A good question...

[Reverenddel]

A group of us were discussing preparing, and how long it would take to return to normal, and someone said "There isn't a return to normal in certain disasters."

He was from New Orleans, and went thru Katrina...

He has a point, when do you just say "Um. I quit." and move to a new, and better providing, area? Because TEOTWAWKI is fun for conversations, but most of the survival we're gonna do is ice storms, and weather damage...

When do you "take your ball, and leave"? When funds run low? When you realize that the recovery of an area is in the time length of DECADES?

[jdonovan]

I'd leave when the viability of make a home, provide for the family, make a living, etc... became non-viable in that area.

AND ONLY

When a different area provided me better options to do the above.

[m4a1mustang]

I'm in the same camp as jd. If I felt like there was legitimately better opportunity elsewhere I would leave.

[gunderwood]

I'd leave when the viability of make a home, provide for the family, make a living, etc... became non-viable in that area.

AND ONLY

When a different area provided me better options to do the above.

+1

Hard and fast rules about what to do when are not conducive to surviving.

[rod]

I want to be able to contribute to a better quality of life for my self, family, and neighbors/friends. If I can't do that, I'm outa here. I bugged out from California several years ago due to a political disaster that has no hope of recovery in the forseeable future. I fought as long as I could but my daughter was about to be exposed to some of the worst public education in the nation, my wife and I were expected to be happy about being forced to fund medical care, housing, and free education for illegal aliens (criminals) through taxation without representation, and every dope smok'n freeloader was given a get-outa-jail free card, while I was made into a criminal for not conforming to mountains of feel-good legislation that solved absolutly nothing. That feel good legislation is no reflection on the majority of Californians, it's a direct result of out of control politicians that benifit from districts drawn up to their advantage and full of people that wear rose colored sunglasses and think the way queen pelosi and her court tell them to think. I'm here in Virginia now and am proud to call it home. I won't be going back to lalaland ever again. Virginia is my happy place and I'm staying.

[Kreutz]

I want to be able to contribute to a better quality of life for my self, family, and neighbors/friends. If I can't do that, I'm outa here. I bugged out from California several years ago due to a political disaster that has no hope of recovery in the forseeable future. I fought as long as I could but my daughter was about to be exposed to some of the worst public education in the nation, my wife and I were expected to be happy about being forced to fund medical care, housing, and free education for illegal aliens (criminals) through taxation without representation, and every dope smok'n freeloader was given a get-outa-jail free card, while I was made into a criminal for not conforming to mountains of feel-good legislation that solved absolutly nothing. That feel good legislation is no reflection on the majority of Californians, it's a direct result of out of control politicians that benifit from districts drawn up to their advantage and full of people that wear rose colored sunglasses and think the way queen pelosi and her court tell them to think. I'm here in Virginia now and am proud to call it home. I won't be going back to lalaland ever again. Virginia is my happy place and I'm staying.

I left NY for the same reasons; this is where I'm putting down roots (first time homeowner) and this is where I'm staying.

Out of curiosity, in California, are the unions in charge like they are in NY? We (taxpayers) had to slave away and toil for them. The MTA payroll tax was the straw that broke the camels (i.e. my) back.

[SHMIV]

Here is the thing with VA... those looney extreme left wing types that you find in both NY and CA also have representatives and lobbyists at the federal level. The federal Hub is DC, which, as I'm sure you are aware, sits right on the border of VA and MD. Virginia is fairly popular with the extreme left, given it's proximity to DC. As a bonus for them, we have schools for them to infiltrate, plus a great number of Historical locations for them to corrupt. Texas and Arizona are looking pretty good to me.

[Jakeiscrazy]

Here is the thing with VA... those looney extreme left wing types that you find in both NY and CA also have representatives and lobbyists at the federal level. The federal Hub is DC, which, as I'm sure you are aware, sits right on the border of VA and MD. Virginia is fairly popular with the extreme left, given it's proximity to DC. As a bonus for them, we have schools for them to infiltrate, plus a great number of Historical locations for them to corrupt. Texas and Arizona are looking pretty good to me.

If it go bad enough in terms of laws and economic opportunity here then AZ would be my preferred location although they aren't without problems also. But I would rather try to the fight the good fight for as long as I can here.

