As far as I am concerned, there are really two very different situations to consider when thinking about bailing out, and they revolve around where you currntly live. If you are in the "boonies," then staying put and being in familiar terrirory could be a great idea, and would most likely be my first option in that situation. However, if you are in a city, then you are facing an entirely different situation. In the country, if things go bad, most people have some capability to sustain themselves, and the smaller communities generally band together to provide the things specific to one family or another. But in the city, most people have no capability to porduce. They are only consumers, and when consumers have nothing to consume, they become predators (i.e.: another type of consumer). Also the people that are prepared are totally reliant on their stores, and have very little capability to begin producing, which sustains you over the long haul in something like a serious depression.

One of the things I have looked at over the last several years is buying (no debt) property within easy driving of a city to be able to get what I need, but far enough out that I can have land and be self suficient.

Smackdaddyj