Run and Hide, Walk and Talk
I hear it all the time from clients, the magical question of “where can I buy a property that will allow me to hide-away from it all and not be noticed”. My answer is simple. If you want to really ‘hide’ from the powers that may or may not be, live in the biggest city you can find in a flat across from the nearest public transportation system, period. If you think that moving to a small town will give you that wanted anonymity, you’re wrong. In a small rural town and setting most everyone knows your business, no matter what you do to try and hide it. Think about it, you have a local contractor (big mistake) give you an estimate on your new ‘wine cellar’ storage facility. Within 24 hours he has had a beer with his buddies, a haircut at the local barber shop and has shopped at the grocery store, all the while speaking to 20 people. It just snowballs from there, by the next day you hear about your ‘wine cellar’ from the local shopkeeper!
My point is not about how to secretly build bunkers; it’s about making trusted friends that will provide you with valuable intel one day. It’s how to hide in plain sight and assimilate yourself into the local culture so that you’re not news around town every time the ‘new guy’ does something. Like those new sneakers that your mom bought you in grade school, the ones that squeeeeeek as you walked down the hallway, yeah, those. Better to put on a pair of old shoes and shuffle around than to make a grand parade of yourself. You can do this simply by meeting as many folks as possible as soon as possible. You can’t go it alone at your retreat and knowing the townspeople is very important especially during a major event. If you hide at your retreat you’ll instantly be labeled an outcast, people in small towns like knowing who you are (for better or worse of course) and hiding out will not help you learn small but very important details about your locale.
Here is an example: In my locale just try and have anything done during the first two weeks of Elk Season, which coincidentally started in Idaho this week. (And I’ll be out today). When I first moved here I had more than one contractor tell me he wouldn’t do the job for double the estimate, so it’s apparent that the locals here take hunting very seriously. Join a local volunteer service (Fire Department, EMS, et cetera), go get a part time job doing some work around town, soon nobody will care two shakes about what you’re doing, the talk will be all about the ‘new guy’ and what’s happening over there. Remember, good neighbors become instant LP/OPs during times of peril. Treat them right. Just make sure you’re at the end of the road and on top of the hill! To keep it short, get to know everyone, make friends and a lot of them. You’ll be very thankful that you’re in the ‘circle of trust’ one day.
Well, like I said, try and get anything done during Elk Season. This explains the brevity of this week’s update. I’m going to go pack my rucksack and clean my rifle. For those of you looking for reviews of different locales on a weekly basis, we’ll be back on track next week. For his Kingdom, – T.S.