Letter Re: Deep Family Roots Versus “Ideal Location” When Considering Relocation

Good Evening,
I’ve recently become a reader of your web site – thank you for the excellent resource.
Having read through your information on Recommended Retreat Areas, I have an additional question or two. My husband, kids and I currently live in Utah. He has family here, within an hour drive. We also live in a heavily populated area, right on the Wasatch Fault. That is worrisome. My mother, many cousins and close friends live in rural coastal North Carolina. My mom lives alone and is aging. We have thought ahead to the possibility of needing to care for her. She has a large house that is paid for and will pass on to me when she leaves this life.
My family has very strong ties to North Carolina, having ancestors in the same county for 200+ years. My husband and I have lived there together – he felt most welcome and fit in very well. We were part of a close knit church group, in addition to family and neighbors that looked out for each other. I know that the East Coast is not high on your list of places to be, and my family is in a hurricane/flooding zone. On the other hand, it’s rural, the home is paid for, it’s on almost two acres that can be used for small scale homesteading, and there is a family/friends support system in place. Do you feel that these things are more important than having a retreat in a specific location, i.e. West of the Mississippi? Thank you, – Mary C.

JWR Replies: As I described in my book Rawles on Retreats and Relocation, you cannot put a price tag on having deep roots in a community! Even if you were not known personally, if you are related and share a distinct surname with “one of the pioneer families”, then you have an exceedingly valuable “in” in a rural area. This factor should weigh heavily in your choice of retreat locales.

My main objections to moving to the eastern United States are the generally higher population density, and the unfavorable downwind position of the eastern states in the event of a full scale nuclear exchange. You can fairly well mitigate both of of those drawbacks by:

1.) Building a home fallout/storm shelter (typically by upgrading an existing basement, or building a stand-alone shelter, such as those built by Safecastle), and

2.) By teaming up with contiguous neighbors or “doubling up” with another family that would share your house with you after TSHTF, to provide additional security for your retreat.

The only other significant limitation in your situation is owning less than two acres. Perhaps you could buy or lease some adjoining land. Good luck with your upcoming move!

Two Letters Re: Some Offshore Retreat Considerations, by P. Traveler

James,

I see a lot of letters concerning ‘re-locating’ out of the U.S. What are these people thinking? If there is one country that still has a modicum of privacy, freedom, and the ability to ‘disappear’ into the wilderness, then it is here in the U.S. Where in the world can you own the variety and quantity of firearms than here? [Where else can you] stockpile food, go off the grid et cetera? The legal system is still intact here as well, so you can win in court under most circumstances. I just cant figure Americans willing to give up this uniquely free country for some Third World gamble in some distant land completely removed from family, friends, heritage and culture. It boggles the mind. – Jason in N. Idaho

 

Jim,

I read with interest the article “Some Offshore Retreat Considerations”, by P. Traveler. There was much of value in the article. I hope I can add some information for your readers. My circumstances are that I work and live in a South East Asian country for an International NGO. My background is prior military (paratrooper), Police and Prison service, followed by working as an NGO security officer in Bosnia and Sudan before taking my current post. I have a degree in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management.

I am also married to a local woman which impacts my survival planning. In Asia you don’t just marry a wife. You marry the entire extended family which brings some strengths and weaknesses.

Personally I am in the Jerry Pournelle school of survivalism: Prepared for, but trying to prevent TEOTWAWKI. See [Pournelle’s] Foreword to the first edition of “Tappan on Survival“ which says, in part:
“‘[Mel Tappan] saw civilization as hopelessly doomed. Collapse was inevitable, and the only prudent thing to do was to be prepared for it. I didn’t agree then, and I don’t now. I think civilization can be saved. Can be. But I won’t guarantee it. Be Prepared is a pretty good motto for anybody, scouts or anyone else. And of course there are times when I think Mel was right.”

As Pournelle says, being prepared is a good and necessary thing. I would not call myself a retreater. That implies running away.

Quoting from Pournelle again:

“There’s only one problem: I don’t want to move. I like living in cities. The word ‘civilized’ originally meant those who can–and do–live in cities, and I happen to care a lot for my civilization. When challenged, I can make a reasoned defense of city life, but I shouldn’t have to. I like it here. I don’t intend to let the barbarians chase me out, and there’s an end to the discussion!”

I have been following survivalism since I read the book ‘Starman’s Son’ by Andre Norton. I did the usual bush survival stuff. I read Larry Dean Olson, Mel Tappan, Dr. Bruce Clayton, Soldier of Fortune [magazine] and American Survival Guide [magazine]. I always had my bugout bag and stores so I could go about my duties in law enforcement without having to worry about the home front. I note that since the 1980’s the world has been collapsing so plan for things to go right as well as for things to go wrong. I am alarmed by people (especially on the Peak Oil sites) who tell young people not to go to college because the world is doomed anyway. If I had followed that advice I would be unemployed instead of working in interesting countries around the world. Just study something that is useful in both a collapse situation and in good times.

