Hi,
I just finished reading Ragnar Benson's book, Ragnar's Urban Survival, A Hard-Times Guide to Staying Alive in the City and his premise in the book is based on places like Lebanon, Kosovo, Berlin in Ww II and such.

One of his concepts is the "bug out" or refugee delimna. According to him people who leave a city as refugees do not fair as well as those who hunker down and stay put, relying on their skills to make out. Now one problem with his scenario is that staying put in a chaotic situation carries it's own risks, but it is not really any riskier than those who head for the hills. A lot depends on how long the crisis lasts. At any rate, while my wife and I have our bug out kits, I'm rethinking the "refugee" thing as well.

For many, perhaps even including myself, there may not be an option. I don't have anywhere in particular to escape to except Costa Rica where I own property. Unless I had ample warning, getting there in an emergency would not be possible. So, my preps will most likely move toward protecting what I have in my home with all the pitfalls that would entail. Food, energy, marauders etc. Benson's places a lot of stock in remaining as invisible as you can in an urban setting. Let me know what you think.
Tim

I agree that staying at home if at all possible is the best way to go. There are so many logistical issues when it comes to bugging out.

You do need to have a plan in place to bug out if necessary. For example, I live near a nuclear power plant. If an emergency happens in this area that may effect the power plant, and possibly cause issues with radiation, I will bug out. I have different plans in place depending on what happens where I plan to go.

I think it is best to have plans in place that will cover different scenarios.

_________________
Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

NRA Certified Instructor for Basic Handgun and Personal protection in the Home.
V.F.W. Life Member
NRA Member
U.S. Army Veteran

We live out in the country. The thing that scares me is the city people flowing out of the city?
Now that's a scary scenario.

NighBloomer........I am one of those who scaped the city, back in 2000 I was living in Encino CA but I knew that something was going to happen so that I "bugged" out of CA and into the woods of OR.

Lucky for me there are two big towns between myself and I-5 and I live 6 miles from a one mule Micky Mouse of a town.

_________________
"To be ready is not"... Ponce

"If you don't hold it, you don't own it"... Ponce

I'm rather fond of those little Mickey Mouse towns.

The closest one to us has 9 buildings and one of them is a combination Post Office, Church, and Roller Rink on the weekends.

Staying put seems the best choice. You know the lay of the land, you know where food is, so if you have to loot stores you don't have far to go..unless you live in the suburbs.

You also avoid the problem of being a displaced person on someone else's turf.

Something else to consider is that living in the countryside entails a bit of isolation.

I bet the first people out of the cities might be those looking for easy targets for theft, rape, and anything else they might not be able to pull off within city limits.

If you stay in the city, you are probably closer to trustworthy neighbors, and there's safety in numbers!

I`m not exactly in a city like New York but I would prefer to stay home ans make the best of it that way.

Some things to consider
1: Is your home defensible? Can a .308 round go through several wall in your home?
Can it easily be set aflame?
2: Supermarkets only have 1 weeks worth of food in the store, and if it is at the end of
that week when disaster happens they may have little or nothing on the shelves.
3 Is you neighborhood defensible? Can you block acess to your neighborhood?
4: do you have neighbors you can trust in a crisis?
5: Do you have a plan or have you formed a group for mutual support in a disaster?

_________________
Retired Navy SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) Instructor
certified pistol, rifle, shotgun, home defense Instructor
NRA Life Member
Survival & Disaster Preparedness Instructor

All good questions sarky. It might be a better option to seek out a nearby facility that can pass these tests than remain in your own home. You're not completely bugging out, but you're staying nearby to your stash.

_________________
If it's in your pack, but you don't know how to use it...it's useless. So, always test your skills as a form of preparation...Don't wait until your life depends on it. That's a lesson you don't want to learn the hard way.