Best Place To Live with a Survival Context
August 10, 2011, Submitted by: Ken Tweet
Recently having received an email from a Reader who asked for an opinion of where is the best place to live from the standpoint of survival interests and preparedness, here are a few considerations… (this pertains to the US)
The criteria from the Reader are as follows:
-Well developed agriculture for plant based diet
-Well developed infrastructure
-Interest in clean energy
-Friendly people
-Freedom
-Altitude
-Climate
-Predators/Poisonous life forms
-Fresh waters
-Pollution/Susceptibility to Pollution via atmospheric/ocean currents
-Seismic activity
Ken adds:
Tax burden
state-income-tax-comparison
state-tax-burden
lowest-to-highest-taxes-by-state
Nuclear power plant locations
u-s-nuclear-power-plants-safe-distance
Population density
survival-retreat-population-density
safer-survival-distance-from-usa-city-hordes
survival-retreat-safe-distance-from-city
Water sources
water-sources-for-remote-property
OK, lets look at these one at a time…
Well developed agriculture for plant based diet
From a survivalist or self-sufficiency standpoint, this would be somewhat related to the ability to grow some of your own food, and therefore is hinged to the climate of the region, length of the growing season, as well as the general soil condition (e.g. deserts won’t work well). The further south, the longer the growing season. Having said that, northerners do just fine so long as they plan well and begin some crops indoors or in a greenhouse environment. Parts of the northwest are very favorable for agriculture – growing season – climate – adequate rainfall, such as Oregon and Washington state.
Well developed infrastructure
Personally, I would not choose to live in ‘the city’. One reason is because I’m just not a city-dweller type person. Second, a city depends too much upon infrastructure (it has to) for my own comfort zone should disaster strike. For example, a major power outage could bring social chaos in a short period of time. However, a good benefit of living near enough to a city are the services rendered – such as better health care – hospitals if needed, and much more. I believe that a good ‘safe’ distance from any major city is ideal, say, an hour drive. Some fear the Golden Horde – zombies exiting the cities during disaster, and will prefer to live further away.
Interest in clean energy
Utilization of clean energy can be executed almost anywhere. Solar energy is more efficient the closer to the equator – the further south, the more effective sunlight. Southwestern states are ideal due to less cloud cover during the year and abundant sunshine – however these regions are often desert areas. No matter where you live (except perhaps in some neighborhood developments or zones where rules prohibit it), solar photovoltaic panels, solar hot water systems, and wind power can be utilized. I believe that ‘interest’ in clean energy is growing nationwide.
Friendly people
This is subjective to some degree. ‘The south’ has a general reputation for having a friendly attitude. Having traveled quite a lot during a previous career, I agree with that. ‘The west’ compared to ‘the east’ is of a friendlier demeanor. I’ve lived on both coasts and know this to be true. Also, generally, the more remote you are, the more the community will be tightly-knit, that is, if you move into a countryside community, it may take longer to ‘be accepted’. So long as you yourself are not an ass, I suppose this won’t be an issue in most cases.
Freedom
If you are looking for freedom and liberty, stay away from the cities and high population dense regions of the country – where rules and regulations always abound. Perhaps New Hampshire with their motto, ‘Live Free or Die’, may suit you. Freedom loving regions that stand out, no doubt include areas like Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, perhaps eastern Oregon or eastern Washington. However there are plenty of other regions with little restrictions on freedom and liberty. One way to determine this is to examine gun laws of each state, which are often directly proportional to the level of freedom and personal liberty there.
Altitude
Living along the seacoast at sea-level presents risks from flooding of hurricanes or tsunamis. Living at high altitude will reduce the length of the growing season due to a colder climate. Many entire states are at a very high altitude – up and down the Rocky Mountains for example. Having spent some time exploring the Sierra Nevada mountain range, I personally enjoy altitude climates there at approximately 1,500 – 2,000 feet (‘the foothills’). It’s different in other parts of the country though because overall weather patterns vary. The short opinion though, avoid sea level or living immediately along the coast (save that for vacations). Be aware of the growing season effectiveness at your geographical location and altitude.
