Weekly Survival Real Estate Market Update

This week: Western North Carolina, and Part 2 of our introduction to New Zealand.
The first section was written by Ron Thompson, a real estate agent in Burnsville, North Carolina, in response to our request for some background on Yancey County, North Carolina.

Western North Carolina and Yancey County are unique in many ways:
We have a principally conservative population of self sufficient souls that live here year round.
1. Our location enjoys the benefits of 2,500 to 6,000 foot elevations. Among them are spectacular mountain scenery, abundant water supplies from rivers and streams, fertile river valleys, and moderate climate (It rarely exceeds 80 or goes below 0).
2. We have an influx of summer residents and tourists providing an excellent source of income for those wise enough to capitalize on them (crafts, home grown vegetables, honey, firewood, etc).
3. We have limited “big city” luxuries such as shopping malls. But, they are within reasonable driving distances. (Asheville is 37 miles [from Burnsville].)
4. We do have grocery stores, a movie theater and a Summer Playhouse and a fine public golf course.
5. We are comfortably out of reach of the more populated areas of North Carolina south and east of us such as Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh/Durham and Chapel Hill, yet close enough for a weekend visit should you need a reality check as to why you left the big city.
6. We do not have burdensome zoning.

Market conditions in our area have seen moderate price reductions due to the overall real estate market conditions. It should be noted that our prices are normally lower than other areas of the Southeast. Raw land starts as low as $10,000 an acre and increases based on features such as water frontage, amount of flat tillable land, etc. Prices are not as low as they used to be and all price trends are upward despite the recent price dip.

Self Sufficiency or Semi-Self-Sufficiency is possible here for a number of reasons. Among them are:
1. The locals are of Scotch /Irish heritage and maintain the customs of growing their own produce, repairing their own possessions and bartering for goods they need (weekend side-of-the-road Flea Markets and Produce Stands abound).
2. We have an abundance of natural resources:
Clear mountain water for drinking.
Streams for water power.
Abundant sun for gardens and solar power.
Mountain breezes for wind power.
Fertile soil for growing your own produce. (This was once a major apple producing area.)
Bear, Deer, Rabbits, Squirrel, Grouse and Turkey can be harvested.

Tactical Considerations:
During the American Civil War, General Sherman said of the mountains of Western North Carolina “Only a fool would lead an army into those mountains”. The heavily wooded mountains, the many caves, old woods roads and unmarked trails and coves (you may call them small valleys), offer concealment and protection.
The local residents of our area are by and large, a private people. Friendly, if their friendship is cultivated, they tend to stick together in small church community groups. You will be welcomed in their church and community but your privacy will be respected. They don’t care for trespassers and they generally don’t trespass. Chasing a bear in season may be an exception.
We are at least four hours or more away from the major population areas of the South such as Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Raleigh, North Carolina. With interstate gridlock during an emergency, it is unlikely that anyone seeking haven here would be able to reach us on one tank of gas.
We have many properties that will provide an ideal location for survival-minded people. These vary from small one family parcels to sizeable pieces that will provide suitable conditions for a group of like minded families.
We will be pleased to be your search agent for property in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Ron or Julia Thompson
June Jerome Realty
P.O. Box 221
Burnsville, NC 28714 Ph: 828-682-4900

New Zealand (Part 2)
A special thanks to those of you who wrote in concerning Part 1 of New Zealand. Obviously, there is a lot more to choosing this locale as a retreat area then meets the eye and I appreciate the feedback.

To recap the cons of immigrating to New Zealand: It is going to be a hard sell at best as the requirements to become a citizen are very strict. (The U.S. should take some lessons from New Zealand), as they should be, that’s most likely one of the main reasons the country has such a low crime rate, they screen their immigrants and are very selective on who they let in. Mostly, you’ll need to bring a ‘value’ with you, be it a business or a lot of money, preferably both, near as I can tell.

