What is your "bug out" event?

With all that is happening in the world these days, I keep wondering to myself what would be my "bug out" event. What has to happen for me to leave work, (because I think whatever it is will happen during my 9-5, Monday to Friday work week) go home and get my family and B.O.B., and leave the city immediately without looking back? I still have not come up with a definite answer yet. For those that have given this more consideration than I already have, what news are you waiting to hear as your trigger? I live in Houston, TX and believe because of geographic location and the local climate I may be waiting for a large natural (or man-made) disaster. Using the disaster of an evacuation from failed hurricane Rita as a benchmark, I could easily have less than 6 hours to make up my mind or get stuck in the gridlock. If something unexpected instantly happens; power grid goes down or large scale explosion, I may have to run 12 miles to my house before I can leave. Most of us are at the traffic light waiting for it to turn green; what is your "green light" and why?

With so much information and disinfo and misinfo it will be hard to tell what is and what isnt going to start a meltdown. I think it's already happening now, just incrementally. I wont be looking for nibiru or two suns. Things I'll be looking for on the other hand is the internet going down, or power outages on a MASS scale, to me if that happens it will most likely be an emp type weopon and youre car won't start if thats the case. Gun confiscations. 12-21-2012 is just another day to me signifying the winter solstice and or maybe going into the next astrological age Aquarius, if that. If you think outside of the box, you most likely won't follow the crowd and save youreself while doing that. Just a thought.

An "awakening" on 12-21-2012, to me, is a farce.

reply to post by BadMojo


Where are you going to run to? The hills? Oh yeah, there's nearly 7 billion people on the planet and none of them will find me in "the hills". Oh that's right, my personal arsenal will hold them off. It's right out of a bad horror movie.

There are real life dangers and catastrophies that can be planned for. The "big one" is just hype. If you feel vulnerable to catasprophies where you live, why wait? Move now and rest easy. Do what's necessary, forget the media mind games and live your life. Life is to short and nobody gets out alive anyway. JMHO.

If I see empty grocery stores and people getting restless. If I see a lot of more homeless people and gas prices soaring. If they start building chain link fences with razer wires around work places "To keep people out", but that really means to keep people in. You go to work and have to stay there. Well then it is time to bug out.

We have a big factory in our town and most people are employed there and make good money. If they ever build a razer wire fence around the place and have a lot of more secure gates and guard towers, then I will know what is up. They will build the fence first, and some guard towers I think. Then one day everyone will go to work and they won't be able to leave!

I figure they will keep the factory going, no matter what is happening. So they'll start building the fence and that will be a sign.

I have family and friends that live in more rural areas that may not be as prone to the roving gangs of hungry people that I expect to arise in urban and metropolitan areas. Don't get me wrong; I'm not sitting and waiting. I just keep my "ear to the ground", so to speak. I think it is similar to any wild animal that goes about it's day until a sense of immediate danger triggers their survival mode.

reply to post by BadMojo


Hey Bad.

My love and I were caught in 2004 when hurricane Charley hit - it had been predicted to hit way north of us, and then changed course, while all the north of us Floridians were on the interstates, so we were trapped and knew we had to ride it out it out in the house because it beat being in a car when it hit. Scariest hurricane I've been in, with tornadoes a plenty. It destroyed our house, but we made it through.

Each situation is different, by definition.

Luck and instinct is about all you can count on for a natural disaster.

For man made or anticipated disasters/situations I'd say look for communications blackouts first. Call up your local LEO department and ask them if anything strange they've observed.

Most important is probably not ignoring your gut instinct. I stayed home the day Charley hit. If I'd gone to work I'd have been on the road when it hit.

I read somewhere that within 60 seconds of realizing there is a life-threatening situation happening, those first impulses or insights save the most people. People who wait die the most.

reply to post by BadMojo


BTW: starred and flagged.

My "bug-out" event already occurred, actually a series of events plus the opportunity to go and leave the rest behind. 9/11 was not so much the event for me but watching what was taking place in its aftermath, the opportunities exploited by its leaders over a frightened nation of people. At least that started me thinking strongly about a change of latitude.

Within several years of that all that was left of me in the US was a trail of footsteps to the door, though I still have 5 acres of nice property in the foothills at the edge of California's high desert which under some worst-case scenarios could leave me with some nice beachfront property. Otherwise that property just remains there in case I ever feel like returning for it, which seems unlikely in the foreseeable future.

Enough has happened in terms of continuing trends that I do not care for. Whether or not I made the "right" decision I can only say at this point that I have no regrets and the weather where I live now is very nice and I am living more comfortably than in any point of my life. Whether or not I averted a personal disaster could be too soon to tell yet, but again, I am comfortable now.

I could see the signs that suggested when to sell my house near the top of its artificially inflated value, selling it at a then "bargain" price for quick sale and avoiding the "crash" I could see everything leading to. Most everyone else I know just waited, and now they continue to wait until such an opportune time may come again. In other words, they now have no good options but to remain where they are and dig themselves out.

Waiting for the "bug-out" event could leave you stranded on the interstate. If you are seeing signs of an impending disaster then you may still have time to prepare a place to go to comfortably "ride out the storm". If you wait for a catastrophe to occur you may be left without options. However, if you feel comfortable where you are and think you are fairly well shielded and prepared then best of luck and well wishes to you. No one can be absolutely sure they did the right or wrong thing unless they did nothing but wait for misfortune to strike.

reply to post by BadMojo


My bug out event would likely be something to do with the super volcano at Yellowstone, or a tsunami causing earthquake...stock market crash...it has to be something real and solid. Reported by reputable sources. If I'm too late then I'm too late, but I'd rather stay and wait then freak out at any old rumbling.

reply to post by totalmetal


That's what I'm getting at; there's so much "bad" stuff happening that is all significant in it's own way, but when do you say, "I have to get out of here"? Better yet, what is going to tip me off before John Q. Public so that I can beat the mad rush? I understand that this answer will differ geographic region to personal beliefs to political events to numerous other potential catalysts.

So...two months later and look at things! What do you do when there is no "bugging out"? What happens when all of your resources become irradiated? What do you do when it is dangerous to even go outside? Are you worried about Japan sliding into the trench if you live on the west coast of the United States? Are you worried about a large tidal wave/surge if you live ANYWHERE near the Pacific Ocean right now? Do we need to get started on economic/political fallout? Biblical-Middle East-stuff is not out of play either...

I would prefer to shelter in place during a crisis if possible because I have lots of useful survival gear, food, and emergency water supplies here at home. For example, in the case of a killer contagious disease, I would definitely shelter in my home. But yeah, there are certain scenarios that would cause me to bug out. There's a nuclear power plant here in the regional area and if it went into meltdown, I would want to get farther away from such an event. In the case of nuclear war, I would need a couple of days advance warning (not likely, right?) because I live in an urban area that would be vaporized or set fire to in a hot nuke war. I can't think of much else that would cause me to leave. My defenses are pretty good in the case of anarchists. If I were to stay long enough to run out of water and food, then I would have to leave. One thing I probably would always resist doing is going en masse to a football stadium as they did in N.O. No freakin' way.

some events are regional. I live in a hurricane area but am almost immune to blizzards and am not in the zone for quakes/volcanoes/tsunamis.
nuclear plant accident?...depends on the wind.
a lot depends on how much lead time I get.

celestial and mass human scenarios...depends.

makes me think of the scene in the movie 'tremors' where a couple have a house like a bomb shelter but are unprepared for monsters from underground. it's always something...