Category: Retreat Locales

Letter Re: Off-Grid Living on an Alaskan Island

Hello, Many US military personal who serve on an isolated duty station, in effect live off grid.  For example I was in the U.S. Coast Guard and stationed at Cape Sarichef, Alaska for a year. [It is at the end of Unimak Island.]           We had three large Caterpillar generators.  We got our water from a reservoir that was filled from mountain runoff.  I would go the reservoir when needed and start a small hand pull pump (during the winter could take almost 30 minutes to get started.) This would pump the water along a buried pipe line, with …


Letter Re: Observations From a Canadian Farmer

Hi Jim:  I have been reading SurvivalBlog.com for several months now and have found it very interesting.  I purchased a 640 acre farm in 1970 in the Little Clay belt in Northern Ontario and started from scratch.  I was 25, not married and knew no one in the area when moved from a large urban city, six hours drive away.  It was daunting and I learned a lot of lessons the hard way.  Since I used up all my cash I also had to work out to make ends meet. Here are some of my thoughts in no special order: …


Letter Re: List of Countries by Real Population Density

James, I have been playing with the numbers based on the population figures and wanted to give you this update. I did a study of the total land under cultivation in 2002 (rather than just the potentially arable land, and not including grazing land).  42 of the 50 states exceed the figure of 245 people per square kilometer. [JWR Adds: States with less than 600 people per square kilometer of active-worked farm land might pull through a societal collapse, with plenty of sweat and by God’s grace. But anyone who is planning to survive whilst living in a state with …


Three Letters Re: List of Countries by Real Population Density

Jim- Dr. Hugh asked the question about population density in the US States.  Below is the answer. Since I couldn’t finagle Wolfram Alpha to do this in people per square kilometer, I did it in square miles. For reference: If you convert Dr. Hugh’s figure of 245 people per square kilometer to people per square mile and that equates to 634.5 people per square mile Keeping that number in mind, I used this Wolfram Alpha equation, and learned: Rank State Pop. Density 1 New Jersey 1,185 people/mi^2 2 Rhode Island 1,007 people/mi^2 3 Massachusetts 835.2 people/mi^2 4 Connecticut 737.7 people/mi^2 …


Letter Re: List of Countries by Real Population Density

James,   I love the work you are doing, keep it up!  I know since the early 1990s when we first communicated via e-mail I have turned hundreds of people on to your writing and your work and yours is still the most comprehensive and easiest to understand approach for newcomers to the prepping community.   I really enjoyed the “Real Population Density” chart (List of countries by real population density (based on food growing capacity) link posted in your blog. But i would like to point out a couple of things that people need to keep in mind.   …


Letter Re: Escape From New York

Dear Jim:   Dino’s home in Nassau County (Long Island) New York could prove to be where he will stay during the difficulties that “might” descend upon us. It might be impossible to bug out to his upstate property. Here’s why.   The only connections to the US mainland from western Long Island are the following: • The Throgs Neck Bridge to the Bronx • The Whitestone Bridge to the Bronx • The Triboro Bridge to Manhattan Island • The Queensboro Bridge to Manhattan Island • The Queens Midtown Tunnel to Manhattan Island • The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to Manhattan Island …


Survival: The Five I’s That Might Keep You Alive, by Dino

Survival: The Five I’s That Might Keep You Alive, by Dino If you read the title carefully, you’ll notice the word might. Regardless of preparation, situations sometimes spiral out of control faster than we can react to the. In a TEOTWAWKI scenario of indeterminate cause, all the plans in the world go out the window, literally in some cases. Ask any senior military officer about mission planning, and invariably they will tell you that from the time a briefing starts until it ends, the situation has evolved to make the plan need adjusting. The film industry has some of the …


Prepared? I Hope So, by C.W. in Arizona

Those of us who wish to be prepared for whatever may lay ahead, are always faced with unique situations and challenges.  Those challenges may include such things as: lack of funds, a difficult location, non-supportive or elderly or disabled family members, your age or stage in life, etc. The list goes on and on. However, is it imperative to find solutions and make plans?  I think so!  While my situation is a little unusual, I count myself as truly blessed to be one of those individuals who knows the time to be prepared is now, rather than later.  I am …


