Retreat Resources

Most young homesteaders and preparedness-minded individuals initially adopt a mindset that they’ll have to buy raw rural property and build a family retreat from scratch if they intend to have a safe, secure location where they can relocate in the event of a major national emergency.  This remains the most popular approach for most, but there are more options now than ever before to find a mostly ready-made retreat property.  Here are some tips to help you do it.

Recently I came across a disparaging blog comment about the so-called risk of relocating from Eastern US metro areas to a more secure rural Appalachian region in advance of a national calamity.  I’ll paraphrase the comment since I don’t recall it verbatim. It went something like this: There are sparsely-populated areas east of the Mississippi River that are good “bug out” locations, but they’re full of well-armed redneck hillbillies who don’t like strangers.  As a proud Tennessean by the grace of God, I take some umbrage to stereotypical commentary of this nature.  Please allow me to refute this condescending horse hockey.

On any working homestead, injuries are common. Motorized equipment, building materials, power and hand tools, vehicles, livestock, weapons and electrical equipment - contact with all these items has the potential to cause wounds of some degree at your retreat. Most minor abrasions, lacerations and punctures can be effectively treated with pressure, cleansing, an antibiotic and covering with a Band-aid. But are you prepared for a more serious, potentially life-threatening injury?

You wake up one day, look over bleary-eyed at your spouse and mumble, “Honey, today’s the day we have sell the farm.”  Is this a bad dream?  Are you hung over? Can this really happen?  Why on earth would you ever consider selling your off grid homestead?  After years of hard work and sacrifice building and stocking a secure mountain retreat with multiple sustainability features in the Appalachian Redoubt, what would ever prompt you to even think about selling it now? 

In a disaster, you want to get home to your family fast. In a national grid down catastrophe, you definitely want to get to your secure retreat property ASAP.  How have you prepared to travel to both these locations under emergency conditions when time is of the essence?

This is the eighth and final post in a series about the vital “must-haves” for individuals with a preparedness mindset who are considering an off grid retreat lifestyle.  These articles are good for would-be homesteaders contemplating their first rural property purchase, and serve as a reminder for retreat owners who, due to age-related or medical issues, are preparing to sell their off grid property. This post covers some important retreat-related odds and ends that you may not have thought of yet

This is number seven in a series about the vital “must-haves” for individuals with a preparedness mindset who are considering an off grid retreat lifestyle.  These articles are good for would-be homesteaders contemplating their first rural property purchase, and serve as a reminder for retreat owners who, due to age-related or medical issues, are preparing documentation and inventories in order to showcase their off grid property for sale.  This post covers an important, yet perplexing consideration: like-minded community.

This is the sixth in a series about the vital “must-haves” for preparedness-minded people considering an off grid retreat lifestyle.  These articles are good for would-be homesteaders considering their first rural property purchase, and serve as a reminder for retreat owners who, due to age-related or medical issues, are preparing to sell their beloved retreats.  This post covers raising livestock on your retreat.

This is the fifth in a series about the vital “must-haves” for individuals with a preparedness mindset who are considering an off grid retreat lifestyle.  These articles are good for would-be homesteaders contemplating their first rural property purchase, and serve as a refresher for retreat owners who, due to age-related or medical issues, are developing their documentation and inventories in order to showcase their off grid property for sale.  Let’s look at vital food production for your retreat.

In a grid down situation, water and food shortages will become reality within hours and will likely develop into a long term challenge for populations in every metropolitan area.  As resources become more and more scare, survivors will stop at nothing to secure supplies of fresh drinking water.

This is the third in a series about the vital “must-haves” for individuals with a preparedness mindset who are considering an off grid retreat lifestyle.  These articles are written as a primer for would-be homesteaders contemplating their first rural property purchase.   They can also serve as a refresher for long-time retreat owners who, due to age-related or medical issues, are developing their documentation and inventory of features in order to showcase their off grid property for sale.  Retreat defense is the topic du jour.

This is the second in a series about the vital “must-haves” for individuals with a preparedness mindset who are considering an off grid retreat lifestyle.  These articles are written as a primer for would-be homesteaders contemplating their first rural property purchase.   They can also serve as a refresher for long-time retreat owners who, due to age-related or medical issues, are developing their documentation and inventory of features in order to showcase their off grid property for sale.  We began by discussing the Ostrich effect which can impact both buyers and sellers, and cause paralysis when people are faced with certain danger.

This post begins a series on the critical “must-haves” of off grid retreat living for individuals with a preparedness mindset.  These articles can serve as a refresher for long-time retreat owners who, due to age-related  or health issues, are developing their inventory of unique homestead features in order to showcase their property for sale. They are also written as a primer for would-be homesteaders considering their first rural property purchase.  But we’ll begin with a discussion of a psychological phenomenon that these groups, both buyers and sellers, can often fall victim to – each in their own way.  It’s called the Ostrich effect.