In Asia the survival unit is the extended family. I am particularly fortunate that the family I have married into is reasonably well educated but still has [native] survival skills. My wife’s parents survived a period of auto-genocide despite the fact that my father in law had served on the opposing side during the war. It was family connections that kept him alive. My wife and her older brothers and sisters still know how to live off the land and farm. The younger ones are more of a concern and would have a more difficult time adjusting to a survival situation. They tend to be more interested in mobile phones and karaoke. Having said that, the bulk of the family accepts my arguments for survival precautions and things like food storage. The younger ones think I am a strange foreigner but the parents get it because they have lived survival. In a crisis the young ones still do what their parents tell them!

If you have family (or marry into one) it is almost certainly a bonus.

A few tips you might want to consider.

* In developing countries the medical care is not great. Consider doing a Wilderness EMT [W-EMT] First Responder course before you depart. The training will not be available locally.
* Get skills. They cannot take skills away. People have survived extreme situations with next to nothing.
* Asia is a great place to learn martial arts! [Although there are equally effective trainers in the US, Canada, Australasia and Europe. Still it is kind of fun training in Asia for someone who grew up watching ‘Kung Fu‘ on TV.]
* Get mentally prepared. I would share with your readers the view that religious belief is important. Unlike most of your readers I am a Buddhist, as is my wife. But I follow the warrior view of Buddhism—not aging hippy pacifism which I believe to be immoral (and not really Buddhist).

* Study how the indigenous people survived and how any guerrilla groups operated in the country. If coming to Asia there are some jungle survival schools. (Web search engines are your friend!)
* If coming to Asia read some books about how non-Asians functioned behind the lines [during World War II] against the Japanese such as the Coast Watchers and the OSS/SOE. ‘The Jungle is Neutral‘ By F. Spencer Chapman is a good book to start with.
* The book “The Sovereign Individual” by William Rees-Mogg and Basil Davidson has some strategies for protecting your wealth when overseas.
* Enjoy life. Take precautions, learn defensive skills, medical skills,and so forth. But try not to get a bunker mentality.
* Learn about urban permaculture and food production.
* When researching a country you might want to look at some books about Country Risk such as the ‘The J Curve‘ and spend some time looking around the Carlton University site ‘Country Indicators for Foreign Policy‘
* Finally, while aimed at NGO security personnel, there are some good resources for people living in developing countries at this web site.

Regards, – Felix D.

Odds ‘n Sods:

SF in Hawaii mentioned Wisemen Trading and Supply. Check out the “Picklemeister”, near the bottom of their crocks product page.

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Tonight’s season finale episode of the Jericho television series (Tuesday, March 25, 2008), titled “Patriots and Tyrants” looks like it will be good. The five minute teaser for the finale (on the CBS web site) shows a pro-Second Amendment message hat is most unusual for a network television show. No wonder that the show is now rumored to be doomed to cancellation. OBTW, all of the first and second seasons are now available for online viewing.

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Thanks to D.C. for finding this: Dow up 187; can the rally hold? The “Rah-rah” market mavens never know when to quit, do they? CD’s comment: “Is the proper word fib or is it just a cover up? The insiders say cover up since their whole underwriting staff and commercial department just we sold to HSBC Global of New York and their hedging team is now working for Smith Barney.”

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Jason in northern Idaho mentioned a web pages that describes the health effects of various fats and oils.

Note from JWR:

One way that you can help increase the readership of SurvivalBlog is by e-mailing the Permalinks of blog articles and letters that you think would be of interest to your friends and relatives. Just click on "Permalink" beneath any blog entry. Then you can copy and paste the URL from the displayed Permalinked page into an e-mail. Many thanks!

Two Letters Re: Using Natural Caves on Private Property

Greetings Jim, Memsahib, and Readers,
I wanted to mention a couple things regarding caves for shelter or storage. Many years ago, in my youth, I became interested in Spelunking (Caving) and was lucky enough to explore caves in Tennessee with seasoned Spelunkers with fifteen years experience. Depending on your climate you will not only get a ‘wet season’ where you have to deal with a lot of dampness but you may actually face the cave being almost totally under water. We found this out the hard way when on one trip the cave we were going to explore a lower chamber we found was totally submerged from the previous week’s rains. We did manage to explore a upper chamber that was well above the water line. Even though the cave we explored was well hidden, as the one Linda H mentioned, others had used the entrance chamber because of discarded beer cans and trash left behind. And, yes, we packed out other’s trash. Once we left the entrance chamber signs of others having frequented the other chambers faded away. But if you are curious about a cave, you can bet someone else has been curious also. After our trek of nearly six hours into the mountain we thought we found the end of the chamber’s run. As all humans like to put their mark wherever they go I found a name, that was not very legible, and a date of 1784 carved (heavily scratched) into the rock. After looking around we located another chamber through a very small opening that had remnants of an old hemp rope leading through what would have been the ceiling of the extended chamber below us. Yep, we were reluctant to go farther or look to closely into the chamber just in case we found the remains of the person who explored before us.

