priorities & value in hypothetical SHTF scenario

[toexist]

Georgia is not bad Montana is to cold and to much snow,,,the important thing is being happy where you are at,,,,I will never live in a city bigger than where I am now again

The one primary reason that nudges me to leave the city are the ever increasing regulations on firearms. The increase in taxation on ammo alone are mind bogglingly ridiculous.

 

[Proud Prepper]

I was in New Orleans during Katrina on the 8th floor of a building on the lakeshore. I watched the 17th St canal levee break in real time and that part of the city fill with water. Most people had no problem dealing with it and surviving without much difficulty. There was less than 1% that stayed that had real problems and it's those people that was exaggerated on video and looped over and over again that made it look much worse than it was. You will always have a small percentage of people that will choose to be victims no matter what. I would say in the cities, these people are at a much higher percentage than in rural areas, but it is still a small number overall. However I believe the ratio of resources to people in the cities will over time be a huge disadvantage there and will most definitely be the worst place to be in long term disasters. There is no doubt in my belief that the people in rural areas have the most advantages in survival.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I've been to Chicago many times on business and for pleasure. My uncle has a house on the lake shore there too. There are many great neighborhoods, good food/nightlife and some really good people. Chicago also has some of the worst third world ******** ghettos filled with low life trash. I also had business operations in many other large cities, Huston, NY, New Orleans, DC, Baltimore, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai etc. So I am somewhat familiar with city life. The city is the last place that I'd ever want to be during any kind of disater. They might be ok to visit, but that's about it. Now days if a town has a single traffic light it's too big for me.

 

[toexist]

I've been to Chicago many times on business and for pleasure. My uncle has a house on the lake shore there too. There are many great neighborhoods, good food/nightlife and some really good people. Chicago also has some of the worst third world ******** ghettos filled with low life trash. I also had business operations in many other large cities, Huston, NY, New Orleans, DC, Baltimore, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai etc. So I am somewhat familiar with city life. The city is the last place that I'd ever want to be during any kind of disater. They might be ok to visit, but that's about it. Now days if a town has a single traffic light it's too big for me.

I'm not going to move into the middle of nowhere just to prepare for an event that likely will NEVER occur within my life time.

Prepare for the unknown, yes. Comprise and dimish my quality of life? no thanks.

Life is too short to live it motivated primarily out of fear. Every one of us is much more likely to die in an accident or of a terminal illness than any far fetched apocalypse.

Besides I've still be unable to find any concrete evidence proving any significant advantages for living in one area over another.

Instead all I have are narratives based on the assumptions & speculations of a couple of strangers on the Internet.

For all I know you can be a 40 year old in his pajamas living in the basement of his grandma's house in downtown Los Angeles. The last place I'd want to be by the way.

 

[user 6493]

I'm not going to move into the middle of nowhere just to prepare for an event that likely will NEVER occur within my life time.

Prepare for the unknown, yes. Comprise and dimish my quality of life? no thanks.

Life is too short to live it motivated primarily out of fear. Every one of us is much more likely to die in an accident or of a terminal illness than any far fetched apocalypse.

Besides I've still be unable to find any concrete evidence proving any significant advantages for living in one area over another.

Instead all I have are narratives based on the assumptions & speculations of a couple of strangers on the Internet.

For all I know you can be a 40 year old in his pajamas living in the basement of his grandma's house in downtown Los Angeles. The last place I'd want to be by the way.

where one lives is a choice I have lived in Jacksonville Florida which is a good sized city there are good areas and bad I would say most city's are like that and I have lived in areas that I would consider mid sized and where I am now small town USA,,,I am comfortable here and I do not believe my quality of life suffers for it,in my opinion it has been enriched,,,I have not locked my doors here in 10 years there is virtually no crime to speak of,and the cops here are not ********,obey the traffic laws and you will hardly ever talk to one and then you will most times just get a warning,,,,,

it is a much simpler life I lead now,,,small town USA,,,where else can you stop in the middle of a paved road and take a leak and not even see another car for 20 to 30 minutes at mid day

 

[toexist]

You're absolutely right. It is a choice. It relates to what appeals to u and that is constantly changing. I've always loved the divisity & cultural variety certain major cities have to offer. I like the noise & energy but also ability to default to much quieter suburbs in close proximity. In my opinion best of both worlds.

