The one advantage I see is that so many city folks are so ill equipped to survive in the outdoors, that many will succumb to the elements, especially if it happens at a colder time of year.
He builds a good case for having a nice wood stove in in the house and not being so dependent on electric gadgets.
Homesteading skills will be invaluable.
We went to my son's in NH for Thanksgiving a few years ago, when that nor'easter hit. He lost power two hours before we got there on Tues. He lived ion a someone remote back road and it was Sat afternoon after we left to come home that he got his power back.
FORTUNATELY, he had a coal stove and a good supply of coal.
We made due with melting snow water for bathing and bottled water for drinking (his well was out) and cooked on the top of the stove ala Little House on the Prairie.
But we were comfortable and warm and what an eye opening experience that was.
As long as you can stay warm, you're good. I cannot fathom what it would have been like is he had no heat.
The biggest laugh we got out of the whole thing was the number of generators that were hooked up and running within a matter of hours. EVERYONE up there is prepared for power outages from nor'easters/ice storms.
I always think of the “Trigger Effect” episode of “Connections” and how inevitably we are going to get stuck in the ‘technology trap’.
Thanks for the nice note.
Water.
1 gallon per day per person.
We have 5 people, 11 alpacas, three dogs and two cats.
That’s 21 animals that need water.
The alpacas alone use over 20 gallons a day.
They aren’t really good to eat, but we can spin and knit their fleece.
With no electricity our well is as good as empty.
Our nearest neighbor has a portable genny we can hook up for water.
Those snowflake city folk who live hirise apartments in Denver will be dead of thirst in a week.
I actually really enjoyed the storms we had at our cabin in the Sierras. It was a short little learning exercise to make sure we were prepared. It was a remote little community, and one year we got 30 feet of snow. You never knew when the storm would topple a tree that would take out your power. Being so remote and depending on snow removal, the power companies couldn’t get up there in a timely manner – ever.
We eventually learned exactly what to have, and I actually enjoyed having next several days in a row of living, as you said like Little House on the Prairie. There was one time the power was out for two weeks and that was a bit much.
When we moved here, we got a whole house generator With the house.. And a 500 gallon propane tank to feed it. However, that would only last for a short time. So two wood stoves inside that can be cooked on and 5 acres of wood, plus the entire Cherokee national Forest at the end of the holler, makes me feel a bit more prepared. Oh, and my pizza oven outside :-) that probably seems extravagant to the neighbors, but that’s in lieu of a real wood cookstove, which is what I really wanted.
It sounds like your son is prepared, no matter what will happen! I would say he has good genes :-)
WHere in the world would could a southerner get ahold of that!? I'd love to have one.