Getting a property and going rural, or at least preparing the option, has been something I've been working on for some time. So far I haven't had a whole lot of luck in that regard, due to financial and temporal limitations.
However the noose is tightening around all our collective necks, and I've begun to build up a good group of likeminded individuals willing to put their time and money into such an off grid community. I just read about the bugging out as a group thread and I think its a great idea but the problem is we'd need somewhere to go. Why leave it up to chance that family in the interior will take care of us, when they'll have their own difficulties? Why not get a few people on this website as well to pool our resources and connections and build ourselves a safe haven ahead of time?
I'm sure that someone here has unused property appropriate for such a project, or connections to someone who does or can supply such land at an affordable price.
Our prepping circles have expanded, but how many of us have an actual tribe that we can know and count on? That is what we need, and this is as good a place as any to do it.
If there are lurkers out there reading this an interested you can email me at jinntann@live.ca
Or you can PM me if you want to talk privately. I do think that this would be a very good public discussion to have. When we have so many people with identical tendencies the next logical step (after prepping on your own, than with family) is to make a community with which to thrive.
Let me hear what you guys think!
PS. A little about me again for those who don't know, I'm a prepper who lives in Burnaby and wants to get out of the city.
The problem here is, everybody on this forum seems to have this type of idea. Or one similar to it. and you know, they're all right. Having a location run by one or two people that ten others or more can bugout to from the lower mainland, a place with a river going through it, farmland, hunting and fishing. Thinking up of energy sources, and trying to live completely offgrid. Maybe having someone pay a lump sum for a "apartment" type cabin on the property, or maybe having people pay a small "storage fee" to store their preps on the property in some type of locker or something, and having a place to bug out to. Creating a community. This sounds wonderful to every one on here I think, and it really is a good idea. But let me ask you something(not you, but ppl in general). Are you willing to have this type of setup with people you've only met a couple times, off the internet? I sure aint. Ive met a lot of people off this forum already, and honestly every single one of them I thought was great. Like minded individuals, very intelligent. I enjoy the meetings, I really do. but so far theres not one person that Ive personally met on this forum who has shown they're willing to take our relationship, "to the next level", ya know?(To the people Ive just met, this might seem like an unfair statement becuz theres been no time to setup a second get together. This doesnt apply to you, yet.) It is spring time, and there is a lot of oppurtunity over the next few months to create this type of relationship. How many of you actually go hiking with your bugout bags? how many have hands on expierience doing things like making a waterproof debris shelter during low light dusk hours? Started a fire with only your flint, or your bow starter? There are people on here who know how to make certain items, EXAMPLE pocket stoves, out of tin cans and such. This list could easily become super huge so Im done listing, but does anybody get what Im saying here? Now is the time to get hands on expierience, why are we waiting for the SHTF to get this hands on expierience? We should be testing eachothers limits. I know its hard sometimes, we all have family and other obligations. Bills to pay, a job to work. I get it, I do. But Through this expierience with eachother, relationships will strengthen. Then we can become FRIENDS, instead of aquaintences that have similar thoughts, but dont know eachother from a hole in the ground. As FRIENDS, I would be more than happy to discuss this type of arrangment. But it is almost impossible for me to commit myself to others that I dont know.
I am interested in monthly meetings, either the 1st or the last Saturday or Sunday of the month. It doesnt matter I just want it set and consistent so I can tell my girlfriend which day to always book off so I never have to miss a meeting. I am interested in actual outings as often as possible. If this appeals to anyone please message me, and maybe eventually we will trust and know eachother enough to get setup like this post suggests.
Laurel, and anyone else with this idea, please dont take my reply the wrong way. Im not bashing this thread at all. Like I said, its a great idea. Ive just seen so many similar to it before, and they always end up at the bottom of the topic list, and I believe its for reasons Ive stated above. People have to be willing to take it to the next level.
Anyways, thats's my two cents. If it's even worth that much.
