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Choosing a Bug Out Location
This Bug Out Location guide was written with the intent to help the reader decide where they are going in the event of a catastrophic…uh, event. Many members of this site have BOLs already set up or in mind, but if you don't yet, taking a BOL crash course may be in order. If this page is well received and does not suck I will add more sections to it, like completely isolated BOLs VS visible BOLs, how far away is far enough, an in-depth look into property you don’t own and so on.
BOL: Vacation Cabin
Overview: Usually the most ideal choice, this is a cabin or cottage that is used primarily for vacations. It could be family owned and shared amongst siblings or relatives, or could be owned by one person. People own vacation cabins in areas where they like to hunt, fish or get away from it all, usually making it a good bug out location.
Cost: Depends on acreage, location and buildings on site. In my area, anywhere from 25k and up. Free if your family owns it already.
Pros: Control of property belongs to the family or individual. Cabins can be easily fortified and well hidden. Comfortable and private. Usually has electricity, as long as the grid is still up. Most have a well, and as long as there is power to run the pump, or if a hand pump is available, you will have water. Has many uses besides being a BOL.
Cons: Can be expensive. Security is a concern. The further out of the way your cabin is, the easier it is for thieves to clean your place out before Z-Day even comes. If you found it, someone else can too.
What to do now: If the place is yours, you can do what you want. Build a root cellar and cache food and supplies. Set up a garden or simply do things to promote wild plant growth and wildlife. Put up fences, moats, signs and the like. Like any vacation cabin, yours might be a target for burglary pre and post Z-day. If you are going to stock the place, make sure your cache is well hidden, preferably underground.
BOL: Campsite
Overview: Similar to the Vacation Cabin, but on a smaller scale. This can be a campsite in a campground, but a lot in the woods would be much more desirable. It could be an empty plot of land that you can pitch a tent on, park a RV on or live out of your car if the situation necessitates it. Or you could have an old camper or a small shack left up there. The land could be owned by a family or individual.
Cost: I have found quarter-acre lots in the woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula off of logging trails on Craigslist for around $5000. Prices vary by location, void where prohibited.
Pros: Control of property belongs to the owner, as long as this campsite is not in a campground. Reasonably priced and usually costs less than a decent used car. Low property taxes. Somewhat private depending on size of land and what it borders.
Cons: Security is still an issue, and the concern is greater the more remote it is. Limited or no structures on site, unless you build, which costs more money. May or may not have electricity or water. Fortification can be tough when you’re living out of a pop-up camper.
What to do now: A campsite can be prepped like a Vacation Cabin, but needs to be done on a smaller and even more discrete scale. Everything needs to go underground. An underground cache could be built and a pre-fab Home Depot shed could be set on top of it to disguise it. Just have a couple floor boards loose so you can get down there, and leave some junk you don’t care about up in the shed as misdirection. In peacetime, it can be a place to store a canoe, or when all Hell breaks loose, it can be used as a cabin. Also, small travel trailers can be had for under a grand and left on site after flattening the tires. Just make sure anything of value is hidden well.
BOL: Self Storage
Overview: Usually a place where people store boats, summer cars, and all of Grandma’s belongings after she is put in a home. The ones with 24 hour outdoor access are usually the most attractive.
Cost: A 10x10 garage can be rented for as little as $50 per month. The further away from the city the cheaper it gets.
Pros: Low cost. No ownership costs such as maintence or property taxes. Little long term commitment. Quite secure. Nearly all Self Storage facilities make you use your own lock, which means the management doesn’t even have access to your stuff.
Cons: Living in a self storage garage is frowned upon by the management, unless society has broken down enough to where no one cares. They are usually not very defensible buildings as most are of the metal pole-building construction. This also means it will get hot or cold inside, limiting what types of food you can store long term, and making it miserable if you try to live there.
What to do now: Plenty of supplies can be stored in a Self Storage garage. Perhaps the best thing to do with a Self Storage is to pair it with a Campsite not far away. This way your supplies can remain relatively safe in the Self Storage and nothing needs to be left at the lower security Campsite. You could even park a camper or RV already loaded with gear in the Self Storage and tow/drive it to your Campsite.
Property you don’t own.
BOL: Friend/Relative’s house
Overview: This is your either your buddy’s or your uncle’s house. Ideally this person lives out in the sticks or in a rural community and owns a farm or acreage. While you are bugging out, they are bugging in.
Cost: Friendship, and maybe some pre-Z-day preparation funds.
Pros: The friend/relative pays the rent, lives there, takes care of the place and keeps their food and gear there. It costs you nothing but friendship. Depending on whose place it is, it could be very well stocked already. A great way to join with other people who can help you survive. Quite comfortable and private.
Cons: This is probably a house, which may be easy for raiders to find. You also have to get along with your friend/relatives. Disagreements can range from where to scavenge for supplies to which pillow is theirs. At the end of the day, it’s their place, you are their guest, and they are saving your ass by letting you stay there.
