# I like articles like this...



## C.L.Ripley (Jul 6, 2014)

This woman was living the fantasy until reality slapped her upside the face. This will happen at some point to most people when considering their long term survival plans. Harsh truths are sometimes hard for people to face, but it's best to come to terms with reality now before it's to late.

Here's Why I Completely Changed My Family's Long-Term Survival Plan - The Organic Prepper


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

C.L.Ripley said:


> This woman was living the fantasy until reality slapped her upside the face. This will happen at some point to most people when considering their long term survival plans. Harsh truths are sometimes hard for people to face, but it's best to come to terms with reality now before it's to late.
> 
> Here's Why I Completely Changed My Family's Long-Term Survival Plan - The Organic Prepper


Agree completely with the article. I live in the country about an hour from Memphis and out a bit from a small town. I live about a mile down a dead end lane with about 10 or so homes on it. My whole philosophy of prepping is based upon our lane becoming a community where we all work together. I have thousands of pounds of food & seed in storage, but they don't know it is also for them. They have skills & resources which will be invaluable during a crisis and all would work on group security. No matter how many ARs you have or how many tens of thousands of rounds of ammo, you have to sleep. You will have to move about outside eventually. No one would be safe all by themselves. It will take a community.

IMO, the proper location is rural and off the beaten track. Not on any main evacuation route out of a city. A proper location has neighbors and hopefully like me, some of which have cattle herds and/or farms. Odds are most of these type folks are used to hard work & providing for themselves and more than likely many are hunters.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

For only $199 they will assure your survival through the end of the world as we know it. LOL.

The ad is correct about FerFal, however. His stuff is good.


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## C.L.Ripley (Jul 6, 2014)

One of my big bugaboo's is people with unrealistic expectations on what a true long term SHTF event would be like. Obviously most here understand what I'm talking about. But I see a lot of it on YouTube. People who think they can reproduce the life they have now and somehow carry that over into some future SHTF world. You are not going to be able to just walk around your "homestead" and tend your garden or chickens without a care in the world. It's often frustrating to me. The bottom line is, if you are not part of a larger community you probably won't last long. Even then, it will be a daily struggle, a lot of hard work and a life where you can never let your guard down. It's going to require a mental and physical strength that most will not be able to muster. This is why I prefer listening to people like Selco and others who tell it like it is and have lived through events that represent the closest examples we have to study.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

It's that fine balance of being away from the mob and having enough of a group to discourage gangs.


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## 7052 (Jul 1, 2014)

I believe that article/ad has a few holes in the logic. Mostly, it fails to take into account social differences that have changed the very way our countries have formed. Both of those countries/areas (Argentina and Serbia) have/had very strong (basically dictatorial) central governments and governmental systems that tightly controlled the city areas (at least as much as is possible realistically). This often lead to criminal gangs taking up in the more rural areas. Add to that anti-government rebels (like Shining path, etc) already existing, as well as a large percentage of people w/ non-automotive transpiration (horses, etc) already. With all of this, I can easily see such preexisting criminal elements "ruling" the rural areas.

Things are different in many areas of America. There are no preexisting large criminal elements, as existed in those countries, to contend with. While there is always a certain amount of people that turn to banditry and order to eat, gain power, whatever, without the preexisting elements I personally believe that in a truly rural area with minimal population, that problem will be *much* less of a concern than they are predicting. For example, where we're building our homestead, the closest neighbor is almost 4 miles away. After them, the next "neighbor" is another 2 miles. You don't get to a point where neighbors can easily see each other for about 15 miles or so.

Does that mean we would be immune to such concerns? Obviously not. But do I worry about roving gangs of "rapers and murders", not really.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Egyas said:


> For example, where we're building our homestead, the closest neighbor is almost 4 miles away. After them, the next "neighbor" is another 2 miles. You don't get to a point where neighbors can easily see each other for about 15 miles or so.
> 
> Does that mean we would be immune to such concerns? Obviously not. But do I worry about roving gangs of "rapers and murders", not really.


I understand your point and that is why I say for folks to pick land not on an obvious evacuation route out of a city. In those locations, I would have great concern about gangs of folks... not necessarily rapers & murderers. But when hungry & scared, good people can do some evil things. I also believe the suburbs surrounding these cities will have to block these hoards of evacuees, otherwise they would be overrun & their own safety be put in jeopardy. That being said, folks in these suburbs likewise will be looking for help and/or resources to survive... even folks in your local small town down the road. Those are the folks that actually concern me, at least in my location... not a mass of humanity flowing from a city. Of concern eventually could be your own neighbors if there is no plan to form a community & work together. If a neighbor is hungry & you have food, could you ever be safe, no matter how many guns you have? Bet those neighbors hunt deer or similar and would be a severe threat anytime you were out & about.

