Category: Retreat Locales

Life On the Road Presents Preparedness Dilemmas, by Wandering Will

As I sit in the front seat of my motorhome looking out at the beautiful hanging Spanish moss, feel the warm breezes and know that all I have to do for breakfast is walk five feet and pluck a fresh grapefruit from the tree beside my campsite, I once again know how blessed I am. However, as idyllic and normal as the situation appears, I know full well that it can all come crashing down at a moments notice. I have always been a preparedness freak to some extent and even finished up my career as an emergency management specialist …


Letter Re: Choosing Between Roughly Comparable Retreat Locations

Dear Jim, Thank you for the web site, it has been a great source of info. I first read your novel [“Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”] in the 4th quarter of 1999. It was very helpful for preparedness for Y2K. I read it again 1st quarter 2008 and am now re-reading with the high lighter and pen. For the folks who have not read your book, they are missing one of the best preparedness manuals out there. I have never been a Boy Scout, but my personal creed has always been to be prepared. If you have any skills at …


A Farmer’s Perspective on Combating Crime in South Africa, by Joe Ordinary Voortrekker

Although we in South Africa do not live in a TEOTWAWKI situation, we routinely have to deal with constant attempts to appropriate life, possessions, and freedom that could be good training for a TEOTWAWKI situation. The following are some real life insights as to what and how we handle these regular attempts at property liberation on our homesteads and surrounds. We are fortunate to live well outside of South Africa’s largest city, our community is isolated and not visible from any main road. To a point where people that live in nearby areas do not know where our entry road …


Letter Re: Observations on Preparedness from a Gulf Coast Hurricane Veteran

Mr. Rawles, I just wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed your site. I had no idea that there were whole survivalist communities out there until I stumbled on a link by accident. In fact, I didn’t really know that I fit into that category myself. My wife and I live on the Gulf Coast and we discovered the hard way during Hurricane Rita that a bag of trail mix and a bottle of water, was not preparing to evacuate. Eighteen hours in traffic in a hundred and fifty mile traffic jam taught us to find the …


Letter Re: Precipitation and Growing Season as Retreat Locale Criteria

Sir, Regarding your Retreat Areas recommendations: I grew up on a small multi-crop and livestock farm in north western Iowa, with 24 inches of precipitation and 180 frost free days. I have been living in California Eastern Sierra since 1982 , but soon will be leaving. I respectfully submit that your assessment of the agricultural capability of many of the low precipitation/low humidity areas of the western US is vastly overestimated. Western states such as Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico are not farmable by amateurs using conventional means available during any TEOTWAWKI scenario. Obtaining water rights and controlling large …


Letter Re: The U.S. Expatriation Exit Tax

Hi JWR, Here’s another one for your readers. I’d heard of this “exit tax” a few months ago and it was completely ignored by the mainstream media (MSM). At first blush, it doesn’t appear to impact most people, i.e. only those over $4 million USD net worth for couples who renounce U.S. citizenship and leave. However, we all know how well the alternative minimum tax (AMT)–the so-called millionaire’s tax–worked out. It was supposed to affect only several hundred tax “scofflaws”, and now because of inflation, millions of citizens are affected. A few years of 50% inflation will put most professional …


The MOAB Expands Yet Again: Five State Governors Seek $1 Trillion from Uncle Sugar

Back in November I reiterated my point that the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) would know no limits. One of my specific warnings was: “The States – Some 29 of the 50 states are reporting budget crises. Lo an behold, most of the hardest hit states are those with bloated Nanny State bureaucracies. No surprise there. The states that had the worst fiscal management, of course, will get the biggest share of the taxpayer funds. Those that were fiscally conservative will get nothing.” A recent wire service headline confirmed that prediction: U.S. governors seek $1 trillion federal assistance.The article begins: …


