Who else is planning on staying?

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Given my current finances, there is absolutely no way I could afford a rural retreat - as much as I might want one! I do have enough to get a few months supply of food and water, plus cold-weather camping gear and clothing.

My house is weathertight and I live in a decent neighborhood. My sister and her husband are also preparing, but since they rent a small place they don't know if they'll have to move or not (I own my place). They're also stocking up on supplies and have agreed to stay with me should TSHTF.

-- Melinda Gierisch (gieriscm@hotmail.com), June 09, 1998

Answers

Melinda, if you're going to stay you should continue to stock up on food, and supplies, as we might be in this for the long haul. Living in a decent neighborhood is a good start. You might consider having your sister and hubby move in with you, this way you could share expenses and build up supplies faster. If you're friendly with several neighbors maybe you can form a small preparedness group. That way you can all protect each other. I wouldn't tell everyone what you're doing though. They may laugh and joke now, but when their life may be on the line, they'll sure remember who has food!

Good Luck Rod

-- Rod (rod_harmon@usa.net), June 09, 1998.


Melinda, my husband and I are planning on staying where we are right now. We live on the edge of a metro area. Our business is here. It would be impossible for us to take it with us if we left. The community we live in and the ones around us are upscale. However, this might be to our disadvantage in some respects. Perhaps we should invest in an alarm system. But if we don't have any electricity, it won't do us any good. In that case, maybe a big dog would be the answer. I am stocking up on supplies. Right now I am looking at supplies for three months. Enough for my husband and me and our daughter and family who will stay, too, and live just blocks away from us. If things should get bad, that is dangerous, we have arranged to go to my father's place. He lives out of the city in a small town which is off the beaten path. I suppose I should stock up his place too.

-- Joyce (meremere@aol.com), June 09, 1998.

We too are planning on staying in an urban area. WHat are you doing as respects stocking up on food,i.e. canned food, dehydrated, etc? If canned, do you have any concerns about its expiration date? We have only seen on canned foods (when it is shown ) ex dates in early to mid 2000.

-- Dennis Wales (DELRINACO@aol.com), June 09, 1998.

It looks more and more that I'll have to stay in the SF Bay Area, in my hometown between Oakland and San Jose. My mom shops for bargains and gets lots of stuff on sale, so we already have a hefty store. My understanding on Canned Food is that it starts losing nutritional value after 6 mos. Grains are cool except that they take LOTS of H2O to cook, which sucks. I wish we could pack up and leave though. Anyone from Cali?

ken

-- Ken (kenott@uclink4.berkeley.edu), June 10, 1998.


Dennis - foods such as white rice and dried beans last for years. About a month ago I was cleaning out my cupboards and found white rice and kidney beans that I'd bought 5+ years ago and forgotten about. I tried cooking them just to see what would happen. No problem! They weren't stored in vacuum-sealed containers, either.

Most of what I'm getting is dehydrated. I know that requires a lot of water. Fortunately I'm in Virginia, which has a plentiful supply of water if you get a good filter.

As for talking to the neighbors, how would you consider approaching them? I have told family and a few trusted friends in the area; however, I don't want it generally "known" that I'm preparing since I think that could make my house a more tempting target should TSHTF. Don't get me wrong - I'm well prepared to defend my home, but I'd rather not have to.

-- Melinda Gierisch (gieriscm@hotmail.com), June 10, 1998.



I live in Southern California, middling-sized college town in Orange County. I have lived here for 14 years, and cannot afford new property,...My neighborhood is pretty good, and I have good relationships with my neighbors. I haven't talked with anyone here except my children, two who live about 5 miles from me. I can imagine that they may end up here, but don't know for sure. We are 40 miles our of LA,...there is nowhere that isn't near freeways.

Believe me all of this concerns me. We are planning what we need to do to make sure gates bolt. We have adequate self defense devices for if the SHTF. Food and water storage is ongoing, hoping for 3-6 months worth in the next 2 months. I hate being poor as a church mouse when the world may be coming to an end (Earth humor).

If this looks nonviable, my parents live in very rural S. Carolina, and I may consider a trek across the continent, but only if I can see that it is going down like a fireball, before Sept. 1999. Geez, this feels like a bad movie. Where is the darned spooky organ music?

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), June 10, 1998.


I have a family member who will die in a few months without access to modern medicine, so I can't retreat to the far hills without giving up on her. Current plan is to store up enough wheat and dried corn to feed a lot of neighbors. Cost is just a few hundred dollars per ton. For much less than the cost of a country retreat I can feed a lot of people. I'll keep a low profile, if SHTF I'll distribute along with some other survival surplies and instructions. Maybe weapons, haven't decided, may not have that much funds anyway. Serious neighborhood watch program. We'll hold out as long as we can, if family member dies I'll have emergency bugout plan. No prepared retreat, just developing an ability to live off the land, and I'll map out a route. Won't need that unless everything goes down and stays down. I'm hopeful that it won't be that bad, but... who knows...

-- Anon (anon@anon.net), June 11, 1998.

Can't sell our house. It's been on the market since Thanksgiving. Two more weeks on the contract, and we take it off the market and do what we can to hunker down. We're in a small city, Durham, NC, but sitll not the most ideal location to see out possible problems. There'll be a lot of work to do fast after mid-June!

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), June 01, 1999.

Dontcha all feel a bit foolish by now...?

-- Ned Humphrey (ned_humphrey@csi.com), January 28, 2000.

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