location, location, location

[mitunnelrat]

Agreed on all counts. I started with the distance formula because 1. I know it. 2. I don't believe "distance from disorder" is really all that bad a thing.

[bacpacker]

Totally agree with more distance is better. But East of the Mississippi we are limited to some degree. Just too many people to get way way out.

[mitunnelrat]

True, but that is something I believe MI has an advantage in. Most of our border is watwrfront

[bacpacker]

That s true. Plus up in the UP, most places are fairly devoid of the masses. That's where I would be if I lived up there. Winters are rough, but that lends itself to other things as well.

[realist]

In training we always say distance it your friend. It gives you time to react either offensively or defensively. I like the idea of having distance from cities. However where I live things have grown up over time. Where we were a smaller town when we moved here it has now grown to over 100,000. I do have a place to go which is two hours north with a very small population. This has always been my fall back location. As for distance and travel with regard to MPG of the car. I have a truck and always use a figure of 10 MPG to get anywhere. This is derived from a two MPG buffer when I am towing a trailer of weight. When empty it goes up to 16 MPG. So for my trip of north I can still make it if I have a third of a tank.

Regarding FEMA evacuation. Years ago there was an report written on where people would be evacuated to in the event San Francisco and the surrounding area had to be evacuated. It was not pleasant to read. There are no large facilities up here so I have no clue where people would stay. I just know I would not want to be around.

[mitunnelrat]

FEMA relocation is a chance to may have to take. I'm not ready for a preset BOL anyway, so I have time to research and decide on that one.

My main concern, today, is getting established somewhere adequate to my needs. Food production, water source, and trees being the basics. Pretty easy to find that level here in MI. It's acreage I need to determine, defensive characteristics, etc. There is no getting away from pros entirely, but being able to limit interactions as much as possible is only prudent.

[mitunnelrat]

Boy, I slaughtered that post. No getting away from "people" entirely

[Kesephist]

Boy, I slaughtered that post. No getting away from "people" entirely

QUite all right.

Limiting dealing with other people is only prudent post SHTF. +/- of a preset BOL is the one same basic thing: the effort put forth into creating it. Wonderful if everything is there where you left it when you need it. Not so much if some damn gang of meth cookers or pot growers or other such find it and have settled on and/or looted the stuff there.

For a large enough group, as I have stated earlier and elsewhere, a trusted forward element of a caretaker or caretakers, will be worthwhile.

Risks all around. But there is risk in all things, despite what the nanny-state types and other special snowflakes (emphasis on that second syllable, there) would have folk believe.

Kesephist