Climate
Climate is immensely important. Some people will not be able to ‘happily’ deal with certain types of weather and climate conditions. Too Hot – Too Cold – Too Humid – Too Wet – Too Dry – Too many Mosquitoes! – etc… It is important though that the natural rainfall is adequate to sustain a summer garden. This rules out some of the west and much of the southwest which rely upon reservoirs for their summer water. The northwest is abundant with rain (especially coastal), however I personally would become too gloomy due to the excessive number of rainy days (everyone’s different though). I do enjoy climates with four seasons, so long as the winter is not too long. Whatever suits your desire is probably OK, provided you don’t risk living in a dry desert region that depends solely upon infrastructure to provide your water needs during the summer months. Be aware of micro-climates, which can be very different from the regional climate! Do your research.
Predators/Poisonous life forms
The west and northwest have bears, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, and poisonous spiders. Although there are deaths each year, provided you take common-sense precautions, you will likely be just fine. I’ve been bitten by a brown recluse spider and lived to tell about it for example… I’m certain that there are some black widows around my wood pile, and I’ve encountered bears while in the Trinity Wilderness area of northern CA. The key is knowing your region and dangers, and knowing how to be cautious about it. Parts of the south have alligators. I would personally rather deal with poisonous spiders and the slight risk of running across a bear than an alligator – but that’s just me… Everyone has their phobias. The least likely regions for dangerous predators compared to other regions, will probably be the central and northeastern US.
Fresh waters
Very important. Fresh, clean water is the single most important ingredient to survival. You will find more of this in the mountainous regions. Obviously the southwest US and desert region is a no-go in this category. Best areas – northwest, southeast, northeast, and some northern states. Be aware of the current drought conditions in parts of the south and central US. A property with a natural and year-round stream is ideal. Alongside a pond or lake is great. Known ‘good’ well water in the area is good. Adequate rainfall and perhaps a rainwater collection system will fit your needs.
Pollution/Susceptibility to Pollution via atmospheric/ocean currents
Pollution will be concentrated at lower altitudes and where the most people live. Be aware of what is ‘upstream’ from your location, both by way of air currents and water flow. All regions have prevailing wind directions. In the west, the winds and storms come from the Pacific – sometimes from the southwest and usually from the northwest – meaning that the air will be relatively ‘clean’ coming from an ocean expanse. The jet stream generally blows from west to east across the country. The northeast usually has prevailing wind patterns from the west or northwest (from upstate NY or Canada) – but sometimes from the northeast (ocean) . The point is, discover the weather pattern and prevailing wind pattern, and you will know what’s heading your way by looking upstream. To avoid pollution, stay away from the cities and major transportation corridors.
Seismic activity
The worst place in this category is up and down the California coast. There is also a fairly high risk along the coastal northwest. The New Madrid fault zone is another frightful area, although no one knows when this one will rip again, if ever again. Truly, there are earthquake risks almost anywhere, although well known fault zones are the places to stay away from.
In conclusion
It’s often easier to find reasons NOT to live somewhere. I do believe that there really is no perfect or best place to live. It comes down to what you can live with, and what your own priorities are. Everyone values risks and priorities differently, and these are often offset by other factors that may be important to you. The process I would use to find a best place to live, would be to analyze first (using the internet to discover statistics, etc.), then choose several possible areas of interest and go and visit them. Often times ‘you will know it’ when it’s right. It will just feel right to you. Trust your instincts.
Very generally speaking, in the context of survival risks, in all cases avoid city centers and very high populous regions. Consider parts of the northwest US, or parts of the south – how about northwest Arkansas for example (I’ve looked closely at this one – low taxes, good geography, etc. but not sure about the summer heat and humidity though).
The best place to live is very difficult to identify from one person’s point of view because of the wide range of factors under consideration, that differ for everyone. A hard core survivalist may choose northwestern Montana, say in a small town like ‘Plains’ (just an example – never been there) within an hour drive of Missoula for important services. A moderate survivalist may choose a place within an hour drive of Fort Smith – Arkansas or perhaps within the region of Hot Springs (so long as you’re not up against Little Rock). There are all sorts of smart choices around the country that could be made. The key is to think about all the aspects, prioritize, and then go visit them!