[Kreutz]

Here is the thing with VA... those looney extreme left wing types that you find in both NY and CA also have representatives and lobbyists at the federal level. The federal Hub is DC, which, as I'm sure you are aware, sits right on the border of VA and MD. Virginia is fairly popular with the extreme left, given it's proximity to DC. As a bonus for them, we have schools for them to infiltrate, plus a great number of Historical locations for them to corrupt. Texas and Arizona are looking pretty good to me.

Arizonas economy has been in the toilet for years. Case in point I lived next door to a family that fled Arizona to New York for jobs.

That ain't right!

Texas is going to be Mexico again real soon, so thats a no win either.

[mamabearCali]

It is my opinion, but you leave only when you absolutely must, when life is no longer sustainable in a certain area for some reason. Being a refugee is bad bad bad, it might be better than being dead, but it is a good way to end up dead. However if gangs are burning the neighborhood you can't stay, you must go. It would be better of course to have somewhere to go, family--good friends. When I think historically of group of people that have been displaced in history it is always bad, it never ever turns out peachy keen.

[rod]

I want to be able to contribute to a better quality of life for my self, family, and neighbors/friends. If I can't do that, I'm outa here. I bugged out from California several years ago due to a political disaster that has no hope of recovery in the forseeable future. I fought as long as I could but my daughter was about to be exposed to some of the worst public education in the nation, my wife and I were expected to be happy about being forced to fund medical care, housing, and free education for illegal aliens (criminals) through taxation without representation, and every dope smok'n freeloader was given a get-outa-jail free card, while I was made into a criminal for not conforming to mountains of feel-good legislation that solved absolutly nothing. That feel good legislation is no reflection on the majority of Californians, it's a direct result of out of control politicians that benifit from districts drawn up to their advantage and full of people that wear rose colored sunglasses and think the way queen pelosi and her court tell them to think. I'm here in Virginia now and am proud to call it home. I won't be going back to lalaland ever again. Virginia is my happy place and I'm staying.

I left NY for the same reasons; this is where I'm putting down roots (first time homeowner) and this is where I'm staying.


Out of curiosity, in California, are the unions in charge like they are in NY? We (taxpayers) had to slave away and toil for them. The MTA payroll tax was the straw that broke the camels (i.e. my) back.

There's plenty of unions that screw things up in CA. The state and counties all have fantastic retirement plans. Back in the day, the state and counties could afford to fund those retirement packages. With the economy the way it is today, there's no return on the investiments and no money to pay the retirements. The unions refuse to renegotiate so, other programs (education, fire, police) get cut. That's just one problem. The biggest problem is handouts. California is a safe haven for illegal immigrants. They are entitled to resident fees for college, free public education, free medical care (emergency room), welfare, and a lot of other handouts. There's sanctuary cities where illegal immigrants are not turned over to ICE and are instead, turned loose to commit more crimes.

I understand Virginia isn't perfect and there's plenty of liberal people here fighting to destroy our freedom. It's nothing like California though. Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington (state), Montana, and lots of other western states are polluted with Californians that moved there during the height of the housing market. They took with them all their political views and are corrupting free America with all their socialist ideas. Texas is full of Californians too. Texas is big enough to absorb them and tough enough to keep those Obama leg humpers in line. At least in Virginia, all those hippy thinking freedom haters are confined to just a few areas. I have lots of friends here that think the way I do, and I believe we have a very good chance of preserving our rights and freedom here in Virginia.

[SHMIV]

While I'd like to head out to the mid-west, it is certainly more feasible to stay in Va. I've got family here, which is why I came back to begin with. Should things get really bad, I imagine that my aunt and uncle would appreciate some help in protecting the cattle from thieves.

I've been advising most people to stay put for the past couple of years, anyway. No sense in blindly going somewhere where you don't know anybody, the way the economy is.

[Reverenddel]

There are days that TN, and KY look pretty nice. They're not perfect, but having that "Cancer that is D.C." to the North just aggravates me.

The frakin' "GIMME! GIMME!" crowd is as worthless as a condom dispenser at an Indigo Girls concert.

I just have to keep me, and mine, from becoming indoctrinated by their poisonious thinking. EYE ON THE PRIZE! COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE! NO DEBT! SELF-SUSTAINING PROPERTY!

