You might be looking at your nation a little differently lately.
There have always been dangerous neighborhoods and boroughs. Places like Compton, Kensington, and Camden might come to mind when you think of places that have a reputation for crime. Some of these areas have actually improved from when I was child. However, there are lots of places all around this nation that have been dangerous and many that are getting worse.
The move towards lawlessness in many of our biggest cities has been brought on by the current attitude towards police and police funding. As states bandy about the issues and people worry about things like natural disasters and economic decline, many have moved or considered moving.
What are the safest zones in the US?
Safest Cities
There are safe havens all around this nation. There are places that have historically had low crime and great community cohesion. The key in most of these cities and towns is ownership and loyalty. Most often transient places are dangerous, and people are more likely to commit crimes in these places.
Let’s look at some of the safest cities and towns in America:
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Round Rock, Texas
With a population just over 100,000 this smaller town in Texas is a very appealing place for preppers to live. It is also a very safe place with a median income of $70,000.
The low poverty rate in Round Rock has much to do with the safety and security of this Texas town.
Round Rock has been dubbed a “super suburb” as a place just outside of Austin
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Naperville, Illinois
This Chicago suburb is a gem in an area that most people would not expect. The River Walk is an important part of Naperville, but it is hardly the only thing that this suburb offers. A population 144,000 people are a successful and well paid lot. The median household income is over $100,000.
The minimal crime rate, per 100,000 people, has much to do with the low poverty rate which is just over 4%. 77.6 violent crimes per 100,000 people is something to be proud of.
The safety of Naperville could also have to do with the tremendous outdoor opportunities. With over 130 parks and 2 public golf courses, there is nearly a park for every person!
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Port St. Lucie, Florida
If you are going to pick a new safe place to live, why not consider a place where the weather is wonderful! Along the southern coast of Florida Port St. Lucie is a beautiful tropical zone with $169,000 a year median income.
You will have to be prepared for hurricanes. An evacuation plan is needed as the southern coast of Florida is at risk during hurricane season, but we are preppers!
You will not have as much to worry about when it comes to violent crime as there are just 115 violent crimes per 100,000 people. You will love near breweries, botanical gardens, preserves and marinas. Great fishing on the coast, too!
Best Regions to Survive Disasters
Along with safe cities and towns America also features some great regions to setup a life that are far away from some of the biggest threats. Remember, people are only one threat. Mother nature can have a devastating affect on the North American continent and has done so in the past. From massive super volcanoes to devastating earthquakes
What are the safest regions to survive massive cataclysmic disasters?
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The Cascades
Deep enough inland and high enough up to counter things like flooding and tropical cyclones that affect the West Coast. The cascades are loaded with resources for survival like water, food, and wood. They are a beautiful backdrop to deal with the post-apocalyptic world and far enough away from southern California to inherit any of that mess.
The northernmost portions of the Cascades are even located in the American Redoubt, which we will discuss later in this article.
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The Blue Ridge Mountains
Another range of mountains that offer similar benefits as the Cascades. This east coast mountain range covers several states, has plenty of food, water, shelter, and game animals. Covering the land by food would not be easy but the seclusion from the chaos would be well worth it.
Because of elevation and distance from the coast there are almost no threats of flood, tsunami, or hurricane in this region. There is little seismic activity in the area.
West of some particularly important and sizeable cities, the Blue Ridge mountains could become a safe haven for millions of people in the very worst case scenario. That is the only weakness of this location.
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Appalachia
Further west still, on the other side of the blue ridge mountains in the region of Appalachia which runs from New York to Mississippi. This is another great region to consider because of its sparse population compared to the coasts. Its quick access to the Blue Ridge Mountains and safety from most major disasters.
Prepper Strongholds
Are you looking for even more benefits? Maybe you want the people and the safe places. There is nothing wrong with that. Around the nation there are several places that have not only been deemed safe and pleasant but are also filled with preppers!
Yup! The self-reliant and independent have taken up refuge in a few spots across the nation. They are often looking for more friends like them to build their prepper community. These areas are not just filled with preppers but are in rural areas where other people are as self sufficient as the prepper community.
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Redoubt
In 2011 James Wesley Rawles proposed Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming as the American Redoubt. The Redoubt also encompasses the eastern parts of Washington and Oregon. It is unclear how many people have moved to the American Redoubt with the intent of stockpiling, prepping, or homesteading for the long haul.
However, there is a small community of voices from Rawles, to John Jacob Schmitt, to the American Christian Network, that will align with much of what you believe. It has been estimated that thousands of people have moved to these areas as a safe haven from the growing turmoil of our world.
Because of its low population density and impressive access to resources, as well as low threat profile, as long as you can stay warm in the winter, the Redoubt has some tremendous benefits. You will also have plenty of wide open space so if you don’t align with everything Rawles proposed you can do your own thing and be just fine!
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Ozarks
The Ozarks are more of a plateau than a mountain range with some of its tallest peaks between 1-2000 feet tall. Because of its location in the nation and its elevation, it has a tremendous amount of benefits to the average prepper looking for a safe zone.
The Ozarks are not affected by things like floods because of the elevation, it has this elevation without snow because it is in the south. It does not face any kind of earthquake threat, hurricane, or forest fire. There is a long growing season that features lots of rain.
Pastor Joe Fox of Viking Preparedness has been expanding his Shofar mountain and influencing preppers for many years to make their way to the Ozarks. COOHMP or Come Out of Her, My People as taken from the book of Revelation. A growing prepper stronghold has taken root in the Ozarks making it a wonderful place to move and a very safe region.
Also, those who are not preppers in the Ozarks are looking to do their own things and basically be left alone. So, it is a sentiment we can all understand!
Related: Urbanites Moving To Rural Paradise Ruining It For The Locals
We live in a MASSIVE nation full of all kinds of opportunity. There are areas that are incredibly dangerous, but the reality is we have a lot of wide open spaces that can be whatever you want them to be!
Did you know there are even some places that will give you free land or pay you to live there! If you aren’t tethered to a location than you can take advantage of the areas, we mentioned. However, you should arrive there and become a part of the community. This is particularly important. You can never know the full potential of any area unless you integrate and become a member of the community.
Go forth and choose your destiny!
