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I’ve been studying up on the Lebanon Civil War (1975-1990) and the Balkan wars of the 90s, looking for lessons. Going rural sure didn’t work in Lebanon. Isolated villages, much less homesteads, were wiped out in vicious ethnic cleansing. Area “militias” in both wars turned into mafia, and collected “taxes” and “customs” at checkpoints. If they didn’t like your face, they shot you. You couldn’t hide out successfully for long. Maybe in a remote valley in Idaho, maybe.

And in both Lebanon and Yugoslavia, despite real “SHTF” conditions, cities continue to exist. They are very tough organisms despite taking many “insults,” including prolonged lack of power and water, artillery battles, snipers, car bombs etc.

In spite of all of that, very few “headed for the hills” as a better alternative. After the second unofficial militia checkpoint you would be robbed. After the third, you would be shot. To “head for the hills,” you have to already be living in the hills before TSHTF.

To survive, most assumed a “gray man” strategy in the suburbs. If you are a male of fighting age, you WILL be conscripted by the local militia. No choice. Fight, or be shot as a coward/spy/traitor. If you are a male under 15 or over 50, you may be allowed to slide. In that case, your job is protecting your family and scrounging for food, while the young men of your family are on forced militia duty, like it or not.

The only other viable option is just as FerFal says: LEAVE and move to another country. 100s of thousands of Lebanese and Yugos just left those countries, never to return. But to leave, you really need to put some tendrils down in the countries you might escape for. Relatives help, foreign money / gold helps.

One way it might play out differently in the case of the USA is to “emmigrate regionally.” It might be SHTF in New England, but much better in Texas, for example.

I guess I am looking at things from a perspective of where it is best to live rather than where to go.

I think one should stay where they are no matter where they live. I can’t imagine someone abandoning their home and moving to the country in such a scenario.

For one thing everyone would know some stranger had moved into the area and would immediately become suspicious of you.

Having said that, I really do think a rural area such as where I live would be best. First of all, I know all my neighbors. I am probably kin to half the people in the county. (my Mother was one of 12 and my Father one of 9 children) No group unless they are really large is going to come into our communtiy and take over.

My parents and my late wife’s parents all lived during the great depression. They hardly noticed it because they lived on farms and raised nearly everything they needed.

Although we moved from our farm when I was four, I still remember the smoke house, the spring where we got our water until we had a well. I remember using twigs from a certain tree to clean our teeth. Using corncobs for toilet paper, or even certain types of leaves. My Mother made our own soap.

That doesn’t mean we didn’t have those things such as tooth brushes etc. we did but we knew how to substitute when we were away from the house etc.

I think people in large cities will have it worst. I do agree they will stay put. People simply stay where they are familiar with things.

My Greatgrandfather did not have electricity but he had hot and cold running water. (from a concrete reservoir on the hill above his house.) He had a telephone system which connected him to his relattives, also had a carbide light system.

I don’t think Lebanon is very similar. There you had a Christian minority who were generally the upper class and Muslim majority who probably hated the Christians. Basically a built in Civil War potential. Add in Israel and Syria and a real mess no matter what.

Travis, terrific story on that part you needed made and its true. Enough bucks will get you out of most problems and its usually not that much :-)
There’s a small town up north in the province of Salta here in Argentina, they have an old vapor train working in good conditions. They actually manage to make all the spare parts they need on their own shop. As you say, necessity is the mother of invention.
Many many years ago, when I was a little kid and we lived in Boston, my dad would pick perfectly good bikes that were being thown away to fix them, they maybe needed another chain, or just had a flat tire. We couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t that we needed it or anything. My father was a high executive of Bank Boston and we sure didn’t need the money. It just didn’t compute in his brain that people threw away things that actually worked.
Cars here cost a lot of money, so of course, most of the things you guys thorw away here are perefcetly good (and running ) cars. We really don’t have anything like car compactors, everything gets fixed and kept running.
You’re also right about people adapting. Its easy to say, that no it wont happen, that we world will end instead. Sounds much more spectacular. Reality is less amazing and more mundane. People will scrounge more, learn to fix stuff more, and do whatever they can to get by better, even if a lot of the old middle class ends up poor.
3rd world people aren’t anything special, we don’t come form another planet, its just that you figure out ways of getting by because you don’t have much of a choice.
I suppose that if for us, throwing away a refirgierator instead of fixing it made no difference financially speaking we would all do that. But since a fiidge costs a bit more than the average monthly salary, people find a way, find someone to fix it or fix it themselves.
Computer as well, old computers keep on getting repaired and upgraded any way they can. Every buck counts.
I read once about a women during the siege of Sarajevo, every day when going to work, she ran across a street with heavy sniper activity, risking getting shot to go to work. “But you don’t Work when SHTF!” Yes man, you do! :-)
Even if you already live isoltated before SHTF, the more isolated you are in a high crime environment, let alone heavy gang or ethnical prosecution, the more likely you are to get hit harder. The Rohedesian farmers come to mind.
Travis, during the Spanish civil war my grandfather bribed his way out of service under Franco. A couple hams, and mostly, lots of cash to gets his “papers” in order. Same thing for moving to Argentina. Back then you needed a family member already in Argentina claim you and pay for you. If not, guess what happened? You where sent to work in the fields in the provinces. Everyone wanted to stay in Buenos Aires city where salaries were much better.
My grandfather was a good carpenter and worked making a luxury item: Pool tables. He was also good at business and soon had his own carpentry that occupied half a block. With the money they didn’t buy a retreat and several acres, (even tohugh they were both farmers back in Spain) with the extra money my grandma started a very succeful bakery. Later they closed because of a series of armed robberies. The bough a few apartments, also lost a lot of money they had in the bank during Martínez de Hoz in 78. The lesson my grandma always tells me is that the only this that was always safe where their real estate investments, both here in Argentina and during the civil war in Spain. Land and bricks. Money in the bank mostly belongs to the bank, not you.

FerFAL