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Outside of the United States this is a very easy one, North Island of New Zealand outside of the denser population on New Zealand. In recent studies New Zealand rated as one of the friendliest countries, they have super agriculture, nuclear energy I do not even thin has even been considered there, the country has hydroelectric potential all of the place, the climate is wonderful, there are no vicous animals there, the water is excellent, pollution because it is an island is reduced considerably, New Zealand has a decent economy, plenty of mountains, the taxes are higher but you actually get something for the money you pay into, and the seismic zones are less on the northern island. Now for the U.S. that is going to require a little bit of research. Get back to you with the results later. Ken, NICE addition to the site. It is fun to think about these things.
North Island of New Zealand is HIGHLY volcanic. One of the biggest explosions of the last 5000 years happened at Lake Taupo. Having cycled around the caldera twice, and visiting Egmont National Park, I can definitely tell you north island is sitting on live magma – no matter how quite it seems today. There’s evidence of volcanism nearly anywhere you go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Taupo | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Taranaki
Please don’t think I’m being a Troll here – just speaking from direct experience on the island. It is EXTREMELY beautiful and I would highly recommend visiting at least once. Living there would be great but don’t think it’s without it’s own ‘faults’.
Additionally, New Zealand has some pretty strict residency requirements; most millionaires wouldn’t be invited for longer than about 6mths. They (government ‘they’) either want super cheap labor, or financial powerhouses living among them. The people are awesome and couldn’t care less about you living there in my experience unless you start to cause trouble.
I have friends living in Argentina’s interior who would be classified as truly off-grid and absolutely LOVE it there. Might be worth investigating…
Ha ha, gotto love that New Zealand comment “recent studies New Zealand rated as one of the friendliest countries”… I guess thats why >70% of NZ has emigrated to Australia. The missus who’s from Blenheim says that the North Island is too dangerous due to the Maori boys & gangs that live there. You only have to look at areas on the Gold Coast like Upper ‘Bro Town’ Coomera and the like that’s being destroyed by these gang mined yobbo’s.
Super nice place to visit New Zealand is! No jobs however because industry, power and fuel is too expensive & they have hardly any natural resources… However did I mention nice place to visit?!?
@Slazmo and Anonymous. New Zealand was amoungst the top 5 of the friendliest places along with Denmark, Finland, Sweden and some other country I cannot remember, in an article on Yahoo rating countries. If the world goes to hell like it should within 10 years New Zealand could be one of the few safe places to be. New Zealand is very geographically isolated and fresh water, a year round growing season, geothermal for power if the grid goes down and because it is an island the pollution is limited. Of course without jobs people will leave the island to be able to substain themselves. Some of the things you mentioned I did not know.
Have one of those resident questionnaires from New Zealand just out of wondering, and there are some real requirments to become a resident. Point system for age, education, amount of money, and all sorts of other items of interest, very strict. Don’t know much about the Maori, wrong assumption on my part that they were different from the other island groups of people as being more civilized. Guess there are better places than the North Island in regards to the people and gangs.
Climate wise for growing food and natural energy sources are there however. The people factor though is something to definitely consider. Have looked at Australia as a possible retreat if things over here completely become intolerable and what worries me the most is CHINA. The Chinese have always eyed Australia for their resources. The red Chinese remind me of pre World War 2 Japanese in their massive military build up that they will use someday.
Argentina is very isolated and a place to maybe hide out, Tierra Del Fuego is one of the places that is idea place after World War 3 because the air is rising most of the time there so fallout would be reduced a lot as because of the isolation factor. Many survival people have long considered this place to be one of the top survival locations.
It really has to do with knowing what is going to happen to be able to choose the ideal retreat location. That is the problem. One place surviving the third world war might be awful surviving another disaster. In the United States many people move to various locations and hate it when they move because of the weather, the people, the laws, the restrictions, etc, etc.
