Urban Survival Skills To Keep Your Ass Alive

survive2thrive.ne ^ | 7/14/11 | Steve

[Kartographer]

Even if you are fortunate enough to have a retreat out in the country getting to your safe haven maybe impossible during upheaval. Roads blocked by wrecked and fuelless vehicles will stop most bugouters in their tracks. Maybe you were born lucky and can make it out safely before the balloon bursts, then what? People in rural areas, will start shooting if threatened by mobs of refugees fleeing the city. Don’t expect to be welcomed with arms outstretched. Most country folks don’t trust outsiders; you will likely be greeted with a load of buckshot and not the cup of fresh coffee and meaningful conversation you hoped for.

[CodeToad]

“I’d bet on the steel, but I might be surprised.”

Yep, did that. The plastic tubs from 5 years ago are as fresh as ever. The metal tins were just fine, too. I suspect 10 years wouldn’t be a problem for either.

[arkady_renko]

Travis, is that The Busted Flush?

[familyop]

"I’m a warm-weather-wussy, so there is little risk of seeing me there."

I would be happy to see you here. We have a good natured acquaintance, who had the same MOS as me. Boating in the ocean again looks exceedingly tempting, BTW. ...loved growing up for twelve years in a tropical place except for the crazy wet bulb (heat & humidity) and crowds. ;-)

We saw many of the other kind of people the last two summers (but not this summer): untrained, proud, introverted, couch potato, suburban folks coming all the way from the City (~ 100 miles) to dry run with their RVs in campgrounds and on vacant parcels only during summer. If they attempted to winter, they would be more potential bodies to surface during the seasonal runoff (thaw). Thank goodness, fuel prices slowed that suicidal traffic down to a tiny bit. ...only one of 'em out there now, a few miles away.

Our friends are humble and open about themselves in person. They're common, hard working and technically inclined. We avoid getting too familiar with the first-name-basis-only people, the officious, and the edgy: those who will be sliding back down to the cities--most of them--as the default process continues (energy, food, lack of revenues, lack of jobs, probably colder climate here in two or three years, etc.).

[arkady_renko]

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[MileHi]

I’m a warm-weather-wussy, so there is little risk of seeing me there.

Ha! I hear you yet here I am in the foothills of the Rockies, where I was born.

It is interesting to see "urbanites" during cold weather. They wear shorts and a light jacket because they don't intend to be out long, just short trips from their section eight housing and the public bus or choo-choo. They will freeze in the dark in short order if things go bad in the winter. They sure have no experience exerting themselves (clearing snow, splitting wood) with 20 degree air stinging their lungs. We have often been perfectly comfortable above 8500 feet in elk camp in a 1946 army wall tent for two weeks that never got above 15-20 degrees. But chores do need to be done, vehicles maintained...

[MHGinTN]

Particularly coal ashes, which my grandfather used in his outhouse. Even when he had indoor plumbing in the corncrib/vacation house, he continued to use his outhouse. He heated with coal in a huge fireplace, so there was an abundance of coal ashe for the johnny house.

[PapaBear3625]

Orders which will be ignored by most uniformed officers. They'll be thinking of protecting their families and homesteads first and foremost.

We saw that in the LA riots and Katrina. And THAT was in an environment where the officers knew they WOULD get paid after it was all over.

In an environment where there is no pay, and no likelihood of pay, expect the officers to desert and look after their own. Also expect officers to band together and try to make a go of it as feudal lords, exchanging "protection" for food and women. If things collapse, most law enforcement officers will be just another armed gang.

[familyop]

"In general, I don’t want to wind up in a Waco/Alamo/Ruby Ridge standoff."

LOL! Must be quite a neighborhood, where you're at.

"Make mine mobile."

That's one beautiful way to get away for sure.

[Ramius]

Hey! I just yesterday finished your fourth book, Castigo Cay. As with the EF&D series... Loved it! It’s all way too frighteningly plausible.

I hope you’ve got a plan to keep publishing after you bug out... :-)

[verity]

Y2K syndrome?

[familyop]

"I think our tri-racial cities are going to go Rwanda on steroids when the power goes out.

If the power is out more than a week, ALL bets are OFF."

What kinds of disasters would be likely to bring that on? ...haven't seen that only from economic poverty and squalor.

[familyop]

"Anyone whose worst case scenario includes still having electricity and functioning sewage and water coming out of the faucets ought to re-think their plans."