What to do now: If you both share a survival mindset, stocking their place with food and supplies is doable. Since your friend/relative and their family live there, you can’t board up the windows or set up a minefield. Other improvements can be made to the property, such as solar panels and the like, but remember, you are sinking your money into their house.
BOL: The Woods
Overview: The Woods can be a state park, wildlife refuge, or just an undeveloped tract of land. Go to The Woods, set up camp, and try to live off the land.
Cost: None, other than knowing how to survive in the woods.
Pros: Free. If you pick the right spot, wildlife and wild plant life will be abundant. Depending on location, you may never see a person again, living or dead.
Cons: You better be a survival pro to make this work. Living in the woods out of a tent or even a vehicle is tough over time. You have to be able to hunt, fish, trap, gather, and improvise. And do it all like a pro. Security can be an issue, as The Woods are tough to fortify, unless you have a large team of lumberjacks working for you. No electricity.
What to do now: Buy a map and find a good place to camp. Travel there, and if possible, camp there a few days. Best to find out the place you picked sucks now then find out after the disaster. Finding a cave that can be used as a future shelter would be excellent, but stay out of mineshafts.
BOL: Empty buildings occupied Pre-Z-day
Overview: This is what people have in mind when they say they will head to Canada and move into a building that has been abandoned. These are homes and businesses that were occupied prior to Z-day, but the people who live/work there are gone. Maybe they took off, maybe they gotten eaten, maybe they died, or if you are scum, maybe you are planning to off them and take over. For simplicity’s sake, I’m not going to get into every one, but this includes homes, apartments, stores, banks, oil rigs, prisons, daycare centers, schools, hotels, office buildings, bars, warehouses, factories, stadiums, theaters, shopping centers, zoos, fast food restaurants, hair salons, Chrysler dealerships, lighthouses and so on.
Cost: Since you are taking what isn’t yours, none.
Pros: No cost. If you have no money to set up a BOL, finding a property that belongs to someone else may be your only option. This can be a way to meet other survivors, but that can be good and bad, depending on who you meet. Depending on the building chosen, fortification can be very easy, or not needed in some cases.
Cons: Many. At any time, someone with a valid claim to the property may show up and either throw you out or blow you away. Also, you can’t stock a place that isn’t yours, so you must rely on scavenging or what is laying around the property you took over. Finding an abandoned building or house may not be easy if others have the same idea, and they will. Generally when the owner of a property abandons it during an apocalypse it is because it is not safe to stay there or it is because the owner has been killed, again making it an unsafe place.
What to do now: Come up with a better plan. Even the next option, empty buildings unoccupied Pre-Z-day, is a safer bet. Or if you are dead set on this one, at least identify buildings you think the occupants will leave, or buildings that may house other friendly survivors you might be able to hook up with.
BOL: Empty buildings unoccupied Pre-Z-day
Overview: Similar to above, but these buildings were empty before the outbreak. Examples are vacant houses and commercial buildings for sale or lease.
Cost: None, you’re trespassing.
Pros: Safer than taking over a building that someone lived in, and may still live in. Someone else still has a claim to this property, but a lot of the time it is a bank or investment firm that owns the property. If there is an outbreak, they couldn’t care less about the countless properties the company owns.
Cons: The place still isn’t yours, and you might not be the only one with the same idea. There is usually no furniture or anything of value in an empty building, unlike a building that the occupants just left as fast as they could or died. Apply most of the Cons associated with empty buildings occupied Pre-Z-day, but to a lesser degree.
What to do now: Cruise around and make note of vacant buildings now. If you have no BOL, no money and don’t think you’ll make it in the woods, this may be your best bet.
REMEMBER LESSON NINE!!!
NO PLACE IS SAFE, ONLY SAFER!!!
StrykerPez |
Latest page update: made by StrykerPez
, Dec 19 2011, 3:16 PM EST
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| billysbabe863 | Always thought I had perfect BOL | 3 | Mar 30 2012, 6:43 PM EDT by ubersoldat | ||
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Thread started: Mar 29 2012, 7:45 PM EDT
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Well my boyfriends grandmother lives right across the street from the hospital, (thats the only problem) they have a huge barn 3x the size of her house stocked to the brim with tools, building supplies, household items anything you can think of. has windows but are secured down and can be welded shut because it is a metal building...now I always thought it would be a great place to eventually stay, but worried about being right next to hospital... We live in a small town.
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| wkwkwkwk1 | Lesson 9 | 0 | Mar 26 2012, 3:36 AM EDT by wkwkwkwk1 | ||
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Thread started: Mar 26 2012, 3:36 AM EDT
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Sorry, what are the other lessons? XD
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| Emo_Bear_Forever | Sleeping Arrangements for a Bug Out Location (page: 1 2 3) | 57 | Jun 12 2011, 11:46 AM EDT by dinolaurous | ||
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Thread started: Jan 24 2011, 2:09 PM EST
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What kind of sleeping arrangements would you set up for your bug out location? Would you put everyone together, or would you seperate the males and females? If you had the option would you have everyone seperated as in dorms?
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