suburb or small town?

[lovedby5]

Hi, I wonder if I could get y'alls thoughts on something? I've been trying to decide where we should 'ride out' H5N1 if it's to hit in the next year or so.

 

 

Jen.

 

[rockncook]

I think one thing that would help, is to have a pre paid, charged cell phone that you don't use, take it with you up there. Then it's fully charged and ready to go. Spend some time there before hand figuring out where you can get a cell signal from. Also put together a large list of contacts for them. Then give the contacts directions to the coast house. Then if something happened, they could just go down the contact list until they got to someone.

 

Make sure they learn how to drive, even if they aren't old enough. I've been teaching mine how since they were 12. Farm kids learn even earlier.

 

Isolation IS your best bet. Just give them the skills to deal if the worst happens.

 

Mommy of Six

 

ETA Clarification of some points.

[Guest Guest]

Quote:

We also have a small house on a flat, sunny acre near the 'inner banks', in a county with one stop light and very little crime. That house has a well with a manual pump, plus has a small canal along one of the property lines, so water shouldn't be a problem there. It also has a propane stove & water heater. We have a few aquaintances there & the neighbors on either side are elderly & kind, but we haven't been there enough to really form any sort of 'community' with anyone.

I think as long as the family was intact, the house near the coast would be a better place to be. But if dh and I weren't to survive the flu, I'd rather the kids be here where they know people. And I'm afraid that they might not be able to get back to Raleigh alone, even if they had gas in the car. It's about 120 miles from one place to the other.

What if you spent more time (like on the weekends or a few weeks of vacation or both) at the other place so the kids can be a bit more familiar with the neighbors and maybe get a chance to develop a bit more feeling of "community" now - before something happens?

It does sound like the more preferable place to be in the event of emergency. Also, during your trips back & forth - you could point out landmarks, highways, exits, etc. to make it easier for them to be able to find their way back & forth if they had to get there by themselves or get back by themselves. ?? Just some thoughts.

[gardnmom]

I would not want to have my children in an area where they might have to defend themselves against looters and gangs. It will be very tough to learn to survive without 1 or both of the parents, so why make it more difficult with roaming mirauders if it is not necessary.

Water is a must for survival.

The older community is more likely to give them a helping hand.

Teens don't believe they are vulnerable until they see how bad it really is. Lots of food for thought for you.

[lovedby5]

Thanks - all of you! I feel better knowing that y'all agree that the small town would be a better place to SIP.

 

Of the 3 kids we'll have with us, one has her license & the other teen *should* be getting his permit next week. So it would just be the 10 year old who wouldn't be able to drive. The 16 yo has driven to and from the house herself a few times, so as long as they didn't encounter roughians along the way... I guess we should teach them how to use the shotgun! Goodness - so much to think about!

 

I like the idea of the contact list & letting trusted people know ahead of time where we'll be & how to find us in case the kids need them. I could also prepare some letters for them to mail out in case there's no phone service.

 

We chat with the neighbors every time we go, but spend most of our time out on the boat, so most of the folks we know there are at the marina - many are also not local. I'll make some time to get to know some of the locals, though - thanks!

 

I appreciate it, ladies! If anyone thinks of a counterpoint, please let me know!

 

Jen.

 

[billy 25]

Jen,

We recently made the same decision you are struggling with. We lived in a large suburb of Tulsa and knew that the highschool was going to be much too large for our high-anxiety dd (14). But my husband and I were increasingly uncomfortable about continuing to live a community that will eventually become unsustainable especially when the inevitable gas shortages make commuting impossible. So when someone unexpectedly offered to by our house last December we moved to a small community north of town. We don't have much land and still have city services but we can walk anywhere in town (grocery store,library,police station) if we have to. We putting in some raised bed gardens and buying locally as much as we can.

DD was very upset that we were moving. Very upset. (we did restart the anxiety meds and that has helped) But she has adjusted. A few weeks ago she even said "Mom, remember when I threw the fit about moving here? Well I take it back."

 

I understand your concern about uprooting the kids but you are responsible for doing whats best for the ENTIRE family. Kids have a shortsighted view of these things.

Good luck!

Nancy

[lovedby5]

Thanks Nancy!

 

We have to stay here for now, but will (hopefully) quickly get to our other house if we need to isolate. I suspect my 16 yo will try to smuggle a friend in with her, though!

 

I'm glad your daughter likes where she is now. Our 10 yo (the one with anxiety) is as anxious to get out of Raleigh as we are, but if TEOTWAWKI doesn't happen before then, we'll stay until the middle two are in college.

 

Meanwhile, I'm trying to have both places at least somewhat prepped - just in case!

 

 

Jen.

 

[Mother]

Random thoughts on this and in no particular order or significance.

 

Have you thought about talking with the neighbors in your current neighborhood to see if they have the same fears as you do if a pandemic or other disaster hits. Often times a community or neighborhood can do what an individual family cannot. With neighbors helping neighbors you might succeed and indeed, if you cannot GET to your safer home, you may have to in any case. Community gardens, greenhouses, community watches, and etc might be the answer to all in the area.