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While I agree that Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming are mostly red, there are strongholds of blue in those areas. Boise and Cour de laine went for Billary in 2016 as did Spokane, Washington and the adjacent city to Spokane which I can’t remember right now. I actually was shocked to see that Cour de laine went for Billary. That used to be where all the LAPD cops retired to. They must have really undergone a life transformation.
It really pays to do in-depth investigation of your prospective area before you leap. I was really interested in Flagstaff, AZ as an area to relocate to. It has water and while it is hot in the summer, and cold in the winter, generally the weather the times I visited it were mild. As prep for making the move I subscribed to the Flagstaff newspaper.
That really opened my eyes. The student body and faculty of the U. of Az. outnumber the real residents of Flagstaff and they vote left almost 100%. Flagstaff passed the $15 minimum wage before the rest of the state. That may seem like a small thing if you are a quarter of a million dollar a year professor at UofA but it caused several charity organizations to close their doors in Flagstaff. Reading the newspaper revealed to me that Flagstaff was more leftist that the town I live in which is in the much disdained Peepuls Dimokratik Republik of Kallyforniya.
Sure enough, Flagstaff went for Billary in 2016 and I am confident they liked Ole’ Two-Shot Joe in 2020 too.
Why would I want to exchange a paid for house with property tax protection in a semi-leftist town with fantastic weather for a an unknown house in a more leftist town with worse weather? It turns out Flagstaff also has the most snowfall of cities its size in the U.S. While I like snow, I prefer to go to my snow rather than have it delivered to my front doorstep.
I grew up in southeastern PA during the war years where snow came quite regularly to one’s front doorstep during the winter months.I often have gone out on a frosty morning to find that the car battery had gone south for the winter. Fortunately we lived on a slight hill, so I gained considerable experience in rolling starts in the early morning made more difficult with three or more inches of fresh snow on the roadway.
I guess knowing the political lean of a place is important before you commit to setting up house.
Southwestern Pa, West virginia….. come home, we haven’t been overrun yet.
We left Wyoming 8 years ago for northeast Missouri. Crook County (Sundance is the county seat) Wyoming was always kind of laid back, everyone who lived out in the county did pretty much what they wanted to.
Then one day, it seemed, we began to find there were new rules for our rural living, notably, no more outhouses unless they were approved by the county. What they required for an outhouse was the same as what the Forest Service wanted in theirs. Concrete lined vault, adequate ventilation per THEIR requirements, screens and other things to prevent flies, annual pump outs by approved contractors, etc., etc., ad nauseum. Many of us westerners always feared the day when out of staters would move in and make more laws to protect us all from ourselves. I could say more, but, enough said for now…………………….Nemo
Nemo – Those out of staters you fear will impinge on your life style will be oh so much more diverse and colorful should biden prevail and win this election. 900,000 Middle eastern refugees he plans on importing to the good old US of A will have to be placed somewhere else now that the cities are all full up. Small town downtowns will look like the bar scene from the first Star Wars.
Oh City Chick, That is so politically incorrect, it does my heart good just to read it. ; )
And WHEN they come a knockin’ let your Bullets DO the “Talkin’ ” Loud and Clear !!!
Parking on a hill so you can get a good roll and pop the clutch, who knows how to do that anymore? They’re gonna miss us when we’re gone.
I haven’t done a push start in 30 years. Most cars and trucks, even with manual trannys are fuel injected with electric fuel pumps and don’t really take well to the rolling start.
I had an old mustang. What a POS that car was, but I was able to disassemble it and reassemble it even without the Chiltons. I called it the HMS Piece of S***. Good thing I lived on a slight hill at the time! I could get it rolling forward and pop it into fourth before I got down the driveway. Started every time.
It’s been a long time since i had to push a car to get it started like that. One time, they actually let me sit in the driver’s seat, since i was the lightest of all of us.
LCC: Yeah, Flagstaff loves her snow. They average 97 inches a year. With that, better keep the snow mobile in the attic. Cousins in Maine do that. Flagstaff, homes are 53% higher than the rest of Arizona.
I miss those trucks with a clutch. Before I was in kindergarten I was driving the tractor and in our area, very rural, it wasn’t uncommon to see little kids driving a truck up the road or down to a store on the crossroads. There were plenty of times I had to pick up cigarettes for the folks or a 6 of beer, no questions asked.
niio
Yes, even though you were supposed to be 16 to buy cigs in PA, everybody sent their kids to the store to pick up a pack. The druggist never asked a question either. It was more likely the teenagers were sneaking smokes than the eight year old.
I learned to drive on an old one ton Studebaker with a dual gear box. You had to be really good with the clutch and the gas pedal to start up in low/low without jerking like crazy and stalling the truck. Interesting, predictive doesn’t even recognize Studebaker as a word any more. It’s redlined, indicating possible non word. How fleeting glory.
There used to be an exemption for farm kids to operate trucks and farm equipment on rural roads. Couldn’t drive on expressways or busy (by yesterday’s standards now would be considered light traffic) city streets. Don’t know if it still exists as anywhere in SoCal certainly can’t be considered rural and besides don’t even have grandkids under 18 any more.
I might be wrong but I believe you mean Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff and not UofA which is in Tucson.
Otherwise, I agree with you. I thought to retire in Prescott Valley but after the 2020 election, I won’t be going to Arizona.
Sorry Mick. I know you are right. I should know better. Put it down to disappointment. Flagstaff was supposed to have more gun stores per one thousand of population than any other town in the U.S. I thought that would be my kind of town. Might even be employment for a cranky old shootist. That obviously was an old Chanber of Commerce press release that hadn’t been updated in 30 years.
Prescott Valley is where I think Ruger located their plant when they fled the East Coast. Don’t know how that influenced the politics in that town.
I am an Arizona resident. If you’re looking to prep, check out areas up around the Eager or Alpine. Places like that are heavily forested, tons of hunting, fishing,.. To really get lost, check out the Escudilla Mountain Range..
L.A.: Any place that butts up to a national forest/park should be good. I-10 area from Phoenix to Tucson is now about one major city. Get too high in elevation and freeze all winter, burn all summer. I love the mountains and always have, but settled in San Pedro Valley. This is cattle country, so when SHTF good hunting will happen. No fishing, of course, unless you eat sand trout LOL. But, yucca, mesquite, nopale, and a lot more live here. niio
I’m a mile from the San Pedro River heading to Tombstone. Love it here, even if Douche messed with the elections.