To safely utilize a cave you have to have a very good knowledge of yearly rainfall patterns, and it is best to have a compilation of several years to give you a baseline of rainfall, and have a good knowledge of the variations of the water table in the area. Using a cave for shelter or storage in its natural state is one way to utilize a cave. However if the size of the chamber is large enough you may want to expend a bit more energy and expense if you intend to pass on the property to family later on. The perfect example of the best utilization of a cave for long term shelter and or storage is the old NORAD Cheyenne Mountain [Command and Control] Complex. Within the natural cavern is built a shelter system with all the comforts of home, and a few I wish I had. Of course our tax dollars built it and to go to those lengths would be problematic at best. But the basic concept of a shelter within a cave is not a far stretch and would provide a lot of comfort and protection for the occupants provided the cave is deemed habitable for the long term after compiling the climatic data. You would have to weigh such construction against not only costs but also to factors such as:

1. Would enlarging the entrance to accommodate construction materials, tooling, and manpower (even immediate family only) compromise the location?
2. Would the cave/constructed shelter be susceptible to flooding during prolonged rainy seasons?
3. Would the cave provide a source of water, or is there a close source of water that could provide the needed water or water storage for the shelter?
4. What type of power could be provided? The cave we explored could potentially provide hydropower if properly set up.
5. What are the range of temperatures through the seasons, and would prevailing winds impact the cave’s temperature ranges; especially during winter months? You would have to consider ways of mitigating winter winds whipping through the cave.
6. Will the cave need a ventilation system to make sure that you don’t have a buildup of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide when occupied full time?
7. Does the cave, consistently or periodically, capture and retain any gases such as methane or other harmful gases that can be emitted from deeper in the earth from the geologic formation? And it would be a good idea to know the basic geology of the area so you know the stability of the cave. A cave in even with a constructed shelter within the cave could still pose a serious danger. And you may want to reinforce the cave ceiling just in case the geology slightly active (small tremors).
8. Is there an alternate or secondary entrance that could be utilized as an emergency exit or could it prove to be an access point for others to enter during a crisis.
9. If there is no other entrance or exit point, is it possible to construct one as an emergency exit? I would be reluctant to have a single entrance and exit point. If you have to dig an emergency exit you will need some very specialized equipment and skills to prevent a cave in, or suddenly finding yourself flooding the cave by hitting an underground spring or other high volume water source. It would be too easy for an adversary to simply block a single entrance and either starve you out or to fire on your position and use the rock walls to ricochet around until they hit someone, or to build a fire at the entrance to smoke you out. And a worse scenario would be for an adversary to cave in the entrance and seal you in until you died of suffocation.
10. Could the shelter or the cave provide any method of hydroponic gardening? If your shelter is the cave proper you will have to have access to an area where you can garden if you intend to occupy the shelter over a protracted period of time as the result of a nuke exchange or protracted pandemic.

These are just a few questions that come to mind and there are others that must be answered depending on how you want to utilize the cave. If you want to really kick your ‘creative engine’ into overdrive and see how mankind has utilized natural and man made underground structures then watch the History Channel program “Cities of the Underworld”. It is absolutely amazing how people through the centuries utilized natural underground formations, and expanded them or built and utilized underground spaces. Mankind has covered over entire cities over the centuries as new construction has been built over old. Some of these underground areas have been done as far back as the Celtics of Ireland and Scotland as well as through the Middle Ages and Renaissance as well as the modern eras. There is one common thread, of different iterations but a singular concept, which runs through all of the construction techniques from the beginning; whether utilizing natural features or new construction over old cities. And this thread is utilized today. But I’ll leave that to you to discover for yourself. – The Rabid One

 

Hi Jim,
The best way I know of to camouflage stuff (entrances, equipment, traps, etc.) with respect to its environment is to paint it with spray-on adhesive, the same kind that automotive upholsterers use, then simply take dry dirt and sprinkle it all over the painted areas (some moving parts, etc. you would of course want to mask-off, just like regular painting).

This provides an excellent base coat, even for things attached to trees, buildings, etc.

I still think the best book on the subject is the US Army “Camouflage” field manual (FM 5-20) from 1969: Regards, – Jerry E.

Letter Re: Advice on Gold and Silver Coins as a US Dollar Inflation Hedge

Jim,
You recommended that I use Swiss America for some gold purchases, which I did. What would you recommend for bartering purposes exactly, as far as gold and precious metals are concerned? I’m confused by all the “collectors” coins and such which are more expensive. Do you have any specific types of coins that you think would be ideal for trading? I purchased some collector 1 ounce coins for their easy-liquidation (and no tax paper trail on gains) as a hedge against inflation, but I’m looking to get some good barter gold for long-term post-SHTF security (especially now that gold is correcting a little)! Thanks, – Rob A.

JWR Replies: First, I must re-iterate: Get your food storage, water filtration, non-hybrid gardening seed, defensive firearms, and other key logistics squared away before you consider investing any extra funds in precious metals.

As I’ve written before in both my novel (“Patriots”) and in this blog, I consider gold coins too compact a store of wealth to be practical for barter in a post-collapse economy. Circulated pre-1965 mint date US dimes and quarters are both more widely recognized and a more realistic unit of value for day-to-day barter. The current silver-to-gold value ratio is around 54 to 1 (It presently takes 54 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold). So there are very few barter transactions for which even 1/10th-ounce gold coins would be appropriate. So I recommend that you budget first for one full $1,000 face value bag of pre-’65 “junk” silver coins for each family member. After you have that in hand, then you might consider buying some 1/2 ounce or 1 ounce gold coins as a long term inflation hedge.