 

If water is soon gone inthe area, have you considered the possibility of putting in a well? That may not be a possibility in a city as some zoning will not allow it but it's worth looking into. If not, then what about rain barrels and/or a water resevoir, either at roof heighth for gravity feed or underground for hand pumping.

 

How about your own greenhouse or window greenhouses to grow more of your own food. Seeds for sprouting will give anyone a supply of greens winter or summer.

 

Protection against gangs and violence would be a real problem but could be one anywhere, even in your supposedly safe house. If TSHTF it could mean you would have to defend yourself no matter where you are so teaching the kids to defend themselves would be wise. Depending on how early in a pandemic or other crisis you leave for the safe house, you may meet with lots of opposition on the way both lawful and unlawful. It's possible you will be turned back from county or state borders. If you do reach there, do you have plans for defending it also? (Question? Would you end up trying to defend the elderly people in the safe house area? What do THEY feel about the possibility?)

 

What about gardens at the safe house? If you only go there rarely there won't be one when you might need it. Remember that you may not be able to take food with you and if you are later arriving there, someone else may have found your preps before you do. Wild food in the area could be depleted very fast if there is any or it might not be safe to be out gathering it without adequate protection.

 

These are, of course, not answers but at least they bring up more ideas to think about and to find answers for. That is truly the best way to make this decision. Gather together all the worst case info you can come up with and then come up with various answers BEFORE they happen to be better prepared.

 

Most of us face similar decisions. We live in the country, all set up for sustaining our lives if need be but if we were made to leave for some reason (the nuke plant down the road would be one reason) we would be in deeper troubles. We are trying to prepare for that also.

 

Good luck with your decision.

 

 

[lovedby5]

Whew! Lots to think about, Mother!

 

I'm involved in our local neighborhood watch & am planning to bring this all up at our next meeting. I have no idea how I will be received, having gotten chuckles or blank looks from most folks I've mentioned it to so far! But I guess their response will tell me a lot no matter what!

 

We woudn't have to cross any state lines to get to the other house, but it does concern me that we might not be able to get there. Otoh, if we're already there & TSHTF, we might not be able to get back here! I guess it does make sense to have at least basic provisions in both houses & build up from there.

 

I'll keep plugging away at it. I appreciate your thoughts!

 

 

Jen.

[rockncook]

Quote:

I like the idea of the contact list & letting trusted people know ahead of time where we'll be & how to find us in case the kids need them. I could also prepare some letters for them to mail out in case there's no phone service.

I can almost guarantee that there will be no postal delivery if there is a pandemic and here’s why.

Jim works for the post office, loading and unloading planes. He’s based out of New York. Before his shift, he spends a few minutes chatting with the cute flight attendant he met a few weeks ago. She’s just returned from an overseas flight from Asia, and she’s a little tired. They finish their conversation, and Jim heads off to work, looking forward to asking her out on a date next week.

He loads the plane which then flies to several Midwestern cities, carrying lots of mail. At each stop, Jim is helped in his unloading by local post office employees, who sort the mail into trucks headed for various distribution centers. The trucks then take off, heading for their individual destinations.

Steve is driving the truck bound for the Denver distribution center. He likes working with Jim, because they always joke around with each other. He reaches the distribution center, where the mail is again sorted, some to stay in Denver and some to go to more outlying cities like Colorado Springs and Pueblo. He takes his break with his wife, Sheila, who is a mail sorter. They kiss and she leaves to finish sorting the mail for the Pueblo truck.

She helps John load his truck to Pueblo because they are a few minutes behind schedule. In the close confines of the trailer, they can’t help but bump into each other. They joke and then John heads off for his drive to Pueblo and Trinidad.

His delivery in Pueblo is rather uneventful. He drops off most of his load, picks up some more items, and then continues on to Pueblo. He makes it to Trinidad on time, right at 6:30 am. He’s helped in his unloading by Larry and Robert. They unload the truck and help the carriers sort. As they are working, they come into contact with all the carriers, the front desk clerks, and the post master.

As you all probably know, you can have the flu for a few days and not know it yet. It’s incubating in your system, slowly doing its damage, working up to the big yucky stuff. Within a few weeks of the initial outbreak, I’d bet most of the postal workers will be infected, and will be a major cause of the spread of the flu. When DH is carrying, he has a number of people who don’t get out of the house much. The arrival of the postman is the best part of their day, because they get to talk to someone! So they love to come outside and chat with him for a few minutes.

I’ve already told DH that if there is an outbreak, he will be stuck at work until it’s over. I know that’s mean and umm, well, mean, but...as much as I’d rather have him around during any period of isolation, the health and safety of the children has to be our primary consideration.

Mommy of Six

[lovedby5]

Hmm,and I guess homing pigeons wouldn't work, either.

 

no phone, no internet, no mail - I better just stay alive & take care of my kids!

 

 

Jen.

 

 

 

[Daisygirl]

If and or when a pandemic hits, it could circle the world in like 24 hours...with very few places to hide. Trusting in the Lord and doing what we know to be helpfull is all that we can do. It would be hard to make Hubby stay at work, but better than contaminating the children.

 

I don't think there is a perfect solution to that type of situation.