Country life does appeal and there many beautiful places I've considered. Thing is I think I would go insane being that isolated. I get bored very easily. Everyone is different in this regard & there is nothing wrong with that.

 

[lonewolf]

I'm not going to move into the middle of nowhere just to prepare for an event that likely will NEVER occur within my life time.

that is the attitude of many I have spoken to over the years, give up the theatre, the cinema, their coffee and wine bars? relocate? no way!
well that is their choice, I KNOW something bad is coming, not sure as to the precise form it will take as yet but i'm going to be as prepared as I can, I gave up smoking 22 years ago, gave up drinking 17 years ago so that we could relocate these funds to our prepping.

 

[toexist]

that is the attitude of many I have spoken to over the years, give up the theatre, the cinema, their coffee and wine bars? relocate? no way!
well that is their choice, I KNOW something bad is coming, not sure as to the precise form it will take as yet but i'm going to be as prepared as I can, I gave up smoking 22 years ago, gave up drinking 17 years ago so that we could relocate these funds to our prepping.

What if nothing significant ever happens? What will u be thinking if on ur deathbed (yes we all die eventually regardless) nothing ever occured? Will u question then the logic in ur approach on life?

 

[lonewolf]

What if nothing significant ever happens? What will u be thinking if on ur deathbed (yes we all die eventually regardless) nothing ever occured? Will u question then the logic in ur approach on life?

NO I will not, if nothing happens(unlikely in todays world) the food supplies can be used by family to supplement their shopping therefore saving money, the non food supplies can be resold and the money raised goes into the family fund, again saving money.
nothing is ever wasted in prepping, but we have everything to gain.

 

[toexist]

NO I will not, if nothing happens(unlikely in todays world) the food supplies can be used by family to supplement their shopping therefore saving money, the non food supplies can be resold and the money raised goes into the family fund, again saving money.
nothing is ever wasted in prepping, but we have everything to gain.

Whatever makes you happy.

 

[lonewolf]

Whatever makes you happy.

it does!!I am one very happy British prepper, although my wife says I am more of a survivalist because I think more long term than any prepper over here!
I lived in a British city for over 40 years, wild horses wouldn't drag me back there again!

 

[toexist]

it does!!I am one very happy British prepper, although my wife says I am more of a survivalist because I think more long term than any prepper over here!
I lived in a British city for over 40 years, wild horses wouldn't drag me back there again!

I guess u probably have ur reasons. At least u have someone to keep ur crazy arse company. I always secretly wanted to move to Europe somewhere. Ideally if I were to go the country route it would be overseas. I wonder out of curiosity what the gun laws are like in UK?

 

[lonewolf]

firearms in the UK need a fire arms certificate, its not too difficult to get, my BIL has just got one, but you have to have a home visit by the police to see if where you keep it is safe and secure, its this that puts many people off.

 

[toexist]

firearms in the UK need a fire arms certificate, its not too difficult to get, my BIL has just got one, but you have to have a home visit by the police to see if where you keep it is safe and secure, its this that puts many people off.

My German friend told me in Germany you have to get a certificate for each individual firearm you own. Basically stating a reason/purpose for each one. Carrying however is strictly prohibited unless u are in security/law enforcement. Is UK similar in this respect?

 

[lonewolf]

My German friend told me in Germany you have to get a certificate for each individual firearm you own. Basically stating a reason/purpose for each one. Carrying however is strictly prohibited unless u are in security/law enforcement. Is UK similar in this respect?

to the best of my knowledge it is similar, carrying in public is forbidden and will result in the armed response unit being called out.
yes you need a reason to possess a gun, just wanting one is not enough, although if say it was a shotgun belonging to a clay shooting club would probably suffice.