Slazmo and others. This is what is so invaluable about this site, INFORMATION. I always wondered about the Maori people and if you Slazmo had not brought this up I might have continued to assume incorrectly from the reports and articles that I have read that New Zealand was much safer in regards to the people than it actually is. When people like yourself and everyone else interacts and discusses issues we ALL learn and can much this together to better our lives and decide what is best for us, and where to go. Thanks for the input, always apppreciate something new that I did not know.
This assumes you are free to move. Your job, your spouse’s job, the quality of schools, distance from elderly parents . . .
In the end, you may have to settle for _where_ it is practical to live, and then maneuver yourself into the best home situation for that region. I’d druther live further from Houston because of pollution and the large urban population. But I also don’t want my husband to face an hour long commute, twice a day. We compromised with a mini-ranch thirty minutes from his office. Less land than I want, but in a workday regional or national emergency, he could walk home in less than a day without passing through any high crime areas.
Exactly… It’s all a compromise between many things. It’s never the same for any two people. Regarding ‘free to move’, I do understand the reasoning – however, unless in prison, we all really are free to move. It’s a mindset, a series of decisions, and then action.
@Ken; You are absolutely right, everyone is free to move….if they really want to.
We are in east Texas and yes it’s hot but we have wonderful A/C and the water tables are very tasty. Look where the water comes from on some of your bottles of water you buy, and a lot of it comes out of the north part of east texas. My ground is not cracked, my well is not dry, I was able to raise some vegies this year too. I probably won’t have more than 8″ of snow EVER. Yes, it’s hot, but we have pleanty where I’m at and we are in the country as well. It’s where I’m supposed to be and I’m grateful and prepared with a lot of like minded people around me. I pray you find your way, in the mess we are in now………….
First of all the best places to retreat to in the United States must have a good water source and some form of reliable food, these are an absolute must if you considering surviving the end of civilization as you know it. If you are considering only job opportunities and bettering yourself financially then Texas is for you, or if you can stand the cold then North Dakota is the most stable place for work of the 50 states.
At least for me I would not consider areas east of the Mississippi River to be places to find retreats for. If someone was to consider these areas I would definitely suggest the mountains towards the North Carolina west. Other areas along the Appalachians are too close to areas that are high risk to the above mentioned parameters. The West is still the best place for retreats. I highly recommend getting the book from Sunset called Western Garden Book that shows zones in much detail in the western states that growing season, temperatures, what will grow, and an excellent list of plants, trees, garden vegetables, flowers and where they will grow, just a wonderful book to have.
For the people concerned about having a year round supply of food of all kinds and plentiful clean water and elevation then the northern part of the big island of Hawaii at least 5000 feet up. This is a place that practically everything will grow and there is more available food that is within reasonable distance at sea level. This fits all the categories expect for a safe seismic zone, or taxes, it is expensive to get land there, and Hawaii is an strategic location in case of war.
California has a lot of nearly or all year round growing, but earthquakes are always a problem and the state is vastly overpopulated and going to be a problem in times of unrest. The taxes are awful, and the pollution in many places is horrible. The laws are not nearly as free as most of the other states, a suffocating feeling of the law system is a good description of CA laws. If someone wants to make it through the bad times in the state, probably the best places minus the earthquakes are north of San Francisco along the coast, at a couple of miles from the coast. The mountains east of San Diego are much more isolated than the mountains to the north, and much warmer than the Sierras. Even Catalina Island would be an okay choice because it is 25 miles off the coast and upwind from any problems with Southern California. The deserts areas are isolated but not reliable for water and food as any oasis types are loaded with population.
Nevada has no taxes and is isolated in many spots and not as dry as people think in the elevated spots, but difficult to grow food because of the limited frost free days. Southern Nevada is actually too hot to grow a lot of food during the summer months.
Oregon has belts of high production growing areas and has water, but as the Sunset book shows it is not as widespread as thought for long season growing. It is a place that is highly forested and a good place to hide.