While your silver coins will be useful for barter, the gold coins would be your long term store of wealth, designed to parlay back into tangibles (or perhaps a new specie-backed redeemable currency) on the far side of an economic crisis. As I’ve written before, I think that the risk of another Federal gold confiscation–like that in the 1930s–is low, so there is no need to buy numismatic coins. Instead, buy low dealer premium Krugerrands, American Eagles, or Canadian Maples Leafs.

Letter Re: Which .22 Ammo to Store–High Velocity or Subsonic?

Jim,
You mentioned the following in your List of Lists:
“WTSHTF, ammo will be worth nearly its weight in silver. Store all of your ammo in military surplus ammo cans (with seals that are still soft) and it will store for decades. Stick to common calibers, get plenty of .22 LR (most high velocity hollow points).”

High velocity .22 rimfire can be heard from a long way off. Would human predators stalk you and close in for the kill? Think stealth after the SHTF. Here are some figures:

High velocity 22 40 grain @ 1,250 fps (hypersonic) = 136 foot pounds of energy

CCI 22 CB Long 29 grain @ 720 fps= 33 foot pounds of energy

Aguila SSS 60 grain @ 950 = 120 foot pounds of energy

Remington subsonic 38 grain @ 1,000 = 95 foot pounds of energy

Please take the time to read Tossing “Rocks” – Shooting Subsonic .22s, — a comparison of four subsonic 22 rounds.

JWR Replies: There is some value in buying subsonic ammo, for stealthy pest and small game shooting. If that is your goal, then buy the Aguila SSS Subsonic. These are like CB caps on steroids. They are very quiet. A quantity of 500 to 1,000 rounds should suffice. Subsonic “target” ammo is made in small quantities, so it can literally be twice to six times as expensive as the mass-produced high velocity .22 rimfire varieties. The Aguila SSS, currently sells for $4.49 for a box of 50, even from a discount mail order dealer like Midway! (Expect even higher prices in retail gun shops.)

For barter purposes, (your largest stockpile), buy high velocity, factory name brand (Winchester or Remington) hollow points. In actuality, standard 40 grain round nose has almost identical terminal effects as a hollow point. (The hollow nose looks great for marketing purposes, but at typical rimfire velocities, it doesn’t case significantly increased expansion.) But since the majority of your barter customers will not be ballistics experts, they will assume that hollow points are somehow “better” and hence they will likely be willing to allow more in trade for them.

If you are going to store both subsonic and hypersonic rimfire ammo for your own use, then do some extensive testing with each of your .22 pistols and rifles. Accuracy can vary substantially, so match your rifles to their most accurate cartridges. The point of impact (“bullet drop”) will also vary considerably when switching ammo, necessitating re-zeroing. If you have numerous .22s rifles, then you might consider making one of them with a scope your “dedicated” platform for shooting subsonic ammo. Zero it in carefully for use with one particular type of ammunition, and mark the rifle accordingly . (For example, an adhesive sticker on the scope marked “Zeroed for PMC Moderator Subsonic.”)

Consider this: If you are in a situation where bad guys head toward the sound of gunfire, then you had better have something a lot more powerful than a .22 rimfire rifle in your hands when they arrive.

In an absolute worst case scenario, where you don’t want to attract any attention, pest or small game shooting with a high-power .22 or .25 caliber air rifle is both quieter and less expensive than shooting with subsonic .22 rimfire ammunition. For survival shooting, I prefer manually pimped models, rather than CO2-powered. If money is no object, then get something like a Beeman R1 .22 Double Gold or perhaps even a Weihrauch HW 100S. These are available from Pyramid Air (one of our affiliate advertisers), and several other Internet vendors. Compared to the cost of shooting expensive subsonic ammunition like Aguila SSS, even an expensive air rifle will pay for itself after shooting just a few thousand rounds. If you are on a budget, then Get a Gamo Big Cat, or Gamo Carbine Sport. Both of those use .22 pellets. For a medium budget, a Walther Falcon Hunter (either .22 or .25 caliber, around $270) is a good choice.

The other advantage of air rifles is that you can legally conduct target practice inside city limits, in most jurisdictions. While no substitute for high power rifle shooting, indoor practice with an air rifle can help maintain your shooting skills in winter months.

Letter Re: Forever Postage Stamps as an Inflation Hedge

Jim,
I read the piece about the Forever stamps. Not a bad idea if you mail things. But why pay face value? Stamp collectors often purchase large quantities of stamps looking for a one or two particular stamp. Usually they sell off the remaining stamps at less than face value. Also, many stamp collectors invested in full sheets of Stamps issued in the 1950s and 1960s, thinking full sheets would appreciate in value (They didn’t.) These sheets and other bulk postage can often be found selling at 50% to 90% of face value on eBay.

