Bugging In/Out (Or, "Urban v. Rural")

I currently live in a semi-rural area, ten miles outside a reasonably small town. The nearest "city proper" is half an hour away by roads, but only 12 miles from where I live. Obviously, whether I stay here or go to the city in any given scenario depends on the circumstances. If someone dropped a Mk28 on the center of the city, my home is far enough away that it would be outside the blast radius. If someone hit us with a Tsar Bomba, we'd be screwed and then some.

Despite that factoid, it seems that my city is of little interest to terrorists, regardless of the military presence we have here (which is an integral part of the community). The city seems to be more prone to economic failure, natural disasters, and crime. I have several spots picked out to go to in the event of various problems, since surviving in my area would be more difficult.

Out here, we're cut off from resources like clean water. It would be much easier to survive in the city, provided that the city itself would be mostly abandoned during Situation X. Some of my friends disagree, stating that regardless of the situation, being in the country where I am is safer than living in the city.

What are your thoughts on surviving in a rural versus an urban environment?

reply to post by Beinion


The city has more "stuff" than the country. It would depend on how many people are still in the city to eat the food/drink the water/use op whatever it is you want the most in the city.

I think towns of 5,000 to 10,000 in a rural area might be the best bet. It also depends on what type of disaster.

I think if you live in a rural area (as I do) it's important to have stockpiles of things you'll need and things to trade. Also, you MUST have water set up. If you have that, I think it's best to be in the country.

I wouldn't want to deal with people in the city. They're going to have a very different mindset than they do now.

This is all very circumstantial. Water can be found in some of the worlds most arid deserts. Food can be grown. caught, killed or raised. This is nothing on you, but by the sounds of it you would be better in a group as notthat suggested. A town of 5-10,000 would be about right, for enough hands and heads to get through the hard times.

If you're really worried about it, take some basic survival courses, and see if that's your bag, then work up to the advanced stuff. It's nothing to be ashamed of, not knowing how to survive off the land.

But you could still cache some items on private or public land. This may help you survive for a short time while you get done what needs to be done. Survival blog.com has some good articles to give you some good ideas.

I hope this helps a little.

Rural is almost always better. Why don't you have clean water out there? Have you considered rain water collection and a filter? One inch of rain on a 1000 square foot roof will yield 500 gallons of water. City water will likely not be clean either in the event of societal break down as water treatment will probably cease. I guess it depends on how big your city is.

A rule of thumb is you want to be about 1-2 hours away from any large city Id say with a population of more the 20-30 thousand. All those folks most of who are not prepared will end up in chaos if the trucks stop running for more then a couple weeks.

There will be a massive die off and then you can also collect things you need after the die off. But you still need to be prepared for surviving the initial chaos and die off.

You need a network of like minded friends in your area if possible as the survivors of the cities will form gangs and fan out looking for food. Most likely they survived by pillaging and killing thier neighbours in the city.

[edit on 14-3-2010 by hawkiye]

i think when you head out you want to go to the rural areas. so as a choice rural is a better place to head off to, but if you are getting supplies i think it would be better to stock up from a city.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


BH, you're right. Water is the main thing, and if someone is in the country, that's easier to deal with. Not that you couldn't do the same in the city, but in the boonies, you don't have to worry about the two footed vermin as much.

If some huge SHTF situation happens, a city will be like Stalingrad.

reply to post by Beinion


I live in a rural area well outside and away from the nearest town or city and after reading your posting I thought I would contribute some thoughts on your subject matter.

I have for the longest felt that there was more of a safety cushion being in the rural part of the State instead of being in the big city. I have had plenty of time to play with both scenarios and I hope my explanation will provide you with some food for thought.

I use to think and of course still do that the cities are going to be easy to surround and easy to make everyone in the city a prisoner. Being surrounded in such a manner will not promote mobility or the ability to leave. There will most likely be curfews and security forces that will shoot all looters and such after curfew.

Well, while this may true, I also have found that in the big city there is more availability of supplies and things that would not be easily found in the country. Learning to avoid and search when enforcers are not around is still a doable option and still affords you the ability to go out and find things that you might need to survive even if there is a curfew.

While nothing of being in country dissuades me, I have found that while it may be easier to disappear and or survive off the land in the country side, there are benefits to being in the city just as there are benefits to those that live in the country and understand that the cities have a lot more of everything you might need, but they also have a lot more trouble to contend with. Besides trigger happy security forces you also have scared and armed civilians that just might be a challenge as well to contend with.

There is a trade off of whether you happen to be in the city or the rural country side when trouble begins, but as for me, I live far enough out that I could venture into the city on foot in a covert manner and still get what I might need and then return to the country. While moving into and out of the city will be a perimeter situation at best, once inside, mobility of travel could be achieved by avoiding patrols and or security forces.

While I am sure that it depends on the city in question, the size of the city, the type of conflict and the method of curfew enforcement and the distance to the nearest city are all factors that will determine if there are benefits to being in the city vs being in the country.

I have found that I can keep a good stock level of supplies and staple of food items and for water, I have rivers and lakes and ponds in abundance and could fish and hunt as long as all the animals aren't dead from nuclear fallout or some type of chemical or biological attack.

There are times during the year when storms and tornadoes whiz by that I feel I would like to be in the city, but when I am visiting the city, I cant wait to get out of town and go home.

I guess what I want to say is that any number of variables will determine if you should try to survive in the city vs the rural country side, but as for me I am prepared for both. As you commented in your posting, if the cities are mostly abandoned or vacated, then going into the city would be less of a challenge, but on the other hand going into a city that is in lock down will only get you nabbed if you drive into town and have to stop a check point to explain why you are going into town and have to explain your whole life history to get through if you can get through.

If the security grid is in place which it most likely will be, then having to pass through a security check point just might identify you to the security forces to detain you and or to immediately kill you.

When facing such grim realities, I choose to keep my options open. I guess staying fluid and open to change is going to be a necessary requirement for survival, but if I had my preferences, I would live close but not in town and I would live far enough out side of the city limits to know if someone was coming. If something big was happening in town or if the town was being bombed or if the town was in flames, I would be able to see that something was up because I live close enough to see and or hear.

Surviving in the city just like surviving in the city is a doable task. While one may appear to be better than the other, I for one know that both are important and knowing when to avoid the cities will be just as important as knowing when to avoid the rural country would also be a good thing to know.

Thanks for the posting. I hope I have contributed some food for thought.