Self-defense is frowned upon, at least with a firearm. I spoke with a local realtor there who stated that you may only use the same force that an attacker uses to stop an attack. Meaning, if the perp has a knife you cannot use a gun, you must use a similar level of force. Whether this is true or not I don’t know but it sounds about right given the information that Craig D. posted on the blog this week. Importation of your great firearms collection will be almost impossible if it consists of anything in the black rifle arena. A big no-no in my book. The overall picture now becomes clear, New Zealand firearms laws are a twisted mix of U.S. / British and U.N. scripts. This is a country where you can own a suppressed semi-auto AR-15 but you can never shoot it except at a certified range, never use it for self defense, never travel with it except in a secure box and unloaded (to the range only) and you must store it in a government approved ‘bunker safe’ in your home. I guess Craig D. was right, the great Nanny State is alive and well in New Zealand. The good news is you’ll probably never need your guns there if they keep a tight lid on the immigration flow.
Okay, rant over. Let’s try and see what positive things New Zealand has to offer.

New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere and the air masses from the southern hemisphere and the northern hemispheres don’t mix. That is a huge advantage in the event of a nuclear exchange. Nearly all of the envisioned targets are in the northern hemisphere.

It has a very low crime rate. Many of the other touted offshore retreat locales–particularly in Central and South America have high crime rates, and in some locales like Honduras, ex-pats are specifically targeted for home invasion robberies. The drug gangs have discovered that is where the good stuff is: The Gringo’s house. So, by comparison, the low crime rate in New Zealand is a big plus.

New Zealand is an English speaking country, so there is no language barrier. It also means that ex-pats blend in fairly well and can be more readily assimilated into the culture. Even then it would take at least a full generation to be considered a “local” but at least there isn’t the same inherent distrust that is prevalent isn many nations that speak other languages.

Overall, after feedback from several readers I must say that New Zealand get’s a 65 out of 100 as far as a retreat locale. The saving graces that brought the score up substantially, were the low crime rate, the variety of terrain/micro-climates between the islands, the immigration laws (allowing only productive folks to come) and the remote location of the country from the rest of the world.

We are looking for suggestions for next weeks update so if you have a favorite locale or region please e-mail us and suggest one CONUS area and one International area and we’ll get to work on it for next Friday! – T.S.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Ben L. bookmarked this article for us: Tool heaven full to the brim. Ben’s comment: “Hundreds of thousands of [traditional hand] tools. I can see the lines full of SurvivalBlog readers forming now.”

  o o o

From The Guardian: The looming food crisis–Land that was once used to grow food is increasingly being turned over to biofuels. This may help us to fight global warming – but it is driving up food prices throughout the world and making life increasingly hard in developing countries. Add in water shortages, natural disasters and an ever-rising population, and what you have is a recipe for disaster.

   o o o

Stephen in Iraq sent us some bad news on the Peak Oil front: Oil companies spent 45% more on oil exploration and oil field expansion last year, but reserves increased by only 2%.

   o o o

Reader “Quaesiveris” suggested bookmarking the CDC’s “Yellow Book” web page for travelers.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"You must have a willingness to do something when everyone else is petrified. You must learn the lesson of following logic over emotion." – Warren Buffett

Note from JWR:

I’m blogging this evening from the west bank of The Unnamed River (TUR), which runs through the back end of the Rawles Ranch. I brought my lawn chair, my laptop, a Jump-N-Carry 12VDC jump pack, and a can of root beer. As I’m writing this, I have my boots propped up on a big chunk of basalt and I’m watching some 7″ to 12″ trout cruise by. (But I remind myself that I’m working, so they will have to wait for another day.) It is about 75 degrees, and sunny. Three Merganser ducks paddled by a few minutes ago. The only distraction is a pesky yellow jacket wasp that has caught a whiff of my root beer. Mental note: Next time, to raise the experiential perfection quotient by bringing ice water instead.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, I live near the poverty level, but at times like this, I feel very richly blessed. The Reverend Jesse Jackson thinks it a shame that I don’t earn a “living wage” and that I’m under-insured. But I wouldn’t trade my life here for anything. Certainly not for another stint in the corporate world. No way!

Letter Re: Dispensing Charity in the Midst of a Societal Collapse

Hello Mr. Rawles,
Perhaps you and the readers could help me sort through an issue I’ve been wrestling with for some time. From what I’ve read in the archives it appears that some of your readers are struggling with it also.
For almost two decades I have been preparing for the SHTF scenario I believe is inevitable, given our country’s course. I have read about the need for Christian charity during the difficult time that will come and as a Christian I agree. Many suggest that you should store extra food and necessities and dispense them during difficult times. Good idea, but I haven’t found much agreement on precisely how to accomplish this – the mechanics of doing so, if you will. This may be because the issue seems to raise questions that have no simple answers. For example:

Say you set aside 10% of your supplies as “give away” stock. How do you deal with the former recipients of your charity when the crisis persists and that 10% has been given away? You know it was all you planned to give away, but will they know (or care)? How will you control the remainder of the supplies they are now aware of?

