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.
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.
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.
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.
The ability to procure food and protect same would be #1 in any situation. Real property will continue to have real value. Money however is only as good as the financial system. There are plenty of historical examples of money becoming worthless.
Ten miles outside of a metropolitan cent might not offer much, but 200 miles does. If the SHTF, as he put it, predators have to think protection as well, and in such an environment strangers draw fire. Additionally, as families congregate, it won't be a matter of deserted farmhouse, but rather 20-30 people per group, with mutually supporting groups. Not impenetrable for sure, but also not easy pickings. There is a reason that coyotes don't directly attack cows, the risk of injury out ways the likelihood of success.
You’re going to be better off where ever your support network is, whether that’s family, friends, your church, likeminded coworkers or some other affinity network. Most likely in situ, in other words.
If that happens to be a major metro, think Katrina, think of those pockets of neighbors banding together to defend their neighborhoods or even a few blocks of a neighborhood.
It’ll be worst at first, settle down after a few weeks to a few months, and then there will be the chronic crime and home invasions, due to people who are prone to such behavior anyway, emboldened by the general breakdown. Think of looting rioters, diffused and spread out.
Cash on hand, at least enough to cover a couple months’ living expenses. Nonperishable food, the same but up to a year’s worth is not a bad idea. What will inflate wildly will be the necessary things, and the imported things. What will be nearly worthless are the status symbols that add no utility but do add a lot of maintenance cost, expensive cars, that sort of thing. They’ll make you a target, too.
The ability to defend yourself, not just in your home but out and about on your business, will be important. No point in going completely nuts and setting up a private armory, but even current scarcity argues for more rather than less, as far as ammunition goes.
The world won’t just grind to a complete halt. I suspect it’ll be rather strange, with pockets of seemingly complete normalcy, and pockets of Mad Max, with flare ups and calm periods over time.
These are my thoughts on the matter. I considered the rural place with surface water, backup power, solar panels, etcetera, but honestly you’re going to be a sitting duck. Being the descendant of people who lived through the Civil War in the south, and it’s aftermath during Reconstruction, I’ve heard the old family stories about outliers and such, so there will be feral elements looking to prey on you if they can. Safety in numbers.
Assuming there is any fuel to transport the raw materials (do you know where they come from?) to the factory(do you know where it is?), and then the finished product to you. Also assuming the roads aren't full of "highwaymen", hijacking what loads that fuel can be found for.
Then there are all the required financial transactions required to make all that happen.
One thing that people forget is that they will need other people. A close knit group is nice but just being part of a community will work.
Get to know those around you.
Survival bump.
Argentina only suffered a bad economy. It never went SHTF. Should the US go broke and civil unrest happen, everything ferfal and others say will not apply whatsoever. Argentina still had police and judges and civil authority. It was seriously criminal in nature but it was there.
I think it is impossible to compare the U.S. to any other country in a “what if” situation; historically we have acted differently in response to things than citizens of other countries.
I personally already live isolated so whether that is good or bad remains to be seen if things go wrong. Just as many have friends or relatives in the country they could go to in a time of crisis I have friends and family in towns. I think the ability to adapt to the situation will be more important than any set plan as far as that goes.
Stocking up on supplies for your use and some extra for relatives or friends in tough times is always a good idea, but stocking up with the plan of running a store is a terrible idea. My grandfather had a ranch and a grocery store during the depression and he closed the store because people could not pay for the groceries, could not pay their bill if he let them charge, and he wasn’t able to deny groceries to neighbors and friends if they couldn’t pay~especially if they had families to feed.
Bartering will always work, in good times and bad trading works, but you have to have a wide variety of skills or things to trade, not just tools or toilet paper. The thing about trading to remember is if someone has something you need then you have to have something that particular person needs to make a trade~ they usually won’t trade for items they don’t need just because that is what you have a lot of.
As far as people stockpiling weapons and ammo~ to me it makes no sense to tell anyone you are doing it. I am amazed everytime someone posts about all the firearms and ammo they have. Hello that is a good way to advertise to the very people you may not want to know if things do fall apart.
If things fall apart the mentally tough people that can adapt to different situations will likely be the survivors. It is good to prepare of course, but your mindet is much more important than how much toilet paper you have in the garage.