The thing missing from my preps that I can't purchase...

[max384]

Originally Posted by ULTRAMAGNUM

Go find others who fly our flag upside down and hang out with them.

It's sad that this is now used as a political statement instead of the original intended purpose. I will go out of my way not to associate with someone who chooses to fly the US flag upside down, unless they're in dire stress... And to say that the state of the country is in dire stress as an excuse is disingenuous. It undermines the purpose of flying the flag upside down in the first place.

[tbanks]

Wow this post hit me like a ton of bricks!I have been thinking about this same thing for about a year now.Most of my friends are like minded preppers, some are active militia and we discuss OPSEC, group dynamics,and other situations quite often.I joined Kentucky Preppers Network which is made up of zones in our commonwealth so you can network with people in your area.We have a very informal weekly meet and greet at a local doughnut shop and even though I will not be grouping with any of them it is still good to know there are good people neer me.I think of it very much like a support group, a place to vent, sound ideas,get advice,teach and learn.There are similar networks in every state check them out.
I prepp for my immediate family, my extended family thinks the goverment will never let anything that bad happen or if it does will be there the next day to take care of us.I dont know about you but Im not putting my famalies well being in the hands of FEMA or any other goverment agency.
I will also be watching this thread with a lot of interest!

[HandLoad]

Each of Us is in this by Ourselves. If you have a partner, then you have a Friend, helper and another set of eyes. Good.

Groups have strengths, but have weaknesses also.

Since there is an Infinity of possible SHTF Situations, noone can actually prepare for them all.

The best any of us can do is to put our minds at rest by preparing for as much as we can, one step at a time. Just the act of Prepping is a help for our Self-Calm.

Just as in the Game of Chess (or Go), you are trying to conserve what you have, and expand against Adverse Threat. You are limited by Time, Resources, and Money.

Best You can do is to set Priorities, and address them as you can. Again, just the Doing will help you feel more secure, no matter how modest your situation, AND NO MATTER HOW EXTENSIVE. Your Mindset is the Most Strong/Helpful Resource you will ever have on this Earth.

Turn to Faith for more Help.

[grandma]

Building relationships with people takes time. If you can determine someone with at least ONE thing that is common ground, go from there. While DH tolerates my 'stocking up', he doesn't really understand what it could mean some day, and frankly, I don't care to get into it all with him. He goes along with my stocking up on groceries (after all, it is his belly that gets fed), and the extra water is just there. He is learning how to operate radios from our local Search and Rescue team, which we belong to, and that gives him a skill he didnt' have before.

I am not part of a group, although I have nothing against it. I'm just not going out of my way to try to establish one...if it is meant to be, people will cross my path and I'll take notice. There is the custodian at school that I've been wondering about.

[Texas Patriot]

Actually, a single person has the advantage in a collapse scenario, I would think. Look at it this way, on the plus side: highly mobile, food/ water requirements are lower, ability to avoid conflicts, no incessant bitching, complaining, or burden of caring for others, not having the emotional pain of loosing those you care about. The down side is you are completely on your own. If you get injured or sick you will have no support system. So don't do anything stupid to get injured. If death comes to you with disease , all you can do is smile in his face. When you weigh the pro's and con's you will see the pro's outweigh the con's in favour of being single. It's a mathematical equation. TP

[magking1971]

Here is a neat site to help you out, http://www.americansnetworkingtosurvive.org/

[NerdyJohn]

Well Sig, at least you have your girlfriend on your side.

I see you live in East Texas. You are exposed to tornadoes, wildfires, droughts and hurricanes, right? Show the "family" that these events aren't going to affect you, not even for 24 hours. Sooner or later you will at least be without power for a while. Tell them about how well prepared you were for that event and take it from there. If they don't want to even prepare for natural disasters that are almost guaranteed in your region, what else can you do?

On the other hand, it sounds like you have a need to meet other preppers in your area. If that's the case, by all means go for it. I'm not Mormon, but I have found other preppers in my area through the Mormon's that I have met.

Shame on me, but I met the local Mormons because I went to their church a couple of times with the specific intention of networking. Shame on me, shame, shame, shame. But, they did not bother me to convert to LDS, and they really are a nice bunch of folks. I sure wish my church promoted preparedness and sense of community like they do. I really admire them for that.

[TF_TX]

Originally Posted by BOVPREP

You have a very tough situation. Just make sure your girl friend is OK with leaving here family if SHTF. Its a hard thing for someone to do, tell her all your plans.

(FYI I am Sig226's GF)
Oh don't worry i am more then ok with this.

I tried everything I could do to make them part of our plan I even offered to do all their preparing for them and they could just pay me for the material and they still don't want to do it. My brothers in law has the dilution that all he will have to do is leave his house with his gun and take what he wants. That means leaving his family behind unprotected because he refuses to teach his 16 year old to shoot "because he is too young". My brother in law is the only one that thinks something is going to happen but refuses to do anything about it.

Also i amde most the plans so....

[Texas Patriot]

Originally Posted by TF_TX

(FYI I am Sig226's GF)
My brothers in law has the dilution that all he will have to do is leave his house with his gun and take what he wants.

You might want to set something aside for your sister and nephew. Your BiL won't live long after the SHTF, looters/ raiders/ thieves seldom do. TP

[solar1]

I didn't start the thread here, but I'm glad it was posted.
The various responses I have read have given me a little boost in looking at the situation in a different way. Thanks

There are many days i'm actually glad I live alone, and, as stated in one of the replies, i don't have to listed to all the, well, you know.

