Category: Retreat Logistics

Discipline and Balance by Hamilton Tyler

There is always talk about the ‘survivalist mindset’ and how important it is to anyone who is going to prepare themselves and their family for whatever crisis they foresee. Some people get this mindset from previous experience (like Katrina survivors who we can hope will become advocates of personal preparedness), others from their religious convictions (Mormons, awaiting the Tribulation, etc), others get this mindset from objectively viewing world events and decide the world is risky place, and many others get this mindset from other places. All of these people, however, have at least one thing in common in their survival …


Rourke on The Survival Retreat Condo Development Concept

When most people think of a “condo”, they usually picture a flat or apartment in a high rise. Think instead of a more rural a recreational condo like a multi-family mountain ski chalet or some vacation condos on the beach or lakeside. Now consider the possibility of putting such a condo development in some rural rolling hills countryside adjacent to some farm land and combining the concept of a recreational retreat with a survival retreat. In this way, your survival retreat becomes a group endeavor, which offers several cost-saving advantages, establishes clear rights and responsibilities, and, also importantly, an operating …


CONEXes, Not Rolexes

In person at guns shows and at public speaking engagements, as well as in e-mail, I often have folks mention some of the odd, if not bizarre things that they have purchased for their survival preparations. They run the gamut: Ostentatious: The reader that blew virtually his entire preparation budget on a brand new BMW 4×4 SUV Impractical: The gent who said that he owns just one firearm: An AR-15 with five 100-round Beta C-MAGs, a rail-mounted white flashlight, a rail-mounted IR flashlight, PAQ-4 laser target designator, a Gen 3 PVS-4 starlight scope, bipod, and a pseudo-M203 (37mm) flare launcher. …


Intelligent Consumerism for the New Survivalist by “A. Friend”

Reduce, re-use, and recycle. This article addresses intelligent consumerism for the new survivalist. You’ve heard it many times before: you get what you pay for. As consumers in a global economy we have more choices than ever, but perhaps not as many wise choices. Imported junk fills the shelves of many stores and being a smart consumer is not as easy as knowing a few brand names. Once upon a time you had a general sense of quality by the brand name of a product but the new global economy has made brand names largely irrelevant outside their use as …


Letter Re: Oil and Lubricant Storage in Retreat Planning

James, After reading your blog [post] on oil storage I heartily agree with most of your points. I stock synthetic [motor] oil for this purpose: it lasts longer! If a time comes when I can’t get oil I want what I have to be the best. I recently began using Mobil 1 Extended Performance [synthetic] and I’m not sure I can back it up, but I did notice a slight mileage increase over regular Mobil 1 in my 2000 F-150 4×4 Super Cab. Perhaps just a coincidence, but perhaps it actually lubricates a bit better than regular Mobil 1. I …


Letter Re: State Boundaries (Expanding on “The State Line Game”)

I’d like to expand on a topic that I mentioned briefly in a SurvivalBlog post on August 25, 2005:  “The State Line Game.” Many folks have discovered how to play the state line jumping game: Living near a state line to take advantage of a lower tax or other advantage in one or more adjoining states. For example, you can live in the Idaho panhandle (very low property tax, car registration, and car insurance), work in eastern Washington (no income tax), make your day-to-day purchases in Idaho (5% sales tax) and your major purchases (trucks, wood stoves, generators, gun vaults, …


Retreat Areas – State Level Data Now Available in Excel Spreadsheet Format

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Very special thanks to “Wise Tioga”, who out of the goodness of his heart laboriously converted my data on 19 western states into a handy Excel (.xls format) spreadsheet. He has even added some more data on home schooling and home birth regulations. I have posted it as a sub-page to the Retreat Areas static page. (Just click on the Retreat Areas button in our home page top button bar.)


Letter Re: Retreat Manpower/Security Requirements

Hi Jim. Your survival blog is wonderful! Reading it every day has already helped me become more constantly focused and working on preparedness. I have recently made some overtures about forming a retreat group to a few family members who are like minded with me on preparedness. One suggested topic for your survival blog that would be helpful to me, and probably many others, is a discussion on the number of people necessary to operate a retreat in a TEOTWAWKI situation. You did speak on that in Patriots, which was very helpful. Some questions are: (1) Is there a minimum, …


The Dreaded Pin Prick–Approaching a Housing Bubble Near You

There are starting to be some clear indicators that the U.S. housing market bubble has reached its apex, though there are some that disagree. The signs of irrational exuberance are all to apparent. Witness, for example, the mad bidding wars for Miami condominiums that are being pre-sold, long before the ground has been broken at the construction sites.  The housing markets have already headed south in much of the rest of the English speaking world.(Prices are already dropping in Australia and England.) But not yet in the United States. Today’s housing market is the embodiment of “The Greater Fool Theory“, …


On Preparing Your Children

Introduction Let us review the basics of child rearing. Children are a gift from God and we are to bring them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. All preparedness means nothing if we have prepared our children for the eternal fires of hell. God, in His eternal wisdom and grace, providentially provided His son Jesus to restore us to a loving relationship with the Almighty. God provides covenantal blessings for those who obey Him and curses for those who don’t. With that being said it is imperative that all our worldly preparation be first and foremost spiritual …


Letter Re: Buying Rural Timberland

Jim, Here is a letter that I was going to write to a guy in response to an inquiry on what timberland was running for here in northern Idaho. It might be of interest to the blog readers. In the northwest, when looking for a retreat most of us are looking for timbered property. We imagine tall big trees with a house settled down in the hallow or located in some vantage point and defensible. I have given a lot of thought to the idea that if I had the assets what would I be looking for in timberland, best …


Letter From “Mr. Lima” Re: Retreat Potential for The Eastern States

Jim, I agree with you 100% that by far the West (Far West) is the best survival locale, but I am one of those East Coast survivors. If I really wanted to I would move West (I’m of the mindset that anyone can do anything they really want to do, they just have to WANT it bad enough), then I probably would. I won’t go into all the excuses people normally use when you tell them to relocate. Something that ought to be considered as well is proximity to like minded friends and family members. I “could” move out West …


Letter Re: Retreat Potential for The Eastern States–Pennsylvania

Dear Jim, In response to the letter from the Californian with aspirations on returning to western Pennsylvania, is he in for a shock. We have become, due to really short sighted thinking, the net importer of garbage for the east coast. Western and central Pa. have become the waste center for Maine, New York (city and state), New Jersey, Vermont, New Hampshire, Ohio, West Virginia, and many other locales. We put toxic waste in our soils and act like if can not see it, it will go away. Nature always bats last. The ground water and water table will become …


Letter Re: Retreat Potential for The Eastern States–Virginia

Jim: I am getting a real education on this Blog. Thank you. We all witnessed the breakdown of civilization during the aftermath of Katrina. I disagree with the possibility of Charlottesville or anywhere near Charlottesville being any sort of safe haven in a real emergency. I-64 Leads directly to Staunton, VA. We know here that we are essentially a target for millions of uncivilized terrified people. If the east coast of VA needed to evacuate, we know the Shenandoah Valley would be inundated. And Charlottesville stomped into the ground on the way. I also know that the Lord God is …


Recommended Region: The Bitterroot Valley Region, (Ravalli County, Western Montana)

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 …