Very affordable place to relocate to, lots of mountain ranges to run to if you want, but out in the valley you can see and hear what’s coming. Though desert, there is plenty of water and in my area the ph is 7.5! Gardening is probably the hardest here in the sand/clay, better on West side of Huachuca’s.
Most of the shopping and restaurants you’d want are here, except Costco. The very best part of living here is how easy it is to make friends. Everyone is from somewhere. Friendliest place I’ve ever lived. Idaho may be a refuge but I made more friends here in the 30 days in escrow than I did in 7 years up there.
The elevation around here is over 4,000’, cooler than Tucson and Phoenix by a long shot, the hottest month being June just before the cooling Monsoons come, July-Sept. Those are incredible and the best part of summer! If you follow Martin Armstrong any, his models are predicting cooling weather worldwide into 2030, a Grand Solar Minimum. South is good.
Some people are afraid of being so close to the border. I have found there are so many border patrol and a very heavy sheriff’s dept staff with a constitutional sheriff, that I have never seen a border brother. I’m from Fresno CA and retired from social services so believe me, I know what I’m looking for, and I just have not seen that down here. Cochise County boasts more college degreed residents than any other county in the state and is host to Army Intelligence Post Fort Huachuca, with lots of military retirees. So if you’re looking for a place, consider southern Arizona!
xile: Dusey was all right till something twisted him. Watch people who are approving screwing us. Most look worried. Zuckerburg looked frightened.
We’re about 3,700 feet in elevation. Just had a hard frost last night, but while the tomatoes took a hit, the chilis and sweet potatoes are good. It’s good to live in Indian country, no? 🙂 niio
I’m also an Arizona resident. We live in the East Valley in a very nice suburb (not Scottsdale). It was my first choice because I prefer low crime coupled with the ability to walk to all the services I need. I don’t rely on my car and have a shopping cart.
However, we have a bugout that is one hour and fifteen minutes away (all highway). It is a completely conservative small town where guns are most welcome. The first day we owned this house, my husband ended up in the little local hospital. Absolutely no complaints, and he was treated well. After two full days there, I could see his issues were pretty complex. I checked him out, and drove less than an hour to Mayo. He was there six weeks. Care continued on an outpatient basis, and it’s been almost a year. Complete recovery and excellent amputation that preserved the appearance of his foot (bones removed, but not the digits).
My point is that we considered availability of quality medical care when making our decision. I think even very healthy people should.
BTW, I will never leave Arizona! It’s been over ten years now and I love it. Native Chicagoan and 25 year resident of Naperville, IL.
Think I mentioned once before we lived in Flagstaff a long time ago before it got taken over by the libs. Clean, clean air and wonderful weather. The snow was a dry snow so what I remember is crunching down the sidewalk on Sundays to pick up a newspaper and having our bulldog disappear in a drift. Summers were glorious and the fishing was decent, too. Even so, a hard town to feel at home in. Everyone was Indian, Mormon or university- all groups that are pretty tribal so after a year left for the east coast where family was. Have fond memories of walking up the hill at the end of our street to Lowell Observatory and tobogganing Dow it in the winter. It WAS a nice town.
I worked in LA with a woman whose husband in about ’79 became chief of police in Couer d Alene. I wonder if he used LA as a recruiting center and started that trend.
If I were moving it would be Idaho. I’ve had family living there for over a century. We visited often in different small towns across the state.
Were I live its rulled by the left congregated in the two best known cities. Much of the rural state is red. We have 4 definite seasons where I’m at. I’m less and less enamored with snow. It’s pretty in pictures but a pain in my yard when I have critters to get out and feed. I’m about 15 miles from a small town in one of hundreds of tiny unincorporated communities. Good neighbors, 3 acres to spread out on and use, with ok taxes. I don’t owe a cent on it. So I’m where I’ll hope to finish out my days. We have a family plot so i plan to be planted by family here.
I agree to most of what you said but…… now that we have 2020 vision, it may be possible that these areas were some of the targeted cheating locations from 2016.. We know there was cheating in 2016 (killery didnt expect to lose) and massive cheating in 2020… join your local politics (become a committeman) and see how quickly these supposed blue areas turn RED!!!
The University in Flagstaff is NAU (Northern Arizona Univesity) not the University of Arizona.
Montana is going leftist!!! The only part that is NOT is Eastern Montana!!! I used to live in Missoula years back and moved because of the College morons that inundated the place!!!! Property taxes are sky high and you have to have permits up the wazoo and the state won’t let you put in any sort of pond without their say-so!!!! i live in South Dakota now but even here we have illegals in the Leftist college towns and Eastern South Dakota is pure socialist!!! My preference is Texas BUT the land prices are ridiculous and non-Texians have taken over!!!!
This article is interesting but could do with a bit more editing attention.
Nice article, but going forward I would like to see a bit more in depth profiles of prepper friendly locations.
Also, climate, be it political or weather wise, is good to know about, but what about access to medical facilities, employment, cost of living, etc? These are all important things to consider if you want to relocate. Maybe a future series of articles can examine these more closely. Interviews with residents of these areas would be a nice adjunct.
Miss Kitty, yes, it would be nice if the author would do a much more in-depth study of places mentioned, but how much information should be included? What is the best elementary/middle school/high school? How may students per teacher? Best restaurant? Local traffic studies so you will know what to expect in case you have to bug out?
I applaud any writer that contributes valid content to this site, no matter how lacking in information it may be. I can look at this list and know pretty readily whether I (emphasis I) need to do some research on an area I may be interested in. I should spend MY money and time researching what I want to know in regards to a particular area.
“Google is your friend” is a common saying in the tech world. It may lead you to city/county/state websites that will give you a wealth of information. Go to the Chamber of Commerce site. Take a trip to an area that piques your interest and see first hand whether it has some of the qualities you desire.
While valid, your question/request would cost the author a small fortune in time and money, and I am afraid he would still fall short of your or someone else’s expectations.
I don’t mean to sound critical, but our world has become too full of people wanting others to do all the work. I hope others can follow this post with some answers to your question. I personally question some of the locations that have made this list, which just proves to me that we all have our own interpretation of “safest zones”
Good points, though this site could collectively provide the answers that would cost the author too much on their own; there are people here that live in the “possible “ zones that could contribute a little more each time, just as we’re doing now.
