Who will survive? The country vs the city.

I have seen several debates on various websites and blogs as of late, sometimes quite heated. The topic of these opinions and debates were what is better urban or rural from a survival standpoint. Some are adamant that no one can survive a TEOTWAWKI event if they are East of the big muddy and in particular if they are not on a very remote retreat.. others are of the opinion that remote rural retreats invite gangs of home invading thugs, and that resources are easier found in a urban situation given any situation short of zombie apocalypse.

I respect both of the aftermentioned points of view as both have merit. However; I also recommend that you do your own evaluation before making a decision as life altering as making a move and selecting a home or retreat location based on “possible” scenarios. If you are currently in a third floor apartment and have the drive and ability to enhance your survivability by relocating, DO IT! A microfarm or mini-homestead or even a suburban house with a sizeable garden space is better now than the dream retreat on 300 wooded acres in Alaska in twenty years.

Things you must consider (I suggest keeping a notebook for this process)..

Employment Opportunity: Unless you are of the trust fund baby clique or are retired this should be a prime factor. Surviving economically is a DAILY situation (and crisis for many) that IS HAPPENING NOW.

Health Care Services:While this may not matter once the balloon goes up, right now it does! Do you or any family member have a serious health condition? Does it require lots of care and appointments? Where is the nearest facility AND BACKUP facility that can care for this condition located? In the current economic climate can you afford to live 300 miles from the nearest specialist that your child must see twice a month and may be the only one who can treat the condition in an emergency?

Climate:Desert locations might not be an ideal place to set up a self sufficient location. The coastline while abundant in food sources also has those pesky hurricanes and lack of easily accessible fresh water.

Threat Analysis: Once you narrow down the location area /s based on the first three items, you need to do an in-depth threat analysis. This should include FBI and other federal crime statistics, local crime stats, a visit to the local sheriff’s office might be in order if a more rural setting. Newspaper research and talking up the locals is also good. You don’t want to find out that Methamphetamine production is the counties largest employer AFTER you close on property. Another fact to check on are sex offender lists and find out if there are any “early release” centers and halfway houses nearby, this is a cottage industry and brings bad things with it.

Also researching water table depth, water sources and nearby strategic targets for terrorists and or nuclear strike by other nations in the event of war would be prudent. I would avoid anything within 100mi of a major military base if possible. Also use Google Earth to recon your potential sites, you may not like whats over yonder hill.

Risk Analysis: Once you have your risks nailed down, make a corresponding list of “rewards” or things about the area that are ideal for your future survival bug-in/bug-out location. Now you must decide how much risk you are willing to accept, and how much you can mitigate or lessen. Please involve your Spouse in this process, people have different tolerance for different risks. It might look like this:

Site A

Risk Reward Mitigate?

In City of 450k Hospital for Sue’s care Live in suburb

Crime rate little high Close to work and church Alarm and dog

Occaional Tornado! Basement a must

Higher Tax base Excellent private school no

12mi from Army base no

Nuclear Station 21 mi upwind no

In this scenario I would look elsewhere!

Once you have done these things you can establish income, make sure your health care needs are met if any narrow your ideal area, only then should you actually start visiting properties and engage in the actual realestate part of the process. There are numerous volumes written on buying real estate , so I will not delve into that material.

So, what have we done to find a balance between remote living and urban convenience? First a little background is in order. My wife has an extremely rare condition that requires several diagnostic tests every year and monthly doctor visits. If the condition ever worsens she needs a squad within 15 minutes and a surgical ICU within 40minutes. There are only 4 physicians in the contenintal United States, that can perform the procedure that was used to save her life in 2008 should it ever need to be repeated. She is also diabetic and insulin dependant! I also have a daughter with a severe spinal issue that requires up to 20 visits per year to a pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon. Obviously we have to be within an hour of world class medical care, and needless to say I have issues should we ever really enter a long term crisis scenario that I would not wish on anyone!

What we did: We moved from a mid size town of 30000 ten years ago to escape the increasing crime and taxes. We now live in a very conservative Midwestern state, about 45 miles from a large metro area which has several excellent hospitals and universities. We are a few miles outside a town of 800 which sports a bank, post office and gas station. Our neighbors are mostly good hardworking farmers and others on small parcels like ours that just want to live and do their own thing. We watch out for one another and interlopers would likely receive fire from at least three directions if things went bad. I work for a service business and am withing easy driving distance of the clients I see on a daily basis, which if forced to escape the metro area on foot would result in a much faster trip home. We are within two miles of a staffed EMS and within 10 minutes of Medflight. The closest hospital that could stabilise my wife is twenty minutes by car.

We have access to employment, health care and other conveniences, with a much much lower crime and tax rate. We have enough property to be far more self sufficient than we could in any city area, with neighbors of like values close enough to call on for help and support in any situation. We can have any livestock that our acreage will support and in fact we are surrounded by horses, cattle, wheat and corn, and people who know how to live within their means and at least to some degree off their wits and the land.

I suppose what I am getting at is that there are many other options than living 10 miles from the nearest paved road or 1 mile from the nearest grocery. Do we spend more on fuel than a city dweller? yes, but we spend far less on taxes and “security issues” . Do we have a potential problem being 45 miles from 1 million people, sure we do, but the ability to secure needed care and other items outweighed the threat for us. I hope this post has gotten those of you who cannot decide between staying in an urban center or moving into the boondocks with the Amish to see that there are other options, that while not “perfect” in some experts opinions, will absolutely give you a far better chance of weathering any disaster or crisis than doing nothing. In the end your tribes needs and unique situation must dictate your survival location!

After All they had the PERFECT retreat!