All of the shelters, dried food, water, etc, is fine for short term natural disasters, but little good for societal collapse, or a radical Marxist government.
Such a disaster will last many months or years, as in central/east Europe when the soviets took over.
I left America for good in 2004, not because I was worried about collapse of the society/government, but as a lifestyle choice.
As I see the foundation of America crumbling, however, I am now very thankful that I got out when I did.
America will never return to the days of 10+ years ago.
While I was first in central Europe, I am now in the Philippines, a poor third world country.
Life here is great for me.
I can live very nicely on $700 per month (two adults and one baby boy).
We live on a beach in the best part of our town, paying $100 rent, and have all the modern conveniences from A/C, microwave, fridge to satellite TV. We want for nothing.
We are also rich compared to most people around us.
I use to get a few “dog in a manger” cracks from some FReepers, but no more.
I now get some asking for how they can escape from America.
I have to admit that I was 60 when I left, and I know it would be tough for a younger man with family to leave, but for many it should be considered an option.
What spooks me is that I feel quite safe here along the Yukon, quite rural & self sufficient. I had an old neighbor move to Guatamala a few years back, got robbed and hacked to death with machetes. Should have stayed in Alaska, he had all kinds of guns & security here.
I don’t mean to seem like I’m judging your choice to leave — you have every right to protect and provide for your family as you see best. I hear you. But I’m not sure the Philippines was the best choice.
China is getting more aggressive, and the Philippine navy wouldn’t last minutes in a fight with them. You can’t count on the US coming to your aid, just as Israel cannot count on us anymore. It depends on who is in office.
Perhaps you might consider having a fall-back plan in case things get tense? You could work on building a few relationships with some ship captains or pilots, who could then be persuaded to give you passage out of the country if the Chinese decide to act on their desires.
Wouldn’t mind doing that.
Of course, to have the $700 per month, I would need to stay put and keep working. It’d be a heckuva commute.
My wife’s also from the Philippines. She just got her US citizenship and will be proudly voting in the upcoming elections. She’s turning out to be quite the Patriot, and a pretty good Prepper, and she has no interest in going back to the life she left behind, come what may here.
As for me, I’m your age, and yet I’m still able and willing to fight to the death for what this country means to me. Proud to be a Patriot - I’d be ashamed to be an Ex-Patriot, especially now when our country needs us most. But shame’s not in your repertoire. Enjoy the beach.
But aren't you concerned about the emergence of an "eat-the-rich" mentality, in the event of a societal break-down?
Or do you live in some sort of gated community or enclosed compound that would be capable of defending itself when the biker zombies go marauding?
How will you defend yourself? What sort of gun laws do the Philippines have? Can you be sure that, after TSHTF, your police wouldn't pay you a visit to confiscate your weapons, squeeze baksheesh out of you, or simply harass the "Gringo" in order to make points with the locals?
Please don't lump me together with "dog-in-the-manger" types. I am honestly interested.
Regards,
So, have you given up that American citizenship yet? No need to keep it if you are gone for good is it? I would really have much
more respect for your convictions if you did.
I seem to recall you were living the phat life in Italy the last I heard of you. Did that not work out so well for you? It’s crazy what can happen when the government runs out of good credit no matter where you live, isn’t it?
Speaking of money, you don’t have all of your wealth in US dollars do you? That could be a problem for you in a couple of years. That cheap rent which you currently pay could get awfully expensive. Or maybe you truly believe in your heart of hearts that the debt bomb that is coming for all of us in this country will somehow not devalue “your dollars” like it will mine. Oh, wait, I began to convert mine years ago, I don’t have a lot of dollars anymore.
What I do have is a place out in the country that is completely paid for along with everything else, I owe money to no one. We have 2 horses, a milk cow, a few sheep and goats. We keep chickens and raise meat rabbits which we butcher for our own use and sell for a small flow of cash. A 5 lb. rabbit currently brings $10 live, no need to process. We sell every one we don’t use ourselves,typically around 100 to 125 per month.
I plant a half acre of garden. I keep crops growing through the fall, there are some root veggies and Brussels Sprouts that we are still harvesting now. I built a small greenhouse where we will start the plants for our gardens in a couple of weeks and yes, we plant heirloom varieties in order to save the seeds.
Other places I allocated all of those USD$ were in tools and equipment, lots of tools and equipment, and spare parts for everything. Lots of books, manuals, and instructional DVD’s (for as long as we have electricity) teaching everything from how to deliver a baby to how to repair the diesel engine in my tractor. I bought welding equipment, gas and electric ( requires gas but generates electricity) and took classes at the local community college to learn how to use it. My wife will finish her classes in nursing this summer.
I’ve been heavily investing in food storage the last 4 years and I currently have enough provisions stored, not counting what we preserve ourselves, to supply the 8 people who will shelter here 2500 calories per day for 5 years. The inventory gets increased every month, bi-annually, and annually. I have been grinding wheat for flour for 3 years now.
We have been practicing living without electricity for a couple years now. Once a month, we go for anywhere from a few days to a week without turning on anything. No TV or computer, clothes are washed in a machine that doesn’t require electric. Meals are cooked and bread is baked in a wood cookstove. We already heat a very large ( 3 stories, 5000+ sf) house and all of our hot water with an outdoor wood furnace we burn year round. It helps having a 20 acre woodlot.
So, you may well ask, how am I prepared to defend all of what I have from the hoards who currently reside in the condo canyons that surround cities such as Washington, D.C., Phila., NYC, and all the rest. Well, we have guns, lots and lots of guns. And ammo, lots of it. We have a lot of powder, ball, and cap to reload all the empty brass. I am the resident armorer and keep all of our weapons running well. There is a weapon which is appropriate for everyone in our sheltering group and I insist on monthly practice. My oldest son is currently learning the art of repairing firearms.
We started construction on some defensive fighting positions on our property as well as the property of our like minded neighbors. Each neighbor is responsible for sheltering their own group, but we will act jointly in defense of property, i.e., I won’t stand by and watch their homes be looted and burned.
All of this must sound terribly dreary to an international citizen such as yourself, after all, milking a cow and tending a garden ain’t life on the beach, but my family has come to enjoy this life very much. We have all been to the beach, it has sand and lots of salt water. One thing that we do have which you will never have though. We live on our own property, provide for ourselves by our own labor, and live unafraid in the greatest country on Earth, the United States of America. that is something by your own admission which you will never do again.
You will try and rationalize your decision, spin it like a politician, lie to all of us as well as yourself, but every morning when you look out at the ocean there is one thing that must lay in your gut like a ball of ice; you are no longer an American.