a move in the wrong direction

[Tornad0Alley]

Well it looks like it may be happening. The wife and I are having to move to Indiana to be closer to her ailing dad, and where we're moving is close to a larger city. I am NOT happy about it and really, neither's she. Looks like we'll be moving to a house in the sinking suburbs and losing a lot of land, and we're going to be suburbanites in a super The move's to be quick and it's all gonna suck.

Does anybody live in Indiana who can tell me what I should look out for as far as the people there? Are they prepper-minded and all that? and what weather hazards are there? What's their take on firearms? From what I've read they're a Red state, not all socialist like California or any of them, so I'm a little relieved at that.

I'm also in full mitigation mode. No more goats or chickens or pond. We'll have neighbors (ugh!!) , a modest back yard which I'm planning on gardening as much as I can. Closest water source is a man-made retention pond near a set of condos behind the house we've bid on. In a pinch I could get water from there. I also got some 55 gal drums with purified water I'm taking along with me. The house we bid on and are likely to win has a decent basement but it's unfinished. I figure I can stock up down there; move from the sustainable living on land to a storage strategy. security's more of a problem, too, but I have a mind for that. Anybody who's a good prepper living in that kinda situation, suburban near a city, who can provide some advice I'd very much be grateful.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Well it looks like it may be happening. The wife and I are having to move to Indiana to be closer to her ailing dad, and where we're moving is close to a larger city. I am NOT happy about it and really, neither's she. Looks like we'll be moving to a house in the sinking suburbs and losing a lot of land, and we're going to be suburbanites in a super The move's to be quick and it's all gonna suck.

Does anybody live in Indiana who can tell me what I should look out for as far as the people there? Are they prepper-minded and all that? and what weather hazards are there? What's their take on firearms? From what I've read they're a Red state, not all socialist like California or any of them, so I'm a little relieved at that.

I'm also in full mitigation mode. No more goats or chickens or pond. We'll have neighbors (ugh!!) , a modest back yard which I'm planning on gardening as much as I can. Closest water source is a man-made retention pond near a set of condos behind the house we've bid on. In a pinch I could get water from there. I also got some 55 gal drums with purified water I'm taking along with me. The house we bid on and are likely to win has a decent basement but it's unfinished. I figure I can stock up down there; move from the sustainable living on land to a storage strategy. security's more of a problem, too, but I have a mind for that. Anybody who's a good prepper living in that kinda situation, suburban near a city, who can provide some advice I'd very much be grateful.

Before I retired we bought a house in Indiana on a few acres to be closer to my office. We were about 25 miles out of Indianapolis and 5 miles from a small farming town. This was the first time I ever lived in the east and didn't care for it much. Summers were hot, muggy, buggy and winters were cold and windy. With all of the farming, at least in my area, the water is all polluted from the herbicide and insecticide runoff. Compared to out west I didnt find the people to be very friendly either. And everything is flat as a board! No thanks. I'll never leave the mountains again.
Good luck to you.

 

[Illini Warrior]

what part of Indiana? - it varies from one area to the next >>> climate wise it's not any different than Iowa - maybe lesser winter storms .....

 

[Tornad0Alley]

Before I retired we bought a house in Indiana on a few acres to be closer to my office. We were about 25 miles out of Indianapolis and 5 miles from a small farming town. This was the first time I ever lived in the east and didn't care for it much. Summers were hot, muggy, buggy and winters were cold and windy. With all of the farming, at least in my area, the water is all polluted from the herbicide and insecticide runoff. Compared to out west I didnt find the people to be very friendly either. And everything is flat as a board! No thanks. I'll never leave the mountains again.
Good luck to you.

Thank you Arctic. We're right on the edge of the city and farmland, It's all being highly developed so the farmland will probably go away. I didn't think about all the herbicides and pollution from the modern farming practices so I'll keep that in mind. My wife and I are fairly hardy; we can live with cold and wind, snow and ice, though the muggy I'm not too keen on.

The more I read the more I fathom that gun attitudes in Indiana are fairly loose. That's encouraging. I'll keep looking into the gardening for sustainability, but, again, I'm thinking I'll be buying and storing more than growing and harvesting. The basement was a good size area, so there's that.

 

[tmttactical]

Plant thorny bushes under all the first floor windows. Security storm doors on all exterior door. Security window film on all first floor windows, minimum and better all windows. Pin off any patio sliding doors. In fact pin off all exterior doors. Security camera for viewing exterior doors minimum. Better 360' camera security with backup power supplies. Plant thorny blackberry bushes along back fence line (food and uninvited guest deterrent ). During a major shtf event, your garden is going to be an unwanted attraction to hungry neighbors. The basement is a very good spot to store needed supplies. Be sure to keep the item stacked off the floor, in case of water leaks. Fence in the front yard. Plant rose bushes all along the fence line in the front yard. Sliding gate across the drive way entrance. This is just a start for suburban living.

 

[Amish Heart]

Leave a car that you're not driving out when you leave. Make sure you move it a few times a week. The doorbell camera is great. Saved us from a home invasion in New Mexico.

 

[GaRp58]

Cross drill your exhaust pipes on your cars about 4 and 6 inches from the end, once vertical and once horizontal and 90 degrees. Insert bolts and nuts, tighten nuts then destroy the threads to make it hard to remove, but will not affect the exhaust of the motor at all. Most vehicle bombs are simply slid into the exhaust pipe, fast and hard to see. Not visible with the usual mirrors used by the "security" folks. The cross form in the pipe will effectively stop everything, even the occasional banana or potato...GP

 

[Mountain Dragon]

Sounds like Indiana is worse than Kabul?

