Survival in the coming years?

[murray hill farm]

What about the mike ruppert thought...that with peak oil theory..and the changes in the world to come? He suggests moving to a rural area with enough land to grow your own food, with trees for construction, a fresh water source..and in a friendly community where one can work together and barter for the necessities to survive. Any thoughts on this? Sounds like an excellent idea to me.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Already live there

I've been here for about 13 years. Great community, great survivability. There are plenty of places like this around.

[murray hill farm]

2. where?

dont blame u if u dont want to tell..ha

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. Newton County AR

another good place to live is Southern Illinois, around Makanda.

[Jim Warren]

15. What's it like there?

Curious, and looking for an alternative.
How is the Mountain Home area?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

19. Mt. Home

is surrounded by lakes (dammed up White River, I think), and has more of a resort atmosphere. Still some hills, but not as isolated.

Newton County is one of the more remote counties in the state, and one of the poorest. A lot of the land is owned by the National Forest. A friend of mine who recently moved to CT said the topography was similar to Litchfield County there, if that is any help. There are groups of environmentalists/organic farmers/old hippies who have been here for years, more or less living peacefully by the other inhabitants. We did have a dust up about eight years ago when we protested logging practices, but since the bottom has dropped out of the logging market since NAFTA, things have been relatively quiet.

More progressives live farther west, in the Fayetteville area.

Hope this information helps.

[Jim Warren]

20. Thank you, it does. n/t

[democratreformed]

5. Me too. But, I've been here all my life.

The good old hills of central Arkansas. Born and raised. Intend to stay. To me, it's the best place to be.

[Jim Warren]

16. Wonder if

I could impose the same question as above to ayeshahaqqiqa?

[democratreformed]

30. White County, AR

Foothills of the Ozarks

[Emillereid]

3. My husband and I have been thinking along the same lines --

sell our house in the burbs, find someplace relatively warm, with a water source and trees, with like minded people. I think it's time to buy out of the larger, corporate dominated society.

[K8-EEE]

4. YIKES!

You mean he thinks all cities are going to be like Baghdad is now??

GULP! I would be like Eva Gabor in Green Acres!! I'm sure it's a wonderful type of life if you like that sort of thing. I like gardening OK but I'm a city mouse. And theres a few million more of us, what are WE supposed to do?

My parent's neighbor, the actor Ed Begley Jr, has his house all outfitted with solar panels...I sure would love to do something like that, at least make my little cottage here energy independent!

[lindashaw]

6. We're already doing it. Course, we've been debt free for many

years, but we're building a large strawbale construction and securing an existing water supply. We hope to make it off-the-grid, but if we can't, at least we won't be totally at the mercy of the grocer and utility man!

[wovenpaint]

7. OOOHHHH, Straw bale!

That's my deam house! You sure have the correct idea!! Good for you.

[murray hill farm]

9. he refers to no resources dependent on oil

so..that is about everything..including the electric and food supply..so, it would be the idea of going back to growing own food..and bartering within the community..solor panals?..an individual plan to survive when all that we have learned to depend on that is oil or gas dependent is gone.

[InvisibleTouch]

10. Been thinking that for years....

I just have to get out of the damn city!

[MuseRider]

11. Got the farm,

got the horses, got trees and lots of ponds with a spring. House plans almost complete. Hope to get close to off the grid. Gonna be there in a year or so. Nice little community, a few wackos but also a good many like minded people. To be honest, we were planning this way before Bush** was on the scene but it is more important now.

[DireStrike]

12. Even if you live in one of these places...

You better stock up on Ammo, and get a good gun to go with it. Some body armor too might be nice.

[lgardengate]

13. Sounds like a red state. Also i'm in WV. You just about decribed

Where we live.Were in the city but the country is close.In summer we grow veggies.My dad gets fresh eggs from his friend etc.

[murray hill farm]

14. sounds good!

i had sort of thought about north carolina or tenn or hills of nw georgia as a place to start looking..still a lot of open land there and lots of small communities to look at there.

[Gyre]

17. "Friendly community"

would be a speedbump in your "plan". Most rural folks are suspicious of newbies. Take them decades to trust newcomers. When the going gets rough you're likely to find yourself alone, unless you've been someplace for awhile. What the hell did you expect?

Gyre

[murray hill farm]

18. that has never been my experience.

