrelevant I think
i think your pushing it a bit, i’ve already stated my point of view.
For example; A bunch of Hells Angels move into the farm house about a mile up the road next to you.
How would you deal with that?
go and say hello, i have nothing to fear from them, its the “ordinary” citizens that i worry about !!
I would agree, being mates with them would be better than not .
Depends on the level of local ‘difficulty’ I think. If things get more extreme, affinity to a group might become essential to survival.
If we reach that level, then we are talking about tribal allegiances. After that, all bets are off with regard to civilised behaviour. Allegiance to any tribe involves some kind of cost/payment for the protection it offers. How that payment is made depends on circumstances. Tribe also means hierarchy and authority, which is likely to be unpleasant in many cases.
Moving isn’t likely to be an option, because you move out of the area of one tribe into another.
if conventional law breaks down, unconventional law will take over within days
Sadly your take on “unconventional law” is right John.
Good insight. Thanks for sharing ir with us. I hadn’t started thinking about that until reading your reply.
Glad somebody ‘got it’
Our civilised infrastructure depends one one thing and one thing only
An input of surplus energy
If we don’t have that, then the whole thing collapses.
Fire police and medics depend on it, without it they cannot function, yet there is the weird belief that somehow we escape into some kind of bucolic rural bliss where we can contentedly tend our veggie plots and chicken coops with minimal interference from outside our immediate environment.
that somehow ‘we’ can downsize but everything we depend on will somehow be there when we need it.
eventually i believe it will come down to the “tribal” level, this may mean similar race, colour, religion or just something as simple as the place where you live. being part of your particular “tribe” will rely on what you can do for that tribe say as a hunter, farmer, grower or a specific trade like blacksmith or thatcher or builder. each tribe will have their own rules or “laws” which will say what is allowed or not allowed within that tribe.
pretty much my thoughts exactly
which is why i think anyone bugging out should have something worthwhile to offer whatever community you’re bugging out to
we will be bugging out to somewhere we can survive-nothing more- so to start total isolation from other people, keep our heads down, dont get noticed and survive the event. communities will come much later after the dust has settled and all the killings have stopped.
All that has been discussed like forever in the forum…
If your not in it you should be….
i second that!!
Money, yeah that is most of our problems, the lack thereof.
Here is a twist on money.
I have made out list of things needed and figured up how much they would be. Then when I had saved the money or had a windfall of sorts that list went out the window and I bought something else entirely.
I was wondering if in wanting a bug out place one would look at almost make do places with certain amenities but if they fell into a pot of money they would change their minds?
I would love to have the money for a livable shack on small acreage at this stage of the game, but I am women and I even now want it to have several things. A big serviceable kitchen with oodles of storage. A cellar or some area that food can be kept for long term storage. A well and good plumbing.
I don’t think this will change even if I win the lottery, dreamer that I am. As if the SHTF or doesn’t don’t want a place with high taxes.
There is nothing wrong with dreams, they keep us going, just as long as we don’t let them corrupt what we are doing in the mean time.
I would love to OWN my dream bug out property, in the middle of nowhere, no near neighbours, in the middle of its own land, some open land but mainly woodland, 2 or 3 bedrooms, kitchen/diner open plan living room with a usable chimney and a range cooker, larder large enough for all the preps, own water supply and private drainage, dont care if its got electric or not as will be off grid when TSHTF anyway so might as well live it. maybe a decent sized outbuilding for a workshop as well.
Ahhh that’s the life B.P. are you sure we weren’t separated at birth….
That is my ideal..See we don’t want much out of life…
yeah, all i need now is the money to buy it!!!