There Is No “Perfect” Location for Preppers: You MUST Make the Best of Where You Are

Author of Be Ready for Anything and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course

In the prepping world, discussions abound about the “perfect” location for preppers. According to most, it has to be rural, it needs to have a crystal clear stream running through it, acres of garden space, a mature orchard, and it needs to be off-grid (or ready to be so at the flip of a switch.) Heck, I’ve written about this myself. I’ve lived in that “perfect” location.

But the reality is that although some live in that situation, most of us do not. For most of us, the demands of work, family, and budget mean that we live someplace that is not perfect. And moreover, even those places that sound perfect, aren’t necessarily all they’re cracked up to be.

Perfect isn’t always that great.

I’ve lived in some places that would be considered perfect in prepping circles. Actually, because I’m sort of a nomad, I’ve lived in quite a few really awesome places.

When I first began prepping in an SHTF kind of way instead of just stocking up on some extra food and keeping extra batteries for the flashlight, I lived in a large metropolitan area between Toronto and Buffalo. The region had a population of close to half a million people and I had no doubt that things would get ugly fast if a serious event were to occur. When I got a chance to live the prepper’s dream out in the boonies, I jumped at it.

A secluded cabin on a lake in Ontario was my first “perfect” location. That was actually my introduction to rural living and I thought I was going to freeze to death before learning how to build a fire in the woodstove that would stay lit long enough to warm my house. But learn I did, and I had a lot of practice living without electricity there, as the electricity went out every time the wind blew a leaf across the power line. It was spectacularly beautiful there and it was all fun and games until the temperature dipped to negative 53 – yep NEGATIVE 53 – and I discovered that I hated cold weather and winter with a passion generally reserved for Communism.

That place was almost two hours from the closest town big enough for a Wal-Mart. It was so isolated that newcomers weren’t particularly welcome, as my daughter and I both learned the hard way. I loved the abundant resources but between the climate, the isolation, and the closed ranks, this place was not for us. When I was offered a job in California, I took it without a second thought.

I lived on a couple of different farms in California. The first one was wonderful, with a huge barn and high-quality fencing. But it was hot and dry and terribly far from any source of water except the back-up of the septic system.  When it finally did rain, my cottage became victim to a mudslide. It didn’t knock the house off the foundation, thankfully, but my nice garden beds were covered in filth, we couldn’t use our water due to the fussy thrice-damned septic system, and the place just smelled terrible. Cross that one off the list.

The second one was about as ideal as you could find. It did have a cold, year round creek in the back. It was in the country but in a county full of warm welcoming people who are the best neighbors I’ve ever had. We put up our own fencing, raised lots of animals. and enjoyed the heck out of living there.

But there were downsides to this paradise too. Like when a sinkhole opened up on one road down the mountain and a mudslide covered the other road and I got bitten by a black widow spider and could not get medical care for a week. And the horrible internet service (internet is a necessity for my work). And the time some guys came to do a home invasion and we were 45 minutes away from the police and 10 minutes from a neighbor and I had to scare them off myself. Eventually, we moved not because of the downsides, but because my 16-year-old daughter was heading out to college across the country and was too young to go by herself.

And now we live in a nice, well-maintained house in a city again. Here, I have had no issues with crime (except when someone tried to steal my Jeep from the parking lot at the mall, but I wasn’t there and only knew because they broke the cover of my steering column.) We have abundant rain, a wonderful garden, a fruit tree in the backyard, and reliable water and power. But if the SHTF in a big way, would it remain this nice? Probably not but the home is bordered by a huge wooded walking trail and way out on the edge of town. So who knows? It certainly wouldn’t be the first area to get hit if things went down.

There’s good stuff and bad stuff no matter your location.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that nothing is perfect. We live where we need to for different reasons and those who scoff at the reasons of other people are – I have to say it – ignorant. Here are some of the reasons I’ve heard that people live in “less than ideal” locations:

• The kids are in a school they need to be in for specific reasons, like special needs, a pre-university program, etc.
• They have elderly parents who don’t want to leave the home where they raised their families.
• A spouse has an excellent job with high pay (hard to find these days)
• They don’t want to leave a job with benefits in the age of Obamacare – particularly if they have a family member with an expensive health condition.
• They need to be near a specific hospital for a child’s treatment.
• They can’t afford to move because life is paycheck to paycheck.

Heck, maybe they just like where they live. It’s not up to the rest of us to decide where all preppers should live. That’s nonsense.

And another thing to remember is this: there is no location on the planet that is completely safe from all types of disasters. You can have winter storms, heat waves, power outages, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, industrial accidents, civil unrest, drought, earthquakes…I mean, really, the possibility for upheaval is practically endless. It’s a matter of picking your poison and dealing with the aftermath.

You can make the best of your location.

No matter where you are, you can make the very best of your location. I have done so in every place I’ve lived and will continue to do so however my circumstances change.

You just have to think it through.

You have to consider your family’s special needs and your specific property. Here are some of the things you need to think about:

• How much storage space do you have?
• Do you have outdoor space to grow veggies?
• Is there any food growing wild a short distance from you?
• Do you have access to water aside from what is in your taps?
• Do you live in a place that you can modify or is it a rental with strict rules?
• How defensible is your home?
• Are your family members on board?
• What is your budget for prepping?
• Which natural disasters are common or likely in your location?
• What are your skills?

There are all sorts of things to consider. But the biggest thing to remember is that every location has its downside.

You can be prepped regardless of your location.

With the right information and some determination, you can make the most of any place that you live. I have a new course that I’m just rolling out that asks these questions and many more. In the course, I will help you create a preparedness plan geared to your unique location. It’s called Bloom Where You’re Planted and it is $49.95.

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This is a 4-week course with 5 live webinars where we can really get down to the nitty-gritty of your situation. You will receive 3 assignments per week to help you determine the assets of your location as well as the downsides. Then we’ll figure out how to overcome the things that aren’t so great. You will have my complete attention for these four weeks and when it’s over, you will have a budget-friendly plan you can put into action.

I’m not going to tell you to go out and buy expensive gear and generators. We’re going to focus on your home, your budget, and your questions. At the end of this, you will be confident that you can handle most emergencies and you will have actions steps to take to improve your self-reliance. This is true whether you live at the top of a highrise in a big city, in a small apartment with tight rules, or in a house in suburbia with a strict HOA. I can help you get better prepared. If you have questions, you can go here to learn more about the course.

Don’t let ignorant people get you down.

We are put where we are put on this planet for a wide variety of reasons. We have a wide variety of budgets and circumstances. People who scoff at the situations of others are often those who have never experienced difficult times. Ignore those people.

No matter where you are or what your life is like, you have two choices. You can complain about it and do nothing to improve it, or you can accept that it is what it is and you can move heaven and earth to make the best of your situation.

The people who choose to make the best of their situation will survive no matter what life throws at them. The people who can’t see outside their “perfect” situation that they’re so smug about? Well, they may not have the adaptability skills to survive if their circumstances change.

The choice is yours.

Bloom or die.