So, if your readers need a boatload of stamps, and send regular mail often, this may save them some money. Also, I think this is obvious, but remember to factor in shipping as part of total cost. – Bill

Odds ‘n Sods:

Hawaiian K. suggested this blog post by Rick Falkvinge of Sweden: Why the US is collapsing:

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The Federal Reserve has now issued denials that it discussing coordinated purchases of mortgage-backed securities with other central banks. Why am I dubious? Harken!, the MOAB commeth.

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With gardening season fast approaching in the northern hemisphere, here is a useful YouTube video on composting.

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Vic at Safecastle mentioned that the entirely revamped Safecastle Royal Store web page is now up and running. Buyers Club members get 20% off of list prices, and free shipping, anywhere in he continental United States. OBTW, you may have to contact Vic (via e-mail) for a new login password.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer." – Thomas Paine, "Common Sense", 1776

Notes from JWR:

Today, our family celebrates the resurrection of our savior, Jesus, The Christ. I pray that you recognize him as your savior, too.

Our first article was written by an old friend, who is an American ex-pat presently living somewhere in east Asia.

Some Offshore Retreat Considerations, by P. Traveler

Moving to a new area is a challenge, as any city-bred person from the US East Coast could tell you after his first winter in Wyoming. And the job market is not exactly as promising, either, at least for office workers. Yet, many make the move, and come to regret having waited so long before having done so. An even more difficult move is to go from the country of your birth and to explore a new life somewhere else. Many of our ancestors did this, however, and under far more difficult circumstances than you would face today. Just think of the “coffin ships” that the Irish came to North America on.

Before considering this big step, you should ask yourself what you are trying to achieve and what types of disasters you are hoping to survive. Is it a local disaster, such as flooding, or the disaster of your country going down the drain? You can prepare for almost all natural disasters without the need to move. However, if you are worried about something along the lines of serious civic unrest or even a civil war, then you may want to consider a more dramatic move. For example, if you had been living in the Soviet Union when it came crashing down, but had had German ancestry, you could have moved to Germany. Would you have done so?

Once you have decided to pursue the possibility of moving, you should consider the fact that serious trade-offs will be required, as there is no perfect place in this world. You will have to weigh and balance many new issues in a way that you don’t now. For example, some countries often have low crime, but may seem a bit regimented, such as Singapore. Other countries may be relatively free, but lacking in modern infrastructure.

1. Review all the issues that would apply if you moved within your country. They still apply – only more so. If you can’t handle the snow in Idaho, you won’t do much better in Switzerland. If you can’t afford a house plus a retreat in the Western US, then you probably won’t be able to pull it off in Costa Rica, either. Yes, it’s true that prices are lower in less-developed countries, but the days of the dollar being as good as gold are long gone.

2. Make a list of needs, wants, and can’t haves for everyone in the family. Without their buy-in, you’ve got a problem. You need a reasonable balance for them in their new home, too. You may happy to find a paradise that has both good tax and gun laws, but your children may not care about that, and they’re unhappy about going to a school that teaches in a foreign language.

You should set your priorities of what you can live with, and live without. Do you need TV programs from your home country? You realize, of course, that those might not continue anyway if things get really bad. Do you need first-class hospitals, such as the Mayo Clinic? What is your definition of good medicine? Some folks think the US has a great system, while others disagree. It’s clearly the case that some of the less-developed countries have modernized quite a bit in the last 20 years, and that could make a move to, say, Mexico a lot safer in this regard now than then. Indeed, medical tourism is a fast-growing business due to the low costs in places such as Costa Rica or India. Are you willing to experiment a bit? I have had good results with Chinese herbal shops in Asia, but you may feel that is too risky.

A possible list of must “haves” is:
-Taxes are no worse than where I am now.
-A hospital where at least some of the doctors speak English is within close range.
-Some form of self-defense is legal.
-Phone and Internet service is available.
-Violent crime is uncommon.
-Many schools teach in English.
-The type of business I want is legal for an immigrant to operate.
-Good agricultural land is available and not too expensive.

A possible list of “wants” is:
-Phone and Internet service is inexpensive.
-The government is pro-American.
-The currency is stable.
-A wide variety of churches and religious materials is available.
-Properties with gravity-fed water supply are available.
-Acquiring a second citizenship is not too difficult.
-The country is considered to be a tax haven and has laws that guarantee financial privacy.
-US-style fast food and supermarkets are available.
-Cyclones are rare.

A possible list of “can’t haves” is:
-Religious oppression is common.
-There is widespread hostility towards home schooling.
-A high probability of civil unrest exists, such as Pakistan.
-The country’s language would take many years to learn, such as Chinese.
-The country has high anti-American sentiment or very poor political relations with the US, such as Venezuela.
-The pollution is unbearable.

Then you need to do some long soul-searching about your lists, as we all have a tendency to overestimate our strengths and underestimate our weaknesses. You may think that learning Phasa Thai will only take a year or so, but most Westerners living in Thailand would say that’s highly unlikely.

