Looking for a Fight
I’ve stressed the importance of being aware of your surroundings, carrying your weapon with you at all times and knowing how to use it. That being said, just because you are prepared for danger doesn’t mean that you go looking for it. I’m not just talking about that dummy looking down every alleyway and staring down every Tom, Dick, and Harry to pick a fight. I’m talking about the average person who lives their life thinking everything is bliss and then gets caught in some unfortunate event because they weren’t being careful.
So where are the problem areas and how can you avoid them?
The City
Do you ever watch the prepper shows where individuals describe their worst fear and what they are doing to be ready for it? I cringe every time they feature an individual living in the city. A city can be very dangerous and is an emergency death trap. Hurricane, earthquake, fire, economic collapse, terrorist attack, mass shooting – what do you do when you are surrounded by people on every side or the streets are backed up for miles with traffic?
Economic Collapse/Food Shortage – where do you think mobs look first when they run out of food and water? Even the most decent people turn into monsters when they are starving.
Don’t get me wrong, there are pros and cons to living anywhere. But here are a few things to think about:
Cities have more people and therefore attract more problems.
People in the city also tend to have a different mindset. They depend more on government agencies (ie. law enforcement, firefighters, emergency services, public transportation, etc..) The vast majority are not prepared to face mass problems. Even if you are prepared, it is not possible to fight off thousands and thousands by yourself once the word gets out that you have food and they don’t.
Solutions
However, if you do decide to live in the city, this is what I recommend:
Food storage? Yes! Ammunition? Yes! Defence Plan? Most definitely! But make your preparations to last you until you can get out. Have a fallback plan and somewhere that you can take your family if/when things get heated. Do not bug in!
Consider getting your neighbors involved. That way when something bad does happen, you can work with each other, not against.
Be prepared for mass shootings or terrorist attacks. It wouldn’t hurt to brush up on your first aid skills just in case someone gets hurt and help is backed up.
The Country
Like I said, every place has its pros and cons. However, this is why I love the country:
People in the country tend to have a different mindset. They are not as dependant upon others for help and they are usually more familiar with power outages and emergencies. It takes longer for help to arrive and thus the people there are usually more prepared to do without for longer periods of time.
When a storm knocks out electricity or some other emergency occurs, they are more likely to come together as neighbors and as a community to help each other. They don’t wait for outside help to come pick them back up again.
More people have gardens and livestock. There are more renewable resources, (like the stream in your backyard) so that when food does run out, you can just go outside and get more.
The Cup 1/2 Empty
That being said, there are a few downsides to consider:
The country offers more places for drug users to hide and make more drugs. You don’t have as many neighbors to catch on to what crimes are taking place. Local law enforcement is more spread out so it is also harder for them to cover the entire area.
Response time is longer – it takes longer to get help in the country than it does in the city. Which is why people in the country tend to have and use more guns. Not only do they use it to hunt but they use it to protect themselves, their families, and their land.
Where is your Exit?
No matter where you are, always make sure you have two ways out and always know where they are. Do not go anywhere that will leave you trapped. You want to have the ability to get out should the need arise. Think about situational awareness and always use it.
Corruption
City/Country it doesn’t matter. Corruption can be everywhere. If the law is paid off by criminals then you cannot depend on them for support if something bad happens.
I once lived near a friend who owned a motel. She had to call the police one night because she found a group of teenagers had broken into some of her rooms. There was lots of alcohol involved and all of the perpetrators were underage. When law enforcement showed up, they did not reprimand anyone because of who their parents were. All they did was to tell them to get in their vehicles and drive home. You heard me. The officers there told drunk teenagers to drive home.
If you find yourself in a place where the law does not enforce the law, I highly suggest you move!
The Weather
Believe it or not, what it looks like on the outside has a lot to do with how often crimes occur. When I worked as a deputy, our call volume was always through the roof during the hottest days. The colder it got, the fewer calls we got.
Drug problems rose as well. There were more people out at night looking for something to steal so that they could buy more drugs. At one point we had to hunt down a few individuals who were going from place to place stealing window units and stripping them for copper.
The Full Moon
As silly as that sounds, all sorts of crazy things happen during full moons. More people get drunk and more people get messed up with drugs. I even saw suicide threats increase.
Statistics
I have none. For the purpose of this message, I did not need any. The information I have offered is based on my own personal experience. That, to me, weighs more than any numbers you could throw my direction. Statistics can be manipulated and become deceiving. Not very many people look at the heart of where those numbers came from or who created them.
Don’t get me wrong, numbers and studies have their place. Just be careful where you get them from and who is doing the study. If they have a personal gain from the outcome, then I would not take their statistics at face value.
What places have you found that are potential death traps? Comment below to share it with us.
