Meeting a Guy Into Prepping?

[IceFire]

Another couple of indicators of how my husband has changed...earlier this week he decided to get a pair of 40-mile range FRS/GMRS radios (something I had been wanting for a while). Today, the EE catalog came, and he wanted to look at it (I had already marked a few items). Not only did he NOT have any objection to the things I wanted to order, he made a comment about getting some MREs. I told him that I could get them at the commissary for less. He then said that I should start buying them regularly. I've BEEN doing that for a while now. He's a little slower getting to things, but at least he IS getting there now.

[Rvnquest]

Originally Posted by LadyFenix

I'm a bit older that most, who are replying to this thread. However, I can personally vouch for the fact that things don't improve (re the chances of finding a man who is aware enough to be a prepper) as women get older.

The men I have met are "into" watching TV sports, playing golf, casino gambling, and vacation travel. They think I am crazy because I will challenge their attitudes about "when things get back to normal in America, everything will be okay".

I'm single, but I have totally stopped dating. I decided that having someone in my life, who is this clueless, would be much worse than coping with an emergency as a single person.

This is so me. Would love to date, but, he has to be into this.

[extremejoy9]

Originally Posted by Rvnquest

This is so me. Would love to date, but, he has to be into this.

I can understand this point of view...I think if I found myself single now I'd rather be alone than have to explain why I think it's important to keep extra water, food & supplies.

I also think it's possible to widen the net though, not everyone who doesn't officially prep is clueless. You could try wall-climbing or just shopping at the local sports store...never know who you'll meet!
: D

[Rvnquest]

Originally Posted by extremejoy9

I can understand this point of view...I think if I found myself single now I'd rather be alone than have to explain why I think it's important to keep extra water, food & supplies.

I also think it's possible to widen the net though, not everyone who doesn't officially prep is clueless. You could try wall-climbing or just shopping at the local sports store...never know who you'll meet!
: D

No non prepping guys seem to be around either looking for an almost 50 year old woman.

[Mominator]

Rvnquest, I hear you on that. My husband died less than a month ago and I am dead certain that he was the end of that part of my life prepper or otherwise. I figure at best they would really be wanting to date my house and bank account more than me.

I'm 45 with a toddler and 2 very protective adult sons with combat experience. Plus I breed English Mastiffs and my babies tend to scare most men away right off the bat. I am not giving up my farm to move to the lake or something like that. I don't really need a man and honestly can take care of myself better than most men I know. Plus after taking care of my husband while he was dying plus keeping up with everything else we have going on I do not exactly know if there are too many men who would want me. I was a strong minded woman to begin with but at this point I just do not want anyone telling me what to do. My late husband and I were partners and we built this together. If I were to get involved with someone I figure they would be trying to tell me how to do things. Still I am gonna miss the sex. I just cannot do "casual" the idea seems lonely and sad at best.

Let's face it men tend to look for someone to take care of and prepper females past a certain age don't exactly excite that warm fuzzy "I'll rescue her" feeling that males seem to love having. Still better to be alone than disappointed and let down when you need them because you settled.

[tejasterry]

Finding someone you share interests with is the key I think. My husband is a dealer at the gun shows, and I've met a lot of his friends there who are single. Are you into shooting? How about joining a shooting club?

Also meetup.com has all kinds of groups. I think in my area alone there are 3 or 4 meet up groups on prepping alone.

[Mominator]

Tejasterry is right, if you are looking gun clubs are a great way to meet guys. Also martial arts classes would be a good place. The thing is finding one who is single as lets face it the older we get the more winnowed out the men folk are. The other thing that is nice about gun clubs is you can see who can deal with you being able to take care of yourself. Hubs was always proud I could hold my own and there are good guys out there. For me though better I leave it the rest of you. Men are wonderful amusing creatures but they can be too distracting when there is work to get done.

[Rvnquest]

Mominator - yes, similar feelings to mine. I also have parents I still need to care for, so that too adds issues. Sorry for your loss btw, never easy.

Tejasterry - good idea. Not much of a joiner, but have been thinking of getting into it. Used to target practice, and want to get a home defense weapon.

[Moist Nugget]

I've been dating my boyfriend for 4 years and we both started prepping together! It's so nice having someone who gets as excited as I do about buying survival supplies! We buy everything in two's - I love it.

[Gypsymoonfarm]

My husband is not a prepper/survivalist but he has skills in those areas that are good to have. We met when I was 15 so we've had a while to get used to each other's quirks. I got interested in prepping around the age of 28, which could be chalked up to going a little crazy after my mom died but I'm still at it. I'm more into the gardening/homesteading/canning/food preps. He is the best gunman I've ever seen. He is more into guns and reloading than ever. He's also an avid hunter.

My point is that although he's not a genuine prepper, he has much to offer. Don't limit yourself. If you are looking for a mate don't be afraid of a non-prepper. You can change that in time. You can't find a prepper that you are not compatible with and change him into something better.

