If You Had to Bug Out, Where Would You Go?
We hear a lot of talk about being prepared to bug out on short notice. We never know when a lengthy blackout could occur, thanks to extreme weather, a physical or cyber terrorist attack, or a massive solar flare.
What we don’t hear as much about is where someone should go when forced to bug out. If you have friends or relatives in an area far enough away from your home, that could be a great temporary answer to the problem.
If not, it’s time to start thinking about where you might be able to build another dwelling in a rural area. If that’s not in your budget, at least find an area where you could camp until such time as your permanent dwelling is habitable again.
Either way, you’re going to want to select a location that will provide you with the most important things you’ll need when you’re in bug-out mode. Let’s take a look at what to look for and what to avoid in a potential bug-out location:
• Stay away from populated areas. The more people around, the more competition there will be for resources. And some of those people will be dangerous and will be interested in taking what you have. So, find someplace where few people will go.
• Find a freshwater source. There is only so much bottled water you can transport, so finding a freshwater source is essential, especially if you are going to be there for a while. Of course, having water purifiers is also very important.
• Seek natural food sources. Choose an area where there are plenty of fruits such as berries and wild plants growing.
• Look for other food sources. A woodsy area should contain game that you may need to kill to keep yourself and your family fed. Deer, rabbits and squirrels are plentiful in many wooded areas.
• Find nutrient-rich soil. Good, productive soil is especially important if you plan to stay a while. You’ll want to grow your own food, which means stockpiling non-hybrid, heirloom seeds.
• Insist on elevation. The higher up you are, the better you’ll be able to observe what is headed your way, which means the better you’ll be able to protect yourself.
• Seek natural camouflage. The more trees and vegetation in the area, the better you’ll be able to conceal yourselves and your possessions.
If you can incorporate four or five of those seven elements into your bug-out location, you should be in good shape. If you find all seven, let me know. Maybe we can be neighbors.
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Don’t forget to carry the number one thing, GOD!!! He can make all the other things to work to your advantage.
Have food and buying bug out items but have no clue where to go ? And when do you really know you should leave your home ????
You know Barb, you don’t always have to leave your home. Many times it’s best not to if you’re well prepared. Remember, away from your home base you will have only what you can carry and odds are you will come across folks who either want what you have or like Peggy points out, don’t want you around. For CBR scenarios you want to hunker down for a while anyway – severe radiation dissipates to tolerable levels in a few weeks and diseases will thin the herd just as quickly. It doesn’t make sense to be on the road if you’re not mentally prepared for it, if you don’t have an objective, or if you think the path is too dangerous – wait till things calm a bit…Don’t advertise your stores but reach out to see if there’s a like minded community near you that is more than a collection of frightened rabbits.They’re the ones who will help you and who you will eventually rebuild with – God willing…
And those of us who already live in very rural areas? We’ll need to defend our properties & food supplies from those seeking what we have. This country is full of people other than city dwellers – those that raise the food that is on your table every night right now, before a disaster, the ones you look down your nose at right now because they work with their hands, their clothes are dirty 2 minutes after they walk out of the house, they never wear a suit or tie, they are in the fields providing your food. Yet don’t be fooled these people are sometimes highly educated, can fix almost anything with something you would never think of and can survive the roughest of times. The American farmer will not be one to be fooled with and will be once again Americas greatest resource. So don’t try to squat on someone elses land it may not turn out well for you.
Peggy is right! If you find yourself on someone else property, ask permission and be respectful. Prove your worth and value. Make friends not enemies. At the very worst, ask where you can go that they will permit you to stay at than to turn you away.
Very correct Peggy! “Our bug out place” is in the country also. Get to be friends with the faming community in your area and when the SHTF think of starting a mini community. We all have skills that can be used and farmers will need help defending their property, crops, and animals.