New Member Beginning Prepper

Hello all!

New to prepping. Ex Navy, served during Gulf War 1. Stuck in a city, in a condo, and not liking what I see happening in the world. I have a wife and 3 kids, and clearly a job to do. This looks like a good place to start.

 

Your urban area, how many people? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions?

Demographics? Example:
http://indianapolis.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm


Must you deal with high crime neighborhoods? Example:

https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/tn/memphis
With the above map, one can place the cursor on the map then drag the map north, south, east, or west. One can also place the cursor on each neighborhood region and this will result in the map showing you the name of that neighborhood. Neighborhood color-mapping is on a scale of high-crime to low-crime. If your neighborhood is on or bordering a high-crime area, you must calculate this risk in with your overall plan. Count on less-civilized areas to turn into overtly unsafe areas when the SHTF.

https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/about-the-data/crime-rates

If you are living in a condo in a largish urban area where crime is already an issue, then you may very well be facing the need to bug-out during a SHTF situation. Smaller towns with low crime rates and a history of civilized behavior (Mayberry doesn't exist, never did, however some areas are eaten -up with people who routinely help each other and who adhere to moral code) present the potentiality of being able to bug-in, i.e. stay where you are. Living in a condo is an economic and SHTF risk, however you've used the word "stuck", therefore you may have a job that forces you to stay or your family may have family therein.

Yes, I'm being rather nosy, however the above parameters speak to your preparations. Many folk will be faced with bugging-out during a SHTF situation due to their urban area being unsafe when the economy and civilized behavior crumble -- and crumble they will.

Speaking of being nosy, what age group(s) are your children? Some kids are old enough to help with their younger siblings during times of need. Prepping for hard times / dangerous times must take into consideration the specific needs of children. For instance, get kids to drink plain water with their meals and unhappiness will follow. Add some flavoring powder and the task is much easier. During SHTF scenarios, water quality will go down -- you may be able to make the water safe, however the taste of the water may leave much to be desired, even with charcoal filtering.

 

I have a BOL. A large farm 3 hours south (Its a lifetime friends place). Guns and ammo stored there. I help make maple syrup and salsa there, hahaha, so I have access to the food stores. 2 large chest freezers, a large pantry of canned goods, feeder calves are raised there, as well as chickens. I contribute, so some of that stuff is mine, if I can get to it in an emergency.

The kids are spread out. The boys, both 21, are in college in different states. They are men. I expect them to take care of themselves, it's not like my Dad is going to come get me. In fact, due to my parents poor health, I would assume I would be helping them, their house is about 3 miles from the farm. Very rural area.

The daughter is 17, and lives with us. I would assume I would have to physically make her leave the city if things really went south. She would never understand the need to leave. Obviously, I'm talking about a real emergency here.

I have 3 routes planned to leave the city by vehicle, and 1 on foot, via state trails and railways. I have food and water cached on the foot trails, but no ammo.

As far as the condo, I have 72 hours of emergency food (separate from what is in the fridge) and water (just milk jugs full) and the ability to collect rain water (siphoned from the gutter above the deck) and the ability to filter and store 50 gallons, not including the tub and toilet, and sinks and whatever containers I would quickly come up with.

I have a large creek behind the condo, and butt up against a state park. 1 large spring 2 miles away. Plentiful fishing. I can also take a water route almost directly to the farm (BOL) with only 2 portages around dams. Actually, I would enjoy that trip, I should do it once to check it out and time it. 3 days maybe? The route goes from Madison WI to a place in Northern Illinois well away from Chicago, thankfully.

No real bad places here. I've been in bad places, and this isn't one. There would still be bad people, of course, but it's not like I am on the edge of Baltimore.

I'm only "stuck" right now because the wife and I both work here. We plan on moving to Utah as soon as the daughter is out of school. And then, SHE will be on her own, and I hope that I have at least instilled some situational awareness in her, if nothing else. She is no shooter, but she has shot pistols and rifles.

Honestly, I can't go pick up every family member. I would if I could, but we are pretty spread out across the country. I would need a plane.

I need more 5.56 ammo, and a couple boxes of slugs for the 12 gauge, but it needs to be mobile. I'm not looking to go to war, more self defense. It would be great if the wife were more on board, but she will be when it goes south. And she has medical skills, and is into foraging and natural remedies, plus I love her, so I guess she can hang out with me at the end of the world.

 

Protect your kids, especially the girl. They simply can't understand. It is good that your wife and daughter can't get on-board with this; such means that their minds haven't been exposed to the ongoing damnations of this world. Many of us have seen too much, way too much, so we know that God's Mercy does not exist in this world. We know the bad things. We know them all too well. We know hell.

Force the girl to be in a safe place when things go bad. You will hate yourself if you don't. We lost our daughter. The pain is unendurable -- don't learn about that soul-killing reality yourself. Violate your daughter's freedom when things go sideways. Grab her up and protect her. Our kids hate us anyway. So it goes.

Sounds like you've put a bunch of thought into your plans, excellent. I envy you the bug-out location. Great to have solid friends.

Don't talk online about where you store your supplies. Big Brother monitors these sites. Local law enforcement may be righteous and I do mean "may", they could just as easily turn on you. The Feds have legions of uniforms with badges who have prostituted their souls to Satan's own. They have defecated on the graves of our Founding Fathers and have wiped themselves with the U.S. Constitution. They are not just the enemies of America, they are the enemies of humankind and Liberty itself.

Me, I'm a dead man. If my body gets killed, that means less than nothing. I am looking for a way to die. I'm only staying here to take care of my wife and crippled son -- I go through the motions of life so as to give them life. I have no life. Fighting to the death would leave a big smile on my face. My wife has already had cancer. You, on the other hand, have decades. You have people for whom to fight. You be careful and stay clear of the dead souls in our fetid government.

During WWII, my uncle's company/battalion would overrun German towns. One of their first actions would be to hit the Burgermeister's offices and collect the gun registration records. Firearms would be gathered up and dumped off large bridges into the rivers of Germany. Our government is going to do that to us. Watch what you say! Watch what you write!

You have a life. Be prepared to go underground. When you hide your toys underground, plant innumerable flattened tin cans all around that area to throw-off anyone with a metal detector. Do this in as many acres as you have time to effect. Think sealed PVC piping for your provisions. Plant a flattened tin can over the real supplies. For the decoy tin cans, you don't gotta dig, just spade up a sod of grass, stick flattened can under there and then let sod back down, tamp a tad -- do this hundreds and hundreds of times. Cost the enemies of Liberty time, materials, and men.

I wish you, your family, and your friends the best. Do take care.