Ok, I got to thinking, everyone talks about “Bugging Out”, but were are they Bugging out to? If everyone is Bugging out to the country, than won’t the cities be empty and the best place to be? Won’t the hills around big cities like L.A. be loaded with people? Wouldn’t staying in your house be safer? What or where are you bugging out to?? Just wondering because if everyone is heading to Idaho and Montana I’m going to move…LOL. The scenario I am talking about is a long term collapse of society, not a localized breakdown like with Katrina. A condition where all food distribution and security is disrupted for an extended period of time with no relief in sight.
The other thing is, once you leave your residence then wouldn’t it become a target of looters?
So I guess what I’m asking is, " Where are you bugging out to?" The country, stay where you are, grandma’s farm, a cave, A predetermined “safe” location.
“Everyone” will not be bugging out. Without speculating on the numbers, I know a gargantuan number of urbanites wouldnt know what to do, where to go, or when to leave. Because, many don’t give this kind of thing any thought whatsoever. (other than perhaps a quick, “meh, we’ll go to your aunt Shelly’s if there’s an emergency”). The end. No thought about fuel, no thoughts about routes, no thoughts about provisions, defense, etc. Practically speaking, if they haven’t squared any plan ABCD’s together once the balloon goes up, they’re already essentially fubar’d.
So although there could be a few extra guests on the family farm during a shtf scenario, no, the cities won’t be empty. Those few extra guests on the family farm would be welcome man power for water duty, cooking duty, security force, gardening/hunting duty. So on and so forth. (depending on the severity of the crisis)
Staying on an urban or suburban high density area during a crisis is really dangerous. You’d have to completely disappear because the minute others know you have stuff they desperately need, you’d be doing an awful lot of emergency reloads.
A blind bug-out is doing more harm then good if you have no idea what your going to do once you pull out of your driveway. One must have a planned destination and recognize the triggers which allow you to roll out before the masses do the same.
Even if your destinations is family who live hundreds of miles a way as long as their location is not affected by the event which made you bug out in the first place its better then running blind.
The fantasy of living out in the wild with just some department store purchased gear which was never used on some meaningful training is a recipe for disaster.
Have your totes ready which has enough food/water and seasonal clothing to live out of your vehicle for a least a week and don’t forget to carry enough fuel to get to your primary and secondary locations.
The common wisdom seems to be that the urban areas will be the worst place to be. I don’t believe that. I believe a lone person or family, isolated in desolate countryside, will be the worst thing to be. The common wisdom seems to be that roving gangs of savages will loot and pillage everything in sight in the urban areas. However, I think that will only happen if communities allow that to happen.
Take a look at New Orleans after Katrina: Yes, there were mobs of looters, but communities banded together to form patrols and militias to put a stop to that nonsense.
I think the safest place to be will be a small community, like a small town in the neighborhood of 1000-5000 people. The fantasy some have of a Mad Max-like world, void of law or order, and full of roving savages, will not happen. Humans are pack-animals, and will always gravitate toward communities and order.
You make some good points, but it all depends on the depth and length of the crisis.
People in new Orleans knew that it was a local disaster, and help and order were on the way. Take away that assurance, add some length, and those neiborhoods would have collapsed too.
It all depends on the particular crisis. But if you prepare for the absolute worst and something less severe happens, you can scale back your response and you’re more than fine. Not the other way around.
He calls it the Golden Horde - the teaming masses fleeing population centers.
As a general rule, plan to bug in because most people who will be trying to bug out will have either no plan or a weak plan based on assumptions, wishful thinking, or some Walter Mitty fantasy.
Your BOB should really just be an EDC bag who’s purpose is to get you home or keep you alive for 72hrs.
The urban bohemian hipster types in the French Quarter banded together bound by similar cultural values. They turned bars into make shift hospitals. They cooked on bbq grills and propane. And used the pool water from a French Quarter hotel (boiled of course) as a water source. The banded together, took care of each other, and ran off trouble makers. This is human nature.