 

[BillMasen]

Sounds like Indiana is worse than Kabul?

but not as bad as Chicago

 

[Schattentarn]

Tell Dad to move in with you, list the downside as you have done here for him. He is lucky to have you.

 

[user 5884]

but not as bad as Chicago

I mean, there's Gary.

 

[Illini Warrior]

your being overwrought >>> going to find out very soon there's not that much difference - even the area around Indianapolis goes rural damn quik - everything south down to Louisville is small towns & farms ....

economically IN is doing damn good - well balanced financial control with a surplus even after the Virus - the upper state gooberment is not only conservative but religious >> if you need a job it shouldn't be that difficult ....

 

[Illini Warrior]

I mean, there's Gary.

not much left of Gary - it's been decimated almost as bad as Detroit - biggest biz for a few years was FED $$$ for bulldozing abandoned homes - workers go in for the steel mills that are isolated from the city and that's about all ...

 

[Dani]

When hunny's mom could no longer take care of herself, she moved in with us. We have animals as in cows, goats, chickens and pigs to take care of so she unerstood that we would not be able to pack everything up to move in to her house which was in the heart of the city. She LOVED being out here. I would wheel here out and let the goats come into the front yard. She enjoyed watching them and being out here with us. I will have to admit, I did have to give up my big garden during that time. There just wasnt enough time of me to go around, but that was ok. We had plenty of what I already had stocked up on from the garden. Just something to consider IF it was a possibility. I know it would be hard to sell everything. . . pack up and move to a new location.

 

[Tornad0Alley]

Cross drill your exhaust pipes on your cars about 4 and 6 inches from the end, once vertical and once horizontal and 90 degrees. Insert bolts and nuts, tighten nuts then destroy the threads to make it hard to remove, but will not affect the exhaust of the motor at all. Most vehicle bombs are simply slid into the exhaust pipe, fast and hard to see. Not visible with the usual mirrors used by the "security" folks. The cross form in the pipe will effectively stop everything, even the occasional banana or potato...GP

Thank you for the suggestion. I think this is a little extreme i mean I'm not really expecting car bombs unless Indiana's a LOT worse than I thought. Its still a great idea, though.

 

[Tornad0Alley]

Plant thorny bushes under all the first floor windows. Security storm doors on all exterior door. Security window film on all first floor windows, minimum and better all windows. Pin off any patio sliding doors. In fact pin off all exterior doors. Security camera for viewing exterior doors minimum. Better 360' camera security with backup power supplies. Plant thorny blackberry bushes along back fence line (food and uninvited guest deterrent ). During a major shtf event, your garden is going to be an unwanted attraction to hungry neighbors. The basement is a very good spot to store needed supplies. Be sure to keep the item stacked off the floor, in case of water leaks. Fence in the front yard. Plant rose bushes all along the fence line in the front yard. Sliding gate across the drive way entrance. This is just a start for suburban living.

Thank you! All GREAT ideas. I don't really have a green thumb, but the wife does so the bushes will be planted (plus, who doesn't like to snack on a few wild blackberries while working in the back yard?) We have a security system with cameras and motion sensors already. We're taking that system with us. Apparently the basement has flooded once in teh past when the sump pump breaker tripped and no one knew about it until there was a half foot of water throughout the whole basement. Since that time an alarm was already put in and I was even shown where the breaker switch was located during our first walkthrough.

To make matters worse, we've had to pay into a home owners association. I thought I would never, ever, in my whole life, have to do that, but there it is. Because of that, I'm sure I won't be allowed to put in a fence with a gate across the drive. You'd think I moved to f***in socialist california. Man, I'm regretting this already. Still, I gotta remain in mitigation mode. Thanks again.

 

[Tornad0Alley]

Tell Dad to move in with you, list the downside as you have done here for him. He is lucky to have you.

Thank you. It may come to him moving in with us anyway, but he flat out won't move to us. He has too many friends and family out in IN (my family, too, so it'll be nice to be closer to them in the long run). He's a lot like me, pretty independent so we're just going to be closer "just in case". Thank you again.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Thank you. It may come to him moving in with us anyway, but he flat out won't move to us. He has too many friends and family out in IN (my family, too, so it'll be nice to be closer to them in the long run). He's a lot like me, pretty independent so we're just going to be closer "just in case". Thank you again.

If you feel that you "have" to move to Indiana to care for your father, buy a place with acreage. Better yet, get him to help with the cost. The place we had outside of Indianapolis was surrounded by a thousand acres of corn and soybean fields. Indiana has lots good land, even close to the cities. As far as I'm concerned there's never a good reason to live in a city.

 

[tmttactical]

Thank you! All GREAT ideas. I don't really have a green thumb, but the wife does so the bushes will be planted (plus, who doesn't like to snack on a few wild blackberries while working in the back yard?) We have a security system with cameras and motion sensors already. We're taking that system with us. Apparently the basement has flooded once in teh past when the sump pump breaker tripped and no one knew about it until there was a half foot of water throughout the whole basement. Since that time an alarm was already put in and I was even shown where the breaker switch was located during our first walkthrough.

To make matters worse, we've had to pay into a home owners association. I thought I would never, ever, in my whole life, have to do that, but there it is. Because of that, I'm sure I won't be allowed to put in a fence with a gate across the drive. You'd think I moved to f***in socialist california. Man, I'm regretting this already. Still, I gotta remain in mitigation mode. Thanks again.

As for the Gate. Install fencing along both sides of the driveway. The fencing must be designed to allow it to sing closed across the drive way, in an over lapping fashion. During normal times it is simply a low fence, during a bad time, it can be swung closed and act like over lapping swing gates. I don't think the HOA can say anything about a fence. If asked about the wheel, it is so you can mow and trim easier.