# Realities of your Survival Location



## max velocity (Jul 17, 2012)

I wanted to put a few thoughts out there about the realities of your survival location. To read what is out there in terms of opinion and advice, it appears that to survive any coming apocalypse you need to be in a fortified self-sustaining retreat somewhere out in the boonies, with three years of food in the basement and the ability to grow food plus animals. Good stuff; you will be really well positioned if that is where you are with your preparations. The reality for many is that they simply do not have that. For whatever reason, they may be in an urban or suburban environment. They may have nowhere else to realistically ‘bug out’ to. They may have a goal to achieve the retreat, but not be there yet, or have bug out land that is fairly basic and requires them to move to it following a collapse.

Let me first say that this post is not so concerned with the kind of short term natural disaster that would involve you bugging out with little choice, to avoid perhaps a wildfire or earthquake or similar. What I am really concerned about here is a collapse of society, the veritable TEOTWAWKI, where it all goes to chaos, the SHTF, and we are all in a big mess surviving together. For most of us who are not ‘super-preppers’, we will be left to survive where we are, in our suburban homes or whatever applies to you. Now, it is true that some will be better set up than others. Reasons include location, such as inner city one bedroom apartment versus big house on several acres in a sub-division. Or amount of preps that you have, food supplies etc.

Everything depends on the situation and the threat that emerges, including your own personal and family situation and preparations. One key thing is not to make assumptions now, but to remain flexible. My advice is not to ‘head for the hills’ by reflex, because unless you have somewhere to go you will be out there with the rest of the refugees in the chaos. If you even have a minimal amount of preparations at home you should shelter in place and make do the best you can. This should be a low profile shelter in place where you set yourself up to draw minimum attention to yourself as the waves of chaos pass. You may be sheltering in a basement with your family, for example.

Of course, if the threat changes, then you will need to adapt to it. An organized gang of well-armed marauders going house to house in your neighborhood would be an example of when to make the decision to bug out. Be flexible and don’t go the opposite of the ‘head for the hills’ mentality and die in your basement simply because you did not want to pack up and go. However, I think that it is given that for anyone sheltering with supplies in this way there will at some point come one or more challenges such as home invasion from outside groups. This will also probably apply to those in rural retreats at some point as the horde fans out looking to survive. Be ready to defend yourself against these challenges as necessary. Think of how it will likely be after the event, not how things are right now. Those in the rural retreats will probably have a rude awakening when they realize that the horde has reached them and the demographics have changed!

I think that there are two main things that you have to achieve, phases if you like, in order to survive in the long term:

1) Have enough stores, firearms, tactical ability and numbers if possible, as well as a covert location in order to survive the event and the initial chaos and disorder. This is a short to medium term goal.

2) Long term, you will need to be able to live in a protected sustainable community. All prepper stores will run out in the end and the only solution to survive and thrive is to be able to produce food and protect your people and your resources.

So, unless you started in a sustainable protected retreat, you will have to survive where you are until such time as you can get to one. Remember that in a full TEOTWAWKI scenario there will be mass panic and chaos as people try to find food and survive. There will be a huge population die-off and there will likely be a delay of a year or two before food can be produced. You have to survive from the one to the other. Even after the die –off there will still be good and bad guys out there. Good guys probably living in those sustainable retreats or locations, bad guys marauding and living off what they can loot and pillage. There may be other complicating factors, such as civil war or foreign invasion. I use the TV series Jericho as an example of this.

So, if you survived the event and were not already in that ideal retreat, you then have to move. Did you hide and protect your bug out vehicle with a supply of stored gas? Are you going to have to walk, or use other modes of transport? The key thing is that your group will have to make it to somewhere where they can be accepted by a current sustainable community, or move onto land where they can create one. This will involve travel of some sort and also the ability to defend your selves while moving from A to B. If it is true TEOTWAWKI, then it could go on for years and you may have to travel to establish a farm somewhere. If you are going to be taken in by a community or small town that is sustaining itself, then you have to show your worth in some way.

Anyway, that is some food for thought.


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## Critter64 (Aug 19, 2012)

Max I think all of your suggestions have significant merit. My problem is I'm a disabled vet that is going to have to fight and die in place. I most likely have more food and ammo than I'll be able to use in such a situation. Anyway take and good luck all.


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## max velocity (Jul 17, 2012)

Critter64: is there any contingency for mobility to get you out if necessary? You may not want to say, but what kind of disability? Having no choice but to fight and die in place is harsh.


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## Constantine (Aug 24, 2012)

At the moment, I am royally screwed: no car, high density urban environment with a high crime rate as it is, tiny backyard, miles away from the countryside.

Let's say I get all that sorted beforehand, though, and I establish a farm. I even get access to guns (no easy feat here in the UK!).

What can I do to _minimise_ the amount of attention I get from others? Use trees as a way to hide my privacy? Make the building look run-down, or just rely on bullets and hanging their corpses up high?