Aaron
And one more thing. When I say we have to be "friends", maybe thats the wrong choice of words. It's not like we have to be holding hands skipping around singing the friendship song. Thats not what I mean. I mean, we have to completely know what eachother is capable of. What our limits are. We have to be able to function as a group. We have to trust. This type of thing can only be gained through almost a type of "training" you know? Just take a look at a native "tribe", since you chose that word. They are not neccesarily friends, but they ARE very tightly knitted usually family. We dont have to be friends, but we do need to be tightly knitted.
Arron
Two questions how long can you stay awake for?
what happens when you get sick or injured?
You think you can find people after something bad happens easier than now? Because we all know no one gets desperate or will lie under stress.
your idea of testing limits is good. How long can a small group hold up a 24 hour constant stress? You would like to think you know but in reality untill it happens or you have been through it you frankly dont know. To have 12 people who are like minded is a better base than to have you no man can survive alone long term anyone who thinks so is delusional.
Once law and order are gone people change when there is nothing but their own moral compass to steer them.
You said you want to be friends before discussing that type of arrangement.... never had a friend do something to screw you over?
I think you miss the point on a village, you dont have to like everyone you dont have to know everyone personally. There is strength in numbers power in diversity. You live here in vancouver do you know your neighbors? It is about a group that has a common interest and common view point and all in the same canoe so to speak so self interest should not be underestimated.
Think we have 2.4 million or so in vancouver do you think if that many came knocking at anyone's place a small group could persuade them to not take it all? People who are law abiding like any animal will do what it takes to survive when there is no other option.
We have a riot of a dumb hockey game imagine when no food? no water? how bad do you think a father or mother will go to feed their kids? Now think would you rather try to find a group in that or now with a group of preppers? We are not better than the rest if it comes to that but we are at least willing to take the steps now for a certain outcome in future, i am sure everyone can agree that it may not be end of the world but we are heading into some turbulent times, who are you going to have in your group? people with their own stuff or people using your stuff?
For meeting twice a month great pick a date do a mid week one and one weekend one.
You're kind of missing the point. And here it is...scroll through this forum. And scroll through all the other provincial forums. You will find, many threads all similar or exactly the same as this one. Out of all those threads, how many people have actually gone through with this idea? I am willing to bet...NONE!The only reason Im saying this is because Ive had this exact conversation with at least 10-15 different people all from this forum, face to face. And every single one of those people are still looking for the people to do this with. Some, for a couple years now with no luck. And all those old threads are like I said, pushed down to the bottom of the forum.
I agree it won't be any easier to find people after the SHTF. I agree you cannot stay awake forever, and you need someone when you get sick and injured. It was never a disagreement for needing the community or a support group. But knowing a hundred other preppers, but not knowing how and where to meet with them, its kind of pointless. Do you think after the SHTF we can log onto here and setup a quick meeting? Or call eachother on opur cell phones? I think not. So knowing a hundred people that have no idea how to meetup with eachother to me is no different than knowing nobody. the plan, and the training needs to happen before the SHTF.
I agree, how long can a small group hold up under 24 hours of constant stress? Thats the exact reason why it is important to become more tightly knit BEFORE the SHTF and to test our limits. Would you commit a large sum of money to a property just to find out that your group does not react well, and in fact breaks at the first stressful thing to happen? What if they decide to take your preps and kick you out of the community? These are the type of things I want to know before making a serious commitment to anybody. 2.4 million people in the lower mainland, I got some options! There is 10 ppl out there that would fit perfectly with eachother. Its just a matter of finding who, and I personally am looking for the people who like I said, are willing to take it to the next level.
I believe what is being discussed here is the idea of building a group through shared experience. Commitment to the idea... the ideal... and to the group. Commitment to the point where it is a priority...NOT after everything else is taken care of. Yes there are core responsibilities but this should be one of them. Traning was a word that was used. That is what the military does to change a number of individuals into a focused group that learns to be dependant on each other and to trust one another. This cannot be something that is taken as frivolous... it has to be shared experience, hardship, group bonding, risking, seeing exactly what each's limits are, strengths, weaknesses. Just MY 2 cents.
