Category: Retreat Locales

The Bitterroot Valley region of western Montana, (south of Missoula) is worth considering. It still has some affordable land, but the out-of-state millionaires who all seem to want to build 4,000+ square foot log “cabins” are gradually creeping in and pushing up prices. Concentrate on small towns along the Bitterroot River, such as Florence, Stevensville, Victor, Corvalis, Pinesdale, Woodside, Hamilton, Grantsdale, and Darby. Advantages: Away from the I-90 corridor. Plentiful water and firewood. Great hunting. Disadvantages: Even though it is west of the Great Divide and they call this “Montana’s Banana Belt”, this region still has a relatively cold climate …

The Clark Fork Valley Region, (Sanders County, Northwest Montana, near the Idaho State Line.) This isolated valley sits between the Bitterroot and Cabinet Mountain Ranges. Concentrate on small towns along the Clark Fork such as Plains, Thompson Falls, Belknap, Trout Creek, Noxon, and Heron. Avoid the upper elevations. (In this region, an additional 1,000 feet of elevation puts you in a much different climate!) Advantages: Away from the I-90 corridor. Disadvantages: Cold climate and short growing season. (Can be compensated by building a large greenhouse.) Economy is not as diverse as the Kalispell/Flathead Lake Region. Insufficient agriculture in the region …

Sir: You mentioned that you don’t feel qualified to comment on much less to rank the eastern states. I can start the ball rolling, re: the Urban Northeast (the UNE). The disadvantages of the UNE are: cold winters, overpopulation, generally bad gun laws, socialistic politicians, and high Sheeple Ratio (SR). However, tens of millions of people live there, so: 1. I live in Philadelphia, for which the natural bugout area is the Catskills, Lehigh Valley, etc. PA gun laws are surprisingly good; an oasis of sanity in the UNE: Shall Issue CCW (and you can carry virtually anywhere — no …

Two different readers e-mailed to remind me that there is a maximum security Washington state prison near Walla Walla. It currently houses 16% of the state’s worst criminals, including approximately 116 sex offenders. The current inmate population is 2,277. Because of this I have revised the “grid down” potential for the region down from a 5 to a 7. (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best.) For the sake of all of our readers living near any jail or prison, let us pray that their electric cell door control systems default to “locked” rather than …

The Olympic Peninsula is a very rainy but quasi-remote region in western Washington. Albeit with strong reservations, it is one of the few retreat regions that I recommend in the western half of the state. Statistics (for Forks): Average high temperature in August: 71.8. Average low temperature in January: 33.7. Growing season: (Clallam Bay): 182 days. Growing season: (Forks): 175 days. Average snowfall in January: 4.8”. Clallam County Median residential home price: $140,000. Advantages: Mild climate with the moderating influence of the Pacific Ocean, Clallam County crops include hay oats, corn, apples, cherries, pears, plums, carrots, peas, and berries. Upwind …

Mr. Rawles–many thanks for the response! We live in Henderson county and before that my family lived up in Buncombe county, so I laughed when I read the letter from your other reader. Henderson county has an extremely high per capita savings and a LOT of poor people, so somebody is skewing the results somehow. Lots of rich transplants from up North. Jurassic Park. Buncombe county is on a lot of “best places to live” lists…and real estate and cost of living increases reflect that. Rolling Stone magazine called it the “freak capital of the south”…and it is. Kind of …

This is one of the best dry land farming regions in eastern Washington. The drive east of Walla Walla is like a trip back in time to typical 1950s American farming country. Aside from the satellite dishes and the now ubiquitous crop sprayer tank trailers, not much has changed since then! When searching for a potential retreat, concentrate on the small towns east of Walla Walla proper–like Waitsburg and Dayton, but none smaller than Dixie. Statistics (for Walla Walla): Average high temperature in August: Average low temperature in January: Growing season: 190 days. Average snowfall in January: 19.8” (64.7” annually.) …

Mr. Rawles concerning the Wallowa Lake area a few points. Whether or not these are good or bad I leave to you. Around the lake itself the area is expanding as new homes are being built along the southern side of the lake. The region has become a popular tourist area due to events like the Chief Joseph Days which is held in August in Joseph. It includes a decent size rodeo and parade. In Joseph there are several large bronze foundries which serves to draw a number of folks to the area to see the works. Since a modest …

Hi Jim, I understand that you are looking for more detailed information on Carolina retreat locales. My wife and I both grew up here and have traveled quite a bit of the state. We live in the western end of the state (The Blue Ridge Mountains.) As far as the East is concerned, I’m with Joel Skousen as he gives it an “A”. As long as you stay out of Buncombe, Henderson, and Macon counties. They’ve been invaded by rich Floridians, yuppies, hippies and drug-heads. But they do offer many employment opportunities, especially in the elder-care, nursing home, health related …

The Wallowa Valley is in far north-eastern Oregon, in Wallowa County. The towns dotted along the valley (see map) include Wallowa, Lostine, Enterprise, and Joseph. The following population statistics are courtesy of the Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce: Wallowa County: 7,150 Enterprise: 2,020 Joseph: 1,085 Lostine: 230 Wallowa: 760 Imnaha: 100 The median income in Wallowa is $28,603, versus the national average of $41,994. (Source: 2000 U.S. Census ) The mountains ringing the Wallowa Valley get the lion’s share of the precipitation, while the valley floor itself is fairly dry. The average precipitation for the entire county: 18.85 inches, Enterprise: …

Jim: I wanted to address a couple of things some of your readers have brought up recently. There’s been a lot of well thought out letters on retreat sites that aren’t in the west. That’s great, I live on the east coast myself. I want to hear more about other locales, as I’m sure Jim does as well. If your state isn’t on his list of retreat locations, don’t take offense. As long as you’re applying some of the same logic, ideas, and planning to your retreat location then you’re doing far better than most survivalists, let alone sheeple. Jim …