 

[user 6493]

My German friend told me in Germany you have to get a certificate for each individual firearm you own. Basically stating a reason/purpose for each one. Carrying however is strictly prohibited unless u are in security/law enforcement. Is UK similar in this respect?

for the most part the public has been disarmed in the UK,if they were invaded there would not be much of a fight

 

[lonewolf]

for the most part the public has been disarmed in the UK,if they were invaded there would not be much of a fight

i'm not so sure, yes okay the city population is very much against guns and any kind of "blood sports", but I think nationally there are still plenty of firearms held by civilians, about 2 million registered in the UK which is the highest its been for the last 20 years. we also have the best army in the world, it may be small these days but they are well trained.

 

[toexist]

i'm not so sure, yes okay the city population is very much against guns and any kind of "blood sports", but I think nationally there are still plenty of firearms held by civilians, about 2 million registered in the UK which is the highest its been for the last 20 years. we also have the best army in the world, it may be small these days but they are well trained.

Yes I've been told the SAS is top tier.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I'm not going to move into the middle of nowhere just to prepare for an event that likely will NEVER occur within my life time.

Prepare for the unknown, yes. Comprise and dimish my quality of life? no thanks.

Life is too short to live it motivated primarily out of fear. Every one of us is much more likely to die in an accident or of a terminal illness than any far fetched apocalypse.

Besides I've still be unable to find any concrete evidence proving any significant advantages for living in one area over another.

Instead all I have are narratives based on the assumptions & speculations of a couple of strangers on the Internet.

For all I know you can be a 40 year old in his pajamas living in the basement of his grandma's house in downtown Los Angeles. The last place I'd want to be by the way.

This debate of city vs country life is getting kind of silly. I'm not living in the "middle of nowhere" to prepare for something that may never happen. I have the means to live anywhere I want to but I'm living where I am because this is where I chose to live. I can't imagine living anywhere else. Besides, this isn't the middle of nowhere. There is everything thing that I need here; trees, mountains, lakes and rivers full of fish, wildlife, clean air and water, few people and quite! I can grow and raise 90% of my food here. I can shoot deer and elk off my back porch, ride a horse or ATV for miles in any direction, catch dinner in my own pond. Too me there are no downsides to my location. True, there are no Wal Marts, no Costcos, Home Depot's or fast food restaurants. There are also no gangs, no ghettos, people here don't protest riot or loot, no traffic lights, no freeways, little to no crime, no pollution etc.
I'm not trying to sell my choice of lifestyle to anyone else. If fact I'm glad that most people choose to live in cities. My county has less than 3,000 people, town 800 and is 18 miles away, my nearest neighbor and power lines is 6 miles. And that suits me just fine.

 

[DrHenley]

Just curious toexit, when food stops magically appearing on the supermarket shelves, and you have gone through your supply...or had it stolen...what exactly are you going to do then? You do realize where that food comes from, right?

I mean, I ASSUME since you are here on a prepping site, you are smart enough to know, but a lot of city people think food is manufactured in a factory somewhere.

I AM NOT KIDDING!

I had a friend in college from Memphis. Somehow the topic of rice came up. When I mentioned "rice fields" he would not believe me. He thought rice was manufactured, and refused to believe that it grew on a plant. This was before the Internet, so I couldn't just tell him to Google it. I had to take him to a rice field, and pull up a rice plant and rub the grain between my hands and show him the kernels of rice that came out.

 

[lonewolf]

a bit like my friends sister who said "meat comes from McDonalds!" and I suppose Chicken comes from KFC??
I was at a country fair last year or maybe the year before and a guy standing next to me thought a calf was a goat!! it was all I could do not to laugh in his face!!!