[BrandyCLS]

I met my boyfriend (2 years together) at a friends house. I have always been into camping, hiking, weapons (any kind). When I met him, he had an "idea" of things we needed to get to prepare for anything major (natural disaters or economic meltdown). So basically, I was thrilled...prepping just kinda went from there. We don't have much money, so it is going slow.

[willow]

DH is not into preppng at all so I do everything. It works out fine for us. I don't think you have to find someone who is into prepping necessarily, just someone who doesn't think you are nuts for doing it.

[Zalam]

Originally Posted by lirehobe

There are more of us then we knew!!

Same here - I'm a widow and currently not looking.

[Ruth]

Prepping is more of MY thing, but I have a very supportive spouse!

To be honest, If I were single, I'd probably not be as interested in prepping. Maybe I'd be living out of a backpack and traveling. Or hanging out in a Kibbutz.

[Ruth]

Originally Posted by Mominator

Rvnquest, I hear you on that. My husband died less than a month ago and I am dead certain that he was the end of that part of my life prepper or otherwise. I figure at best they would really be wanting to date my house and bank account more than me.

I'm 45 with a toddler and 2 very protective adult sons with combat experience. Plus I breed English Mastiffs and my babies tend to scare most men away right off the bat. I am not giving up my farm to move to the lake or something like that. I don't really need a man and honestly can take care of myself better than most men I know. Plus after taking care of my husband while he was dying plus keeping up with everything else we have going on I do not exactly know if there are too many men who would want me. I was a strong minded woman to begin with but at this point I just do not want anyone telling me what to do. My late husband and I were partners and we built this together. If I were to get involved with someone I figure they would be trying to tell me how to do things. Still I am gonna miss the sex. I just cannot do "casual" the idea seems lonely and sad at best.

Let's face it men tend to look for someone to take care of and prepper females past a certain age don't exactly excite that warm fuzzy "I'll rescue her" feeling that males seem to love having. Still better to be alone than disappointed and let down when you need them because you settled.

I just realized you mentioned your spouse dying. My condolences to you! Probably hard for you to even think about meeting someone else at this point in time!!

I would like to say (for those looking to meet someone) that brains are more important than wallets. My best advice is to do what you LOVE doing (this includes career choice) and if you meet someone who shares the SAME goals/passion about life, then everything else will fall together.

[RiceWife]

Well DH and I have been together since we were 14 so we grew into this together. I've always been a saver of things though. DH used to be irritated by this but now is okay as long as I funnel that towards building our food/comfort stockpile. We are new to prepping though and it gives us renewed conversation

[Barbie]

So, here's a plea for advice on this...

Been dating a guy for a few months now. Early on, I started to put out feelers. Gathered right quick that he also shared my views on politics, guns, prepping, the economy, etc... I discovered that he thought prepping was wise, but he wasn't doing it himself. I figured as long as he was open to the idea, we'd be good.
Fast forward. I haven't told him what preps I have, but he knows I keep plenty of groceries on hand, batteries, so on. Ready.gov kinda stuff. I don't intend to let him know more than that at the moment, he has too much family nearby who I think he'd ask me to feed if SHTF.
I jokingly said something about buying food insurance like Hannity advertises, and he said he would start buying that stuff if he had the money...
I was like "yeah, I guess we'll just die then."
I never considered myself to be exceptionally proactive, but hello! If you think **** is going to hit the fan, and think since you don't have hundreds of extra dollars, you're just doomed... It made me wonder, could I make him see the light of prepping bit by bit?
A few weeks ago, I bought a new handgun. He said he had done some shooting, so as I was cooking dinner, I pointed to the case on the table and asked what he thought.
He opened the case, picked the gun up, and pointed it at the window.
My first reaction was to say "set that down. NOW."
As soon as he did, I asked what he was thinking, he hadn't even checked to see if it was loaded.
"I knew it wasn't loaded."
"How?"
"Because I could see the clip in the case."
"That's a magazine, and it's a spare. The other one is in the gun. So you made an assumption. Let's say there was no magazine in it, how did you know there wasn't one in the chamber?"
"Well I knew you wouldn't have a loaded gun in a case. "
Really..."
"Plus, I pointed it out the window, not at somebody."
"You pointed it at my neighbor, Diane. She's at the sink washing dishes."
"Oh."
As I put it away, I asked him "Do you even know if the safety was on?"
"I don't know!"

So what do y'all think? Has he got potential, or is it time to bail?

[extremejoy9]

Originally Posted by Barbie

So, here's a plea for advice on this...

