City or Country?

On another site, there is a discussion about whether it is better to be in the city or the country in a SHTF situation, the consensus is it would be better to be in the country, the problem is, for those who live in the city now, how are they going to survive? Of course, many believe that if things got really bad, they would abandon the city and head for the country, well I say that ain't going to work very well, those already in the country aren't going to be very welcoming to the hoards leaving the cities if things go bad. Even those living in the country will not be immune from a major SHTF situation if it causes food and/or fuel shortages, the difference is we aren't all crammed into sardine like housing, apartments and such. Also, those in very rural areas tend to not go to the store as often, so by default, we stock up on supplies and are able to go longer between shopping visits. Not leaving the house for a couple of weeks (or longer) is normal, so in a short term disaster, those living in rural areas will be better off than those living in the cities. One person said that living in the city, she would be good for a short time, then she would head for the country, I suspect that is the thoughts of many city folk, here is my response:

I would say where ever you are, city or country, you need to be prepared for short and long term disasters, have a supply of food and water, it doesn't have to be a lot, most disasters are short term, if you are able to get by for at least ...2 weeks without having to leave your home, then you are far ahead of the masses. Get foods that don't require cooking or heating, canned foods, there are lots of rice and noodle dishes that are pre-made in packages that can be eaten right out of the package. It doesn't cost much to buy up a few extra packages of food like this each week or each payday, shop at dollar stores to get good buys. Canned meats, chicken, turkey, ham, tuna... you can even get these in foil packs so they will not take up too much space.

Buy cheap bottled water and store these, if you can't afford it, then recycle plastic soda bottles, just be sure you clean them well and add a few drops of plain chlorine bleach, honestly if you can afford to buy soda, you can afford to buy cheap bottled water, it doesn't need to be the uber expensive water, look for store brands. These tend to take up more space, you can get creative where you store them, line them up in the back of your closet, under your bed...

As you are doing this, and it would be utterly irresponsible if you choose not to, you can be buying up other things that may be needed if you have to shelter in place, things like first aid-bandages, alcohol, aspirin, ibuprofen, tape... if you can afford it, invest in a good first aid kit.

There are lots more things to do to really be prepared, but if you will just START doing it, starting this payday, you will be much better off than if you didn't do anything. Before anyone says "I can't afford to do any of this...", my response is how can you afford not to, do you really think the government is going to take care of you? Remember the last few natural disasters and what those people went though? Do you want to be in that boat?

Shop at the dollar stores to make your money go even farther, save your money for important things, do you really need to eat out at lunch? Bring your lunch to work and you will save lots of money. Cut down on your frivolous expenditures, do you really need every channel on cable or satellite? How much money can you save by getting a cheaper package, or perhaps cutting it off altogether? I know I'm asking tough things of you, but in a SHTF situation, when you are standing there with your world falling apart, will you be wishing you had watched another soap opera or will you be glad you purchased some food and water to get you though whatever problem you are facing...

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Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!