Heck I’ve learned to stay away from certain areas of Texas, learned more about the Ozarks and the climate there, good stuff, only got a warning about Idaho, which I’m not sure if that’s southern Idaho or includes up into the panhandle.
I’m here in the southern cascades area and I don’t mind answering questions or contributing, we are after all, stronger when we network.
V Dub, so how far do you have to go into the Cascades to escape? We drove straight from north Puget Sound area to the Cascades, took our fishing rods because our son had gone hunting there and said it was nice. It was summer so the vacationers were out and although we thought we were getting well into it, we never seemed to escape the crowds. Every bit of land was either rustic resorts with cabins for rent or government property, dams or parks. The lake we found had a good-sized resort taking up one whole side of it.
how far do you want to escape to? for how long, or are you looking to make a life style change? I can put you where ever you want to further research with just a couple of questions answered.
While your arguments are all true and have merit, the article is still in need, in my opinion, of fleshing out. “The redoubt”, “the Cascades”…. listing various locations with natural resources and few people as criteria is all well and good, but there is a need to provide a bit more information if you are writing an article about why people should consider relocation to another state.
I have a right, as a reader, to voice my opinion about what I would like to see in an article. Moving is a huge hassle for most anybody; I agree with you that you need to do your own research. This isn’t an issue of “Best Places”… it’s a prepper site. Nevertheless, my feeling is still that the article would benefit from being expanded a bit to include a bit more detail.
Miz Kitty: You’re on the money. But, one thing, that’s why you’re here, to help flesh out this article. How many times have we read post to you, that’s right! why didn’t I think of that! and so on. keep up the good work! niio
Miz Kitty: How are you today? Yes, exactly! PiT is on the money, and I wrote about living in the border states. 4 years ago there were warnings up about travelling within 100 miles of the border. Things might have calmed a lot, but people in that 100 mile zone know it can change and change fast.
There’s a cool site up on fb, _I believe in MAGA_.
Yo, I got booted of youtube, again. Yes, I can access it but not post ’cause I tell the truth. Liberals are Nazis. Then prove it LOL! Hope today is a good one for you! niio
Red – Getting booted off one of these leftist socialist controlled sites for telling it like it is is a badge of honor for the First Amendment! Complain loudly to the powers that be!
CC: Yep, and this isn’t the first place or the first time with yt. I complained and told them I didn’t expect reality from them, too many nazis there. And that you tube is a convenience, like a urinal. If none are there, any tree will do. niio
I don’t “do” social media. Too much being monitored, too little balance, too much being flagged by some teenaged self-proclaimed “activists” who take it upon themselves to complain about your content and get you deplatformed. We’re dealing with enough of a police state without giving them additional information.
Miz kitty: We do what we can while we can. The next time he votes, he’s going to wonder if I was right. Many do, but they had the wool pulled over their eyes for so long, they march lockstep to the final solution. To debate is the only way to open eyes. niio
Too true, Miss Kitty. We passed on Mesquite, AZ because at the time we were looking the nearest hospital was in St. George, Utah. The realtor couldn’t tell me whether a doctor licensed to practice in Nevada could practice in Utah or if all the doctors in Mesquite were also licensed to practice in Utah as a matter of convenience to their patients. She didn’t know. The concept had never occurred to her.
A friend of mine who bought in a semi-small town on the left coast had to buy an expensive helicopter ride when he had a cardiac problem that the local Doc-In-The-Box couldn’t address and advised that waiting for an ambulance to make a round trip call of 80 miles each way was not medically advisable.
Another friend of mine had his wife suffer a stroke on Highway 395 someplace between Mojave and Lone Pine. He managed to find an emergency medical facility in Lone Pine but when he pulled into the parking lot there were several CHP vehicles and an ambulance all sitting in the parking lot. He rushed into the facility and found the CHP officers standing around drinking coffee and the two techs on duty in the med facility covered in blood working on a body on the gurney. There had been a horrific traffic collision and the guy on the gurney was past whatever the two medics were doing. After they declared him dead and were able to turn to my friend’s wife, the advised him that they didn’t have the facilities to really treat a stroke but there was a medevac plane that would make the trip to Lone Pine from Long Beach. That’s what he had to do is arrange for a medevac flight for his wife to get her to a facility that could more adequately treat her.
Moral of those tales is if you are a middle aged or senior , it really behooves you to check out the medical facilities available before you make the move to Lone Pine or Mesquite or any other smaller isolated town. The population of Lone Pine is about 2,000 folks. So even though it is the county seat of Inyo County, it is a sparsely populated area, especially for CA.
Despite that, I would consider moving there except that it is in the PDRK and I don’t care how red the town is, it is lost in a sea of blue.
I guess I prefer my own research. I know what’s important to me and know nothing will be missed or glossed-over. I’ll be leaving a northern Communist state this spring for another northern state that is very conservative and checks all my boxes.
Farmer: ? Mechanics are fine. It was concise as it could be and no overwriting. All in all, the editor did a pretty good job. niio
The Cascades are in Western Oregon and Washington. The Redoubt extends into eastern Oregon and Washington. Is the author mixing up the Cascades with the Wallowas? I live in the Cascades foothills. Portland and Seattle both are just west of the Cascades. Neither wins any prizes for safety currently.
As a child I lived in Seattle then near Walla Walla. I far preferred the Wallowas. Southeastern Washington state or Idaho would have been my choice.
I’m in the northwestern quarter of New Mexico. Nearest town has a pretty good medical facility. Schools and medical care are better than when I moved here over 40 yearsago. Still it’s high mountain desert. We’re about an hour by car from Albuquerque. UNM is there with a trama center and medical school. Specialists are there but some do hold once a week clinics in my nearest little town. There are good Drs and surgeons here close by. There are areas with good wells and areas with dry holes. That is what is to be checked for sure. I have 2 good wells, hit an underground river with both. 65 ft drilled. Currently in drought but just 38 ft down to water. 38° from the well so it stays clean of bacteria. I used to do monthly water testing because I had a school here. Always good quality water.
