Picking a Bug Out Location
Dr. John Woods 06.14.18
Some prepper topics are in need of repeating. New people are always coming into the fold as they discover a need to prepare for an alternative in the event a truly serious SHTF develops. And of course, we may never know when that might happen. With prepping and ultimately survival, time is always of the essence.
Finding a suitable Bug Out location with housing options is rather nothing like just buying real estate or a summer get away bungalow. A Bug Out structure does not have to be the proverbial palatial mansion in the countryside, but it does have to be a functional, utilitarian domicile to hold you over for a time until the SHTF subsides. That is the hope anyway.
If that hope is never materialized, then the Bug Out may just have to do from that point forward. At least in your planning stages think of it in that manner. What if that turned out to be where you have to live out the rest of your life?
A Bug Out ought to combine several elements with very thin lines between them. First, you want a location that is secure or can be secured away from the masses of people also fleeing from disasters. However, there are disadvantages to being so completely out in the boondocks that help is not easily available. What you may be searching for then is as much of a community of souls as anything else. Small population, but a reliable one as possible.
A house, or living structure ideally will have water and sewer with electric power. Power can be supplemented with external sources as needed should the grid fail altogether. You can survive without electric power, but not water. A self-contained water well on site would be perfect.
Security is important, so avoid anything visible from a roadway. A non-descript gated entry, somewhat grown up with the appearance of abandonment is a frame of reference. But you will need to be able to defend whatever you choose.
Enough land should be at the site for a garden. Eventually you will need to raise food. This could include livestock and poultry. A lake or pond for fish would be nice.
Visit the site enough to continue improvements, shop locally, make friends, and be known. Become an insider. Stock the place with gear, tools, food stocks and supplies. Maybe it becomes a vacation spot or a retirement relocation after all.