Returning to My Retreat After a Three Year Absence: Lessons Learned, by C.J. in Montana

My wife and I own  a 50 acre place in Northern Maine that was originally intended to be a home-building site.  It is remote, quiet  and off-grid.  Along with an outbuilding/bathhouse I constructed,  there is also a 40 foot shipping container I set up as a  secure storage building/shelter.    The land  has  plenty of water nearby  and the entire property is wooded in White Cedar (weatherproof/rot-proof) Balsam Fir , Birch and Spruce.  Unfortunately over the years the location has became less ideal for us.  The  political climate (until very recently) is unfavorable ( taxes, government regulation, overall policies).   The economic …


Letter Re: Ireland as a Retreat Locale

Ireland as a retreat environment   We’ve all heard about the economic disaster that has recently befallen Ireland. The banking crisis has hit hard the country that less than five years ago was the third-richest nation per capita in the world. Unemployment is rising fast – almost 25% of under-25 year olds are out of work. And the economy is now effectively controlled by the terms of the recent IMF and EU bailout. So why consider Ireland for your survival retreat?   1. It’s conservative. The Irish Constitution begins by invoking “the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom …


Everything Happens for a Reason, by Leep

In 2006, I left my job of 20+ years as a maintenance mechanic and construction designer, my wife left her job of 10+ years in real estate, and we cashed in a pension and a 401(k), to buy a small farm. At the time we were deemed crazy. We thought so too and to this day can’t really put a finger on the exact reasoning. This farm was one of the last small agriculturally-zoned properties in the area. The rest is sub-division. It was only five acres, but had a large 8-stall horse barn with a large loft & a …


The California – Wyoming Travel Dictionary

Ray X., a SurvivalBlog reader in Wyoming has compiled a lexicon, with translations for Californians who are visiting Wyoming, or vice versa. Note: This doesn’t apply to conservatives who are fleeing California. (Since they already speak the language of Wyoming.) In California In Wyoming Diverse or Lifestyle Choice Sinful and Perverted Arsenal of Weapons Gun Collection Delicate Wetlands Swampland Undocumented Worker Illegal Alien Cruelty-Free Materials Synthetic Fiber Assault and Battery Attitude Adjustment Heavily Armed Well-protected Narrow-minded Righteous Taxes or Your Fair Share Coerced Theft Commonsense Gun Control Gun Confiscation Plot Illegal Hazardous Explosives Fireworks or Stump Removal Nonviable Tissue Mass …


Letter Re: Taking the Plunge and Buying a Rural Retreat

James,   I may be a little late to the party, but I have spent a considerable time lately worrying about what to do if this economy of ours crashes.  I started thinking about what I would do if TSHTF. I had no answer. I have read about lot of peoples concern over solar flares, and 2012 scenarios, and while they may happen, I am more convinced of the coming collapse of the dollar and the global economy. I think this is much more of a probability and certainly less speculative that the other fears—at least at the moment. So, …


Letter Re: Iowa Becomes a Shall-Issue CCW State

Mr. Rawles,   One of the drawbacks of Iowa as a possible retreat location has been restrictive gun laws. It will be somewhat better as of January 1, 2011 when the state becomes a  “Shall Issue” instead of a discretionary “May Issue” state for carrying concealed weapons (CCW) permits.   I think that the rural areas of Iowa offer good possibilities for retreats. The farm land is some of the best in the world. Water and rainfall are less of a problem than they are in some of the more western plains states. The people in most of the state …


Surviving in Caves, by Caver X.

I got hooked on spelunking in the early 1990s in Tennessee. It was an adventure that would last for about 5 years and take me in several different caves including one that I went in between 35 to 40 times. There are basics to know when planning a cave trip and you need to have a good plan up front before starting out on your journey. I can’t say that I had them all right when I first started but I think my guardian angel kept me safe. Leave an Itinerary Make sure to get plenty of sleep the night …