One of the prime considerations of anyone interested in preparing for a serious man-caused or natural disaster in the near future, is the matter of geography. James Rawles coined the concept of the American Redoubt, giving name and definition to an area widely-held to be ideal survival terrain. This area by one of its own main core criteria, is very low population density. But the majority of American people attempting to prepare are not in the American Redoubt. It is difficult for economic and other considerations to uproot and relocate there. More power to anyone seriously considering relocating to the American Redoubt. But in this piece, I will attempt to elucidate some viable eastern retreat options, specifically for folks in the Northeastern US.
The Eastern Seaboard of the United States, the so-called “Bo-Wash” corridor or Megalopolis, is straight off a nonstarter for survival in a crisis. While I may believe survival is very possible at much higher population densities than what Mr. Rawles considers optimum, at some population density point survival is out of the question. Population proximity is a vector for conflict and disease. That is not to say that there are not areas not extremely far away, but sufficiently far away where survival is very possible.
In the big picture, strategic sense there are some big pluses to the Eastern US, OUTSIDE OF THE MEGALOPOLIS. The first is that the climate and growing conditions are most amenable to pre-industrial means of farming. Our ancestors farmed the Eastern US for centuries before mechanization of agriculture and did just fine. lots of hard work, yes, but the climate is fine and a wealth of tried and true methods exist to make the most of this area’s growing conditions.
One of the keys to survival in any area of the east will be the coordination and defense of local areas by larger groups. This is not ranch country where lone individualists will make lone stands. The countryside of the Northeast, however, has a long tradition of organization at the town level. This will be key: People will have to engage with their neighbors and steer things the way they must go.
Another is outside of the obvious population-based nuclear targets in Megalopolis, there aren’t nearly as many military nuclear war targets in the Northeast as there are in the West and South. The Northeast has precious few military bases of note. The only Army base in the Northeast is Fort Drum in New York, on the Tug Hill Plateau. The West and the Plains have many more military targets, and the geography supports dispersion of radioactive fallout more readily. Play around with the variables at Nukemap and you’ll see what I mean.Continue reading“Viable Eastern Retreats, by H.A.”