is one typical piece of advice in the zombie / prepper circles.
To which I say …
“Move to rural areas.”
— No. I don’t feel safe in rural areas, and I’m not likely to feel safer there as times get worse.
And fortunately we don’t all want to move to rural areas, as there would never be room for us all to sprawl out like that. So many stories of one or two people moving onto 10 acres etc. The math doesn’t work. Plus as times get tougher we need to be pooling our energies and resources, not getting even more isolated than we are now.
- On the subject of ruralness (rurality?), over at permies.com There is a thread of people who own land trying to connect with people who want to live on land. One of the attributes people give, along with the location and number of acres, is proximity to a hardware store. Personally, I would care a lot more about proximity to a pub, and that’s not only because I enjoy a drink or two. It’s also because if you are near a pub (or diner, coffee shop), you are connected to the people of the area and you can go there, become a regular, offer your skills & resources, ask around for what you need.
- Start collecting rainwater and using it wherever you’re at
- Start reducing your dependence on electricity wherever you’re at (solar panels or no — getting by with minimal electricity is a useful skill)
- Be a resource for your neighbors and community. Share skills and share stuff.
- Do whatever you can to retrofit your house to be less dependent on artificial cooling and heating. Passive heat, passive cooling is the way to go.
- Work on getting a critical mass of people in your town or city to start growing food in public spaces. Fruit trees, nut trees, etc. A lot of towns and cities at least in the USA currently have vast expanses of nonfunctional turfgrass; that space could easily instead be used to grow food instead of useless mowed grass.
- Work on your mental health, spiritual health. We will need it, not only for ourselves but to comfort others around us who might be in shock.
- Be a beacon of kindness and compassion.