Agreed!

"One can get perfectly clean with a 4 gallons of water, a bucket and something to pour it with."

Yep. Better than the quart canteen for soldiers in the field!

"Also people need to think of soap and other cleaning supplies. I have several cases of Kirks Castile soap - works if need be for clothes, as well as skin and hair. Rinses very fast so uses less water."

Yes. I'm not expecting the end of the world, but I am cheap and enjoy being clean. ;-)

[Ellendra]

Yeah, I’m planning on a composting toilet system myself, but I wanted to throw the ashes thing out there for anybody who was planning to use lime.

[little jeremiah]

Did you read “Patriots”?

Some things that could threaten grid power, mix and match with added economic collapse.

Natural disasters + econ. collapse

Several natural disasters at once + econ. collapse

War with optional natural disaster + econ. collapse

Toss in a few jihadi mayhem scenarios + econ collapse

Remember a few years ago about 1/3 of the country, or at any rate, most of the east coast and part of the midwest, had a huge blackout? Oddly enough, exactly 2 weeks later there was one in Europe some place and IIRC, 2 weeks after that another one. Supposedly here in the US it was a squirrel or oak tree or something... Now imagine grid collapse plus one or more of the above.

Add the social mayhem being fomented by the left as leavening.

[Errant]

On short takeoff and landing, have either of you two seen a Helio?

Yes, they are expensive and hard to find these days. Also parts are hard to get and they need more maintenance than your typical Cessna or Piper. Great short field performance and hauling capacity but there are other options.

The current STOL record holder is a slightly modified Piper SuperCub. You can build yourself one of these as well as a number of other great homebuilt STOL aircraft.

A few that come to mind are the Supercubs, Wag-Aero Sportsman 2+2 based on a PA-14, Glastar composite Sportsman 2+2, Zenair 701 & 801, and a number of others. The great thing about homebuilts is that you can build the parts or use non-certified parts and do your own maintenance.

Plain old Cessna 172s and 182s as well as Piper 140s and 180s are very reasonable now. Maintenance is a headache and expensive with certified aircraft where even a 3/8ths washer or an O-Ring will have a paper trail and most of the work will require a certified A&P mechanic with an annual inspection by an AI.

[Errant]

Alaska STOL competition videos on Youtube.

[Kartographer]

If I am wrong so? I Have some extra food and supplies that I will eventually be able to use and very likely I saved money on them both from buying in bulk and inflation. But if you are wrong what do you tell your family?

“There is no greater disaster than to underestimate danger.
Underestimation can be fatal.”

One thing that people who like to bring up Y2K is that they don't realize that the fact that people were ringing the alarm over it cause it to be taken seriously. Companies who the problem wasn't even on their radar suddenly realized that they had a problem coming at them and they started spending millions of dollars and thousand of man hours to make sure it was fixed before if did cause problems. What do you think would have happened if the problem wasn't address and steps not taken? I'll tell you what exactly what people were concerned about. Just because an alarm was sounded and heeded and catastrophe avoided that doesn't make the concern any less valid. I guess if a city is warned of a dangerous killer hurricane and the city is evacuated and not loss of life occurs then the evacuation was hyperbole?

Prepare or don't that's you choice, but I point out its only been the last 60-50 that put by a bit for hard times is not the norm.

Do you buy house insurance expecting or wanting your house to burn down? No of course you don't, but is it not smart to take precaution just in case? Of course it is.

I would like to ask you a couple questions; if you don't believe in prepping then why would you take the time to post something disparaging on a thread clearly made up of those who do? What do you gain? What do we gain from your remarks?

If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
1 Timothy 5:8

[blam]

"With clear fields of fire, you’d only have to pick off a couple at distance and they’d move to greener pastures. Remember, they will NOT be interested in gaining territory, only goods and women."

Hmmm. I hadn't thought of that...maybe I'll be able to trade them a bag of beans for a woman, eh?

She'll have to be able to cook, sew and clean....

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

If things collapse, most law enforcement officers will be just another armed gang.

They'll be free to do as they wish as long as they maintain a respectful distance from my domain. Which, under present materiel constraints, is about 200 yards.

[Travis McGee]

We used to know cruisers who would not winter over in South Florida because it was too cold, and they would have to buy such as sweaters and jackets, and had no desire to. So, work in Lauderdale during the hurricane season, then flee south. A very extreme form of tropical snowbird.