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## Critter64 (Aug 19, 2012)

Max I don't mean to be over the top. However my situation is because of my service and a huntinging accident I'm not able to walk very far, can't carry more than about 10pounds so you tell me where is my fighting in place wrong? What bug out and go somewhere I can't hunt or live. Man I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to be able to do. And you know what guy, I don't think I'd be so screwed up if I didn't serve in the Army. And yes if I sound pissed off I am. So what do you suggest I do?


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## Critter64 (Aug 19, 2012)

Constantine, my wife is British and I served in the US Army for 21 years. 4years of that service was directly with the British Army supporting us in NATO. Brother I've really thought about this and I say try to get some where out now. I'll tell you what, if you're really serious about this email me and we can talk off line. Please don't try to jerk my chain I'd really like to try to help. Email me at [email protected]. Now that I've put my email out there I'll be changing it quickly so respond if you want to.


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## kyletx1911a1 (Jul 16, 2012)

I with critter bad knee and back cant walk more than A 1/2 mile at a time
I have friends in the hill country but i will have ti stay out for at least 3wks
I am working on talking to friends with land to see if we can go but if the answer is no
Then what?
So for now i am planning to keep my back to the wall.
And if i can find like minded people, i wont come empty handed
Working to cure at least 200 lbs of meat have seeds etc so we will see


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## Constantine (Aug 24, 2012)

Emailed, Critter.


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## Critter64 (Aug 19, 2012)

Okay brother we'll talk.


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## max velocity (Jul 17, 2012)

So, I went away for a couple of days and I see there are three guys talking about having disabilities and limited mobility. One of you is in the UK so there is not real prospect of having guns for self defense. I will say that I have never been a fan of bugging out anyway. If you don't have the ability to bug out then you are bugging in. You can either do that in an ideal isolated rural location or you do that where you are, whether that be urban or suburban. That is going to be a sliding scale of advantages and disadvantages. An example is urban, you may end up getting burned out if the tower block is set on fire etc, and there is little you can do about it.
If I had to stay in place my plan would involve storing food and water. If you have to move to a better location, do so if money will allow it. Think about being low profile and don't look like a likely target. If you have weapons then you can defend yourself with them even if you have limited mobility, think about getting a good position set up where you can cover the approaches to the property. Yes, there are lots of disadvantages and ways the bad guys can get around this. Now, I'm not going to cover this all in a post, but I have written about this in my book 'Contact' and the link is in my signature. I am not saying that just as a sell, but you should read it and adapt the defensive advice to what you can achieve with limited mobility.
For the UK: you dont have guns but the mob likely wont have guns either. Be low profile so they dont see you, and fortify the house so it is hard to get in. Have weapons like pepper spray and baseball bats that you can deploy against anyone breaking through the defenses. You will need fire extinguishers in case they try and set the place on fire. Have a big scary dog, those are some intial thoughts.
If you do have limited mobility and you are stuck in palce, that will be a disadvanatge but it does not mean you cannot survive. I could go on but please let me know if this is helpful and if there are areas you want me to expand on?


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## kyletx1911a1 (Jul 16, 2012)

yeah going to have to bug in i live in a small town not very far from austin i live in a mobile home i will have to stay here for a couple days at least till the chaos slows then i can make a break for my church that is in the hill country have friends that live in the hills,
also they have on avg 5-15 acres thats the plan for now but for sure i cant go running far on foot, and after some more rethinking thats more than likely my best option for now, and its close enough that i can make two trips, to collect what i didnt take the first time


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## PrepConsultant (Aug 28, 2012)

Another thought,
I hear people say they are near a river or lakes so water isn't going to be a problem. You have to remember, there are going to be hundreds of thousands if not millions of people going to those river and lakes also. They will become contaminated very fast. Not in just a way where you will have to filter to drink. But they will be carrying diseases and other things like human waste also. Your best bet would have a BOL in middle of nowhere with a natural spring or deep well with solar pump. Here in the south there are many properties you can by that actually has springs on them wheich is a good thing.. Just a little thought


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## Cygnus (May 27, 2012)

Eole Water - Give us wind, we give you water | Home

I hope these work and are for sale soon. I have to truck water to my place from 3 miles away. I do have enough for 6 months on a restricted supply. But this is a very cool idea and I want one.


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## WVprepper (Jun 28, 2012)

We live in a mobile home community as well. We have enough supplies for awile, but I have too types of campers that we could bugout with.
I don't know how people in the community will react to a SHTF situation.


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## shotlady (Aug 30, 2012)

I live in valley Village, next to studio city in Los angeles. buggin in isnt a viable option and the key here would to be get out befor people realize whats going onMy neighborhood is very nice and will attract looters and gangs quickly as people tend to think these people are well stocked. but nothing could be farther than the truth. most these people are entitled. entitled to have some one else do it for them wil be a huge die off here. lotsa sheeple. so i will need to get out and quickly, before the street peeps catch on and ill be on my way to the nat forest.


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