Hi Jim,
While I value your insights on location, I think you have overlooked one possibility. That is to have your final destination be some 300+ miles away from any major metropolitan areas as you so aptly describe, but then I would add for those people who feel that they need it, a forward base of operations. This would consist of a small cabin, rental unit, or lot with a trailer and a storage shed that would be used as a forward base of operations and a leaping off point to go to their final destination. It would be located 25-50 miles out of town, so a family could use it to commute to their jobs in town and school if they did not know exactly when to make their final departure. It would be for those who are indecisive about when to cut and run, and want to stick around until the last possible minute to collect their last paycheck. Ideally it would be far enough out so that any resulting traffic jams that develop would occur between their forward temporary residence and the city center so they would have relatively unimpeded driving during their exit along the back rural roads. It should also give them 30-60 minutes lead time in [the event of] any short notice, explosive evacuation. Since most of their supplies should already be at their final destination, the only supplies that should be at the forward location would be just what they would need for day to day living out of their suitcase, and extra jerry cans of gas or maybe a 55 gallon drum on/in a small trailer like an enclosed [Wells Cargo] style trailer. If properly prepared, they should be able to “bug out” within ten minutes of their decision to go. They would only need to top off their fuel tanks, throw their suitcases in the car, hitch up any trailer, and leave. This forward location would contain only minimal provisions, but one of those would be enough stored fuel to get the family to their final location plus some extra for detours and traffic jams. It would be located on a less used gravel county road that would lead the family further out, away from the city towards their final destination in relative safety and obscurity. To find these suitable, closer-in locations, you would have to study your local maps in great detail and do a lot of Sunday driving and exploring. – Paul
JWR Replies: What you suggest might have its merits for a “slow slide” scenario, where there is urban rioting, but otherwise things are fairly safe elsewhere. But your approach seems to me like a huge unnecessary expense. The same thing could be accomplished by finding a small town roughly 50 to 60 miles in the direction of your intended retreat that has both a motel and a commercial “mini storage” company. In the storage space, you could store some jerry cans of stabilized gasoline (check the local fire code first, of course) and perhaps a couple of inexpensive used off-road motorcycles, for use as back-up “get out of Dodge” vehicles. If things start looking dicey, you could leave your family at the motel and spend your nights there, for as long as you are in “wait and see” mode. (The period when presumably you determine if the situation has deteriorated to the point of necessitating totally “pulling the plug” on your paycheck and moving to your distant retreat for the long term. ) This will both save you the expense of buying or leasing a “forward location” cabin, and it will also eliminate most of the risk of burglary of the requisite supplies–which otherwise is a huge risk for an unattended cabin just 60 miles from a metropolitan area. If you have a really big budget and can afford a “vacation cabin” in addition to your fully stocked retreat that is much farther away, then by all means go for it. Just be sure to either build some secret compartments into the walls, and/or construct some underground caches. Otherwise, you might arrive at your “Forward Base” and find it stripped bare. Also, regardless of where you cache your gasoline, I recommend buying nothing larger than 20 gallon drums for any supplies that you want to consider mobile. (Anything larger is to difficult to move.) Buy winter formulated gas (which has extra butane–so its stores better), add a gas stabilizes (such as Gas Saver, PRI-G, or Sta-Bil) and be sure to rotate it (replacing it with fresh gasoline) at least one a year. OBTW, speaking of stored gasoline, a good thing to store is a few can of ether-based engine starting fluid. Often, an engine will run with old gas that has had its butane “burn off”, but it is difficult to start it without first giving the carburetor a shot of starting fluid.