Very interesting discussion. I'm amused but not surprised at some of the responses. Personally, I've always felt that bugging in is preferable over bugging out. Having said that, I've also felt that there are situations that make bugging out necessary. Each family has to make their own decisions regarding this. Everyone must take a good long look at the advantages/disadvantages of bugging out or staying put in every situation.
Not everyone is able to bug out and make it. Some couldn't survive two days in their own backyard if they had to. Some can't fathom to think of a world without electricity, job security, running water, medical facilities and grocery stores.
Bugging out is entirely doable but you not only have to have the the right gear, you have to have the right mindset. Just look at the guy in Utah who staid on the lamb for 6 years by living off others in the mountains or the Hermit who basically did the same in Maine for 27 years. I guarantee you there are families living off the grid in places like Alaska, Canada and rural Western and Eastern states that probably wouldn't notice much in case of a economic collapse or a collapse of the power grid. I remember my Grandparents talking about the Great Depression. I would ask them how life was like during that time and they would laugh and say it was like any other time. They said the only people who had it rough were those who were accustomed to making a living off of others. Since they already lived a rural sustainable life style, they didn't notice much difference when the chips fell.
I, along with about a million or so others, had a great training event occur called Hurricane Ike. We lived just North of Houston at the time Ike hit. Our area was out of power for 12 days. Other areas were out of power and water for as long as 6 weeks. After about the 3rd day of people not having food, water or gas for their vehicles, you got to see their true natures!
We lived a ways out of town but on the "poor" side of the county. So help was last getting to us. If you didn't already have food or water, you went and waited in line for a hand out. It was about a week before a local C-store had gas available. It was the only gas around and it was being guarded by State Troopers. You were limited to the amount of gas you could buy. I think it was either five or ten gallons. People were standing in line holding their empty gas can waiting their turn to buy gas. The days I saw these lines they were about a several hundred yards long. There were stories of people waiting all day just to get the chance to buy gas. It was an eye opener for sure. I kept asking my Wife "You taking notes?"
We would go into town just to look around and see how people were functioning. We actually stood in line to get into a Wal-Mart Super Center. When we finally got inside, it was so eerie to see bare shelves isle after isle. About the only thing they had was milk, baby formula and some other basics. You see real quick what people will eat and what they won't. I found it funny that there were quite a few cans of Van Camps Red Beans and Rice left on one isle but nothing else.
After a few days of people having to wait in line every day for their little portion of ice, water and a few MRE's, tempers started to flair. There were worse stories of violence inside Houston itself but even outside of town where we were, fights at these "relief centers" were not uncommon.
We did alright. We had food stocked up along with water. The only thing I didn't have that I wish I had was a generator. But even without one, we got by just fine. We had offers from family to "bug out" up here to Oklahoma until things got better, but I saw no reason to leave. Besides, I was learning a lot about society and what extremes people will go to when they don't have luxuries such as running water, electricity and a TV! One night while sitting around grilling the last of the meat from the freezer, my Wife turned to me and said "You're actually enjoying this aren't you?" All I could say is "Yeah, kinda". Had we lived in inside Houston surrounded by a large population of people, I'm sure my answer would have been different. In that case, I'm sure we would have bugged out.
Katrina was also another fine example of what can happen if you fail to prepare. A lot of people were removed from their homes by force and moved to the "Relief Camps" or to the Super Dome. Many were bussed out of town and out of state! If you forgot what kind of horrors went on in the Super Dome, just look it up. I will refuse to be relocated to any such place should I find myself in such circumstances. That's one reason we have about 8 different places planned as bug out locations should the need arise. Some are fairly close, a few are in other states. We've been to these locations many times and are comfortable staying in these areas for extended amounts of time. It may not be home, but we can certainly 'get by' if we have to.
If a situation occurred where we did have to bug out, I don't really worry about the "hoards" of survivalist or other people who've bugged out competing with me and my family for food. For one, most won't make it out that far and second, most of the others will be waiting for their hand outs at the "relief centers".