As you can imagine, one man’s must have is another man’s can’t have. You may want something that doesn’t exist in a country, but that product might be available on the Internet – for now. Not if things get rough, though. As most of the world eats a lot of rice or beans, you might have to change your diet. Can you do without pancakes and maple syrup? Can you give up venison in exchange for fruit bat?

3. Consider the possible differences due to geography, history, or the thinking of people in the culture.

German-speaking Switzerland and parts of Germany may seem very similar, but their mindsets are not. The historical experiences of Switzerland have led the public to have a jaded view of government, and big neighbors with big armies. Even if gun rights or financial privacy are limited in Switzerland, it will be a lot better than in Germany.

Chile and Brazil illustrate a similar situation. In Chile, the government is relatively effective and not particularly corrupt. In Brazil, government is, shall we say, a bit different, and authorities in Rio de Janeiro have often ignored the laws from Brasilia.

4. You simply must visit a country for some length of time before considering a permanent move. Can you handle the cleanliness standards there? Are you starting to pick up the language after a few weeks? Are your kids fascinated, or disgusted? And make the effort to stay in a representative location, so no Hilton hotels. Consider a home stay for studying the language.

A visit will let you discover things that travel guidebooks won’t say. For example, I know a woman who was the wife of an American diplomat. In one South American country, this couple had to worry about their child with blond hair and blue eyes being kidnapped, and this child’s memories of life there are very different from her sibling, who has a darker complexion.

5. Be honest about your financial and work situation-for both you and your spouse. If you need good luck in your business to make it past three years at a location, you probably shouldn’t go. Also, do not be surprised if it costs you twice as much as you expect or takes twice as long as it should.

6. Be honest about your family’s desire to move. A big cause of failure is family strife about being in another culture.

7. Study the country and region you are considering moving to. Has it changed since you visited 20 years ago? Many readers of this blog would like Australia as it was 30 years ago, but would you like it today? Are different technologies practical or required? A tropical island may not have much of a power grid, and you may want to consider cyclones when building anything. For that matter, if you are from a country with a large population, it can be hard to keep in mind the idea that the capital of a tropical country may only have 50,000 people.

Open your eyes to the fact that a lot of possibilities are not really discussed in the mass media, or that the way things are presented gives a misleading impression of how the people in a country actually live. 80% of the Japanese population lives in the big, urban centers – so there are a lot of empty spaces (and houses) that are quite cheap. If you are single and contemplating New Zealand as a location, you may want to look into house sitting or working on a farm. If I were young, I would seriously consider a working holiday visa there to check it out. A friend moved to Israel after the dotcom bubble burst, and has enjoyed it immensely, and done quite well in the Information Technology business.

An under-appreciated topic is the reality of laws on the ground versus theoretical laws. In many cultures, theoretical laws from the capital are not the way you would actually have to live. This is especially relevant with regards to visas, weapons, and building codes. [JWR Adds: The Philippines come immediately to mind, on that point.] This most definitely doesn’t mean you should buy a passport in another name with a bribe, but it’s just a fact of life that many countries have the perspective that governments are corrupt and lousy, so you have to do what you have to do. In any case, you simply should not rely on a government’s web site for any important decision without verifying what they say with locals, preferably ones who aren’t trying to sell you something. And the same applies with many law firms who just parrot the government’s story, too.

8 – Make a list of how your choices would fare with different scenarios. For example, how do you think your home in rural Texas would do if the US or the whole world had a 1930s style depression? How about a dollar collapse or horrible inflation? Or a repressive national government? Now, how would you fare if you lived in Vanuatu if similar things occurred? And don’t think that an article you read about a nearby country is really all that relevant. New Caledonia could have major strife if the world economy got really bad or France has continuing unrest, as the relations between the French settlers and the locals are not very good in the best of times, while Vanuatu might be perfectly fine. As a general rule, urban areas have dramatically more problems now and will have even more potential problems if the balloon goes up, as a lot of rural areas around the world are largely self-sufficient, and do not contain large numbers of disaffected immigrants from poorer areas.

9. If you do decide to make a move, don’t rush things. You may want to build up your skill sets first, language being an obvious one. Also, certain skills might be required to get a visa. For example, New Zealand offers a lot of bonus points in their immigration system for immigrants with qualifications in desired fields. A credential might mean the difference between getting in, or not.

10. Expect the move to be a lot of work. Much more than if you moved to a rural area in your home country. Just the visas alone can be a major headache in some countries.

11 . Be willing to not do it. You always have the alternatives of getting more prepared where you are or moving to a better location in your home country. You can also improve your skills or bank account.

12. Have a backup plan, and perhaps a secondary backup plan if your first backup plan goes bad. If a family member becomes terminally ill back home, what will you do?

For resources, I recommend EscapeArtist.com. It has a large collection of articles written by immigrants living in different countries. It is not oriented towards survival topics, but it some writers discuss self-sufficiency, as that’s one of the aspects of adjusting to life in a less-developed country. And, of course, your starting position should be to review everything written at the Rawles Ranch. You can also gather information regarding countries at the CIA’s World Factbook.

