[Proyas]

Hello all,

I'm 24 and currently I am studying international relations as a graduate student. My goal is to work for the Federal government, ideally the State Dept., GAO or some military think-tank. That, of course, means working in Washington, D.C. in the long-run, which in turn means living in the D.C. area.

The problems associated with this should be immediately obvious to you. In the event of a nuclear war or nuclear terrorism, D.C. is going to be wiped out. Biochemical attacks are also possible threats.

I have been thinking about this problem a great deal, and would like to solicit some help from you guys in finding a good location in which to live in the next few years when I get my job. The whole area around the Capitol Building and White House is out of the question since that it target #1. Everything east of that is also out since the fallout would drift with the wind in that direction and since that whole area is a craphole anyway.

In Virginia, the Pentagon and CIA HQ will be targets as well, either with 2 different bombs or one big bomb placed equidistant between them. Fort Belvoir and Andrews AFB will also get hit. I'm not sure if urban areas generally will be blown up in the D.C. area.

OK...I don't want to make this too complicated, so here is my question: Assuming that I build a good fallout shelter on my property, is there any place inside the Washington Beltway (I-495) where I could live with some reasonable chance of surviving a nuclear attack that occurs when I'm at home? (Please use Google Maps to view D.C. and the important facilities that will get nuked)

 

[BOV-Trailer]

I am currently a federal employee and have lived around DC for abuot 7 years. I lived in Alexandria when I first moved here. That being said, I would never move back. I currently live about 50 miles South from DC and have a much better lifestyle. I have a house and yard which I never could have bought inside the beltway.

I do notice that people who just move to the area think that inside the beltway is somehow a great place, but to me I like to be able to drive somewhere without spending all day in the car. I also like having the same shopping around without the millions of people. Also lastly I really like being outside of the beltway because it is one of the hugest targets in the world.

If you want any other information on cheaper housing areas and the pluses and minuses of each area let me know. I have some insight from my own house searches as well as some other friends and family.

 

[Dwind]

thanks to the gun ban its a crime wonderland, easily on par with larger, denser, more destitute populations for violent crime.

and of course theres the political stuff- which is criminal in itself.

 

[BOV-Trailer]

Well, it is because of the gun bans and high crime as well as the other policies of DC that I live in VA where I have a carry permit and am free for the most part. I would definitely suggest VA as opposed to MD and NEVER DC.

 

[Lamb]

Proya:
You're screwed inside the Beltway. Best bet is get limber so if there is a nuke strike, you can get in position to kiss your @ss goodbye!
Most of gov't has evacuation plans for facilities in wild, wonderful West Virginia.
They used to have a big place down at the Greenbriar in Virginia, but that has been declassified. I assume the new hardened facility is somewhere near the FBI facility in W. Va, but I may be wrong.
Also, several congressmen and other important politicos have *personal* BOLs in the Appalachia's, the Blue Ridge, all within an hours flight or a couple hours drive of DC.
Seriously, inside the Beltway is NO place to be in event of nuclear strikes. The only safe place would be in the bowels of the National Archives where they store The Constitution and Declaration of Independence, and I have doubts about that location!
Sorry to be a downer, but thats the fact, Jack, as was said so famously in Stripes, heh. (Sorry, just watched the movie again, still laughing).

So...what's your favorite Alex Proyas movie? I dig Dark City, but I think I,Robot generally sucked. Not his fault, though. He was given certain parameters to work with and then his cast...sigh...but that's another discussion for elsewhere...

 

[Irishwarlord]

Sorry pal,

If you are on the east coast when the balloon gos up, Kiss your ass goodbye!

 

[countryboy123]

You wont be able to build a shelter capable of surviving a hit on Washington unless you spent several hundred thousand dollars at least and probably much more. Washington would be hit with at least 3 or 4 nukes.

I hear there are bunkers under the White House meant to survive multi megaton direct hits. Its supposed to be like a mile down or something...

 

[Proyas]

BOV trailer: Maybe I will take you up on that. Stand by. Also, I love city life and think D.C. has a lot of cool bars and culture. I also hate long commutes that you probably don't care about, which is another reason why I want to live close to the city, preferably close to a Metro stop.