That is why I preach planning on forming a small community of your neighbors. You want them working with you to handle all these issues. You don't want or need them as a threat.


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## C.L.Ripley (Jul 6, 2014)

I don't think it's even orginized gangs you'd have to worry about. It's just people in general, what their desperation leads them to. And in FerFal's example it was when people ran out of resourses in the cities they would group together and start moving into more rural area's. Sometimes staking out farms for days at a time before making their move. I do agree that every experience some of these people had in their countries is not going to be 100% transferable to what it might be like in America. But people are people, and there is a reason the EMP commision said 9 out of 10 would die after one year without power, civil breakdown was a large factor in that. What would it be like in two years, five?


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## 7052 (Jul 1, 2014)

C.L.Ripley said:


> I do agree that every experience some of these people had in their countries is not going to be 100% transferable to what it might be like in America. But people are people, and there is a reason the EMP commision said 9 out of 10 would die after one year without power, civil breakdown was a large factor in that. What would it be like in two years, five?


Agreed. Even a good man/woman could turn to theft and/or murder to feed their children. It's all happened before, and will likely happen again. However, if 9 out of 10 people really die off, that is indeed a whole lot less folk to have to worry about.


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## 7052 (Jul 1, 2014)

******* said:


> I understand your point and that is why I say for folks to pick land not on an obvious evacuation route out of a city. In those locations, I would have great concern about gangs of folks... not necessarily rapers & murderers. But when hungry & scared, good people can do some evil things. I also believe the suburbs surrounding these cities will have to block these hoards of evacuees, otherwise they would be overrun & their own safety be put in jeopardy. That being said, folks in these suburbs likewise will be looking for help and/or resources to survive... even folks in your local small town down the road. Those are the folks that actually concern me, at least in my location... not a mass of humanity flowing from a city. Of concern eventually could be your own neighbors if there is no plan to form a community & work together. If a neighbor is hungry & you have food, could you ever be safe, no matter how many guns you have? Bet those neighbors hunt deer or similar and would be a severe threat anytime you were out & about.
> 
> That is why I preach planning on forming a small community of your neighbors. You want them working with you to handle all these issues. You don't want or need them as a threat.


Absolutely.

When we bought our homestead property we looked very carefully at what we called the "migration paths". I have a lot of, ummm, "distrust" of populations of cities, especially large ones filled with dangerous folk. Especially when those folk don't share cultural or social conventions with me.

Since we're doing the work ourselves, and will continue to live here while we clear and build, we wanted a place within driving distance of us (here in the Democratik People's Republik of Hellinois). This meant a place we can get to on a single tank of gas, even though we can pull several Jerrycans of needed(filled from our home fuel reserve). We wanted a place with game, woods, water access and fishing, and a healthy winter. We insisted that it had to be far off the "beaten-path" and well out of the "migration path" of large cities, and not near any city larger than 3K or 4K population. It needed to be in an area that was very highly unlikely to see development within our lifetime. There were other considerations as well, but I'm sure people here are smart enough to figure out what a lot of those were.

This lead us to the conclusion that we wanted to head to Wisconsin. Northern Wisconsin.

Looking at the map, we had worries that should there be a real SHTF, there may be mass migration of people from colder northern cities to warmer places further south. We looked at maps of the area, and were worried about the masses of places like Minneapolis and Duluth, and what path they would take to head south. We made sure that all the properties we found were well away, and north, of any probable migration paths that would be used.

We eventually found a piece of property that fit our needs, had _most_ of our wants, and was within our price point. It's 30 minutes away from the largest town in the area (population 2300), and the closest two towns have a population of 90 (10 miles away) and 500 (15 miles away) respectively.

_On a side note, w found that w can get to our property from where we currently live (5 hour drive if we don't stop) on roughly 3/4 a tank of gas in the little car (Kia Soul), and 1/2 tank in the truck (Ford F150). Pulling a 20' trailer w/ an 8000 lbs skid-steer we did it on one tank exactly. So a few extra cans are carried w/ us now, just to be safe)_

Looking at the population levels and demographics of where we chose, I don't have a lot of fear of organized gangs, rapers, murders, etc. I'm more worried about the lone hunter, small hunting party, etc finding our place than I am any gangs. Maybe I'm naive, or am living in a fantasy land, but I'm just not that worried about the kinds of events this two authors speak about compared to the dangers I would face trying to shelter-in-place where I live now (the ourtskirts of a city of over 100K in this "Socialist Paradise").

