If you can get past all the cartoons.

Susan:

In a book I read many years ago a character said something like, "A hundred thousand things can happen between one dawn and the next. Nothing is certain. Nothing is written."

I have taken that to heart, as meaning that survival for just one more day makes survival for another day possible...and another after that, and another after that.

I, too, would bug out as a last, a final, a desperate resort. But I would do so with the intent and expectation of survival...even if for just one more day.

Frank2135

Re: your comment on leadership...

All that can happen WITH leadership. The problem with leadership is that it's so tricky. Too much, too strong, and you've got problems (mutiny). Too little, too indecisive, and you've got problems.

Leaders tend to be bossy, self-important, dictatorial folks if you don't keep them slapped down. Have you ever lived in a community with a Homeowners Association? Whew!

I am the very, very last person who would join the military, and the reason is..... right! Leadership. Power. And it really does corrupt. The more you've got, the more you want. From what I've seen (little enough) of the military, the stupider, crazier and more self-important you are, the higher you will be promoted.

Speaking of which, tomorrow we get to make our pick of the hairbrained twits of America.

VOTE! Vote for the idiot of your choice, but VOTE!
(Sorry, Martin... )

Sue

Susan in your location, staying put would probably be best in most situations. Bug out is for those times it’s not. Any Equipment set aside for bug out can be used if you stay also it makes it easier and more efficient when and if the time occurs. Most of us don’t live in such a great place (YET!!!). Where my family lives is in a decent suburb of a large city in the southeast.
Large cities are going to be the first to feel the shortages brought on by a “widespread situation”. As a result there will be as there always have been those who will be ready to take what they want or need from anyone they are able to. In a “widespread situation” you will have decide whether to defend what you have or give in to the people who want it. To defend against them you need a place that is defensible. We live in a mobile in a nice area but it is indefensible, as are most trailers.
So we have in place a plan to bug out, not to the wilds to survive off the land, but to a location kind of like yours with friends and other family members. This gives us the time (hopefully) to decide what to do next. If the decision is made based on situation to stay. Then we begin what plans we have to provide for our safety and security. In the event that the situation is worse than we thought or deteriorate after our initial assessment then we will in convoy go to another predetermined place again like your with shelter (my retirement home), but further removed from large population centers. Again not surviving in the wilds but following a plan that provides more safety and security than a trailer near a large violent population center. Bugging out does not mean that I want to live in a tent for the rest of my life. It means putting as much distance as possible between me and the violence that is sure to follow a civil break down however short or long term.

Great quote.



I think you touched upon the constant balancing act of preparation. Perpective is just as important as anything else.

Part of my bug out plan is to know where I'm planning to go. Major SHTF bug out is 4 normal travel hours north to the mountains, 5 normal hours south to the mountains. I have places to go, with active streams and wells, and cabins on the site. Firewood is cut, and naturally abundant, large propane tanks are in place, and stores of food and gear are at each place, north and south. Others are expected to me at either place should we decide to go, we often cabin camp there. I know and have mapped out several ways of getting to each.

I live just a few feet above the mean water level of the 2nd largest lake in the area. I have a place within 3/4 mile in 2 directions that is 400 feet higher in elevation that I can go should flooding be immanent, that is also a major storm bug out.

My house is in a nice area, but within 5 city blocks in 3 directions are less desirable neighborhoods. If unrest hits the area, and I can safely get out, I'm gone to 1 of the 2 places in the paragraph above. If I have to bug in, I am equipped to do so, but heating my house is by natural gas, no other source. Should that get cut, it's leave or get cold.

IMHO, bugging out without a place to go, some basic needs gear and food item, and a viable plan for when you get there, makes you little more than a refuge.

I'm in SOCAL, there's no way out by car that won't be a parking lot. I've driven I-15 and I-8 during holidays and long weekends, SHTF bug out isn't going to happen.

The only thing I'll bug out for is a wildfire in this canyon. I'll have packed my truck (and did for the latest wildfires) so the only decision is when and where to we drive to wait for the all clear.

Earthquakes? Why bug-out after the damage is done?

My answer is that I'm bugging in. I'd rather be bugging in at a home with a well, garden and root cellar, but for the time being, where I am will do.

I consider myself very blessed that I have a place to bug out too. My family has lived on a small farm in WV for generations. My father was the first generation to have a job outside the farm and mine the first generation to not live on that land. My grandfather was a full time farmer with no outside income. I'm in an older neighborhood in the city and the city is moving more government dependent people in around me all the time and if something does happen they will come looking for their handout so my plans are to leave because its hard enough supporting them and guarding my place when things are normal.
I'm still working on getting my parents to let me build my on cabin on their farm, that way I can cache some supplies there as my mother decided my gun cleaning supplies were making her sick so I had to bring them back up with me, turned out it was some cheap potpourri crap she bought to clutter up her house but I still haven't stored anything there since.
My BOB is mainly a bug in bag to keep my gear organized at home but is also there to get me back to the farm if needed.

If we need to boogie, roll the awning in, disconnect and store the water, sewer, and electric hoses/cable, put the breakables that are hanging on the wall on the bed, run the three slides in, back the P/U up and connect the fifthwheel, remove the chocks, raise the landing gear, and we are off. If we REALLY have to go NOW, the water and sewer hoses will stay (I have spares of those), but the electric cable will go into the bed of the truck (those suckers are expensive). We rarely go below half a tank, so we can get a ways down the road, but if this is a major incident and everyone is trying to get gone, we would probably just stay put (unless it is a fire, and it is coming our way). We always keep our fresh water tank full, and have at least a weeks worth of food onboard, so that should not be a major problem for a while...

Let me re-phrase, by quoting Curly (not the stooge one):

Curly - "Do you know what the secret of life is?"

Mitch - "What, your finger?"

Curly - "One thing, just one thing. You stick to that, the rest don't mean shoot[edit]."

Mitch - "But what is the one thing?"

Curly - "You got to figure that out for yourself."


Need another hint, ask Ebenezer. He'll tell you what the one thing is.

I am a bit surprised you thought of ego and greed first. I suppose I didn't get the point across well enough at the beginning.