Lamb: I'm not so sure about your assessment. I have read about nuclear war and civil preparedness, and from what I understand, having a concrete shelter in your backyard that is at least 3 feet underground can be shockingly effective protection against even nukes so long as they don't land directly on top of you. Let's say I live in either Chevy Chase or Annandale. Check out a Google Map and you will see that both are direct suburbs of D.C. True, in the event of a nuclear strike, targets close to them, like CIA HQ, Dulles Airport and the Pentagon would get their own nukes, but each of those is a few miles away from the aforementioned neighborhoods. True, my house would be totally destroyed by the shockwave, but I could survive in a good enough bomb shelter, and that's really what's important. Can other people who really know about nuclear war weigh in on this? Could I survive a pretty intense nuclear attack on my area if I had a good enough backyard shelter and didn't suffer a direct groundburst on my location?

Also, Lamb, I also recognize the value of West Virginia, and once I get enough money (which will be years after I have bought my D.C.-area house and built the shelter), I will probably buy just a little bit of land there, with a crappy little cabin or something. I could use it for weekend hunting during normal times, and if someone pushes the button, it could become my permanent home.

My favorite Proyas movie and favorite movie of all is Dark City. I also loved I, Robot, but that's only because I am really into Transhumanism. Garage Days was also hysterical. I didn't like The Crow because it was just too dark and gothic.
If you guys want an idea of how the world might end someday, check this out:

Sorry to say, but I think I'm going to have to play it smart and join the machine side.

Just to clue everyone in, this is my big plan for dealing with WMD attacks on D.C.:
-If a gradual buildup of tension between the U.S. and some other nuclear power occurs over several weeks or days, and if it becomes clear to me that there is an unacceptable probability of a nuclear attack on D.C., I will take an extended vacation to my West Virginia cabin before the SHTF.
-If a nuclear attack from an enemy state occurs while I am in my D.C.-area home, and I have 5 minutes warning or more from air raid sirens or a constant alert system I will rig up, I will jump into the backyard shelter.
-If a nuclear attack from an enemy state occurs while I am at work in D.C., and I have 5 minutes warning or more, I will grab my gas mask/protective body kit and head down into the basement of my building or into the Metro and hope for the best.
-If a terrorist nuclear attack occurs while I am at work in D.C., it will probably be a low-yield groundburst and centered around the Capitol building or White House. Hopefully, wherever I work will be far enough away not to be destroyed, and I can jump into the protective gear right afterwards a get away.
-Chemical attack when I'm in the metro or any other public place in the city: Put on gas mask as fast as possible and get out.

 

[Dwind]

 

[Penny]

I lived in Annandale VA and thought it was a nice place to be at. It was inside the beltway, decent school district, etc.

You live near DC during a blast though, and you're screwed no matter what plans you have. BTW, a gas mask will not save you from the blast.

 

[2PreparedCats]

Stay away from MD and DC - they suck. VA is a CCW state - at least for now. We probably don't have to worry about nukes here now that ObamaMessiah is starting his rule of peace and love and happy unicorns. His terrorist buddies would never bomb their friend's 'hood.

Oh - and if you actually voted for O, you'll really love northern VA.

 

[Kregener]

My goal is to work for the Federal government, ideally the State Dept., GAO or some military think-tank.

The problems associated with this should be immediately obvious to you.

Oh, make no mistake, they are.

 

[Cpl.Young]

Proyas, the most ideal place would be south Stafford or north Fredericksburg. You can commute to DC or Arlington from there, many many many many people do. I also say this because it seems that you are concerned with nuclear attack and that area is in between MCB Quantico to the north and Fort AP Hill to the south. If you are looking on mapquest if you can see where Rt 17 connects to I-95 that would be a good area to look into because you could survive the initial blast effects of the warheads dropping on those bases if you lived there. To get more info on how to survive the fallout and some blast effects and how to build a expedient shelter, check out www.ki4u.com/free_book/s73p912.htm

 

[tnrick55]

i look at it this way i would rather be a sheep hearder out west than worK in DC,MAKING 10 TIMES THE MONEY.NO AFENCE TO SHEEP HERDERS LOL

 

[Lamb]

Proyas, here's the problem with your backyard nuke shelter:
Even if you dig 6 feet deep, and have 3 foot concrete walls and blast doors (prepare to spend mucho dinero on that, my friend) if you are within 2 miles of where a regular nuclear warhead goes off YOU WILL BE COOKED IN YOUR BUNKER!
That little bug-a-boo called INTENSE HEAT, as in thermo-nuclear heat will bake you in that bunker.
Tactical nuke (smaller warhead, less heat) you may survive. *Dirty* bomb delivered al la terrorist, you would survive as it has less of a blast and only is used to spread deadly radioactivity to take out as many live targets as possible and to contaminate the area in which it is detonated.

As far as *joining the machine*, good luck with that.
Some folks have a special name for those that are part of the *machine* after the SHTF or TEOTWAWKI.
Targets.
Damn, I am harsh b*tch this afternoon....rise in ammo prices has me cranky, I guess...