[OakRidgeStars]

The frakin' "GIMME! GIMME!" crowd is as worthless as a condom dispenser at an Indigo Girls concert.

Who knows how to get orange juice out of a laptop keyboard?

[dorminWS]

I want to be able to contribute to a better quality of life for my self, family, and neighbors/friends. If I can't do that, I'm outa here. I bugged out from California several years ago due to a political disaster that has no hope of recovery in the forseeable future. I fought as long as I could but my daughter was about to be exposed to some of the worst public education in the nation, my wife and I were expected to be happy about being forced to fund medical care, housing, and free education for illegal aliens (criminals) through taxation without representation, and every dope smok'n freeloader was given a get-outa-jail free card, while I was made into a criminal for not conforming to mountains of feel-good legislation that solved absolutly nothing. That feel good legislation is no reflection on the majority of Californians, it's a direct result of out of control politicians that benifit from districts drawn up to their advantage and full of people that wear rose colored sunglasses and think the way queen pelosi and her court tell them to think. I'm here in Virginia now and am proud to call it home. I won't be going back to lalaland ever again. Virginia is my happy place and I'm staying.

I left NY for the same reasons; this is where I'm putting down roots (first time homeowner) and this is where I'm staying.


Out of curiosity, in California, are the unions in charge like they are in NY? We (taxpayers) had to slave away and toil for them. The MTA payroll tax was the straw that broke the camels (i.e. my) back.

There's plenty of unions that screw things up in CA. The state and counties all have fantastic retirement plans. Back in the day, the state and counties could afford to fund those retirement packages. With the economy the way it is today, there's no return on the investiments and no money to pay the retirements. The unions refuse to renegotiate so, other programs (education, fire, police) get cut. That's just one problem. The biggest problem is handouts. California is a safe haven for illegal immigrants. They are entitled to resident fees for college, free public education, free medical care (emergency room), welfare, and a lot of other handouts. There's sanctuary cities where illegal immigrants are not turned over to ICE and are instead, turned loose to commit more crimes.

I understand Virginia isn't perfect and there's plenty of liberal people here fighting to destroy our freedom. It's nothing like California though. Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington (state), Montana, and lots of other western states are polluted with Californians that moved there during the height of the housing market. They took with them all their political views and are corrupting free America with all their socialist ideas. Texas is full of Californians too. Texas is big enough to absorb them and tough enough to keep those Obama leg humpers in line. At least in Virginia, all those hippy thinking freedom haters are confined to just a few areas. I have lots of friends here that think the way I do, and I believe we have a very good chance of preserving our rights and freedom here in Virginia.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Get 100 miles from the coast or Charlottesville & Blacksburg, and you'll have plenty of real people around you who understand earning a living and taking care of themselves and their own.

[seeknulfind]

At this point, I'm not sure there IS anyplace else to go that is more habitable than North Dakota. We moved to VA from MD. We left WNY 10 years ago mostly because in our neck of the woods, the economy suffered from chronic stink. Still does. It was there I became certified to work on computers - the best job I could find paid $6 an hour and was 45 minutes away. This was before the dotcom crash when you could get hired in the industry if you could just SPELL "computer".

After the crash, of course, one needed at least a Master's degree, 15 years experience - including 5 years with the newly released Windows XP os, plus an MCSE and CISCO certs for an entry level job. But I digress...

After NY and MD, Virginia is a wonderful place. I can finally own and carry a handgun. One can in both places but NY requires a permit simply to purchase a handgun. You can own one in MD but permits to carry are so tightly controlled they are non-existent for most citizens.

Lived in AZ, been through Texas, not fond of desert life. I'd rather take my chances where there's trees.

Of course in an actual TEOTWAWKI situation... does it really matter what part of the country you live in? I doubt if life would be any better in one region or another.

It might be better to find a place where you have a reasonable chance of obtaining food and other basic necessities. One place I'd hate to be is in a city. I'm not much for densely populated areas anyway, but in a crunch, I can't think of anyplace more dangerous. It wouldn't take long for food supplies to get short and things to get ugly.

I think we are in a good place now. When would I pick up my ball and leave? Probably when where I am is wholly uninhabitable and there remains someplace that is less so.

Andy