Hello Preppers of Ontario!
I am from the city of Guelph, Ontario and am in the process of writing a novel. While I am still in the planning stage at the moment, this novel will tell the story of a couple of homeless youth/young adults from Toronto who are faced with the outbreak of a deadly virus and the social collapse that it is causing. The planning of this novel has led me to do a fair bit of research on prepping, especially since one of the main antagonists is a wealthy prepper who has built a fortified community/village in Ontario. While as of right now I am not a prepper myself, I have to admit that I am becoming more and more convinced of it's usefulness as I research further! As I continue to plan this antagonist and his community I have found myself in a bit of a dilemma as to where to place his fortified village.
My underlying question is this: If money were not an issue, what would the ideal location(s) in Ontario be for a fortified prepper-village?
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- This village will mostly be constructed out of shipping containers, including the surrounding walls, main fortress, minor structures/living quarters, ect.
- Ideally this village would be on some sort of waterfront, as to provide the community with water.
- The village will need some farmable land.
- This part might make it a little more tricky, but it would be ideal if it was not way up in northern Ontario. The ideal location would be somewhere within a few hours driving distance from Toronto, or if not that then southern/central Ontario. I am hoping to reserve a large part of northern Ontario for a different faction.
- Suggestions are more than welcome for any aspect of this! This novel is still in it's early stages, which means nothing is final yet and pretty much everything is flexible.
- BONUS: If there happened to be a railway, or even train station nearby, that would be awesome. Although this is not necessary.
If I think of anything else to keep in mind I'll edit it in. I have been all over the internet trying to find a suitable location for this--Private islands, residential waterfront property, agricultural waterfront property, vacant lot waterfront property--and have turned up very little. Any help/suggestions is very much appreciated!
If it's a work of fiction, then just pick a place within your 2 hour zone out of Toronto and go for it. Add whatever amenities (water, railway, etc...) you want. You're probably not getting many responses here because you've framed the antagonist as a wealthy prepper who has worked his ass off to create a fortified prepper village or MAG group. If anything, I would call that guy the protagonist and the squeegee kids from Toronto would be the antagonists.
Just sayin.
If it's a work of fiction, then just pick a place within your 2 hour zone out of Toronto and go for it. Add whatever amenities (water, railway, etc...) you want. You're probably not getting many responses here because you've framed the antagonist as a wealthy prepper who has worked his ass off to create a fortified prepper village or MAG group. If anything, I would call that guy the protagonist and the squeegee kids from Toronto would be the antagonists.
Just sayin.
Sorry, I didn't mean to offend anybody. I had considered that as a last resort, however I kind of like using actual places if I can help it.
Tobermory.
You're at the end of a fairly remote but still close to civilization peninsula. One direction of approach, one road, water on 3 sides.
6km wide at the narrowest point. Clear cut and create a no-mans-land. 6 km of fence is not impossible.
Look at a map and you can see how you could be forced there by circumstance as well. Islands, a ferry, military base nearby(Meaford)...... lots of possibilities.
Your biggest battle could be with the Niagara Escarpment Commission, the ultimate HOA.
Oh, you meant real zombies?
I thought you meant bureaucratic idiot zombies now that Kathleen and co. has a majority.
Is the wealthy prepper supposed to have built this place before or during the collapse? Because a shipping container village is the kind of slapped-together thing you'd do in a hurry. Yes there was that guy on Doomsday Preppers but I don't think of him as "wealthy".
If I think wealthy prepper, I think gated compound or underground bunker. Maybe a retrofitted ex-prison or a private bomb shelter. Maybe a bomb shelter bunker WITH a container city thrown together on top for the guy's employees/subjects or whatever they are in the story.
Looking forward to reading it 🙂
Tobermory.
You're at the end of a fairly remote but still close to civilization peninsula. One direction of approach, one road, water on 3 sides.
6km wide at the narrowest point. Clear cut and create a no-mans-land. 6 km of fence is not impossible.
Look at a map and you can see how you could be forced there by circumstance as well. Islands, a ferry, military base nearby(Meaford)...... lots of possibilities.Your biggest battle could be with the Niagara Escarpment Commission, the ultimate HOA.
Oh, you meant real zombies?
I thought you meant bureaucratic idiot zombies now that Kathleen and co. has a majority.
I'm definitely adding that one to my list of potential places :). I'll go scope it out on google earth. Thanks for the help!
And yes, this struggle is against zombies of an infectious nature, not a political one. 😛
Is the wealthy prepper supposed to have built this place before or during the collapse? Because a shipping container village is the kind of slapped-together thing you'd do in a hurry. Yes there was that guy on Doomsday Preppers but I don't think of him as "wealthy".