 

[toexist]

Just curious toexit, when food stops magically appearing on the supermarket shelves, and you have gone through your supply...or had it stolen...what exactly are you going to do then? You do realize where that food comes from, right?

I mean, I ASSUME since you are here on a prepping site, you are smart enough to know, but a lot of city people think food is manufactured in a factory somewhere.

I AM NOT KIDDING!

I had a friend in college from Memphis. Somehow the topic of rice came up. When I mentioned "rice fields" he would not believe me. He thought rice was manufactured, and refused to believe that it grew on a plant. This was before the Internet, so I couldn't just tell him to Google it. I had to take him to a rice field, and pull up a rice plant and rub the grain between my hands and show him the kernels of rice that came out.

Im going to do the same you're going to do. I'm going to do what I have to. I'm not going to be short in that department.

 

[lonewolf]

Im going to do the same you're going to do. I'm going to do what I have to. I'm not going to be short in that department.

that sounds like an evasion, saying something but really saying nothing.
are you prepping or not? or are you one of these people that will wait until the emergency happens and then dash to the store like everyone else.
maybe your just on a prepping site to talk?
I mean you obviously believe nothing bad will happen in your lifetime.

 

[toexist]

that sounds like an evasion, saying something but really saying nothing.
are you prepping or not? or are you just on a prepping site to talk?

I don't think anyone here is going to discuss what they really have. Are you going to give me an inventory checklist of what you have stored/hidden?

Are you going to post your backup route/plan for everyone to know? I mean really what kind of a ridiculous question is that.

I like how everyone is quick to assume I have insufficient supplies and or that I will be unable to defend what's mine.

What you think youre the only armed citizens in the world? Give me a break.

Don't assume that you're the only self aware person in the room because I can assure you...you're not.

 

[lonewolf]

I don't think anyone here is going to discuss what they really have. Are you going to give me an inventory checklist of what you have stored/hidden?

Are you going to post your backup route/plan for everyone to know? I mean really what kind of a ridiculous question is that.

I like how everyone is quick to assume I have insufficient supplies and or that I will be unable to defend what's mine.

What you think youre the only armed citizens in the world? Give me a break.

you still haven't answered my question, I don't want to know what you have-if anything, i'm just interested to know if you are prepping, your answers to many topics seem to imply in the negative.

 

[DrHenley]

Im going to do the same you're going to do. I'm going to do what I have to. I'm not going to be short in that department.

I live in a city too. But I don't plan on staying in a SHTF event because I don't know to solve that problem once my supplies run out, and I was just curious whether you knew. Seems to me the resources in any major metro area will be rapidly depleted, even the sewer rats will become scarce.

In my case, I can be a lot more specific without giving away any secrets...

I have looked around at the BOL, and identified a number of edible plants. Water will be no problem because there is an 1600 ft deep artesian well that doesn't require electricity.

First, I plan on getting out of the city ASAP, long before my food and water run out. In a small city as Columbus, GA, I know all the exit routes and I think I can get out if I leave soon enough. The biggest obstacle will be crossing the Chattahoochee River. Then I will get to the BOL and plant some seeds in the right season. I have a bucket with 23 varieties of non-hybrid seeds I'll be taking with me. While those are growing, in addition to the long term food supplies, I'm going to eat blackberries, muscadines, chanterelle mushrooms, heart of palm from dwarf palmettos, honey locust pods, swamp chestnut oak acorns, persimmons, wild cabbages and other greens, deer, ducks, doves, quail, rabbits, and squirrels. If I have to I'll trap some voles (AKA field mice) which have a much healthier diet than city rats, so I won't have any qualms substituting them for squirrels in Brunswick Stew.

 

[toexist]

you still haven't answered my question, I don't want to know what you have-if anything, i'm just interested to know if you are prepping, your answers to many topics seem to imply in the negative.

I haven't prepped anything nor am I armed. If SHTF today I'd be on streets of the ghetto city I live in begging for food and waiting on the government to rescue me like every other weak and incompetent city dweller.