There is a term for bugging out without a specific desitination in mind. It’s called becoming a refugee. Not high on my “To Do” list!
A bug out location could be anything from a pre-stocked bunker, to a hunting/vacation cabin, to a friend or relative’s house in an uneffected location.
Many have this idea that they can pitch a tent in the woods and be ok. They’ve hunted in the past, so no big deal. They don’t consider how crowded those woods will be. For every deer, there will be several people hunting Bambi. And once you’re lucky enough to shoot said deer, you have to worry about the starving and under prepared individuals wanting to relieve you of your deer.
I remember talking to farmers who live through the Great Depression as a kid. They said that the deer in SE Indiana were so over hunted that it was rare to see one for years.
If it’s bad enough that staying at home and bugging in is no longer an option, then most likely there won’t be much left if and when you return.
Bottom line: Have a plan, then have a fall back plan for when the original plan doesn’t work. Than have a fall back plan for when your fall back plan turns to shit.
Bugging out is a last resort only when it’s too dangerous to stay where you’re at or you’ve run out of supplies in a long term scenario. In which case, I hope you have identified a place to go. A parent or other family members cabin seems to be the norm. Or if things get really bad an isolated and abandoned supermax prison within walking distance that’s still in decent shape and still has a working well
Sometimes waiting to bug out of a urban area until its a “last resort” traps you with the panicking masses as roadways will be choked and hostiles will be out and about. It really depends on where the focal point of the event begins and how far it is from you.
If your a country resident then waiting until the masses get within 20 miles would be a good time to scoot but for urban dwellers the mass population of a major city has people stacked on one another and I would suggest its best to be mobile asap and let your home owners insurance replace what if anything is lost do to the event.
In my opinion, bugging out should only be done early before the masses, or very late, after the majority of people are gone. You don’t want to be stranded on a highway with bumper to bumper broken-down cars. If you don’t have a bugout location, you are a refugee, and that is never a good thing.
I plan on bugging in as long as possible before bugging out to one of two different locations in opposite directions from one another depending on the particular situation.
I feel pretty secure where i am even in the urban area. i live in a nice area, my street is technically an island with 1 small 2 lane bridge to get on it, and i have 4 FFL’s on my street lol. we have 2 boats in my backyard( one 31footer that can do 60knots and hold 8 people plus tons of gear and has a few hundred mile range, and a friends 80ft yacht that can hold 20+ and go nearly 1k miles.) the big boat has a freshwater filter on it, our house is 2 story, the upper floors have line of sight down the whole road past the entry bridge.
if all else failed and i HAD to bug out. my ass would be in nassau with 2 boats and all our items of importance in 10 hrs
It’s just my opinion but needing to bug out means one is forced to leave their home or location due to catastrophe either natural or man made. This might mean anything from a forest fire, flood, volcanic eruption, civil war, mass rioting, etc. It also means that being a refugee is better than remaining in place. Although a bugging out from location could be anything from on vacation to the water coming in your front door most I think would think it means flee for your life. It also might mean leaving a hurricane area, etc and staying with relatives or friends in a safe zone. I think it would not mean staying in the Superdome.
I’m slightly jealous. Then again, that is why I am aggressively seeking employment in Florida. Gun friendly, good hunting, good fishing, good weather, lots of options.
There’s so many scenarios that we can mmqb. Where I live an ice storm or freak tornado are the two most likely scenarios I would have to deal with. If hers an ice storm I can’t imagine a reason to bug out.
The answer is going to be different for everyone. Where is home, is it in the wilds of Alaska or a high-rise in Manhattan? Densely populated areas will experience a mass exodus all at once that will create its own set of problems. Major metropolitan areas have enough trouble as it is just try to drive/commute during rush hour in any major US city on a “normal” day. Those that live in small towns and rural areas will find themselves victims of what is referred to as secondary crime scenes as the survivors from the “golden hoard” make their way out of the urban centers scouring the country side for any and all supplies to be had.
