Category: Retreat Locales

The Coming Second Civil War

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A new paradigm has become evident in both the demographics and the political landscape of 21st Century America. Our nation’s major political camps are becoming increasingly polarized. The differences between the more populous and liberal coastal regions versus the lightly-populated and conservative inland regions are growing more sharp with every passing year. In the long term, a clash of wills between the Red and the Blue is almost inevitable. Whether this will result in conflict or in eventual partition and accommodation remains to be seen. Trouble might occur as early as the year 2020. Or it might be a full …


Preparing to Survive Riots, Terrorist Attacks, or a Civil War

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Of all of the “worst case” possibilities that we prepare for, near the top of my “most dreaded” list is a second civil war.  This falls in the category of a “highly unlikely, but profoundly inimical if it were to occur.”  In this essay, I will discuss a full spectrum of threats, including contingency preparations for surviving riots, terrorist attacks, or a civil war. I believe that the United States has entered a period of great instability, born of political divisiveness. The sharp differences between liberals and conservatives are now profoundly felt.  Virtually every topic and issue has become heavily …


The Thin Veneer

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Editor’s Introductory Note: This is a re-post from the early days of SurvivalBlog, back in August, 2005. Blog Years are like Dog Years. To explain: SurvivalBlog has been published since before most people had even heard the word “blog” for the first time. A piece this old has probably never been read by 90% of the current SurvivalBlog readership. So we feel fairly safe in re-posting it. BTW, we recommend that any new readers take a look through the archives of SurvivalBlog’s first year, to come up to speed on our jargon, core beliefs, and unique acronyms. – JWR o …


A Memoir On One Family’s Move To The American Redoubt- Part 6, by X. Liberal & China Doll

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This is the final part of this article series, As the title indicates, reviewing our family’s move to the American Redoubt and building our log cabin. We have the majority of the work behind us at this point and are now at the final steps and finishes. Plumbing (Plumbing required two weeks.) I’ve never done plumbing before, so I became acquainted with Mr. YouTube for over a score of hours. I sat inside a McDonald’s restaurant to utilize their free Wi-Fi, as I don’t have it so remotely out in the boonies, to gain an understanding of the ins and …


A Memoir On One Family’s Move To The American Redoubt- Part 5, by X. Liberal & China Doll

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As the title indicates, my wife and I are outlining our family’s move to the American Redoubt. At this point, we have the exterior of the home finished– the basement, the log walls, the gables and the roof, and also the porch. Now, it’s time for some of the added necessities to make it liveable. Septic Tank (Four days were required for putting in the septic tank. This included the time to dig and also grade after it was completed.) YouTube For All Construction Phases of This Project Many videos on YouTube will explain how to do things and also …


A Memoir On One Family’s Move To The American Redoubt- Part 4, by X. Liberal & China Doll

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As the title indicates, my wife and I are outlining our family’s move to the American Redoubt. At this point, we’d already dug and poured the foundation and put in the walls of our log cabin. However, it’s not a log cabin without logs. Unloading Logs (Four hours were dedicated just to unloading the logs.) This required another piece of rental equipment called a lull. (It is a large fork truck that can keep level when it’s on rough terrain by tipping its shocks to compensate.) The semi-truck pulled up and parked 200 yards from the site due to the …


A Memoir On One Family’s Move To The American Redoubt- Part 3, by X. Liberal & China Doll

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As the title indicates, my wife and I are outlining our family’s move to the American Redoubt. In part 2, we began with an overview of our finances/expenses of our move and property purchase and began detailing the build activities. Today, we are continuing with our log cabin construction process. Concrete Pour (We required one day for the concrete pour.) At this point, your first cement truck will arrive, with spinning bucket and all. Back them up to the corner that you want to start at, and have him extend the chute to boom over to line up between the …


A Memoir On One Family’s Move To The American Redoubt- Part 2, by X. Liberal & China Doll

