Survival For Those Who Live In Apartments... And Choose To Wait It Out!!

Don't forget Sterno as a cooking aid for indoors. We use this during Hurricane power outages all the time. Good for heating up canned goods at least.

Like others said though, depending on the disaster, the city may not be the best place to be.

I agree the city is never a good place to be for a SHTF scenario, I happen to know way to many people that have 0 resources to just leave, and feel that they will have to suffer by not knowing that they can do, even if just something simple, can make the best out of a bad situation.

There are more people that will be stranded in major cities then we realize, especially if transportation, which isn't a #1 priority in major cities (your own personal vehicle, due to trains and buses), have no way to get out.

I know that if I still lived in NYC, I dont think that I would 1, know any of the things that I posted, and 2 would have no way to get enough money together to get my family out.

I know that living in places like NYC, there are some pretty shady people, and this whole Mad Max scenario, if you lived in a major city, you know who you are surrounded by, and will most likely not have to go into a having to kill for food scenario that seems to be presented in almost all survival threads.

There is more likely to be an uprising of everyone at once, and as a group, then people running around trying to get a loaf of bread from your cabinets. I lived in NYC while there were 3 major blackout, including on my birthday a few years back, and no one was going crazy, actually the stores opened their doors, and had all the kids from the neighborhood, take all the ice cream, so that it wouldn't spoil, and every one was outside, trying to beat the heat, (it was in August).

I was in Brooklyn, and actually met more people from my neighborhood, due to us having to be outside, then before. There was not one case of murder, rape, or theft.

Knowing how to take care of yourself, make a little last a long time, and coming together when needed in a staple in NYC's crazy history. This thread was for those that even though they are aware that living in a major city will not bring about an Apocalypse, but knew that being prepared, and yes, even a little paranoid can bring a little peace, is better then nothing.

Peace, NRE.

Originally posted by alexagendajones
i am legend is just what you will be - - - while the rural dwellers live long and prosper stayin off the main path

And how many city people have the same idea of going to the country?
Imagine swarms of people going across the country.
I don't have any answers but if a SHTF event happens no where will be safe....

Great insights and tips for the ones who aren't country folks. You know country people can survive no matter what and know how to live off the land. Never hurts though to educate a city slicker.

www.thesurvivalistblog.net...

Good link with insight.

Personally..... I have no vehicle and staying put is what I would most likely be forced to do. That being said, I live in a second story condo. I have the ability to block off the stairs, if need be, as well as board up all my windows.

I built a solar cooker a while ago and we're building our stock piles now. I've been putting together one hell of a first aid kit and we will have clean teeth and bodies for sure lol.

My next thing is food and that's where I am trying to get creative. I've got about 20 lb of beans and rice but we can't live off just that. Can you imagine the GAS in this place?

So, I've started buying the following (in no particular order)...

canned and packaged tuna
beef stew
SPAM (I know, I know! ) lol
canned milk
coffee
chocolate
water
water purification tablets
hatchet
fire starter
shovel

I have attempted to use a dehydrator on some fruits and veggies with limited success I admit. I did cucumbers and they LOOKED, and felt, dry but after 2 days in a ziplock bag stored in a cool, dark, dry pantry they smelled nasty.

I tried with some oranges and banana's next and those seem to be fairing a little better. I tried drying beef once and it started to mold pretty quickly so I am a little leery about that now. Maybe my dehydrator just sucks??

I have seeds to start a small garden but I bought a topsie turvey and well.... everything I put in it DIES!!! It's really ticking me off. I have several large plastic tubs that I am able to grow in.

So what will everyone else be stocking up on? Some items we plan to buy (and possibly use for bartering) are:
toilet paper
tampons
yeast infection treatments
pain relievers
alcohol
coffee
sugar
chocolate
antibiotics
peanut butter
nuts
crazy glue
candles (I make them myself)
canned fruits and veggies (bought a caning system recently)
solar lights
batteries of various sizes
bleach
bandages
cat & dog food
twine
knives (various sizes and types)
flour
baking soda

what are you going to stock up on?