I live around many people I call “fivers.” (These are the people with $500,000 homes…who drive a $50,000 pickup truck…that pulls their $5,000 ATVs…on weekends they’re spending $500 to attend a pro football game…but they can’t seem to afford $50 for a water purifier…or $5 for emergency candles.) Do I dispense charity to these fools? Should I? While they’ve been living the good life, I’ve been living frugally so I can afford to purchase my preparedness items. Something about a Grasshopper and an Ant comes to mind about now…

If the crisis is truly short-lived (it ends before your shared supplies run out), what have the recipients learned? That someone else will be there to bail them out the next time this happens? That if there’s a problem they can always come to my place for supplies? Isn’t that reinforcing the entitlement mentality that’s already far too prevalent in this country?
You touched on the issue of dispensing charity in “Patriots” when the characters encountered passersby who showed up, were helped, and conveniently exited the scene, never to return. That won’t be the case when those people live down the street.

In the “City Survival” chapter in Ragnar Benson’s Living Off The Land In The City And The Country he contends (and I concur) that most people simply do not have the luxury of leaving an urban or semi-urban environment and moving to a rural retreat. For the city survivor, he suggests, “It is far better to be discreet. Don’t broadcast the fact that you are caching for survival. Keep your stores and caching places to yourself. Then, after the collapse if someone comes around, it will be a random scavenger that can be more easily dissuaded.” Another author simply stated, “In a survival situation you can’t afford charity” and went on to say that unwise (read “unprepared”) people who have nothing of value to offer you should be terminated (read: “killed”). Yikes!!!
I believe the answer lies somewhere between “doing nothing” and “doing them in,” so to speak. This 10 Cent Challenge supporter would appreciate input from you all on this issue.
Thanks, and God bless. – John in Colorado.

JWR Replies: I agree that urbanites that choose to stay put will not have much opportunity to be very charitable WTSHTF. There would be precious few practicable ways–other than perhaps anonymously leaving things on the doorsteps of widows–to be charitable without the risk of getting cleaned out by opportunistic riff-raff. But for those of us that live in the country and even for those in the suburbs, there will be plenty of opportunities to share.

But first let’s address this issue at the most basic level: As a Christian, I believe that charity is not optional. It is Biblically mandated. I feel this very strongly, for several reasons. First: it is there in The Book, over and over again. There is no denying it. God said it. I believe it. That settles it. Secondly, I came to recognize God’s gift of salvation bestowed upon me, through election, and I learned that His gift was unmerited. I didn’t deserve salvation any more than some of my neighbors deserve my charity when things get Schumeresque. But God freely gave that gift to me, so I’m going to do my utmost to freely bestow charity on everyone that I can. Lastly, everything that I’ve earned and saved, I consider providential gifts from God. So I intend to share some of it with those that are less fortunate and even those that currently lack the foresight to stock up for potential bad times. It’s not my stuff. It’s God’s stuff. I’m just the steward of a part of it.

Charity with no strings attached is a powerful witness for God’s love and for the gospel of Christ. You don’t need to be an eloquent speaker. Just tell them: “Its the Christian thing to do.” That speaks volumes. And, BTW, it won’t hurt to hand out a few gospel tracts and Bibles along with the grub.

I strongly encourage charitable giving both the present day and post-TEOTWAWKI. It is important to keep far more storage food on hand than you expect to consume. If all that you have is the bare minimum to supply your own family or retreat group, you won’t be in any position to dispense charity.

In particular, I recommend that you stock up on extra wheat, rice, beans, and sprouting seeds. If purchased in food grade 5 gallon buckets they are currently still relatively inexpensive. Just an extra two or three hundred pounds of grains and legumes could save dozens of lives. God’s providence is a gift. Share it. I’m sure that there will be a lot of such people wandering about when the balloon goes up. Consider yourself an ambassador for Christ, and act accordingly. Do it for God’s glory rather than your own.