JAB
JAB, it sounds like you get what Im trying to get at here. You made the point more clear with far fewer words though, thank you.
LOL... age has SOME benefits...
JAB
I think "commitment" is really the word here. I wonder, for starters, how many people would be interested in a set monthly meeting once a month or more in a fairly centralized area. The reason to have it set is because people are more willing to schedual it into their lives if they always know when and where it's going to be. Right now, the meetings as great as they are, are kind of random. There are classrooms, and conference rooms at community centers and such that can be rented hourly. I know part of prepping is to save your money, but would it be worth say, 5 bucks a month each to cover the cost of renting a room like this? With the wealth of info that can be attained? Any extra money could go towards tim hortons, or once in awhile going on an outing. Is this an idea worth considering?
Setting up a meeting at a location is the easy part. Finding a place that is accessible to all of us is the harder part. But nevertheless, I'm down for it. I know lots of business owners who'd be happy to clear out a space for us for a small fee (or no fee, if we're willing to buy product from them). I'm going to post about that in the lowermainland thread, though it would be nice if everyone pitched in their ideas, no matter where your from.
I totally agree that commitment is the issue. For me the big kick in the pants that took me from prepping slowly to 'I NEED TO SPEED THE SHNITZEL UP!' was the meteorite airburst explosion over Chelyabinsk, Russia. I'm over the edge at this point, I know that making this community with an EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE before SHTF is an absolute necessity!
Lets put our brains together people and use our connections. Lets meet up, find a goddamn chunk of land, and turn it into our Safe Haven and do it as soon as we can! Since when do preppers put things off till next year anyways? That is contradictory to our core ideas!
Here's a thought....instead of buying land, maybe some in your group can't afford it or....insert wahtever reason here. What you could do is find out where the crown land is. I own 2 acreas but I butt up to 140 acreas of crown land that I use to get my firewood and hunting and anything else, so long as I'm not doing any serious damage. Perhaps you could find something that your group could go to that would meet your needs and if you have trailers and campers no need for permanent structures to be there first. I'm sure the gov't wouldn't be in any position to kick you off it. Just a thought.
DELETED
Whatever tomorrow brings,… I will be there! 😉
DELETED
Whatever tomorrow brings,… I will be there! 😉
Screed. I'm absolutely with you on the exercises one. Whether or not we succeed at getting infrastructure set up, having the SKILLS themselves will save lives in the process. They are absolutely invaluable.
As for the rest of the concerns mentioned in the first paragraph. Absolutely necessary to cover. A lot of trust is necessary, and details known leads to trust therein. Everyone has to be informed.
At the moment I'm a nexus point for a few different groups. I'm connected to a few families who want something more, and a larger community of younger people with concerns about the future (and a lot with prepperish/construction backgrounds). I'm working on getting more of them on this site but so far they are content letting me run the show and bring the group together.
I will say that I personally envision a transition. We have a small amount of time to prepare, but we cannot make the shift overnight. As you said, growing things requires preparations (no shortage of 'growers' in BC though), and families with children will legally require homeschooling. These are all things that need to be covered and talked about in meetings, as we begin to cement the project, group, and goal amongst the tribe.
Seeing the difficulty of meeting people as a group, I've personally began meeting people with which a possess a more virtual relationship( like people here!).
I think getting meetings set up is the least we can do. Then we can roll exercises in. Or hell, why not make the two one and the same?
Well maybe getting to know people through discussion on here is a start . I think you do have to be quite invested in trust, sweat, and likely money because a prime location anywhere near the lower mainland is not cheap . I think you might want to establish what you think is an adequate bug out location. One persons idea might be far different from anothers .