From the SurvivalBlog Archives: Survival On a Shoestring Budget

I often get e-mails from readers claiming either directly or indirectly that preparedness is “only for wealthy people”–that working class people cannot afford to prepare. That is nonsense. By simply re-prioritizing your budget and cutting out needless expenses (such as alcohol, cigarettes, convenience foods, and cable television) almost anyone can set aside enough money for a year’s worth of storage food in fairly short order. It is amazing what can be done with hard work, ingenuity, and very little money. While I do not endorse interloping on public lands nor do I suggest that you live like a hermit, the …


Six Letters Re: Home Invasion Robbery Countermeasures–Your Mindset and Architecture

Greetings Mr. Rawles, I read your blog everyday and am learning so much. Thanks for your dedication to helping prepare us for the future. In reference to the recent article on home security, we lived in Argentina for three years and we could all learn from their security measures. The first house we lived in had steel shutters, as did everyone in the neighborhood, and they were all shut at night. The doors have locks that automatically lock when you leave the house. The small front yards usually have tall steel fences with the same height gates. The gates were …


Letter Re: Winter Solstice Slam 2008–Observations from the Pacific Northwest

Hello Jim: I send this to you from the snowy Seattle, Washington metropolitan area where we are digging out of a fairly impressive storm of snow and icy temperatures that have plagued an unprepared area. As a cop and a Preparedness Oriented Person (POP), I have been watching the lead up to and duration of this weather event. Here are some observations: Advance Warning & Notification Folks in these parts complained that there was little warning of the impending snow event. Some stated that since weather forecasters were often wrong, they would be wrong about this. When you had local …


Three Letters Re: Speeding Coyote Hunters Arrested in Illinois

Jim I went to college at Western Illinois University [WIU] and now live 30 miles from there. I don’t know much about the guys that got arrested but I can give you some info on Illinois gun laws. No NFA [“Class 3”] items are allowed except for possibly AOWs. I have heard conflicting reports on AOWs, but know for sure that “silencers” (sound suppressor) are illegal under the state law. As for transporting guns, all guns must be unloaded and inside of a closed case. This goes for handguns and long guns. And no a glove box, center console, or …


Mobile Choices for Survival Retreats by T.D.

Our family lives full time in our camping trailer and have found out there would be many advantages to keeping one in any situation. I am not talking the big 5th wheel or the ones with a motor, just a plain travel trailer [with a traditional vehicle hitch]. Our trailer is 27 feet long and weighs in at 9,500 lbs empty and almost 11,000 lbs full. It is a bunkhouse model and can sleep up to 11 people. It has a 40 gallon fresh water tank, 40 gallon black water tank (waste) and a 40 gallon gray water tank (drain …


Letter Re: South Dakota as a Retreat Locale

My spouse and I lived in South Dakota for about 18 months in the Sioux Falls area. People might be interested to know that there is only one place other than New York City where the United Nations flag flies on US soil and that is at the EROS Data Center just outside of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They might also like to know that not everyone in South Dakota welcomes “outsiders” as folks are called who are not of pioneering stock to the area — of either Norwegian or German ancestry. Once when I was in the checkout line …


Letter Re: South Dakota as a Retreat Locale

I read your statistics. They are pretty accurate for West River (west of the Missouri), but not so accurate for East River. East River has a steady population growth, especially south of Sioux Falls. This is mostly due to the explosive growth of the medical industry. Much of it is zone 5 for growing, with some zone 6 (and zone 4) microclimates. They have excellent rainfall, lesser amounts of snow and more moderate seasons. Winter nights rarely reach -20 F. There is a cold period usually in January that lasts about three weeks. At this time, temps can reach the …


Letter Re: Finding Abandoned Properties, Post-TEOTWAWKI?

Dear Mr. Rawles, This letter is in reference to the reader who had the idea of squatting in abandoned homes. I would advise he seriously rethink that idea. If law has broken down enough that he could acquire someone else’s dwelling without raising any eyebrows then there is enough of a breakdown for the owners to show up and use lethal force whether warranted or not. In that type of TEOTWAWKI, we may see a return to the days of: Horse theft = shot or hung, accosting a lady in the street = shot or hung, Claim (Homestead) jumping = …