If the situation warrants it, give at arm’s length. I describe one way to do this in my novel “Patriots”. It may sound almost absurd, but you may need to dispense charity by passing it over concertina wire or even while holding the beneficiaries at gunpoint at a safe distance. If times are bad enough, they’ll understand your caution.

How much of your preparedness stockpile should you set aside for charity? Generally I’d recommend at least a tenth. That is in line with the tradition of tithing, which has its roots in the Old Testament law of Tzedaka.The Bible says that you provide for your immediate family first, then your extended family, and then your local community, and so on.

What if it is a localized natural disaster and you know that the situation is likely to get back to normal with in a few months? Then you can probably afford to be more charitable than just giving a tenth. In essence, you can look at your three year food supply as a one year supply for three families, or as a six month supply for six families.

Two Letters Re: Will Things Get as Bad as Described in “Patriots”?

Dear JWR,

I think it’s great when people stop and think after reading your novel “Patriots”. I[‘m writing] in reply to Thompson’s question and your reply. (OBTW, I applaud Thompson’s double six pack purchase). In my opinion, some aspects of a collapse/terrorist attack aftermath can get as bad if not worse than in your novel, depending on where you live. Those of us that do have relatives with their head in the sand or somewhere else, you will have to make some tough decisions if and when the SHTF. Do you take the time to help out the ones that ignored us and our warnings, or do you take care of your immediate family and bug out? I for one will bug out with my immediate family, that is where my obligations are and yours should be too. But are you mentally prepared to do that ? Now is the time to think about that scenario, not when the time comes!

I also think that your average criminal element and the people that panic WTSHTF can be overwhelming for those of us that live in large cities but [that] have retreats on stand-by. Hence my preceding statement. If you do live in a large urban area, you don’t have any time to waste dealing with family and friends that chose to ignore you and their own obligation to be prepared. Hours and even minutes could be what saves you and your immediate family–[the difference between] surviving or becoming someone’s victim. That’s my 2 cents. Time for me to re-read “Patriots”. Sam in Dayton,Ohio

Hi Jim.
Recently, in a reply to a question as to whether you thought the situation would get as bad as described in your novel, you said you did not think it would. Could you elaborate on that? Why are we storing all these beans, Band-Aids and bullets? Thanks. – Joe

JWR Replies: I believe that in the near future we will see a deep economic depression similar to the 1930s, with massive unemployment and major stock market losses. It will most likely be triggered by the current Liquidity Panic, or perhaps by a Dollar Panic that will follow soon after. Crime rates will increase substantially, particularly in urban and suburban areas. This depression may last a decade or more. But the chance of a complete societal collapse (with long term failure of the power grid and total breakdown of law and order and long distance commerce) is not very likely. There is perhaps a 10% chance of that. Be ready, nonetheless. Your storage food may come in very handy if you lose your job.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “Trickdog” suggested this MSNBC article: The New Money Pit–It started with subprime mortgages. Now owners of McMansions are defaulting, and the effects of the housing bust are beginning to ripple through the economy.

  o o o s

I generally soft pedal any mention of our Affiliate advertisers, since I prefer to spotlight our paying advertisers. (The ones that you see over in the scrolling banners). But once in a while, an Affiliate puts on a sale that is so attractive that it bears special mention, like this one from TracFone: you can get a reconditioned Motorola phone and two 60 minute airtime cards for just $19.99. Here at the Rawles Ranch we are not inside of a cell phone coverage area (since we are way out in the hinterboonies), but I’m planning to get one of the TracFones from this special offer, just to use when I travel. This is quite a bargain!

   o o o

A SurvivalBlog reader has launched a business making fairly realistic combat training targets. These might some interesting training possibilities. But I’m not sure what some of my neighbors will think of them. I suppose that I shouldn’t leave them up on their stands in between shooting sessions.

   o o o

Mark C. suggested this article: Commercial Real Estate in U.S. Poised for Price Drop. Mark’s comment: “Just like you predicted with commercial real estate…” The other shoe is indeed about to drop.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"No benevolent man ever lost altogether the fruits of his benevolence. If he does not always gather them from the persons from whom he ought to have gathered them, he seldom fails to gather them, and with a tenfold increase, from other people. Kindness is the parent of kindness; and if to be beloved by our brethren be the great object of our ambition, the surest way of obtaining it is, by our conduct to show that we really love them." – Classical Economist Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments

Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 12 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I will again be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. Round 12 ends on September 30th. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