Washington is a what people call the hippie place to be and survivalist would fit in quite well and be accepted and has good food production and water like Oregon. Washington though is much further north and much colder than Oregon unless you live by the coast. Both Oregon and Washington are in dangerous zones for tremendous earthquakes but as long as someone is not close enough to the coast, earthquakes should not really be a factor. Dense forest to hide and get away from problems is a big plus.
Idaho is quite cold and the growing season is not very long. A state of survivalists and a strong feeling of anti-society and heavy forests is something that draws survival minded people.
Montana is big sky country and is known as one of the free states. The growing season is very minimal and one has to make other plans for obtaining food. Also something to think about is many ICBM missiles are stationed here and is a huge target if the U.S. was in war with China or Russia.
Wyoming has very friendly people and no state income tax and plenty of opportunity, especially in the natural gas fields of the east. The most heavily armed state there is, don’t call it the cowboy state for nothing. Very limited growing season, and the winters are brutal with sharp wind that makes it feel that much colder. Southeastern part of the state has some of the most advanced missiles there are and a first strike target in World War 3.
Colorado is a place that someone can disappear in the mountains and never be found, but survival there is another story. Living at 10000 feet or so during the summer is easy, during the winter takes a true survivalist. Colorado gets heavy snow and not easy to get around after SHTF.
Utah is one of the most prepared states there is for the end times, but if you are not of the faith there you might have trouble being accepted. Very difficult to grow food there for more than 150 days. Dry and desert like in many places. There are extremely high tectonic regions in the state.
Arizona is a state that has many problems and a high population for the area. If someone was to choose this state the eastern part would probably be the best bet.
New Mexico is probably one of the best places to go to as long as you stay a distance from the Mexico border. New Mexico has many places to hide. A lot more water sources that people realize. A growing season that is much longer than the other northern mountain states. Caves that are actually not too cold and damp that someone could stay in for extended periods of time. The taxes are not too bad. As rated for pollution one of the cleanest areas in the states. No real danger of extreme earthquakes. Like most wilderness areas has many predator animals but not as many as states like Idaho or other deep forest areas. Altitude, but not terrible cold weather. One of the semi free states. People are not as nice as the midwest or other areas but okay to get along with.
If I was to choose any area in the United States I would choose southern to central New Mexico as a good place to attempt to retreat to. Hawaii if I knew that the island was not going to blow up from a volcano and was not going to be attacked by China or someone. If I could stand the cold and have enough stored food I would choose Wyoming or Idaho or even northeastern Nevada. It all depends on the situation someone is trying to survive from.
For world war go to where the weather patterns will drop the least amount of radiation, upwind of targets. Or where the air is constantly raising and spreading out and away which is not the U.S., but about 10 degrees or 700 miles north or south of the equator.
For total breakdown of society get as isolated as possible, there are plenty of areas for this but water and food is the real issue here and being able to stay as warm or cool as possible.
For a plague breakout someone should consider areas as dry and cool as possible for most outbreaks. Mountains are where people were taken for centuries to try to cure or lessen the symptoms of diseases.
There are microclimates of places all over the country and books like the Sunset Western Garden Book will give people a good idea of at least the climate where they would pan to go to in the western areas. Actually climate is one of the most important reasons for people moving to somewhere, California is the example behind this. One thing that many people do also is to actually go somewhere and just know it is the right place to be, this might work for you.
Thanks for turning me email into this post. I have put some more thought and research into this and I am very interested in the Lake Titicaca. The people there know how to survive with a lot less than we have in North America. Food, shelter, water, and climate are doable there. It has altitude, Year round daytime average high temps are T-shirt weather unless it is windy. Night can be probably -10 at worst in winter. If the crap ever hit the fan on a global scale and I had some random chance to get dropped off there I would turn to a life of hard work and simplicity to survive. Assuming a family would put me up of course. Language barriers though…
I just really want to see how the next 20 years plays out on earth.
Someone mentioned the North island of New Zealand and that sounds like something I may check into.
