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The Old Plan was to own raw retreat land, for a Bug Out scenario. I did it, with limited success. 4 acres of wooded, rolling land way the fuck out in the mountains, an insulated & sheetrocked 8x14 "cabin"...and unfriendly maryjaners on all sides. After 4 years I just couldn't deal with the unfriendlies any more (seemed like it was tempting fate to stay there), and I sold the bugstead...at a profit, which was nice, since making money on that land had never been part of my plan.
The New Plan is to own a suburban home, for a Bug In scenario. It's in process, the purchase of a 2-bedroom/1-bath semi-detached cottage with a 30x35 yard and an 8x12 outbuilding. Plans include installing an additional 6x10 workshop/shed, planting a combined raised bed/container food garden, and converting the attic into a work/storage room.
It's a completely different paradigm, this new plan. I'm still bewildered at how quickly everything changed. One minute I was looking for a Bug Out cabin in the sticks...the next moment I fell in love with a cottage in an urban housing co-op. Although I still have yet to actually experience the Bug In plan, I've composed a list of the advantages and disadvantages of both plans:
Advantages: The land was REALLY cheap and I paid it off in 4 months. There was no code enforcement. There was no law enforcement. The air was clean. A low-tech, no-maintenance lifestyle. There was freedom to do whatever I wanted. In the event of a SHTF scenario, I would have been far, far from the crowd.
Disadvantages: Crazy, low-life, outlaw neighbors. No code enforcement. No law enforcement. Random, sustained discharging of weapons by the neighbors at all hours. Half-wild dogs roaming the forest. Illegal clear cutting, legal logging, abandoned vehicles, ubiquitous white trash living on all sides. One neighbor shot another neighbor. One neighbor lit the forest on fire. Someone lost a leg to his friend's deranged dog. The drive up there took 5 hours. Water was non-existent in the Spring and Summer. There was the ever-present danger of robbery and burglary. If the shit had ever hit the fan, my neighbors would have fucked me, skinned me and cooked me within 24 hours.
The New Plan is to own a suburban home, for a Bug In scenario. It's in process, the purchase of a 2-bedroom/1-bath semi-detached cottage with a 30x35 yard and an 8x12 outbuilding. Plans include installing an additional 6x10 workshop/shed, planting a combined raised bed/container food garden, and converting the attic into a work/storage room.
It's a completely different paradigm, this new plan. I'm still bewildered at how quickly everything changed. One minute I was looking for a Bug Out cabin in the sticks...the next moment I fell in love with a cottage in an urban housing co-op. Although I still have yet to actually experience the Bug In plan, I've composed a list of the advantages and disadvantages of both plans:
Bugging Out
Advantages: The land was REALLY cheap and I paid it off in 4 months. There was no code enforcement. There was no law enforcement. The air was clean. A low-tech, no-maintenance lifestyle. There was freedom to do whatever I wanted. In the event of a SHTF scenario, I would have been far, far from the crowd.
Disadvantages: Crazy, low-life, outlaw neighbors. No code enforcement. No law enforcement. Random, sustained discharging of weapons by the neighbors at all hours. Half-wild dogs roaming the forest. Illegal clear cutting, legal logging, abandoned vehicles, ubiquitous white trash living on all sides. One neighbor shot another neighbor. One neighbor lit the forest on fire. Someone lost a leg to his friend's deranged dog. The drive up there took 5 hours. Water was non-existent in the Spring and Summer. There was the ever-present danger of robbery and burglary. If the shit had ever hit the fan, my neighbors would have fucked me, skinned me and cooked me within 24 hours.
Bugging In
Advantages: Utilities. Consolidation. No more always having one foot out the door - I can finally focus exclusively on where I live, because now MY HOUSE IS MY FORTRESS. The new pad is on an island with a community spirit. I know a lot of people in the neighborhood. Some of them are preppers. I'll be able to walk and ride my bike everywhere, every day. Even to work. It's a safe city.
Disadvantages: Long-term debt. Nowhere to run. High density living amongst sheeple. Code/permit enforcement. Law enforcement. Dependence on the grid.
I'll have much to write about in the coming months, as I work my ass off setting up the burbstead the way I want.
Advantages: Utilities. Consolidation. No more always having one foot out the door - I can finally focus exclusively on where I live, because now MY HOUSE IS MY FORTRESS. The new pad is on an island with a community spirit. I know a lot of people in the neighborhood. Some of them are preppers. I'll be able to walk and ride my bike everywhere, every day. Even to work. It's a safe city.
Disadvantages: Long-term debt. Nowhere to run. High density living amongst sheeple. Code/permit enforcement. Law enforcement. Dependence on the grid.
I'll have much to write about in the coming months, as I work my ass off setting up the burbstead the way I want.
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