[Sig226]

Originally Posted by SurvivorGirlAL

I'm sorry you're in a bad situation right now OP.

I guess you just have to consider the old saying "No pain, no gain" when it comes to reaching out to other preppers in your area. If you don't take the risk, you may never realize the benefits that might be available.

Are there any online groups from your area? (from this board that is?) If so, that might be a starting point to maybe arrange a small, informal meetNgreet so that you can begin to get to know folks with like interests.

Odds are, other people are out there looking for other preppers and just don't know how to instigate the meetings either.

Good Luck

Yes I found an online group for DFW and we are moving to DFW very soon.
If they aren't already doing some sort of regular 'meetNgreet', I will organize one myself. I know there are lots of preppers in DFW. I guess this is one advantage of moving to the 'big bad scary city'.
I actually met my GF at a weekly 'meetNgreet' back when we living in Las Vegas so I know they definitely work. Just have to take it slow and do as much 'due diligence' as possible before getting to the comfort level of inviting people to our home.

[Optimist]

A neighborhood is the thing to aim for, and as the Canadian lady said, it takes time to build those relationships. A year ago next month they had a rash of tornados in Alabama. A person I correspond with on another board was pretty close to ground zero, and the community up the road from her was hard-hit. The community, and the county around pulled together, and things went well. Had they not, then things could have gotten bad. If you'd like to see how things played out, go to Gunboards, their survival forum, and run a search for Ammosgt.

[Sig226]

Originally Posted by RogueSpear2023

Well humans are naturally social creatures, so in a SHTF situation I assume their will be a fair amount of mass chaos right after the whatever happens, then after a month or two of the ones the were unprepared and the criminals will be dead, and we will reform into tribes again. Getting a head start on it would be a good idea if your plan it to stay where you are. In my case I plan to bug out as soon as safely possible but I have already started setting a up network in my final bug out location of like minded people.

I hear what you are saying.
Just like preppers don't wait until the event happens to prep, I don't think we should wait until SHTF to find the friends and allies we will need to make it to the other side.

Reminds me of a line from some movie I saw recently:
"You don't learn to dance 10 mins before the prom".

[Sig226]

Originally Posted by aeropilot4fun

Know thy neighbors

As long as I don't have to love them!
In my experience a neighbor can be an enemy at some point in the future.

[SMM123]

Sig,
Fortunately, you are in Texas. Texas Preparedness Group is full of MAGs all over Texas.

[dontbuypotteryfromme]

preppers will not automaticly rule the world come the apocolypse. So who in your comunity has the ability to be self reliant. Not so much self sufficient.

Now what have you done for them that they should help you?

And suddenly you have a prepping group without the loss of OPSEC and without that cult creepyness that a prepping group gives me.

(Actually I dont know but do people ever reveiew these groups? How army of the right wing god are theY?)

[felicia]

I understand, my DH & children are a bunch of sheeple. I did manage to bring around my next door neighbors who are now prepping. But being only 3-4 months in that are not as well stocked on food as I would like.

We have agreed that when SHTF we will assist each other.

If there is no power they will end up at my house because I have a wood stove for heating and cooking.

[delta6]

I have found a group here in Reno,Nevada..We are only about 12 strong so far but hope to grow..

[Irishmilitant]

I've reeled myself in several times trying to probe people I would have bet money on were prepper minded. People from meager beginings, folks who have family property, gun collections, civil service careers, big on hiking and camping even. These are folks I have known for years but never put out any feelers for about the conversation. You do need to be careful at all times and remember that just because you want someone on your side because they seem like such a great fit they may think tour a hole and blow tour secret world wide open, or show up at tour doorstep as a complete liability you can't afford to care for while keeping your own family set right.

One thing I've realized is that there are different levels of preppers, and one tactic may be to know who is what type, or committed to what level of SHTF, and only reveal a matching amount of prepping. In a perfect world you may want 20 families of SouthenPrepper level of preparedness, but if you have some friends you can trust who only think the power may go out for a few days after a hurricane or that they need water and ammo but only have a cabinet of pickles and tuna cans you can reveal yourself only to the same level they are. If something bad goes down for a couple days and y'all meet up you can have your "level 1" response preps and bug in. If it's a WROL and you can be with them for a week or so before you need to EE to your underground squirrel nest full of mountain house, plate carriers, and 55 gallon drums of napalm you can do so once they become a liability. In the meantime spend a week if it's permissible and see if being in a group helps your situation. I don't have the budget for an APC, and I don't plan to spend the rest of my days in Mad Max, but as a prepper I won't deny that I'd like to be ready for whatever comes, but I still spend time trying to keep the grass green around the house green and spend money on other recreational family things. I'm not an all out off the grid prepper but I feel I'm getting us more prepared for what I consider the mist plausible scenarios and way of life I foresee. I'm not the guy for joining a group that wants everyone at the same level of prepping I do but wants everyone to kick in to build a mega fallout shelter, but we have things in common and in the first few days, or after the fact if both mindsets get us through we would have a lot in common.

What I mean is maybe it's best to find people who can help us for level 1 scenarios where life will continue as usual, but don't reveal you have a deeper level of preps unless the scenario is that bad. If they are not as prepared you can always jump ship if need be and bug out with your girl friend to where the big cache's are stored/ where your ultimate BOL is.

[Live2CAnotherDay]

Great way to meet fellow preppers is at gun shows, local shooting range, garden stores, or really any place that might attract someone of the prepper mentality. Just strike up a conversation and see where it leads. You'd be surprised how many people prep in their own way. Just don't be judgmental of how someone preps. Learn from them and let them learn from you. From there you can build a network.