YMMV.


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## Joe (Nov 1, 2016)

@Egyas It looks like you have done your homework.


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## 7052 (Jul 1, 2014)

Joe said:


> @Egyas It looks like you have done your homework.


Ty! 
@******* Looking back over my posts it reads like I'm disagreeing with you about the importance of community. Let me be clear that I am totally *NOT* disagreeing with you. My initial comments were, as I said albeit not very clearly, just to point out the logical flaws I saw in the initial article.

A strong community is always better than the loner. "The pack survives, the lone wolf often doesn't". I have heard that my whole life, and I don't disagree with it. In my case, given my strengths, weaknesses, personality and natural anti-social tendencies (mostly because I hate "the sheep"), being "the guy" the help form, or organize, or rally a community. I'd love to join a like-minded community, but where I live there simply is no such thing. It's made me used to being on my own. Or rather, on our own since I found a beautiful woman dumb enough to marry me. lol


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

I am not convinced that living in a community will offered great protection.

in the USA, with our gangs, drugs abusers, welfare rats, and other bad folk... their low hanging fruit will be city folk, urban areas, and small towns

unlike other areas.. most Americans do not have the skills to raid and take advantage of a farm, dairy operation, or ranch... NOPE they will be going for stores, markets, gas stations, 

AND then after they are done killing each other over the scraps, some will stagger out to the country and some might even find their way onto some back roads... 

it is hard to compare other countries to the USA....


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## C.L.Ripley (Jul 6, 2014)

I did not intend for this thread to focus on gangs or what people from other countries think. It's really about my ongoing believe that a lot of people (not people here) fail to grasp the brutal realities they'd be facing as opposed to the fantasy version they've created in their minds. And I thought that article kind of captured some of what I'm talking about. 

Most people have a bias towards their own personal situations, it's sometimes hard to think critically beyond that. I forced myself to do that a long time ago. And maybe I'm a little to harsh in my thinking now but I'd rather err on the that side than the other, which is why my posts will continue to reflect that. But as we all know there is no one correct way of doing this, it's an ongoing process.


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## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

When we look at the folks who originally settled this land, . . . they were our original gene pool. We have THAT DNA.

AND, . . . they managed to survive "out in the boondocks" without patrols, without armed guards on watch towers ever 100 meters.

A big reason for that was the law, . . . it was swift and brutal. Many a horse thief or rustler was hanged on the spot and then forgotten. The days of decades long justice will just simply go by the wayside, . . . and if necessary, I'll be one to help it. 

"You loot, . . . we shoot" will become the mantra of the survivors.

When (not IF ) the SHTF in a big time way, . . . we will become the wild west again. Yes, roving bands will try to rustle, steal, and brutalize the neighborhoods, . . . but they will be decimated as they do so. They might over run my little hacienda, . . . but there will be fewer of them leave than came in, . . . and it will happen more and more as they go along. At some point in time, . . . the last one will get shot or get a job.

It will eventually give the remaining society the ability to do as our forefathers did, . . . raise their crops, milk their cows, gather their eggs, . . . and go on with life. 

I do have a local group which I will be able to trust, completely, 100%, . . . and they trust me, . . . 

There will be "sentries posted" at least early on in the event, . . . but as time goes on, . . . I see where we will come to rely on the old dog letting us know, . . . or as some folks did down in eastern Ky, . . . a flock of guinea fowl or geese, . . . not much gets by them.

May God bless,
Dwight


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

C.L.Ripley said:


> I did not intend for this thread to focus on gangs or what people from other countries think.


 yet you posted a link to a article about gangs, and murder, and robbery and what other people think



C.L.Ripley said:


> It's really about my ongoing believe that a lot of people (not people here) fail to grasp the brutal realities they'd be facing as opposed to the fantasy version they've created in their minds.


of course the vast majority of people have no idea that there could be a collapse, pandemic, etc, and you are right -Not many folks here have a fantasy in their mind.. most here see clearly and prepare for it



C.L.Ripley said:


> Most people have a bias towards their own personal situations, it's sometimes hard to think critically beyond that.


right, most people see their own potential situation and focus on that... Here in PA I do not miuch think about hurricanes or earthquakes... not that I have a bias against those things, just not likely to happen here



C.L.Ripley said:


> But as we all know there is no one correct way of doing this, it's an ongoing process.


I think there is a correct way to do things... there may be variations but the correct way to prep.... Water, Food, Security, Shelter, medical - those 5 things in varies amounts and types


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