Look at all the food stores you have on hand and divide by the number of people you are planning to save. This will give you an idea how long you can last before starvation sets in. Include pets.

While you're at it, make a chart of how that food supply diminishes with the addition of another mouth, two, three, four.

Understand that your entire food supply can be taken from you by a starving mob. If you survive, you become one of that mob.

Forget about strangers.,....what about family members who did not prepare. Will you take them in? Will you let your immediate family starve to feed them? Do the math, finite food, infinite hunger.

Did not read all the postings for now, just thinking about a SHTF scenario - petrol will not be available , so most of the journey "towards the hills" should be made by feet. This is definitely not good unless you hit the road the next minute the disaster strikes. It is definitely good to know the area in advance and have your supplies with you. Most of the unprepared people will start walking only wen they go hungry and understand the government cannot help anymore. At this point , you are not fit for a long journey by feet. If you start your journey immediately, it is very likely you can still use the motorized transportation at least for a big part of your journey. I recommend you also have a light mountain bike, it would help if you do not have a horse

Just edited to add - if the petrol runs out , then most of the agricultural land will remain unused.As a farmer it would be pointless to fight over land you cannot even work! What would be the maximum amount of land a person can work by hand in order to sustain you? it would be interesting to know ! From that point of view , US is quite lucky , the population density is not any near UK or Japan for example..

Water would potentially be a big problem, no petrol no power pumps, it also could become rather contaminated depending on the type of situation.

remember this if needing a commodity everybody and i mean everybody needs salt to survive

good post but it can be quite hard standing your ground no wouldnt it mainly when you are past the hills like me they are both bad in away you know what i mean

I have this terrible Imagination!
---that yes, the # hits the fan and there are about ten large cities near some hills. I can see it now: 50,000 people a-heading for the Safe Zone! Look, See, Watch the lines of cars coming from Chicago, St Louis, Memphis, etc....to the Ozarks. Watch them all drive up to High Ridge, or Spring Branch. Spring Branch might be a valley three miles long with one country store and thirty houses. Welcome all ye 4,000 people! Listen to the yelling babies and the barking dogs and 1000 cars near out of gas.

so.
*if* you have a safe zone to move to, be sure that this place is off of the radar from the "perceived" safe zones!
go to some place that few know about. A place where the lifeboat will not be overloaded.

this holds true, i fear, even for the places that you might be living in now: that quiet little cabin along Spring Branch. you got this place years ago, to get Away. But if the S hits the fan, those 4,000 people will *also* want to get Away!

and if you do not give those 4,000 people What They Want, some of them might turn on you!

so pick your Place carefully!!

freestone

Consider where you would be right now had you heeded the call to flee to the hills. What shape would your assets be in? Dropping off the grid means giving up your space on the grid. So how is that roughing thing working out for you? How about that radiation blowing in from Japan? Want to share any experiences?

It's been a while since I last checked this thread of mine and I want to say I read a very intresting point...

Do the math, finite food, infinite hunger.

that is very true of those leaving everything behind and heading to the hills... however if you stayed put you might just find yourself stuck with unlimited resources... all the stuff other's abandoned, in their flight to
them dar hills