10 Practical Tips to Survive TEOTWAWKI, by Heghduq

As I read SurvivalBlog there is much on how to build things and various preparations. I have gleaned a plethora of information on many subjects. I have implemented many into my preparations. There are some modifications to many of these that I wish to cover in this article. These are basic and simple to achieve with a little creative thinking on your part and can be done by anyone who wants to keep it simple. Preparing for any emergency or disaster or even TEOTWAWKI is a daunting task in and of itself. I wish to pass on a few pieces of knowledge to help ease the burden of preparing for these scenarios.
1. Don’t believe everything you read at face value. Check the information that you find on the Internet first. 90% of the information you read is good but every once in a while you will get an article that is just complete bunk and if you apply any of the information you could get into serious trouble or worse end up dead. So do your homework first and double check the information.

2. Be frugal in your spending. If you don’t have a need for an expensive item or any knowledge on how to use that fancy piece of survival gear that looks so cool then you don’t need it. Don’t waste your money on it. There will always be something better that you could use that will cost a lot less and may be easier to use.
Shop around and find the best price you can on anything you are looking for to add to your preps. Take advantage of those supper sales at the grocery store and clip coupons. Ten cents may not seem worth the effort but add them up and you will be shocked at how much you save at the check out. I have been able to cut $100 off of a good sized grocery bill on a good day.

3. Start small and work up to the big items in your preps. As you gain knowledge you will know what you need and what you don’t. Once you have a good foundation you can expand on what you started with. In my Preps I started in the beginning. I started with a Bug out Bag. I could outfit it to my needs and the initial cost to my budget was minimal. I scavenged the entire contents from spare items in my home. Once this was done I had the minimum of what was needed in the short term. It was not until this was done that I started to supplement with purchased items and gear. Once I finished with that I moved onto Bug out Bags for the rest of my family members. This may seem silly but it prepared me for the big picture and was the first step to building up my preparations. I have only been at this for a little over a year and I have four complete Bug-Out Bags and just a little over two months worth of stored food. I started small and am working up. I would be farther along but it is slow going and the budget is tight. I am quite surprised at how much I have accomplished in the short period that I have been doing this. I just did my first rotation of supplies in my Bug out bags and used the food in a grand dinner for the family. Even the misses was pleasantly surprised by the meal I had made from the BOB preps.

4. Make all of your preparations work for you and your family. If your spouse and children are not 100% on board than you may have to think of their needs and prepare accordingly. Especially if it involves children under the age of 10. Try to engage them by making preparations fun. For that stubborn spouse who still has issues with Prepping just be patient. The first time you have a major power outage or severe blizzard and is in a panic calmly break out some of your preps and assure her that it will be ok and to stop worrying. This will speak volumes more than anything you will ever say to her. It worked with my other half. I still have a bit of convincing to do but she is more open to some of my ideas now.

5. Make friends and allies. You can’t do it alone no matter how prepared you think you are. The right friends can save your butt in any emergency. Knowing who you can count on will be worth their weight in gold. Avoid the type that will leech from you. If they don’t seem to care about anything other than how much they can get out of you than they are not worth the effort. Those would be the kind of friends who would knock on your door WTSHTF and use up all of your preps and leave you and your family in a hanging. This is not a friend that I would want around in the end. Make lasting trusting friendships and always be true to your words. NEVER EVER Break your promises to your friends.
Be sure to make friends with your local law enforcement {in a small community}.You can avoid a lot of trouble that way and if your in good with the police local chief or sheriff they may even enlist your help. The more help you render in a crisis the more likely you will not be the target for Johnny Law when TSHTF. Local businesses are also valuable allies when crunch time comes. This can make the difference when it comes to getting that needed item that you neglected to get when things were good. This will also work in your favor when you are trying to get this item versus the last minute customer trying to get it. Be generous with the shop owner and render any help he or she may need. This can be done during good times or bad times. I once helped a shop owner catch a shoplifter and we became real good friends as a result. This worked out very well. He cut me some good deals on his merchandise and I was able to get items weeks before they were put on the shelf. I was also able to have him set certain items aside for me when I was not able to buy them right away. I always made it a point to thank him and check in on him at least once or twice a week just to shoot the breeze. Remember you never know when you will make a good friend just by helping them out. The simplest help can be of great value to those in need. Never ask for anything in return for your help. People who are grateful will thank you and will remember you. A lasting impression goes along way when the time comes when you may need the help. If they know you are in trouble they will be falling all over themselves coming to your aid.