Then out of desperation I will flock to the country in an attempt to take what's yours... only because I'm unarmed & weak from lack of calories...to find myself gunned down by a more intelligent and far more prepared hill billy.

Hopefully you will find it in ur heart to at least give me a proper burial...and not lump my body with all the other lesser beings you were able to mow down before me. And That's All She Wrote folks.

 

[Maverick]

I'm not going to move into the middle of nowhere just to prepare for an event that likely will NEVER occur within my life time.

Prepare for the unknown, yes. Comprise and dimish my quality of life? no thanks.

Prepping for unforeseen events is no different than home owners insurance, auto insurance, setting money aside for emergencies etc.... Of all the years I have driven I never been in an accident nor have I ever had to use the insurance for the home but I continue to pay for insurance.

Living in the the middle of nowhere doesn't diminish quality of life at all but it's not for everyone, a good number out in the back country are fairly self sufficient that requires seasonal prepping, that's not an diminishment unless one is unfamiliar with that way of life. I'm not only prepping for my lifetime but also my kids and grandkids who all live on the property all the kids have professions in either law enforcement or medical so with what they see and deal with they certainly prefer it out here where working the land being far more relaxing on their days off. Like I said, it's not for everyone no different than city life not being for everyone. On the news I see nothing but the problems in the cities/urban areas, fires, sewer backing up in the streets, robberies, fights, protest, drug bust, abductions, murders and shootings, I see this everyday on the news except for the sewage that was last week, the biggest news story for my area would be the damn rain.

 

[toexist]

Prepping for unforeseen events is no different than home owners insurance, auto insurance, setting money aside for emergencies etc.... Of all the years I have driven I never been in an accident nor have I ever had to use the insurance for the home but I continue to pay for insurance.

Living in the the middle of nowhere doesn't diminish quality of life at all but it's not for everyone, a good number out in the back country are fairly self sufficient that requires seasonal prepping, that's not an diminishment unless one is unfamiliar with that way of life. I'm not only prepping for my lifetime but also my kids and grandkids who all live on the property all the kids have professions in either law enforcement or medical so with what they see and deal with they certainly prefer it out here where working the land being far more relaxing on their days off. Like I said, it's not for everyone no different than city life not being for everyone. On the news I see nothing but the problems in the cities/urban areas, fires, sewer backing up in the streets, robberies, fights, protest, drug bust, abductions, murders and shootings, I see this everyday on the news except for the sewage that was last week, the biggest news story for my area would be the damn rain.

I'm not opposed preparing for the unknown but relocating for an event that might never occur is pretty ridiculous.

Especially when you consider that there is absolutely no substantial evidence nor any previous event to support theory or base it on. That would be like walking around in a Kevlar helmet because 2 people a year are killed from icicles falling from highrises.

There comes a point were you have to just live your life. I'm not saying you're compromising. You're living where you want to live. I haven't decided I want to move out of the city yet...so for me that would be a major compromise.

As it relates to problems in the city...it's pretty exaggerated. Chicago is a safe city and we have some of the most elite suburbs in the country just outside outskirts. Look up Lake Forest, Highland Park etc. It doesn't get any safer or cleaner than communities like this. Of course every major city has its slums and bad pockets but that doesn't mean you have to drive through them.

 

[Maverick]

I'm not opposed preparing for the unknown but relocating for an event that might never occur is pretty ridiculous.

Especially when you consider that there is absolutely no substantial evidence nor any previous event to support theory or base it on. That would be like walking around in a Kevlar helmet because 2 people a year are killed from icicles falling from highrises.

There comes a point were you have to just live your life. I'm not saying you're compromising. You're living where you want to live. I haven't decided I want to move out of the city yet...so for me that would be a major compromise.

So did you join the forum to argue the point of prepping, if you feel it's a waste of time then why are you here? If it's nothing more than to chastise the group than my involvement in this thread is a waste!