I like the relative quiet here. All animals seems to be OK. No city ruIes here, just county and state regulations. Small sheds don’t require a building permit. Portable sheds are fine and untaxed. To convert a shed to living quarters you must have 8′ side walls. That you’d have to watch for as many of the cute sheds don’t have 8′ side walls. You can build yourown if you pass inspections and do your house wiring if it passes inspection. If you understand construction the inspections aren’t usually a problem. Neighbors have cows and horses. Two families raised rodio stock or years. I just have ducks, chickens and rabbits.
Each year I try to add something more. Usually fruit trees, bushes, or vines. I missed a few year when I was away working. This year I’m more that making up for those years in New permanent edibles. Adding to raspberries, all new blackberries, 3 new grapes, 3 cherry trees, 3 pear trees, 1 Quince, and more.
Dad asked us to plant a white peach where he’s burried. I may yet get that done. Mom loved roses so pink and yellow wild roses are going to her resting place. My best friend, female, asked for blackberries, best friend, male is getting roses and other flowers. That can be done in a private family plot. Burial is allowed without embalming or even a casket if you wish, as long as you get a death certificate before the funeral and aim at under 24 hours.
Lots of things to be considered before relocating. What’s important to you?
Just curious, when this information compiled? I’m researching for a new location.
I lived in Naperville, IL for 25 years (grew up on the tough west side of Chicago). Yes, it’s a lovely and thriving town. However, it is adjacent to two suburbs with high crime! Namely, Aurora and Bolingbrook. Both are big and full of poverty stricken people. The Naperville police do a good job at keeping crime at bay. In a grid down scenario, the lawless know exactly where to head!
Appreciate the information, Mr. Walton. Would appreciate it more if you included some info on how to find the way to get land for free or get paid to live there. Do you have the links to find that info? Thanks for the article!!
I Googled that about six months ago. There is less free land than there used to be. Most of it is more like lots in sparsely-populated towns in Nebraska, for example. There are usually some requirements like having to build a house within a certain length of time, must actually live there, etc. the info is freely available and easy to pull up. There towns often have all the basic amenities and are not so very far from Omaha which also has an international airport. The problem is people have left as they don’t have much in the way of employment opportunities. One concern is reselling that house if you later want or need to move. If you check Zillow there will be quite a few perfectly good houses that have been on the market for months. If a town is dying, is there depression in the air there? another issue is what if I can’t get into the Cor nhuskers? It’s a religion there. Have thought of checking out Beatrice, Nebraska, one of those towns. Nebraska, too, has the good sense to have a unicameral legislature, fewer feeding at the government trough.
It needs to be more indepth so a real picture can be formed, but as they say live their a little before moving.
I wish the map at the beginning of the story were a bit more indicative of the contents. Or at the very least describe the meaning of the red circles.
I think there are many places in the country where folks are self-sufficient. They don’t really talk about but just get on with things.
One thing i would suggest for people wanting to change locations for seemingly greener pastures is to read that new place’s ordinances before you plunk down money for real estate. You may find your dream design isn’t allowed or that a lack of zoning can mean you could be side-by-side to a business or operation in which you want no part (but get the dust, noise, etc from them).
Yes, why is there a red circle around the Texas Panhandle??
Yes. And one around the NY Tri-State area too!
I was curious about the red circle in deep west texas, big bend area – why is that not mentioned in the article?
Obviously, Those big dots were randomly placed on the map. I know my area and they had nothing in common.
Mbl – They say that the three most important words in real estate are location, location, location. That being said, the best locations are chosen and populated first. After that, zoning changes and real estate tax increases are what turns the country side into the suburbs and the suburbs into a city.
I sure wouldn’t move to the Cascades. That’s a volcano hot spot. “ Because the population of the Pacific Northwest is rapidly expanding, the volcanoes of the Cascade Range in Washington, Oregon, and northern California are some of the most dangerous in the United States.”
“Because the population of the Pacific Northwest is rapidly expanding, the volcanoes of the Cascade Range in Washington, Oregon, and northern California are some of the most dangerous in the United States”.I wouldn’t move to the Cascades.
I live in the aforementioned cascades and I did so, betting on the threat of mans inhumanity to man as a far greater likelihood than a volcano going off; Statically its a pretty safe bet
It’s not just a volcano, though that’s bad enough, but the plates have shifted under the ocean off the coast where Astoria is. Here’s the link for you…
https://amg-news.com/major-earthquake-warningus…
There are fault lines all over the US…a big one is the New Madrid fault. The last big quake of that one made the Mississippi River run backwards for a while. There’s another fault line running under Boston, Ma. The last big quake there was way back in the eighteenth century, but it was estimated to be a 6.8 based on contemporary accounts of the damage and the distance it was felt.
Learn more about the regions in this country were geological changes have taken place in the past and and have been recorded.
Here is some for a start:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1811%E2%80%931812_New_Madrid_earthquakes
https://www.usgs.gov/center-news/60-years-1959-m73-hebgen-lake-earthquake-its-history-and-effects-yellowstone-region
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM4HLSGD1J0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens
https://geology.com/usgs/rainier/
https://www.wired.com/2008/10/five-us-earthqu/
In 1979/80 I was working in Sicily when Etna erupted followed by the eruption of Stromboli on the small island north of Sicily. I was part of a rescue team evacuating people from tiny villages to close to Etna ‘ cause the lava coming down had changed its flow. The sky was filled with hot ashes settling down on every thing over the island. The next day everybody was busy cleaning up including roasted insects and birds that laid everywhere. Survived a Tornedo in Alabama in 1983 Been through the big quakes in S.F. 1989, L.A.1992, Nevada 1993, the swarm quakes in Montana, Idaho and Washington States, the ice storm in Spokane 1996. Taught me to always be conscious about unexpected natural events and to be prepared foe any emergency situation.
HELL V Force, sounds like the only thing left that could scare you is the DMV….LOL!!
those plates are in a constant state of movment, it wasn’t too long ago, geologically speaking, that Idaho was the west coast….again, I’ll throw the dice that mother nature is slower to blow than human society…
You made the right choice…flagstaff is wicked cold in the winter. My late husband grew up in Chicago, and he lived in flag briefly and said he couldn’t handle the cold.
