The Paradox of Retreat Living

My family is doomed.  We live in suburbia with no way out when the S hits the fan.  Once the golden hoards* swarm out of the biggest cities in search of food, water, and supplies, we’ll have no choice but to defend ourselves and our food stash with our meager supply of ammo.  When the zombies start roaming the neighborhood, my only hope is that we have stocked up on enough vinegar.  Our only hope is to somehow purchase land out in the wilderness with a never-ending supply of fresh, pure water, rich land just waiting to sprout abundant crops, and a rugged, yet comfortable and defensible home.  A survival retreat is our only hope.  Or is it?

Rob, over at TEOTWAWTKI Blog, recently wrote about The Paradox of Retreat Living.  For many preppers, a survival retreat is the ultimate goal, but Rob points out the disadvantages of this plan.

A Survival Retreat, image by Florian

While living in relative isolation at a full-time rural retreat is theoretically one of the best options for making it through a TEOTWAWKI scenario, the same isolation creates problems with finding gainful employment–causing definite problems for getting together adequate preparations and living adequately in the normal, pre-TEOTWAWKI world. It also isolates retreaters from family and friends–the people you would depend on most during a post-collapse scenario.

Say what?  Preppers actually need a reliable income and family support?

Your family is what matters most in life–they’re what all of those guns, gear, bullets and band aids are meant to protect. Do not take isolating yourself from them lightly–it will mean seeing less of your longtime friends, cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, parents, kids and grandkids. If those relationships–especially friendship–fade due to distance, that isolation may also mean that your old survival/prep/gun buddies don’t show up on your doorstep as planned when TEOTWAWKI hits.

Check out the entire article, The Paradox of Retreat Living, and leave a comment or question for Rob.

*From SurvivalBlog: In historical contexts, the Mongol Horde of the 13th Century, but in the context of SurvivalBlog, the anticipated large mixed horde of refugees and looters that will pour out of the metropolitan regions WTSHTF.

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