6. Lists, lists, and more lists. I can’t emphasize this one enough. You will go insane trying to keep track of everything without a list. I also keep a journal to track my progress and to write down any ideas that I have or to just ramble off some thoughts about the whole prepping idea.
This is also where I draw up some of my more creative designs for improvised survival gear. Try to avoid using any of the electronic kind of tracking lists journals etc. In the event of a power failure,all of your efforts to keep track of everything will have been a waste of time. You will have no way to get the information that is so valuable. Good old paper and pencil is your best bet.

7. Assemble a good survival Library. One of he best places to find what you need is all of those used book stores. There may be a lot of old books out there but when it comes down to it the information contained within, they are priceless. Thrift stores and Goodwill stores occasionally have some older how-to books once in a while. Don’t be turned off by the print date. I have a book from 1975 that has more valuable information on such things as repairing your plumbing to patching drywall than anything that is in current print. At least for the price. I paid 29 cents for this book. I went to Walden Books and looked in the do it your self section to see what they had on the subject. I found a similar book but it was $25 bucks and the information was virtually the same as my book. See tip #2 on this. So for the fraction of the cost I had the same information.

8. Check SurvivalBlog, daily. I can’t say enough about this one. Just trust me on this one, it is a must in my book. Even missing it a couple of days and you will be sitting in front of your computer for a few hours trying to catch up on your reading. This will cost you time when you could be doing other prepping.

9. Take each day and read, study and apply your survival knowledge. Read a book on any subject that can help you to survive. Learn a skill and perfect it, so you can use this skill in a TEOTWAWKI scenario. For those who are disabled such as myself find a Valuable skill that fits your capabilities. Be it anything from mathematics to drafting or arts crafts. If you can design a simple machine someone will build it for you. Not all people have the skill or patients to sit down and design mechanical device. Still others can’t draw a stick figure to save their life. Sure a lot of contractors know how to read a blue print but very few know how to actually draw one up. So if you have a similar skill pursue it. I can’t build anything out of wood but I can draw up the plans to build a small house with a complete list of materials and cost. Ask me to build it and I would fail. I have neither the strength or the endurance to build it.

10. Learn what you need and use what you learn. Think outside the box so that your box is always full. Pack smart not hard. If you learn all of these skills and never use them than you will never know if skill you read about was worth learning in the first place. Practice, practice, practice makes perfect.

These are my top ten tips to preparing. I will have more to come as time goes on. This is not an all inclusive list but these are the things that I use everyday to help me and mine to get ready. There is enough information out there on prepping and making and storing this and that. I hope to cover the how to get to there from here as well as doing it in a way that helps everyone, including those who [, like me,] are disabled.

Letter Re: Safe Businesses in an Economic Depression?

Mr. Rawles:
I’m convinced that given the bursting of the Debt Bubble, the American economy is about to take The Big Swim, a lot like it did back in the 1930s. If this does happen, what sort of businesses will be safe? Do you know what sorts of businesses bucked the down-trend in the 1930s? Thanks, – Chester

JWR Replies: According to statistics published some 20 years ago by Dr.Ravi Batra, the safest businesses and industries during the worst years of the Great Depression (1929-1933) were:

Repair shops
Educational services (A lot of young men that couldn’t find work borrowed money to go to trade schools and college.)
Healthcare services
Bicycle shops
Bus transportation
Gasoline service stations
Second hand stores
Legal services
Drug or proprietary stores

To bring that list up to date, I would speculatively add a few more sectors and business that are likely to do well in the event of another major depression:
Home security/locksmithing (since a higher crime rate is inevitable in bad economic times.)
Entertainment/diversions (such as DVD rentals)
Truck farming/large scale vegetable gardening (since just 2% of the population now feeds the other 98%–whereas back in the 1930s the US was still a predominantly agrarian society)
Export consumer goods (since the US Dollar is likely to continue to slip versus most other currencies)

Odds ‘n Sods:

By way of SHTF Daily: Economist eyes home value dive: Others skeptical of 50 percent decline

  o o o

Any readers looking for knives or Leatherman tools should be sure to check out Knife Off. They have a big inventory–including brand names like Cold Steel and Kershaw–at very competitive prices. For localities where they are legal (and in compliance with Federal law), Knife Off also offers Smith and Wesson brand automatic knives (from their new “Extreme Ops” line) at the best prices I’ve ever seen. (Consult your state and local laws before ordering.)

   o o o

Jason in north Idaho suggested a British web site that shows some creative camper conversions for Unimogs.