The problem with New Zealand or Australia is that is TSHTF and the U.S. is no longer a world power or willing to use their power China is going to annex Australia and New Zealand along with most of the islands in the South Pacific. So if you really thing a SHTF scenerio is real the smart move would be to leave New Zealand the P.I. or Australia. China is hungry for resources and land and they are building up their military for something big. The exact thing that makes many of us think we need a place to survive bad times is what gives China the hope that they will one day soon be able to act with impunity.
All of those attributes listed are good, cannot argue with the logic. However the same things that attract you will attract everyone else too. Before you move or rush off to other countries consider what you can do right where you are. Most other countries don’t want you and when TSHTF they will want you even less and you will stand out like a sore thumb. Moving to a country or a location you know little about is like selling your old problem car and buying someone else’s old problem car. So don’t be too eager to trade your known problems for unknown problems.
Don’t forget that both the Chinese government and the saudi Arabia government are buying up USA farmland and USA ranchland. There ought to be laws against this-only American citizens can purchase American land. But since they are buying it up, what does tha tell you?
I’ve been reading several survival sites and they tell you to buy land away from the city-like 40 to 50 miles. And to have a garder and raise livestock. But, the way i figure it is when the SHTF, after all the stores are looted and burned down, the zombies will start traveling futher out. Gasoline may be hard to find, but what if they decide to ride motercycles and dirt bikes? They would could number in the 100′s or 1000′s, depending on how close to a major metropoltian area you live near. Everybody writes stuff like “oh I’d shoot anybody taking my garder plants and chickens.”
Well, how long could you stand up to 100′s of zombies or desperate, hungry people looking for food and will fight to get it?
That’s the problem if you have a job and you need to comute to work in the city, 40 or 50 miles away. Some people have moved closer in because of high gasoline prices.
And it’s getting more expensive to purchase land. While homes have dropped in price, land continues to go up. And, many sports figures, movie stars, millionaires all want a place out in the country. This drives up prices too.
Have to find a place way out there.
Just FYI. I think as far as the U.S. anywhere you pick has to meet a totality of criteria. What is it you are trying to avoid. Some scenarios would require being out of certain areas while in other scenarios the area would not matter so much. I think the only categorical statement that can be made is that the metro areas are the only universal place to not be, just based on the crowd dynamics of larger cities. You have to define the threat that you wish to avoid. If tsunamis, then distance and altitude. If U.S. super volcanoes then most of the west, according to historic ash fall maps of Long Valley and Yellowstone, would be off limits. If world wide economic crash or loss of the world wide grid from a massive CME, then everywhere will suffer pretty much equally, just don’t be in a large metro area. Then you have to figure what is most likely to happen. If you are hedging your bets to prepare for what you consider the most likely top 5 or 10, then your choices are less than for any individual event. Then there are events that will facilitate other SHTF events. For instance, a pandemic will probably facilitate a massive economic crisis as well as a potential nuclear war due to significant social and military destabilization from population losses (a “we have to kill them first syndrome”). A U.S. super volcano eruption WILL cause world wide famine, economic collapse and be the potential breeding ground for a pandemic to break out and again be the initiator for nuclear war. I think the absolute worst and seemingly most likely scenario is massive economic collapse. All of the infrastructure is intact, the farmers will still farm and so on, but there will be riots in the streets, ultra-high unemployment, economic starvation and the “golden hordes” will flood the countryside looking to loot all that they can. Like flash mobs on steroids. If you think that super volcanoes are not part of the equation then anything west of the big river and not in socal, AZ and soNM and other desert areas and has a reasonable growing season that is away from metro areas. East of the big river is fine too and has better growing seasons and conditions as long as you’re away from metro areas AND in a low population density area. They do exist, you just have to hunt for the gems. JMHO
Here is an interesting Re-Post,
[moderator edit: full re-posts are not allowed due to copyright infringement risks]
Excerpts or quotes are Okay though
Include the source link too. (I believe this one was from Rawles site, Survival Blog)
Here is the ‘just’ of the post you had intended to share, (and thanks for sharing)