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As the title indicates, my wife and I are outlining our family’s move to the American Redoubt. In part 1, we explained why we made the move to the American Redoubt and now we are getting into the nuts and bolts of our process. Finances/Budget Milestone Cost – USD Property Search/Travel to locations $4,000.00 Land Purchase Classified Log Package Kit $37,000.00 Foundation $15,000.00 Subfloor $5,000.00 Gables /Roof $7,000.00 Roof foam/frame $8,000.00 Tin roof $4,000.00 Porches $1,500.00 Stain/log jam $3,500.00 Temp Stove/Chimney $3,200.00 Septic Tank/chambers $3,000.00 Propane Tank/Filled $4,000.00 Grading Property $3,500.00 Interior walls/Insulation $2,000.00 Plumbing $2,500.00 Electric $3,000.00 Vents/interior wall …


A Memoir On One Family’s Move To The American Redoubt- Part 1, by X. Liberal & China Doll

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Epigraph, Genesis “And God said unto Noah, ‘The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms though shalt make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without pitch.’” – Genesis 13:13-14 KJV Background Let us give you a little background about ourselves. X. Liberal is a man with athletic build who played ice hockey in college, where he was educated with a master’s degree in accounting, and is a CPA. X. Liberal’s …


Homestead Design from a Practical, Tactical, Agricultural Survival Perspective, by C.F

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Let’s talk about practical, tactical, and agricultural survival principles and details that pertain to developing land in a way that will facilitate agricultural productivity, sustainability, and security. Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house. Prov. 24:27. Assessing the Land The Land First of all, we are likely to be constrained by property boundaries. Therefore, in selecting property, what are our priorities? Not everyone has the same priorities, and priorities change as the world around us changes. For example, a property that is perfectly usable today may become untenable if …


Ten Tips for Going Off-Grid, by A.U.

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My husband and I recently bought a piece of property with some family members in the hope of transitioning to off-grid living. For those who might not be familiar with the concept, going off-grid means creating a lifestyle that does not rely on public utilities (water, electricity, et cetera). There are many different reasons people choose to go off-grid. Some of the most popular reasons are: to decrease environmental impact, to prepare for disaster, or a desire to be independent and self-sustained. We jumped into our endeavor with almost no knowledge or experience. We have had to learn some things …


Building Or Purchasing Your New Country Property – Part 2, by S.T.

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After our move across the country and decision to purchase rather than build our new country property, we had some work ahead of us. Our home was more than 30 years old and needed considerable work. In this section of the article, we continue to review the improvements made and plans for the future. Year 3 Property Improvements (cont.) New Flooring and Wall Storage The floor was updated and unused space appropriated. The original lino floors were replaced with new tile floors. The back wall of the kitchen had not been used. I installed four open shelves with the bottom …


Building Or Purchasing Your New Country Property – Part 1, by S.T.

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Our Journey We left the Peoples Republic of Kommiefornia in 2013 for the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains with a list of the minimum requirements for our new county property. After making this journey of more than 2,300 miles to start the second half of our lives, we opted to purchase a home rather than build one. Our decision was mainly due to time issues and the discovery of a house within one mile and on the same country road that my aging father and step-mother lived on. What we left: 3 bedrooms 2 baths 1400 sq. ft. California city …


Journey To Self Prepping, The Long Hard Way, by B.H.

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Our journey towards prepping began approximately five years ago when my husband handed me a book called Patriots. Needless to say, he had been collecting all kinds of of things prior to my reading the book. Husband a Firearms Instructor, Competitive Shooter, and Woodworker My husband participated in many shooting competitions over the years and was a primary firearms instructor while in the military. He developed his skills and won many competitions. Then, he began reloading even to the point of making his own lead bullets from old wheel weights. He also had a full woodworking shop in our basement. …


News From The American Redoubt:

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Video: Best and worst states to retire in the United States. Not surprisingly, four of the five American Redoubt Staes were in Tier 1 or Tier 2. o o o Wyoming hunting licenses to reflect recent harsh winter o o o Montana: Man pleads guilty to poaching trophy mule deer in Uptown Butte JWR’s Comment: Sometimes the sight of an awesome rack can inspire impulsive behavior. o o o Oregon: Stores must pay bottle deposit refunds even if they do not charge deposit. JWR’s Comment: Logic and common sense are obviously scarce commodities in Oregon’s legislature. o o o Oregon …