Note from JWR:

Do you have a favorite quote? (Perhaps one related to preparedness, the survival mindset, self-defense, individual liberty, charity, or an important lesson from history.) If so, e-mail it to me, and if it isn’t one that has been posted here before then I’ll post it as a SurvivalBlog Quote of the Day. Thanks!

Letter Re: The Importance of Stocking Up on Batteries

James:
I have been corresponding with an infantry soldier (E-6 [pay grade]) in Iraq named Ray that I met through AnySoldier.com. BTW, thanks for running that free ad for them on SurvivalBlog. All those “forgotten” soldiers need our real support–not just a “Support Our Troops” yellow ribbon magnet on the backs of our cars. In the last 8 or 9 months I have sent more than 30 “care packages” in [Priority Mail] Flat Rate boxes to [AnySoldier.com addressees in] Iraq and Afghanistan.

In our e-mails, one of the things that Ray mentioned a couple of times really impressed me: It is that one of the crucial logistics for modern armies is spare batteries. He described how they go through hundreds of them, for radios, tactical flashlights, sensors, laser target illuminators and designators, and night vision gear/thermal sights. As I look forward to potential hard times in this country, I think that we should learn a lesson from the Iraq experience: never run out of batteries.

So I’ve resolved to never let my family run out of batteries, even if the “problem” lasts for a decade. I took your advice and got a small [5 watt] solar [photovoltaic] panel from Northern Tool & Equipment which I’ve already rigged to charge batteries, using an “automobile” (12 volt DC) charging tray. (It looks like a regular home charger, but it has a 12 volt [input power] cable with a cig[arette] lighter plug.) This gives me straight DC-to-DC charging, without an energy hogging inverter in the middle of the equation. Thanks also for making that suggestion! For my retreat , I’m planning to buy one of the 8 watt panels from Safecastle, in a similar battery charging arrangement. That way I’ll have a separate charging system, even if I have to E&E on foot and leave my 5 watt battery charging panel at home. I’ve also stocked up very heavily on nickel [metal] hydride [NiMH] batteries.of various and sundry sizes, plus some of the older nickel cadmium [NiCd] batteries, and some Duracells. My question is: What more should I do, and what is the best way to store all of the batteries that I’m acquiring? Thanks for all that you provide for free in SurvivalBlog. You should make the 10 Cent Challenge mandatory. Maybe with a password for most of what is on your site that only paid subscribers would have. You are way too generous. Giving it all away is no way to make a living. With Kind Regards – Paul G.

JWR Replies: Thank you very much for raising this important issue. You are absolutely right. Without a reliable long term supply of batteries we will lose some of our best tactical advantages for retreat security: radio communication, electronic intrusion detection systems, and night vision goggles/sights. Think about it: The only way that a small group can effectively defend a rural retreat is with these technological advantages. Without batteries, we would soon be back to 19th Century technology and tactics. Since modern tactical electronics are “force multipliers”, the lack of them would reduce the effectiveness of our defensive measures. Making up for that loss would necessitate having a lot more manpower. And more manpower means more retreat floor space and more food. That additional food means more land under cultivation, and more land under cultivation and means a larger perimeter to defend, and so forth. You can see where this logic leads: Instead of owning a little two family 20 acre low profile retreat, you’d need 10 to 12 armed and trained adults and perhaps 40 to 100 acres, depending on rainfall and soil fertility. Being the local Lord of the Manor is not conducive to keeping a low profile!

You are right that it is wise to stock up on batteries. Try to get rechargeable batteries for as many devices as possible. In fact, compatibility with rechargeables (versus expendable “throw away” batteries) should be a key determining factor when selecting any electrical or electronic equipment. My favorite source for batteries via mail order is All-Battery.com. (One of our affiliate advertisers.) They have great prices and a huge selection.

If space permits, you should store all of your small batteries in a sealed bag (to prevent condensation) in the back of your refrigerator. This will extend their useful life.