I am just wondering how far people are willing to travel for a Bug-out property or Preppers Community. Many of you are from Southern Ontario that have expressed interest in such a 'community' but haven't the money to commit right now. So if someone was to purchase such a 'retreat' property (vacant land), how far away would you be willing to travel to be part of this 'proposed' Prepper community? 3 hours north of Toronto (expensive)? Timmins (more affordable)? Western Quebec? A property that is 6-8 hours away would be hard to work on/visit, wouldn't it? How much acreage for how many Preppers? Input please!
Ideally it would be about a 4 hour drive for me. Pinpoint Montreal and draw a 300 - 400 Km circle around it. In a bugout situation, I would not want to go any farther due to fuel issues. Also, doing my part to develop the property would be another issue. I can camp out and help on occasional weekends within this radius. If it were closer, I could do more.
Without thoroughly thinking this through, my first thought is I would want to have the location within 2hrs driving, keeping in mind worst case scenario you may have to walk.
As well, this place will take alot of work for the first while even if there are many involved. I dont know about you but I picture a parcel of vacant land which may need clearing for lodging, pathways to water, turning fields to workable farmland. Unless of course you were thinking of purchasing a plot with building and existing farm fields $$.
I search vacant land regularly and as much as I would love to purchase one, currently it isnt going to happen. A shared prepper comminity sounds great but how do you keep it semi secretive? 20 people of like mind sharing it could work, but what happens if the shtf and you arrive to see 200 people?
P.S. I have 2 Gravely walk behind tractors with brush hogs, mower decks, roto plow, cultivator and slowblowers that could be transported much easier then a full tractor 😉 😉
In my case I am thinking of relocating to Timmins, so no problems there.
Even if I am not able to go till winter time, no worries either, if I can make a winter shelter from the natural surroundings.
If someone wants to work in GTA area or even Barrie, then the 8hr drive north is a big commit, unless they are thinking of relocating there. If they are self employed then it is easier, take a week a month to work on it etc.
Now there is still a lot you can do in the winter and in some cases it is even easier to work in the bush in the winter, clearing trails and cutting wood for the coming season for cabins etc.
In my case I am thinking of relocating to Timmins, so no problems there.
Even if I am not able to go till winter time, no worries either, if I can make a winter shelter from the natural surroundings.If someone wants to work in GTA area or even Barrie, then the 8hr drive north is a big commit, unless they are thinking of relocating there. If they are self employed then it is easier, take a week a month to work on it etc.
Now there is still a lot you can do in the winter and in some cases it is even easier to work in the bush in the winter, clearing trails and cutting wood for the coming season for cabins etc.
and dont forget no bugs! this year was great for working outside in early spring, great weather and still snow on the ground in the bush!
if it was for me and the money it would be close to Ottawa not more then 50 km been that travelling by road would be very hard and the place would have about 60 pers and all from different trade such has doctor, electricien, plumber, Veterien, farmer,hoticultor Etc....and each of them would also trained children there trade so they could continue in the event someone would pass all I need now is the money
it would not cost a whole lot approximat 250,000 dollars to have everything done underground I have all the plan am ready just need the money
If anyone out there that has the funds to be able to build a bunker let me know maybe I got some pretty good ideal been in the military for 22 years
My opinion can be summed up with the Field of Dreams Quote: "If you build it, they will come".
No single location will be ideal for everyone, and that's ok. Different Preppers will show themselves to be valuable to the project either physically, technically, or financially. I'm not convinced that the project needs to be a secret. I am convinced however that admission to the completed retreat in a SHTF situation would need to be clearly defined BEFORE the SHTF. I'm not sure what the requirements for admission would be, but they'd have to be agreed upon by everyone beforehand.
Obviously, needed skill sets would be seen as an asset, and the retreat would do well to admit them, but what about financial investors, or people that just came to the retreat once or twice in the past to help out? What if someone donated something?
All these different things would have to be clearly defined as to whether they guaranteed admission or not.
If it were me, and I won the lottery, I'd likely look to set up NFP (not for profit) organization. The NFP would buy the land and develop the public spaces, farmland, and public infrastructure. The NFP would then sell shares in the location, with clearly defined obligations, rights, and responsibilities outlined.
A certain percentage of those shares would be set aside for "special case" consideration. Those cases would be a way for the existing shareholders to vote to admit others that could not afford the price of a share, but had skills or other things deemed by the shareholders to be important.
I don't have the answers, but I've thought a bit about this.
You ask the question of how far people would be willing to travel to a community. I believe it is dependant on 2 things. It has to be in range of "home" once SHTF... meaning no more than say 4 hours tops. Anything much further than that becomes a logistical nightmare. The idea of taking up new residence is just that. You need to have the resources to build a life at the new location.. not just build in the physical sense. To do otherwise invites disater of it's own style and would result in many domestic failures.
as far as how far I would be willing to travel... probably no more then 4 hours, or 400km lets say... reason being if there were no gas stations open or selling gas I would only want to travel as far as a single tank of gas would take me. Seems like more then just me think the same... I currently travel that distance when I go up north, I like it because I can be there on a Friday night after work and make it before the moon comes out. 😛
I envision a space that isn't just a run away location, but a year round working farm. If anyone has ever been to the Everdale Organic Farm, then you know what I like. It has straw bale cottages (solar powered), main buildings, farm land, honey production and more. There is at least one custodian family that lives there all the time, and seasonal farm workers come and work for free to learn about organic farming. If I had a share in a project like that, it wouldn't really matter how far away it was. I'd make sure I could get there if I had to, even if I had to stock up on gasoline and have multiple routes printed out in the event one route was closed.
Before you plan for the underground community you had best read what happened to Bruce Beach of Horning Mills ON, in the 80's he built the largest privately built underground shelter in N.America. He has spent close to a half a million dollars in legal fees fighting Gov. harrasement suits. Read his auto biography, or go to this site for an un-bias report on him and the shelter called ARK II.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_Two_Shelter
This man use to own a research ship, he use to have money.
"We 'Prep.' to live after a downfall, Not just to survive."
The idea of taking up new residence is just that. You need to have the resources to build a life at the new location.. not just build in the physical sense. To do otherwise invites disater of it's own style and would result in many domestic failures.
That is what I am working on now, and why I did not just pack up and move there, thanks for the reminder.
Greenguy, I think your concept is notable and a good scenario.
JaB and WildR, planning makes all the difference.
Ranger 2012, Bruce Beach was just featured on Doomsday Preppers. Ark Two looked a little rusty and mouldy....but likely still usable.
I'm hoping, within the next couple of years, to 'reconfigure' my home abit to accommodate a separate apartment in the basement and perhaps even living quarters in the garage so I can share my space with family members or even Preppers. Share the yardwork, share the garden space, share the firewood chopping, share the skills, and share the 'safety in numbers'...... I plan on staying put if the SHTF even if it's not 400 kms from the city but only 50 kms.