I live in a very small apartment in a rural 'ish' area. I don't have space to store supplies so I've had to get creative. I have built shelving with 2 litre water bottles duct taped together as the supports and covered so you can't tell what they are and they look nicer. I am able to have plenty of water on hand this way without looking like I live in a store room and if we need the water they're easy to get to, just take down a shelf as needed. I want to do some furniture pieced with like jars of beans or rice or something strong just havent figured that one out yet. Also I am in the process of making a headboard for my bed with canned goods draped with fabric, that's requiring many more cans than I originally anticipated though. lol
Anybody else building things with their supplies? I see it as serving multiple purposes as I have ZERO storage space and nobody knows that these things are built with what they actually are when they are in my home, it just looks like normal everyday furnishings. Plus it's cheap! sneaky

Peace & Love

reply to post by Aliensun


What is the range of an army of hungry brutes these days? Alexander of Macedonia marched his men 17K miles over 8 years -- through all kinds of weather -- 2500 years ago.

reply to post by NoRegretsEver


Everything that burns produces smoke, you just do not notice it when the flame is smaller like that of a candle or that coffee can stove. I'm very confident you could use a wood burning stove the size of a breadbox in your appartment and suffer very little ill effects as long as it's placed on a surface it will not destroy near a window or as you mentioned with the solar cooking idea, on the roof. I personally think a small wood stove outdoors on a fire escape would be the ideal cooking set up. No smoke or smell in your living space as well, if you spill any food stuffs or grease you don't draw in pests.

As well you made mention about water.... Being in a Large city is probably the hardest place to survive in the event of a disaster where you would be likely to need to survive until things return to normal, or well.... You die ha ha.

In the event of a natural disaster like an earthquake water, gas and electricity supplies will most likely be damaged and unavailable or shut off by emergency personal to prevent flooding, injury or explosions. Now unless you live near a natural source of water, creek, stream, river, lake or even the ocean you're in some serious trouble. Unless the city you happen to live in gets a considerable amount of rain every few days you could be entertaining the reaper in a week or less. If you live near the ocean keep in mind you can not drink salt water, but you can turn Sea water into drinking water. This method is extremely simple but will require patience. Take a pot, or kettle and boil the sea water, Collect the steam and allow it to condense back into water. Most of the heavy salt will be left behind in the kettle or pot. I've used a more complex method where a kettle spout feeds into a piece of two foot piping. At the end of the piping is a spout that will drip into a fresh water container. The two foot piping is about 1 inch wide, keep in mind the more surface area the faster your condensation will collect. Around the two foot piping is a piece of 3 inch pvc pipe that is filled with cold water from the same source as the water to be evaporated. By cooling the steam pipe, I find the fresh water is collected faster, and less is lost to the atmosphere. You could use this method in the city to turn otherwise undrinkable water into something you can consume, or give to your children.

As well, it's a good idea to put lists of places to scavenge for food and or supplies in your B.O.B. for those SHTF scenarios. Keep in mind depending on the survival scenario super markets and drug stores will be empty with in the first week. Either from people panic shopping or looting. Think of alternative sources for supplies. Schools, rec centers, vetrinary clinics, warehouses, hospitals( this will get hit for medicine and other drugs in the first week too, but it's worth a go). pet stores ( medicine, even some of the pet foods can be used for bait or your own food. ) Think out side of the box, but it's good to have an idea of where to look.

As well if you're at all willing to give it a shot you can find plenty of Youtube how to's on making TCPOI for making your own glowsticks which can last for weeks on end depending on how you make them. How ever buying glowsticks themselves is much easier and at $1 or less a piece you can't really go wrong can you ? Besides, every drug, grocery, hardware and dollar store carries tons of them, so in a SHTF scenario I'm sure you can find some somewhere. If not simple oil candles are an amazing source of light and heat. You can use any oil, whether it's olive, canola or even bacon grease all you need is a dish and a wick.

I hope someone finds what I've added useful. love these threads.

It is worth pointing out that as soon as people hear that the highway is blocked up they will start to use the back roads. At that point the only way out of a populated area would be on foot, bike or horse (or quad or dirt bike or motorcycle, but hey). Traveling on foot even if you are in shape is a slow process. Traveling on a bike or horse is faster with the benefit of being quieter than the motor powered options. If you decide to bunker down, make your place look like it has already been hit from the outside, if possible. Block off the stairs as well, most cities frown on the fire escape being to close to the ground so it would take a highly motivated person to get in. If things start to get bad and escape is necessary choose a location or two or three and have topographical and road maps to guide you there. Have whatever weaponry you can legally own in your area. When you go move initially at night if the problem with the area is the locals, most will be tired and visibility is down. As long as you are quiet you will be hard to spot if you move slow and wear dark clothing, never make sudden moves, and if someone is looking at you freeze, and wait until they move on, but be ready to bolt of fight for it. While you are in place make sure that no light is escaping from your windows, as any for of light in the now dark city will draw people like moths. As mentioned earlier boarding up your windows is a good idea. Make sure that you are armed in some way shape or form at all times, even if it is just a kitchen knife. If at all possible play a radio on the emergency channel that is attached to headphones or has really low volume. Unless it is an incredibly bad situation, in which case you either left or died most likely, the radio will still work. Also, be wary of women with children and groups of children, as women will do anything for their own (generally speaking) and children may attack without the benefit of adults as a moral compass. Trust no one. Be invisible. Survive.