Where to look for bug out locations?
 

Alright here is my bug out plans. I want to buy a rural home and have that home be my primary bug out location where I can stock up very good and become self-sufficient. However, I need to have a job so I'll have to go to a metro area for work. I figure my bug out location will be 100-150 mile radius of the metro area. Then monday through friday (when I am working) I'll just rent out an apartment (or a room in a house) so I can stay in the city to work. Then Friday night through sunday morning I'll stay at my bug out location to relax.

I've only found one real estate website that focuses on rural land which is landsofamerica.com all the other popular real estate websites (like realtor.com) are all focused on real estate within 50 miles of the metro area (ie. all the homes you do not want to live in during SHTF).

Anyone know what is the best way to secure a good bug out location? Since I plan to live in this bug out location for the rest of my life I figure I'd better be picky about what I buy.

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

http://www.landwatch.com/
http://landandfarm.com/lf/
http://unitedcountry.com/
are 3 of the biggest. Going over these and landsofamerica.com's content will give you an idea of what's out there and how prices are. Once you get an idea of where you want to look you can go to local realtors, craigslist, etc. There's a lot of land on ebay and other auction sites but those properties can be problematic. As for securing your location, depends on how much $ you have. This site is a good start: http://www.joelskousen.com/index.html

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

make a separate water source, a priority !!!

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

Separate water source? I was planning on having this land have a well on it.

Also between the wheels, thank you a lot! Your post really helped me out!

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

http://www.unitedcountry.com/

Be sure there is water to be found.
Maybe even have a water surveyor come
www.findwellwater.com

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

Check these out:

http://www.survivalrealty.com/

James Wesley Rawles book:

http://www.survivalblog.com/writings.html#RoRR

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

In my humble opinion the best place for a bug out would be some place in Northern Nevada. Obviously you'd have to have a well and some sort of solar/battery off grid setup. That, and some decent preps and shelter could have you invisible for quite some time.

Remote desert locations are only accesible by vehicle and vehicles send up a trail of dust thats visible from quite a ways away.

Homeless, hungry, desparate people do not, as a rule, flock to the desert.
There are easier places to scavenge.


http://octopup.org/img/sw2006/m/SW20...oughs-Road.jpg

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

alaska, beautiful

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

more sites: http://1881.com/
http://www.northwest-national.com/

I've looked at northern Nevada as prime bugout turf for a while, especially from Boise or SLC. Awful dry and cold but lots of LDS folks around. Eastern Oregon is similar. (Elko county had an earthquake recently FWIW.) James Wesley Rawles (mentioned in above post) examines various states for their refuge potential: http://www.survivalblog.com/retreatareas.html

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

Good luck w/ that.

There will be plenty work to do.

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

also check out http://www.city-data.com/ and their forums to get a feel for how areas are. Lots of demographic information available, even for <1000 person towns.

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

I'd be leaning towards the red areas:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:2...rycounties.png

Can anybody find a more high fidelity map? Or maybe one by RP donors or something?

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

I always hear from people from NYC and Long Island about buying real estate "upstate" for when they retire. I.E. 40-70 miles from Manhattan.

I spent most of my time in Albany, NY these days. 20 minutes in any direction I'm either in the sticks or an entirely different city. Most people that live here are state/bank workers, college students, or inner city ghetto folk.

Really, you need to know how far is far . I personally don't worry too much because most of the area I am won't know what is coming. One good trait about moving from a large metro area to a small one.


Anyway, you really need to stay away from all of the possible evac areas or suburban areas. From my experience: Long Island, Westchester County, and the Entire state of New Jersey is bad game. Too many Northeastern Metrobelt 'fugees. That is, unless you got a vessel seaworthy enough to sail to Carribean off the coast of Island Park or Long Beach NY.

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

wow very interesting.

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

Argentsum,

A lot of Nevada is that way. Elko is almost booming right now, though--I'm not sure I'd like all the activity. Western and northwestern Nevada is quieter.

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

http://www.censuscd.com/images/lf-map.gif

I'm leaning towards the light colored areas.

Even better, overlap that data with zone hardiness data:

http://www.allcountries.org/maps/usa..._zones_map.jpg

climate data:

http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefme...p/T373599A.gif

nuclear fallout data:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...USA_(FEMA).jpg

and you'll probably come to the conclusion that washington, oregon, alaska are the best spots.

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

What do you plan to do for a job?
You might be able to find work in a smaller town near your future home.

We are looking at Eastern Oklahoma,Western Arkansas and southern Missouri....among other places.

Our place in NC is up for sale and we jsut showed it this past sunday,to most 'normal' people they would think it is secluded and private but not to me....:D

You need water,good soil,a decent growing season(to us anyway,some get by living in the frozen northern wastelands) and a low population.

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

This map is accurate in only a general sense. Insofar as Oregon is concerned I wouldn't be surprised if we get one in Portland, Salem, Bonneville Dam, and perhaps one where the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant was located. Oh yeah, and one on the Umatilla Army Depot where the chemical weapons are located.

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

True. I saw a map of Oregon nuke targets that had a warhead for Lakeview, Air National Guard facility I believe. Also saw a map that had a second chemical/bio weapon site in Oregon around Chiloquin but I couldn't verify that. Bend used to have (still has?) a CIA facility and would seem to be a prime target.The Californians have taken over Bend anyway, expensive now. Another example is the map of Arizona nuke targets that had the Snowflake vicinity getting pasted for some reason.

Dig a Well?A question about access?
 

Hi,If you dig a well and the power goes out,how do you get the water out?Do they still make hand pumps and do they freeze in the winter?Regards Mike

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

submersible well pump. underground= not freeze in winter.
My well pump runs from solar power.

Re: Dig a Well?A question about access?
 

Yes they still make hand pumps but they only work to a certain depth.

If you wanted,you could have a windmill to draw the water...

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

Out of curiosity, wheres everyones geopolitics on the safest places in the world to live and why?

:confused_ma:

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

I bet if you shoot the squatter the problem will be solved. I bet your neighbors might shoot a squatter also, in a survivalist scenario.

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

Wow, great maps! That being said, all this work was done 30 years ago. Anyone remember the survivalist movement back in the 70's and 80's? I think that the Rogue RIver Valley became the epicenter for American retreatism back then.

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

You are correct. It was Mel Tappen that recommended the Rogue River Valley as the best place to avoid nuke fallout in the U.S. I also like the Umpqua and Applegate River Valleys.

Re: Where to look for bug out locations?
 

I know a lot of survivalists centered around Grants Pass. So much so that I wouldn't be surprised if it earns a couple kilotons nominal yield.