Four Letters Re: Use of Force in Retreat Security–Planning for Rules of Engagement

James:
First, thank-you for posting my question on SurvivalBlog. Second, thank-you for posting your thoughts. They are well thought out and very well presented.
Your response sparked an additional couple of thoughts:

Dogs have been man’s early warning and engagement system since the dawn of history. A barking dog tells the potential visitor that he lost any advantage of stealth and that he is facing a team. Two barking dogs are even better. Dogs over 50 pounds also represent a physical threat.

The second thought is to split the axis (axes?) of confrontation.
Killing flies by clapping one’s hands over them is a great parlor trick. Flies, and other vermin, have very highly developed strategies for dealing with threats that come from one direction. That is why they are almost impossible to slap with one hand. However, it is comical how they lock-up when confronted with a threat from two directions. You actually have to slow down your “clap” so they can become airborne. They are almost paralyzed.

Confronting men with evil intent from a single direction does not present them with much of a dilemma. They would level their arms and start shooting. Good-bye lights, good-bye dogs, good-bye people who are down range, good-bye to people and objects in unhardened buildings.

I think the ideal situation would be to have a couple sets of flood or spot lights pointing inward from different corners of the garden/stock corral/asset to be protected. Then release the dogs from one point (another family member would very helpful here) and post-up with a shotgun at a good strategic point that is in a different position than where the dogs were released from. Lights, dog, shotgun should push the bad-guys down a reasonable line of retreat. That is, it should push them toward the road or where their vehicles are. Most opportunist will gladly bail out if they are not cornered.

A couple of key points:
-I don’t want to paralyze the intruders, just like I don’t want the flies to freeze.
-I want them to leave if they are opportunist.
-If they do not leave, then they reveal evil intent or extreme stupidity
-The overload of stimuli gives me strategic advantage

Thanks, – Joe and Ellen

JWR Replies: If you want to throw attackers off balance, there is nothing quite like the flash and sound of explosions on multiple flanks. Some Tannerite might prove useful.

Spotlights and floodlights are very vulnerable to rifle fire. If you are using them to distract, then only turn them on for about five seconds each. If you mount any floodlights on your occupied structures, then use only the IR variety, which only give off a very faint glow to the unaided eye.

There are a variety of fireworks that can be used to create distractions or diversions. Keep in mind that many fireworks can be set up to be ignited electrically, using model rocket igniters (such as Estes “Solar Igniters”), which are available from most hobby shops. The flash and sound of M-80 firecrackers (aka “cherry bombs”) is not too much unlike the sound of rifle fire.

For the full psyops effect, don’t discount the effectiveness of voices or music on amplified loudspeakers to un-nerve your opponents. At the risk of sounding trite, might I suggest a little Johnny Cash or some Credence?

Jim,
I just read the letter regarding use of force. Since I’m a cop, in Colorado, and a trainer of lethal and non-lethal force – it might help to know that the use of force model is moving away from the escalation principle and towards the ‘toolbox’ principle. You pull the appropriate tool out of the box for the job at hand. For instance, in many many areas of the country an officer need no longer justify his actions concerning use of force by explaining the escalation from the typical ‘command voice’ to use of potentially lethal force.

Accompanying this is a simplified assessment of the threat at hand. With alarming results, police officers are trained to expect the worse case, take action to neutralize it and de-escalate their use of force, rather than use the stair step approach to using greater and greater force. It revolves around the Saucier v. Katz supreme court decision. Wherein “The Court plainly stated that while uses of force by police occur that are clearly excessive or clearly appropriate, a gray area remains in between. The Court went on to say that when an officer’s use of force falls within this gray area, deference must be paid to the officer and qualified immunity granted.” There are essentially three other court cases that apply in determining whether an officer used excessive force – but Katz is the most applicable to the question of how we train police officers in deciding what force to use, it was a precursor to the ‘toolbox’ approach.

One of the pivotal elements of determining in what constitutes excessive force for anybody is what they perceived at the time of the threat, and what training they had in recognizing a threat. Pre 9/11 a box cutter was just a simple slicing weapon, now it’s considered a ‘terrorist threat’ to possess one under the right circumstances. [JWR Adds: In the aftermath of any use of force, do not hesitate to admit that you were frightened. If you can honestly say “I was very scared!”, and “I was afraid that he was trying to kill me!”, then do so, repeatedly, for the record. This may carry considerable weight at a later date, if you ever have to go to trial–either criminal, or civil.]

Rather than concentrate on the use of force of any kind, I would recommend people seek training that helps them recognize threats of all kinds and more importantly how to articulate their perception of the threat. It’s true that most people who misuse force, in my experience, could probably have avoided criminal prosecution if they had just known/learned how to articulate their assessment of the threat. The examples are endless really, I won’t go into illustration here.

While a multi-generational SHTF situation is in your opinion unlikely, I must point out that our mere technological advancements do not preclude this, I think it simply makes us more complacent because of our perception of the layers of social and technological protection we believe insulate us from it. Rome probably believed itself the pinnacle of modern civilization, I would imagine that the fall that preceded the Dark Ages had it’s own ‘it will never get that bad’ detractors also.