Been dating a guy for a few months now. Early on, I started to put out feelers. Gathered right quick that he also shared my views on politics, guns, prepping, the economy, etc... I discovered that he thought prepping was wise, but he wasn't doing it himself. I figured as long as he was open to the idea, we'd be good.
Fast forward. I haven't told him what preps I have, but he knows I keep plenty of groceries on hand, batteries, so on. Ready.gov kinda stuff. I don't intend to let him know more than that at the moment, he has too much family nearby who I think he'd ask me to feed if SHTF.
I jokingly said something about buying food insurance like Hannity advertises, and he said he would start buying that stuff if he had the money...
I was like "yeah, I guess we'll just die then."
I never considered myself to be exceptionally proactive, but hello! If you think **** is going to hit the fan, and think since you don't have hundreds of extra dollars, you're just doomed... It made me wonder, could I make him see the light of prepping bit by bit?
A few weeks ago, I bought a new handgun. He said he had done some shooting, so as I was cooking dinner, I pointed to the case on the table and asked what he thought.
He opened the case, picked the gun up, and pointed it at the window.
My first reaction was to say "set that down. NOW."
As soon as he did, I asked what he was thinking, he hadn't even checked to see if it was loaded.
"I knew it wasn't loaded."
"How?"
"Because I could see the clip in the case."
"That's a magazine, and it's a spare. The other one is in the gun. So you made an assumption. Let's say there was no magazine in it, how did you know there wasn't one in the chamber?"
"Well I knew you wouldn't have a loaded gun in a case. "
Really..."
"Plus, I pointed it out the window, not at somebody."
"You pointed it at my neighbor, Diane. She's at the sink washing dishes."
"Oh."
As I put it away, I asked him "Do you even know if the safety was on?"
"I don't know!"

So what do y'all think? Has he got potential, or is it time to bail?

ooo, this is a very tough question...only you can know, but I will say this...I want a man who is going to take care of me. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with pulling my weight, and working like crazy for the benefit of my family, but I want a man who is looking out for me, not someone I have to babysit.

[Ruth]

Originally Posted by Barbie

So, here's a plea for advice on this...

Been dating a guy for a few months now. Early on, I started to put out feelers. Gathered right quick that he also shared my views on politics, guns, prepping, the economy, etc... I discovered that he thought prepping was wise, but he wasn't doing it himself. I figured as long as he was open to the idea, we'd be good.
Fast forward. I haven't told him what preps I have, but he knows I keep plenty of groceries on hand, batteries, so on. Ready.gov kinda stuff. I don't intend to let him know more than that at the moment, he has too much family nearby who I think he'd ask me to feed if SHTF.
I jokingly said something about buying food insurance like Hannity advertises, and he said he would start buying that stuff if he had the money...
I was like "yeah, I guess we'll just die then."
I never considered myself to be exceptionally proactive, but hello! If you think **** is going to hit the fan, and think since you don't have hundreds of extra dollars, you're just doomed... It made me wonder, could I make him see the light of prepping bit by bit?
A few weeks ago, I bought a new handgun. He said he had done some shooting, so as I was cooking dinner, I pointed to the case on the table and asked what he thought.
He opened the case, picked the gun up, and pointed it at the window.
My first reaction was to say "set that down. NOW."
As soon as he did, I asked what he was thinking, he hadn't even checked to see if it was loaded.
"I knew it wasn't loaded."
"How?"
"Because I could see the clip in the case."
"That's a magazine, and it's a spare. The other one is in the gun. So you made an assumption. Let's say there was no magazine in it, how did you know there wasn't one in the chamber?"
"Well I knew you wouldn't have a loaded gun in a case. "
Really..."
"Plus, I pointed it out the window, not at somebody."
"You pointed it at my neighbor, Diane. She's at the sink washing dishes."
"Oh."
As I put it away, I asked him "Do you even know if the safety was on?"
"I don't know!"

So what do y'all think? Has he got potential, or is it time to bail?

Has he got potential for what? If you're looking for an excuse to kick him to the curb, you don't need us to tell you.

Personally, I would be more focused on other traits. Does he treat you kindly? Is he honest? Intelligent? Does he like animals? Is he a hard worker? Motivated? Willingness to learn and admit mistakes?

[Barbie]

Originally Posted by Ruth

Has he got potential for what? If you're looking for an excuse to kick him to the curb, you don't need us to tell you.

Personally, I would be more focused on other traits. Does he treat you kindly? Is he honest? Intelligent? Does he like animals? Is he a hard worker? Motivated? Willingness to learn and admit mistakes?

No, I'm not looking for an excuse to kick him to the curb.

I'm looking for advice from women I perceive to be strong and wise (or they wouldn't be hanging out here). I know that some of you have experienced more of life than I have, and either chose mates wisely or learned from choosing poorly.

He is kind, honest, intelligent, and very sweet to my beloved dog. I feel like in this world, this goes a long way.
However, I wouldn't call him motivated, or eager to learn. He's fairly complacent, as evidenced by the fact that he still lives with his parents at thirty. He gets stressed out by things that I consider "adulthood" like being in the middle of something his boss asked him to do when the company owner asks him to do something else. That, to him, makes a horrible day at work.

So I guess what I'm asking for those wise ladies who have BTDT, is this: Are kind and loyal men so rare these days? In ten years, would I regret marrying a man who was thoughtful and honest bat had almost no adult life skills? Am I dealing with a late bloomer, or someone who will always need a Mom to look after him? These things keep me awake at night.