I mowed hayfields in the Round Rock,TX, area when I was 18. Little bitty redneck Texas town back then, it is all gone now, from San Marcos to Austin to Georgetown it is endless middle and upper middle class suburbs and strip malls, mediocre restaurants, office complexes, giant Corporate headquarters like Dell right in the middle of it all in Round Rock. There are no poor people for miles, and the traffic is so bad they can’t drive to Round Rock to steal your crap anyway. This is the Blue heart of Texas and I can’t imagine a Prepper wanting to be within 200 miles of the place. Ozarks, though, great place, I’ve been camping in the Ozark and Ouchita Mts for close to 30 years. Getting some development and higher prices there lately. Knew several Hippies who moved up there in the 70’s to grow Marijuana, back then you could buy off grid arable land with a year round creek for 100 bucks an acre. It doesn’t snow much there but it is a long cold winter, and a long hot summer, and outside of the bottoms the hickory-oak-pine forest doesn’t support much game, good mast in the fall but poor browse the rest of the year outside of burned areas, yup, they have fires there.
Stay OUT of Idaho. It’s very dangerous here and you need to constantly keep an eye over your shoulder.
Why’s that Chuckster?
Is that all of Idaho? Or just over around the Boise twin falls areas?
Or are you just fed up with the kalipornians flooding in?
Sounds like a plan to keep Kallifornicators out of Idaho. Don’t blame Chuckster. They seem to screw up every state they infest.
Yeah. I was just being a butthead. Not just Commiefornians…lots of Oregonians and Washingtonians. COVID has launched the ‘I can work from anywhere…getting the hell outta here’ movement. Problem for low-wage Idaho is people moving here in DROVES overnight with CASH keeping native Idahoans priced outta the already-tight housing market. Idahoans really getting angry and vocal and mean towards the influx. I have seen California license plated cars cut off, flipped off, honked at with 15 second loud horns and such. Not nice to do but I can understand the frustration.
That’s funny. At one time Oregonidiots had bumper stickers saying, “Welcome to Oregon. Now go back home/”
That was when they were being flooded with what I called equity fugitives. Folks who had sold their homes in the PDRK for outrageously more than they paid for it and fled to Oregon where housing was incredibly cheap compared to what housing was going for in the PDRK. This had the effect of driving housing prices beyond what Oregonidiots could afford and they were mightily put out hence that bumper sticker which was among the mildest.
Now they are doing the same thing to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
LCC: and to Arizona. My bumper has Trump and Pence on it and I get a lot of good from other drivers. It also has Don’t California my Arizona and I love my gun dealer 🙂 Most Kali-weird move to or near a city. The rest, the conservatives, come to place like my town. niio
Would be helpful if the author would give a bit more info on each location that is offered here for serious consideration. A summarized checklist of things to order in importance and a to do list would be helpful to do one’s own due diligence. For at least the last 15 years we have thought it might be time to move, and have wondered where best to move to. After much ado, we always realized that for better or worse, this is still a pretty good place to be. So many folks who have moved away, always try to come back but find they do not have the purchasing power to settle back in. Lesson learned – Better to try it out first rather than be all in!
In my printing business I maintained membership lists for organizations that had too many members to keep the list manually but didn’t have anyone who wanted to buy a membership program for their computer. I also mailed out the membership bulletins and handled other associated quasi-printing work.
One of my clients was the county retired employees association. It was interesting. While membership was not mandatory, the association handled the paperwork to get your retirement started and also handled any problems that you might have with your retirement, so membership was almost 100%. Dues which could be deducted from your retirement were very nominal, less than $5.00 a month.
We would pick up a new member after retirement. Within a year, many of the retirees would move to another area or another state. For the out-of-staters, in some period of time they would be back in CA, only now instead of living in a single family home in suburban CA they were living in an apartment in an urban area in SoCal.
I never knew whether apartment living was desired for reduced maintenance or because they now couldn’t afford to buy a single family home in this overpriced burg. And also don’t know the reason they moved back, but I suspect that they just didn’t fit in and hadn’t really done an in-depth investigation before moving to a new and completely different area.
It was that experience the convinced me that an in-depth study of an area was necessary before making a move.
As I have indicated earlier in this topic, subscribing to the local newspaper is the first step, even if it is a weekly or sporadic. If they don’t have mail subscriptions, see if you can arrange a special arrangement with the subscription department. Six months should be sufficient time to form an opinion on a town I think. Shorter, you don’t get a feel for the flow of the town.
That should be followed by a fairly lengthy stay in the town, exploring all the neighborhoods and looking at all the real estate for sale, even if it is just a drive-by look at the property. With Google now you can get a pretty good look at the property from the outside and often times if it is a listed property, a look at the inside too. See if the local realty board has a website with recent sales and follow that. That will give you a good idea of what houses are going for. I would do the sales review first before driving around, that way you can eyeball the recent sale and get an idea why it went for so much more than its neighbor.
Due to the fire, some people who were burned out didn’t want to deal with the city and all its nit-picky regulations on rebuilding so they sold the bare lot. When that first started happening, I saw sales that were far below what houses in that neighborhood usually went for. Google revealed that those were bare lot sales. To give you an idea how overpriced things are in this town, bare lots are going for $300,000+. It’s not a deal because you are limited to the footprint of the original house and are limited as to how many stories you can add on. In addition, you have to meet all the current building standards for the city, some of which are imposed by our masters in Schizomento.
So if you saw a lot for sale in this town, it is important as someone else said to know what are the ordinances and codes for housing. How rigorously are they enforced? Someone buying in this burg, thinking they were getting a deal would be rudely awakened once they started dealing with the building nazis. The new buyer with dreams of a McMansion high in the hills above the town would find out he was limited to an 1800 square foot, single story rather modest home as all of that particular tract was built 50+ years ago before the age of McMansions.
Before you leap into the fire, investigate, investigate, investigate.
LCC- Excellent advice! I would also recommend trying it out for size for a few months if you can. Visit. Vacation there. Maybe take a short term rental or a Airbnb. See how well it feels.
RURAL. Watch the signs in the neighborhood, wave to your community while you drive by, belong to a strong church, help others. When the needs arise people who have already bonded together will circle the wagons and have each other’s six. Not every place is going to be and not every place is going to be bad. Self-sufficiency, common sense & cooperation are the keys to survival. That’s why are government is falling apart.