If I think wealthy prepper, I think gated compound or underground bunker. Maybe a retrofitted ex-prison or a private bomb shelter. Maybe a bomb shelter bunker WITH a container city thrown together on top for the guy's employees/subjects or whatever they are in the story.
Looking forward to reading it 🙂
Yes, he has built this place before the collapse. Otherwise I think he would be a bit of a procrastinating prepper :P. There are a couple of reasons why he decided to use shipping containers:
1. There are a few other expensive investments that he has placed money into, which means that a building material that is both effective and relatively cheap would be the ideal option for him. As long as it gets the job done, he would rather invest that money into the other projects. 😉
2. I also went with this because it is a popular choice among preppers, or at least it seems to be from what research I have done.
Once the other projects that he invested into are revealed it will make more sense :).
And thank you for your interest! It feels good to know that I've at least peaked one persons interest :D. I'll be sure to keep in touch with the people who help me out on this forum, as well as the other forum I posted on, when the book is completed and what not.
Damn near every house has a basement. Clear off everything above ground and plop down a couple or 3 containers on top or just a layer of logs and you have a bunker.
Old military base? Check out info on ghost towns of Ontario, you'd be amazed at what's nearby old towns that have petered out. Most have water, lots of unsecured crumbly buildings, basements/cellars, easy to buy or squat out and make it your own. Shipping containers? Meh, don't forget to reinforce them. Also your wealthy guy can buy a backhoe and dig his own pond for any water source if you really are stuck and want to put them somewhere without a source. Unlimited money? go Southwestern Ontario, Lambton County. They are behind the other county's 10 years for rules and regs, especially if you hide what you build in a bush and call it paintball recreation. Otherwise North is the only way to go, but need to factor in the shorter growing season. Don't forget to factor in a nuclear issue since if the staff gets zombied Bruce/Pickering/Darlington might not work so well. Wonder what nuclear meltdowns would do to zombies? Now there's something to think about....lol.
“The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Old military base? Check out info on ghost towns of Ontario, you'd be amazed at what's nearby old towns that have petered out. Most have water, lots of unsecured crumbly buildings, basements/cellars, easy to buy or squat out and make it your own. Shipping containers? Meh, don't forget to reinforce them. Also your wealthy guy can buy a backhoe and dig his own pond for any water source if you really are stuck and want to put them somewhere without a source. Unlimited money? go Southwestern Ontario, Lambton County. They are behind the other county's 10 years for rules and regs, especially if you hide what you build in a bush and call it paintball recreation. Otherwise North is the only way to go, but need to factor in the shorter growing season. Don't forget to factor in a nuclear issue since if the staff gets zombied Bruce/Pickering/Darlington might not work so well. Wonder what nuclear meltdowns would do to zombies? Now there's something to think about....lol.
Ghost towns! I didn't even think of that. Definitely an interesting idea! As for reinforcement, did you mean with sand or something to stop bullets, or something else? Because I had been considering sand after a suggestion from somebody on another forum, but if there is some other type of reinforcement that I hadn't considered then let me know. I hadn't considered creating his own water source either. That tip about Lambton county is definitely helpful! I don't know a whole lot about building regulations and what not, so tips like that are very much appreciated :P. Hmm I've never thought about zombies affected by a nuclear meltdown before, but now that you mention it I'm curious what it would do to them as well lol. If it is anything like what it did to animals in the Fallout games, I'd rather not find out :P.
Ghost towns! I didn't even think of that. Definitely an interesting idea! As for reinforcement, did you mean with sand or something to stop bullets, or something else? Because I had been considering sand after a suggestion from somebody on another forum, but if there is some other type of reinforcement that I hadn't considered then let me know. I hadn't considered creating his own water source either. That tip about Lambton county is definitely helpful! I don't know a whole lot about building regulations and what not, so tips like that are very much appreciated :P. Hmm I've never thought about zombies affected by a nuclear meltdown before, but now that you mention it I'm curious what it would do to them as well lol. If it is anything like what it did to animals in the Fallout games, I'd rather not find out :P.
Go on a researching road trip. Check out ex-military outposts/ghost towns like Foymount, Clinton, Falconbridge, Armstrong, Ramore and Sioux Lookout. These locations have seen some minor re-purposing, but largely the old military complexes are still in place and besides being super fun to ghost town scavenge in, provide fiction writers serious inspiration!
It's coming... and it's going to hurt!