Posted on 09/06/2009 3:26:34 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
As far as the first one is concerned, I suspect I’m better off in my tiny close knit town than off somewhere by myself. Seems to me that I’m better off with 100 people with a broad skill set than simply knowing how to keep myself warm, dry and fed.
Many of the people in my little town are elderly and would have a rough time but any one of them has more value than any number of teenagers. The teenagers would have value as strong backs but today’s teenagers would have a rough go for a while.
The core strategy seems to be (a) cash and (b) one or more houses abroad.
Houses are cheap in many foreign countries. I have one so far and will buy another next year - probably in a different country.
The stockpiling and hoarding “preparedness” idea has never appealed.
I’ve read the Argentina perspective before, and while there are a number of valid points, the USA is not Argentina. If we have a societal collapse, it will most likely be due to a civil war of sorts, in which case the attempts to hold on to a normal life while the society collapses would be silly here. The Argentina scenario seems to be dependent on so many of the citizens simply trying to survive with no greater purpose in mind, whereas a civil war here would be for a purpose. That is not to say that there won’t be danger of thieves and murderers galore, but that the plan to accept a certain level of societal collapse while trying to hold on to as much of the normal life as possible would require a different attitude and worldview than most Americans have. For example, would the average Argentinian think his Constitution was worth dying for? Would he think that the idea of liberty was worth dying for? Many, many Americans would, which is why they would not accept a semi-collapse while trying to conduct business as usual. I think we’d either go all out, or we wouldn’t go at all.
Owning real estate means you have to manage it. You can manage a rental in France from Costa Rica- not without paid help to get the rent and to get it to you. You cannot rely on such help in hard times. That part is quite unrealistic. Food stockup makes sense. About which see the “Mormon one year plan” etc.
While I don’t agree with all of it, there’s some very sound advice here.
For the most part it sounds more sensible than much of the stuff I’ve read about when TSHF... :-)
And yeah, these “isolated compounds” are kinda stupid ideas...
However, I’m not shopping around for property in France or Costa Rica... LOL...
unfortunately, i see no limits to the potential $$$grab from the kenyan...
i believe i'll continue in a small community that has ag & wildlife base, and 'stay small' for the time being...squirrelin away a little bit of 'extra' necessities as life permits...
Another thing to consider is that one of the executive orders that dear old GW signed allowed for the seizure of all food stocks, fuel, firearms, and vehicles in the event of Martial Law being declared. Once that happens, you had better be where you were going because there will be no travel allowed. I think that a good rule would be to pack a few essentials in an A.L.I.C.E. pack, have one rifle with a couple of hundred rounds of ammo (no matter how many you've stashed), a good pair of boots and woods basics, and a good SW emergency radio ready to roll on 20 minutes notice. Scout the area that you will flee to and make certain that you can navigate the route in the dark. Leave no notes, maps, scribbles, etc. and throw the cellphone in the trash after you've disconnected the battery.
One thought I’ve had about setting up a rural homestead is that the government can declare it a wetlands or whatever they want, and take it away. If we do end up with a totalitarian government, an obvious hotbed of revolt is going to be people living out in the sticks, and I’d look for that type of government to find a way of cracking down on them. Or maybe I’m just being paranoid.
Fortifying anything with the idea of defending against a siege is suicidal.
How did you go about buying property in another country? I would have no idea how to do that.
I agree that the bug-out location idea is pretty impractical. And if you’re talking about a person of limited means, as most of us are, seems to me it’s far better to stock up so that you can hunker down where you are.
But investments? WTF? You’re liable to get robbed or killed if you go to the supermarket, much less an ATM or bank!
And I don’t necessarily agree with him summarily dismissing stocking up on TP or whatever. There was a show on a while back called “The New Pioneers” or something like that, a reality show where these folks tried to make it as ranchers in the old west.
Economy is economy. And it reached a natural level.
Food became the single most important commodity. Gear for farming and animal tendering came next.
The third most valuable, and what did actually become worth it’s weight in gold, was the toiletries and such. And being in supermarket retail many years ago, I can tell you the biggest profit supermarkets make isn’t on the steaks or eggs.
It’s on the shampoo and stuff like that.
Spend some time there (wherever). Ask around.
There’s no substitute.
Google the real estate rules/property ownership laws of your intended foreign land. Then go visit for a vacation to:
1. Make sure you like the place/could live there
2. Find a real estate agent and start talking
I’ve got property overseas in 3 different countries; it’s cheap, easy to buy, and if needed, I could live in all 3 countries without worry.
In many places overseas you can buy a smaller 600-700 square foot condo/apartment for less than $20,000. That’s in a nicely sized city, like Chaiyaphum in Thailand, Suzhou in China, or Lido in the Philippines.
Why on earth would any conservative plan on “Surviving” rather than being an integral part of reclaiming the country through force of arms?
The foundation of this country is not now and never has been the Constitution. That is merely a blueprint for governance.
The foundation is the Declaration of Independence.
Plan on following the example of those who wrote it if TSHTF.
Nice if you can do it, but that’s just a twist on the “bug out location” scenario.
Remember how folks screamed (and are still) at the government about Katrina?
Gov ain’t gonna make that mistake again. If the SHTF, you can expect the obvious, most apparent government reactions that will play on the evening news to make it look like they’re doing something and in control.
That means:
some form of martial law, including:
rationing
travel restrictions
some kind of policy/workforce to deal with shut-ins and elderly
possible energy policies - very limited gas availability, conceivably having the electric grid offline for some hours of the day or night
Given these kinds of things, I don’t see the practicality of depending on foreign properties. It’s not like you would have six weeks to get your passport in order and arrange for some nice neighbors to watch you place and go to the drugstore to stock up on suntan lotion or something...
>>> I don’t see the practicality of depending on foreign properties. It’s not like you would have six weeks to get your passport in order. <<<<<
Our passports are “in order” and accessible within 30 seconds.
We could be on an international flight by tomorrow morning at the latest.
All financial accounts are online and accessible from anywhere in the world as easily as from right here at my desk.
What more is there?
Oh yeah, drown the cats and lock the front door.
(just kidding, no cats here)
Typical sign: "Looters will be shot, Survivors will be shot again". Another one "Warning, crazy Redneck guarding homes, beware!"
A good way to look at preparations is the “boned” theory.
That is, consider the following. Preparing for an “everything, and all at once” disaster is probably not worth it, because if it is that bad, and that fast, you’re likely going to just grab your emergency kit and run.
So it’s best to look at single issues. One thing that could really put a crimp in your day, and based on past experience, could happen.
For example, the power goes out. Happens all the time. Got batteries? Got battery powered fans for summer, and a battery powered heater for winter? Do you have an adapter to convert a car’s DC battery energy into a little alternating current energy?
Things like that.
Another example is what if either gasoline prices go through the roof, or the gas stations run out of gas? Do you have a bicycle or a moped? Mopeds look silly, but can get you a hundred miles with just a single gallon of gasoline. (And don’t think 100 miles in a straight line, but 100 miles of city driving, to do things like buy groceries, when you have the road to yourself.)
How about potable water? Not having a water filter could be a major pain in the rear end.
Things that if you don’t have them, you are “boned”.
Importantly, the perspective on this, in a community, is that there will be a lot of people who *don’t* have these simple things, and you can be a hero if you can lend them a hand. You might even be a lifesaver.
It’s not usually all at once, just one or two critical things.
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