I have lived in a lot of places..and though i have been warned ever so often that folks will not trust newbies..i have not personally found that to be true..suspicious maybe...but it doesnt last long if you respect their "ways" and maintain an attitude of respect, etc. i just bought a little..and i do mean little house in Brunswick, GA..of course, it is in what might be considered a "bad" neighborhood by some...it is perfect for me. I am a white person who bought in an all black and poor neighborhood..and i asked my neighbors first if they were OK with that..they were..and i cannot begin to describe all the help they were to me when i was up there trying to rehab the little home into livable..brought me plants for the yard..helped me clean it up...this has always been my experience whereever i have lived..and i have lived in different countries and many different places in the usa.

[Jim Warren]

21. Perhaps he/she expected

naysaying misanthropes not to matter...you have no idea what this person may bring to a living situation that, for the life of you, would remain hidden.

[murray hill farm]

22. What????

could u rewrite that is words i can understand..ha

[Jim Warren]

24. Thought it harsh is all,

the "what the hell did you expect" comment, simply pointing out to the poster they have no idea of people skills etc. you may possess that escapes them.

[Goathead]

23. The trick is to find

communities out in the sticks where there aren't a lot of "locals".
We live in a community that was planned in the '60s and it is out in the middle of nowhere. It is not old enough to have an established local population so everyone is fairly new and outgoing. People already barter and give you stuff that they don't need like extra vegetables from their garden, tires for a truck when they buy new ones, etc. It is pretty cool. You do have to deal with some petty squabbles and feuds from time to time but just act tough and don't take any shit from anybody otherwise they will walk all over you.

[Cleita]

25. There isn't enough rural space with arable land and trees

to accommodate all the urban people who want to flee. This is a fallacy of the people who think they can live off of the land. Many of the animals who have to live off the land are having a problem surviving, which is why they are increasingly coming into suburban areas to feast on pets and garbage. Imagine what it will be like if everyone does this. Also, much of the wilderness is polluted from mining in the last two hundred years, so water is tainted with arsenic and mercury and the fish in it as well. Arsenic also is absorbed by vegetation in the soil.

The barter part though is worth exploring. People can go to farmers' markets or produce stands out in the country and trade for other goods or services. Lawyers can trade services with mechanics and so on. Also, dope growers of the sixties perfected the art of growing plants indoors. Apartment dwellers can do the same turning an extra bedroom or closet into a greenhouse. Also, people with yards can grow a lot of stuff even on a small patch with raised beds.

[murray hill farm]

26. Lots of land left.

a lot of it still there in even the temperate climates..ever drive south along I75 or I95..so much land still there..it just is not land with electricity..and speaking of which..u do need to grow with grow lights in an apartment extra bedroom. No, there is not enough for everyone to live on...i guess that is the point though..who will survive when the oil and the gas and the electricity are no longer available?

[Cleita]

29. Solar panels provide enough power for greenhouse lights.

Really, they do. However, apartment dwellers have a bigger problem and would have to get their landlords to do some major retrofitting. Also in colder climates, heating would present a problem although woodburning stoves could be used if the right retrofitting was done. Rerouting gray water to water gardens can be done and even composting toilets are available for human waste, which you can put on your ornamental plants or even out in the forest to feed the trees.

I have kind of made a hobby of attempting to live off the grid and it's possible, but living off the land isn't for everyone. I always shopped for food that I couldn't grow. Also, after spending almost a decade living in one of the last truly wild places in the lower 48, I can assure you that all the rivers and lakes are polluted because of bad land management by mostly Republican governments.

Also, it's only possible for young, healthy people because doctors and clinics are few and far between. There are med-vac helicopters available for emergencies, but an older person who needs a lot of care would find it prohibitively expensive.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

27. i was a head of the curve ..i made the move 20 years ago because i knew

than what is about to befall us...23 acres, chickens, sheep, trout stream and organic veggie gardening...took classes from a woman named susan weed in woodstock, NY and taught myself all the wild edible plants & herbs for both food and medicine, mushroom gathering (taught by my Ukrainian & Moscovian friends)and preserving, canning and root cellaring...it is hard work but well worth it...a great way for the family to stay close and it nurtures feelings of relevance in the children

everyone MUST to read Thom Hartmann's new book"The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight"


i am green witch

[murray hill farm]

28. I so admire you..ms green witch

u are woman...u will survive..and u are ahead of your time.

[lgardengate]

31. Sounds wonderful

My dad grew up alot like that.I used to love the city but now i would LOVE to have our own chickens,cow,and sheep.

[karlrschneider]

32. My SO & I bought 3 acres on a lake in eastern Okla...a very 'red' area,

but darned nice, real-estate-wise. We've learned to appreciate seasons since meeting in FL 24 years ago and moving here. Plenty of room for gardening and we'll be drilling a water well in the spring. Good place to live, actually, and probably not a bad spot to die as well.

[murray hill farm]

33. I love these stories!

Folks really doing it..your new home sounds wonderful.