Many of my consulting calls focus on the selection of retreat property locales. I always advise my clients to look first at state, county, and local laws, before they even start to look at individual real estate listings. In this essay, I will address the issue of jurisdictional layers, when considering retreat locales. In two previous SurvivalBlog articles, I discussed the whole concept of jurisdiction:
- In 2018: The First Question is Always Jurisdiction.
- and, in 2024: Fencing In Federal Jurisdiction.
But in this essay, I will be going over the application of jurisdiction, and most importantly how it varies, additively, by locale.
Most people reading this already realize that buying land in a State like California or New Jersey would be a mistake. That is immediately apparent just from the standpoint of taxes and gun laws, not to mention population density. But living in any State of the Union, the prospect of coming under the control of multiple jurisdictions can be unappealing. Often, I have clients who want to buy land or homes in what I call jurisdictionally-burdened areas. Let me elaborate on this:
The Jurisdictional layer cake
If you buy property anywhere in the United States, then you’ll effectively be under Federal Laws. (Yes, I realize that even though most Federal laws are over-applied, since from a Constitutionalist perspective, Federal jurisdiction should properly only be applied to Federal property, such as Federal buildings, forts, ports, and dockyards. But try explaining that to a Federal prosecutor. You won’t get very far…)
Granted, you could expatriate, but then you’ll end up living under a foreign government, with its own set of laws and its own variety of taxes. All national governments seem to demand their Pound Of Flesh, one way or the other. Even just a cursory bit of research will show you that there are very few countries that have more firearms freedom than the United States. The U.S. is perhaps the world’s safest haven for gun owners. Yes, there are fewer gun laws in Yemen and Somalia, but I couldn’t be persuaded to live in either of those semi-anarchic Islamic countries, for other reasons — most notably the climate, the quality of life, street crime rates, and relative religious freedom. No, thanks!
Unfortunately, the United States is one of the minority of countries that taxes worldwide income. So, if you do decide to move abroad, you’ll find the only real escape from the fell clutches of the IRS is if you give up your American citizenship. That is not very appealing to me. I’d always like to have the option of moving back here, on short notice.