I have a different view of things. I’m pretty certain that the three people running through my orchard armed with knives were shouting, “Kill them!” and not there to cut fruit. In Colorado, for instance, our ‘Make My Day Law’ from which the Castle Doctrine seems to have sprung, states that deadly force may be used when a person believes that the person about to commit the illegal entry is there to commit any level of harm to the occupants of a dwelling – and most importantly, it takes away the burden of proof from the citizen to substantiate why they believed it.

Less-lethal (no such thing as non-lethal (pepper spray has [on rare occasions] killed, Tasers too, beanbag rounds improperly used are ‘deadly’, etc.) force being available the most important thing to remember about their deployment is that no police force ever deploys less-lethal force unless another officer is ready to use lethal force if the less-lethal does not stop the threat. If you’re in a tussle and the taser is what you use, then it’s what you use – but if two officers (or more) are confronting someone and a Taser is deployed – one officer is designated [as] the backup in case lethal force is needed. – Jim H

JWR Replies: The Castle Doctrine actually got its start in Florida. Since then, many states including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas have adopted similar laws. It is not surprising that the majority of the states are in the South or the West, where individualism and respect for property rights are part of the culture.

 

Jim,
About 15 years ago, I bought a house on 70 acres that was rural, but not remote. As I worked on the place, painting and getting it ready for me to move in, I was distressed that every time I went to the house, the door had been kicked in. Replacing the trim got to be an irritation so on Halloween, 1993, I drove down to my house and found the lights on. As I gunned the truck and drove over the front lawn, I saw two people run from my house. I got out with my Winchester Model 12 and yelled, “You get the hell out of here and don’t come back or I will kill you” and blew off a round of 12 gauge in the ground.
I searched my house and found a six pack of beer, some wine coolers and a blanket. Apparently, some kids were using my house for their love nest. I slept at the house that night in case someone were to come back and burn down the house. At about 11:30 pm, there was a knock at the door. Two County Sheriff’s deputies were there with the lights flashing. I invited them in and said, “There is the wine and beer, there is the blanket.” Things then took a turn.
“So you fired a warning shot,” he asked?
“Yes”, I said.
“So you shot at them?” he probed
“That isn’t what I said.” And then they jumped me, threw me on the floor and handcuffed me. I was dragged to the cruiser where I was strapped into the back seat. “We got him,” the County Mountie crowed to the neighbors assembled at the end of my 250 yard driveway. I was taken to the county jail where I was booked for reckless conduct with a firearm, a felony here in Maine.

For the next two years, I was in legal hassles with the County. The District Attorney didn’t want to press charges. The Sheriff’s Department didn’t want to back down. And I was wondering what country did I live in where the victim could become the criminal so fast. It all worked out in the end. But I would counsel your readers to think twice about firing shots. I know this about myself, I will pull the trigger. I just know better when to do it. The thing about it was that for the next 12 years that I lived there. No one came down my driveway uninvited, and nothing was ever disturbed in my house, garden or barn. – Gary B., in Maine

Jim,
My sincere thanks for your response to Joe and Ellen’s letter on “Rules of Engagement.” Most of the so-called preparedness experts out there talk only about “guns, guns, guns.” (Well, ‘cept for the “I’d never own a gun” uber-naive liberal-granola crowd.) Your are absolutely right about using less-than-lethal means, when [it is] safe and practicable. It sure beats getting your *ss sued off. by some ambulance-chasing lawyer. You truly are the survivalist voice of reason, following in the footsteps of Mel Tappan.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge in SurvivalBlog, Jim. I often feel like I’m getting free consulting. Oh, BTW, I’m re-upping my 10 Cent Challenge subscription for another two years! – C.T.M.

Letter Re: A Machine That Sorts Pennies by Composition

Mr. Rawles,
With a 70 pound weight limit, [USPS] Flat Rate [Priority Mail] boxes can be a fantastic deal, especially for small heavy items, as you mentioned. Up until this month, the two sizes available were 11″ x 8.5″ x 5.5″ and 13.625″ x 11.875″ x 3.375″. They cost $8.95 to send anywhere in the U.S.A. Now there is a third alternative, a larger 12” x 12” x 5-1/2” box that costs $12.95 to send (or $10.95 to an APO/FPO address). This is a real bargain.

I recently shipped a large quantity of these from Arizona to Alaska. Most of them contained quite heavy items, such as reloading lead, hand tools, and rocks. These boxes would have cost up to $50.00 each at regular parcel post rates.

The automatic handling equipment evidently knocks the boxes around. Heavy boxes get beat up a lot more than light boxes. If you ship a heavy box, it should be taped securely as you mentioned. It’s a good idea to tape all edges, and to wrap strapping tape around it in at least two directions.[JWR Adds: Be sure to cover any strapping tape with a couple of layers of opaque tape or Priority Mail tape, since strapping tape is discouraged by the USPS, for fear that it might gum up their automated parcel handling equipment.] You can ask the clerk to mark it “heavy” and sometimes they’ll run it through their strapping machine.

Incidentally, you can buy postage for Flat Rate Boxes online and just estimate the weight since you aren’t paying by weight anyway. Then you can have the carrier pick it up at your house. – K.L. – Alaska