Do NOT agree about the border zones. Border jumpers on both sides make raids. Thanks to the PRI, Mexico is teetering on the verge of collapse. The Wall is great for stopping slavers and drug runners, but it’s not going to stop tanks or people eager to reenact the Alamo all across the border states. Kids in Mexico are taught that the US stole our Southwest from Mexico. In the Clinton era, where did most drug lords and their private armies live? Just across the border. In case anyone is wondering, most people just over the border want the Wall if only to stop slave raids on their children.
niio
Red: While the U.S. “purchased” the territory acquired from Mexico, that would not hold up in court as a fair market sale which is a willing seller, not having to sell and a willing buyer not having to buy and the agreed upon price is considered a fair market sale. A sale at the muzzle of a gun falls a little short of that definition.
While I don’t agree with much of what Mexico has done or presently does with regard to its government and people, in the case you cited, I think they have a point.
The only difference is for the folks of latino descent in those states who long to be back in the loving arms of Mexico, think about it a minute. Sure it looks great right now but how long would it remain so once back in the stinking hole that Mexico is today?
I recently read an article that some towns in Old Mexico want to arm themselves so that they can defend against the narcos but the government is afraid to let them arm themselves. They haven’t defended the towns so far and are making no serious move to do so presently but keep insisting that only the government should provide protections against the narcos. Yeah, sure. Next the goobermint will be asking them to invest in the bridge between Cabo San Lucas and the mainland.
LCC: Oh, I think they were willing enough that we didn’t take the northern states, as well. And those states would have been happy enough to be free of that euro pimple Santa Ana. Mexico had nothing but trouble in the lands we took. They stole it to begin with, and that wouldn’t hold up well in court, either. All and I do mean ALL American Indians from what is today Northern Mexico to Nevada and Colorado sided with us to get Mexico out of their turf. Gold them was selling for 22 bucks an ounce, and the peso was valued at $1.86 USD. The only major product being produced then was scalps. 100 pesos for a man’s, 50 for a woman and 10 for an infant, and thousands of scalps found their way into the presidios. Two Germans showed up in the Precidio de Hermasillo with 2,000 scalps at one time. Most were probably Mexican, but Mexico City demanded the commander pay them. Look up Lozan sometime and see why she is said to have kiled upwards of 350 men.
No Mexican American wants to see us back in Mexico. Perhaps in Kali, where kids are brainwashed into thinking boy means girl and vice (no pun intended, maybe 🙂 a versa. Trump carried states with a high percentage of the manos. That’s why Arizona is doing a recount, the manos demanded it. Most of us have family in Mexico. We know what’s going on.
The people are arming. That’s why they joke about getting Holder back in. holder sold how many thousands of M16s to narcos, and people are helping themselves after the narcos had back accidents. More than one town in the north has barricades up or enough stuff ready to make one. When the army shows up, little old ladies are right there threatening them. No man with machismo is going to hurt someone’s granny. Last time that happened was in the early 80s. They didn’t find enough of the cop to feed a sparrow, and the rest of the precinct barricaded themselves into the station to keep from joining him. And that was only old women armed with canes, hairbrushes, and machetes. Every war begins with an angry woman and in Mexico, the women are very angry. Go south. The Maya are still shooting troops in their turf and now in the cities, as well. That war started when the Aztec were barely more than schoolboys. So far, the Maya have kept their lands.
Cabo? Best of luck because it was started, then dropped. Baja is moving enough that in the trench there’s active lava lows. niio
If anyone does face book, there’s a site called _I Believe In MAGA_ you might like.
Has anyone figured out how to opt out of some conversations on askaprepper.com? I get a ‘404’ error when using the unsubscribe link in the email. Reported this to Claude several months ago but still seems to be an issue.
This is happening to me too.
yeah . . . don’t come to the blue ridge mountains. i live here and it’s just terrible. we have deer on crack and meth addicted skunks, banjo players behind every tree, a grandma moonshine epidemic and horrible weathermen. it’s a scientific fact that the likelyhood of tooth decay increases when outsiders move to this region, and if you hate irritable bowels, or chronic constipation, then this surely isn’t the place for you. yeah, the blueridge mountain region is tough going. i wouldn’t recommend moving here, unless you’re a pure sadist. stay away. bad mountains. bad.
Bill: You forgot to add Gramma is armed and deadly 🙂 niio
lol i was making a joke. i always tell people, come visit my town, but don’t stay. i’m waiting for the census numbers to see if we broke 600 people yet. but, yeah, round heah memaw will blow your fool head off with a classic double barrel and then go to church on sunday.
When I read your reply, I got this mental image of a stoned deer laying on his back listening to a skunk with blacked out teeth and a pipe hanging from his mouth, singing and playing the banjo. Both wearing patched jean overalls and straw hats and a raccoon dressed in a bonnet and patched long dress coming up to them with a stoneware jug marked “XXX” in her paws. Too funny!
bill, sounds like my kind of place, how’s the fishing?
In 1997 I came across a publication titled ‘ Strategic Relocation’ by Joel M. Skousen. He has been an expert consultant for more then 45 years designing high security residences and retreats. He is joined by his son Andrew Skousen a practicing structural engineer who regularly consults and designs for ‘ The Secure Home Design Group’. Andrew has worked with his father on many projects and has contributed with his research, maps, diagrams, tables and contents. I recommend Skousen’s updated 3rd Edition, ‘Strategic Relocation’, and ‘The Secure Home’, published in 2013. You will find excellent information, positive and negative about all 50 states. The books and DVDs are affordable.
Visit:
http://www.joelskousen.com
Take care.
Vril: Looks good, thank you. Stay healthy!
VrilForce: sounds good, however, 2013 is 10 years ago: a LOT changes in 10 years.
interesting, you peek my interest, I will look closer at the blue ridge mountains, it’s possible that them skunks could have a sense of humor getting up next to gramma’s shine.. thanks!!
vee: Just tell locals you’re from the gili yu longhouse. You’ll find more excitement than you can imagine. niio!
Round Rock is being infested by blue Austin refugees who claim “I want more affordable housing” but in reality are afraid to admit that their city has been turned into a sewer thanks to all the homeless and the crime.
Blue voters ruin everything. They fail to realize that the reason they destroy stuff is because they keep voting the way they do.
