best place to move in preperation of the apocalypse?, page 1

I'd say anywhere you've got old-growth forests would be good, as long as it's inaccessible by car. You'd need to be able to live on the land, meaning you'd need to be able to hunt, build shelters, eat all kinds of disgusting things, and so on. Forget the chain saw - needs gas. Gas won't be plentiful. Get an ax, with spare handles. Get several. Hunting knives (for tools, not defense), various other tools for building and working with natural materials.

I'm thinking the biggest threat is going to be people. First, you're going to have the panicked crowds trying to take your stuff from you because they didn't have the foresight to store it/get it/whatever. These folks won't last long, because they simply don't have the survival skills and instincts they need. However, that doesn't mean they're not dangerous. This will be the largest number of people. Until they fade out, they could be a significant danger. Fortunately, they probably won't get very far into the sticks, and if they do, they'll try to drive there.

Then you'll have organized gangs, as OP predicted. That would be similar to street gangs, but somewhat better able to survive for a while. I'm thinking they'll be into partying and drinking and drugging, probably looting, raping, and killing for kicks. They'd also probably have limited long-term survival potential. But again, they can be dangerous in the shorter run.

After that, though, I suspect you'll wind up with something like "tribes" or "nations" of people, not necessarily outlaws, exactly, but organizations that might not hesitate to take from you anything they think they need. Kind of like the tribes of American Indians. Just groups of people who band together for safety and to combine resources. If you don't belong to one, or if yours is too small, then you might be victimized by such groups. They might not attack or harm you for kicks, but if they're able to take your belongings, they're still dangerous.

So basically, the safest places will be the ones that are the least accessible, especially places that are next to impossible to get to by vehicles. No roads, broken, rocky terrain, thick woods, etc. The harder it is to get to, the fewer vehicles can be used, the fewer people who can attack - and the longer it takes them to get to you.

Thing is, you'd have to be somewhere that you can live off the land, where there is enough game and other food to find. That means that you'll have to be in relatively small groups, since hunting can only support a small number of people in a given area (unlike farming). This might mean you have to keep moving around as you hunt out the game in one area. You'll need to move out and let the game recover before returning, perhaps.

My guess is that trying to make it through farming, at least in the beginning, would be too risky. You're tied to the land. Anyone who finds you knows where you are, and you can't just leave because your crops are there. Unless you've managed to form fairly large, well-organized groups and have a good defense system, chances are you'll be attacked and overwhelmed. After the first year or so, when the less survival-oriented people have gone, this may no longer be as true. Still, being tied to the land leaves you vulnerable.

Just my thoughts. Seeing as I live in a city, the chances of my making it through are mighty slim. I don't have the tools I'd need, and it's a long, long way to go before I'm anywhere near the sticks. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I'd rather be about 100 miles farther out than I am right now, just to give me a head start.