Omega: What’s the definition of insanity? Do the same thing over and other and expect different results. niio
Horrible list just by putting Naperville IL or as we who lived in the area called it, Raperdale! This is a socialist / communist political center. Example; you must buy water and power from the township which buys it from the providers and adds town fees and profit to the cost. High taxes and covenants for everything. This is obviously a disinformation propaganda piece
Naperville, IL? ANY city near major cities is a no go. And if it werent for the asshole cops in Naperville that harass anyone outside of Naperville, crime would skyrocket.
The Cascades are NOT safe. The Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, often referred to as “The Big One,” will “affect the entire Pacific Northwest in one afternoon, and it’s going to change our economy and our culture and our society profoundly.”
Everyone knows they are a ticking t8me bomb.
I have friends on the east side of the Cascades who are looking for something down here, in Arizona. The man is from Phoenix so knows the ropes. There are no Elysian Fields, but its better to get out of the pot before the water gets hot 🙂 niio
I have 10 acres in the desert 2 miles from 60 and 8 miles from I-10. For $11,000. Perfect for off grid i used it for camping. I’ve had it on Off Grid market place and keep getting ask about utilities. Electric is 2 mls. I don’t understand why its not selling. Its a great area with mountain views and a wash nearby. Everyone says they want off grid but then ask if it has utilities? ?♀️
They probably want municipal water and garbage pick up too! Lol!
All kidding aside, is there any on site water source/collection or does the buyer have to get their own?
Miz Kitty: Yes, they do!
Everything to be tossed is rinsed out in dish water and stored in recycled plastic bags. 1 time/year, it all goes to the dump. People complain how expensive trash service is, then do it our way! Some are, and were happy i was right that there’s no rat (packrat) problem. If something chews into a bag, it comes across bleach used in the water.
Meanwhile, Homesteachenomics on YouTube has some very good films on saving water down near Sonoita, AZ. Meanwhile, back at the ranch (I wish 🙂 it’s been raining! Everything from light showers to some major t-storms. niio
Miz Kitty the wash nearby has some water and it fills from the runoff from the mountains. My brother thought there was probably a hassiyump ( I don’t know how to spell it, its a underground river) there also. He collects gold in the washes from the mountains runoff. But I really dont know. Theres some free range cattle so they have to be getting water somewhere. Don’t know who they belong to but they’ve never bothered us.
Thanks for the reply, Karen! It sounds like a great location….wish I had the money to take advantage of the offer!
Good moring, Karen and Miz Kitty. Hassayampa is a river up by Prescot. The rancher is likely watering via tanks that have pipes run to them (Game and Fish will pay for that on state lands, and the feds will on their lease land). Mind range cattle! I got wrecked by a few in the days of my erring youth. Mamas with new calves are worse than bulls. Right now, they’re calving. Even a [pet dairy cow can decide the jefe is one human too many. best to you, niio
Red thank you theres a underground one in the whispering ranch area also. Yep i had cattle at one time. Now im putting a shed home on my nephews farm. Thats why im selling that land plus my husband died so I don’t feel like camping out there by myself.
My condolences on your loss. I lost my son last April. Not to be nosy, but once land is gone, it’s gone forever. Ask the indios.
With all the lava tubes in Arizona, I’m surprised we don’t have hundreds of underground rivers.
I lost a good horse working in Mexico. Because of grizzlies and wolves, they don’t dehorn cattle. It was a brangus who did the dirty deed.
Hope you’re getting plenty of rain. Mammoth was building sand bag walls, but the river slowed and dropped below the banks. We’re hoping for more t-storms. 🙂 Niio, Walk in His beauty
So, “Safest” cities relates to crime and natural disasters only?
What about:
Toxic waste dumps?
Military establishments?
Nuclear sites?
Nuclear power plants?
Invasion possibilities (all border towns)?
In the 30’s-60’s many “less desirable places” were used as dumping grounds for toxic waste and nuclear sites/Power Plants. Isn’t Arizona (for its heat/cold and arid areas) one of those places? So much talk from Arizonians (?) to the great possibilities there, but I’d be careful about living close to any of the aforementioned places.
Yes, this list is lacking in information even to the point of the title. And I wouldn’t take any of this as real advice on where to locate.
I guess you have to put several posts together to get the entire picture.
The post about Nuclear/military sites, etc.
It is difficult to try to piece together all of the information needed to make a halfway educated ‘guess’.
The advice to visit is great…unless you can’t afford to…and where to begin?
You also need to think about where you are most comfortable and where you might be going and what the differences are.
I was born and raised and have only lived in Oregon; the thought of going deep south: Florida or Louisiana (visited both VERY briefly) scares the heck out of me due to weather, bug and animal ‘critters’ natural disasters, etc. I would be more comfortable being in the Western states.
The midwest/Central US has tornadoes, LOTS of snow, and long stretches of plains/flat terrain.
I feel like the East is just people, nuclear sites and mostly nothing else, so not there for me!
Now don’t hate on me, there are, of course, exceptions to all of this, and I know I’m generalizing. (and perhaps just a bit uneducated! LOL!)
What I’m trying to say is, you will have to do a LOT of searching CURRENT articles on all of the above. Pick 2 or 3 places and if you can, visit for at least several weeks. I’d make sure to visit in heat/cold weather whichever you can live with easiest. You need to see the place in the WORST conditions to figure out if you can really LIVE there ‘comfortably’.
Carol L, you summed it up perfectly! We are in Oregon, also, and wanting to move for better growing weather (too cold in Central Oregon) and too much smoke from all the summer fires. We’ve researched and debated for over 3 years now, and can’t settle on a place that doesn’t have SOME problems that one or the other of us just won’t live with! Can’t be happy here, can’t find anything better… what to do? We still continue to travel and look, and hopefully will figure it out before we’re too old to do anything but die!
I’m still “browsing” for better areas to move to but will probably die before I find, make the commitment, and move – it’s hard to beat the Southern California, East San Diego County, Hardiness Zone 10A weather, especially for those with asthma, and a passion for gardening. I do wish the Kalifornication political situation was more akin to when Reagan was the Governor, but it seems like it’s trending bad all over, and getting even worse with all the insider political corruption, especially with elections, so I am resolved to prepare as best I can, and hope things get better for the entire USA.
I am slowly increasing my knowledge and abilities to be more self-reliant, and the best advice I can think of is to Prepare, Learn, Practice, then Evaluate, Learn and Practice some more.
PS: I dumped both DirecTV and AT&T, I will NOT support their unconstitutional agenda.