 

[Proyas]

Proyas, here's the problem with your backyard nuke shelter:
Even if you dig 6 feet deep, and have 3 foot concrete walls and blast doors (prepare to spend mucho dinero on that, my friend) if you are within 2 miles of where a regular nuclear warhead goes off YOU WILL BE COOKED IN YOUR BUNKER!
That little bug-a-boo called INTENSE HEAT, as in thermo-nuclear heat will bake you in that bunker.
Tactical nuke (smaller warhead, less heat) you may survive. *Dirty* bomb delivered al la terrorist, you would survive as it has less of a blast and only is used to spread deadly radioactivity to take out as many live targets as possible and to contaminate the area in which it is detonated.

As far as *joining the machine*, good luck with that.
Some folks have a special name for those that are part of the *machine* after the SHTF or TEOTWAWKI.
Targets.
Damn, I am harsh b*tch this afternoon....rise in ammo prices has me cranky, I guess...

Well how far down do you have to be to not get cooked?

And sorry dude, but I've seen enough to realize that the Machine always wins in the end. Better to join.

 

[Lamb]

Well how far down do you have to be to not get cooked?

Check the specs for Cheyenne Mountain.

And sorry dude, but I've seen enough to realize that the Machine always wins in the end. Better to join.

Glad my Aunt Odette didn't feel that way. She joined the Resistance. Fought against a pretty big *Machine* called The Third Reich. Showed a lot of courage for a 16 year old French girl. Saw two brothers tortured and executed. Was tortured herself and carries the scars to this day. Put her life on the line dozens of times helping British and American soldiers.
I hope I can show the same courage when the time comes to join the Resistance here.

So sad you are so young but yet have given up and to have so little courage.
I suspect you will be the type that will parrot the "But I was just following orders!" line as they put the blindfold on.

Like I said....Targets.

 

[BOV-Trailer]

I would have to say that these people who are Federal employees are not robots. They are just people doing a job. When that job is over at the end of the day they are just normal everyday people that you would not know were Federally employed. A lot of the ones that I know are just scientists and engineers doing what they are paid to do and the job just provides the means to have a life outside of work. Maybe the 3 letter agencies are different, but the vast majority of the couple million federal employees are only workers earning money for normal life. Just like the rest of the people.

 

[Proyas]

Check the specs for Cheyenne Mountain.

Glad my Aunt Odette didn't feel that way. She joined the Resistance. Fought against a pretty big *Machine* called The Third Reich. Showed a lot of courage for a 16 year old French girl. Saw two brothers tortured and executed. Was tortured herself and carries the scars to this day. Put her life on the line dozens of times helping British and American soldiers.
I hope I can show the same courage when the time comes to join the Resistance here.

So sad you are so young but yet have given up and to have so little courage.
I suspect you will be the type that will parrot the "But I was just following orders!" line as they put the blindfold on.

Like I said....Targets.

Dude, you seriously need to tone down your sarcasm. Have a Sam Adams or something.

The French Resistance for all its hype made minimal contributions to beating the Nazis. The regular militaries of Britain and the U.S. did 95% of the work. The Machine wasn't brought down, one simply beat the other and took over in its place.

 

[Lamb]

Dude, you seriously need to tone down your sarcasm. Have a Sam Adams or something.

It's Dudette. Ms Dudette to you.

The French Resistance for all its hype made minimal contributions to beating the Nazis. The regular militaries of Britain and the U.S. did 95% of the work.

D-Day wouldn't have been possible without the French coast-watchers that radioed weather reports,and helped guide in the landing craft. The Resistance was instrumental in sabotage efforts that produced *an invisible enemy* for the Nazis to fight, distracting them during incursions by Allied troops.

The Machine wasn't brought down, one simply beat the other and took over in its place.

The governments of the late 40s and early 50s were a lot different than the gov't.s we have now.
I suggest you read up on history some more. I realize our school system has gone down extraordinarily since my school days, but seriously, if you think being part of the *machine* is your best bet, you'd better get some more studying done!
The Dynasties of China...gone
Roman Empire...gone
British Empire...gone
Monster machines all. Cogs slip, sparks die, belts snap and machines grind to a rather messy halt.
If you want to bluster about how the united States has the biggest, best, all-powerful military, remember:
So did England many years ago. And they got their asses kicked by a rag tag group of pissed off farmers.
So, join your machine and be happy. Hit the bars and buy your furniture at Ikea. Buy that house in the Beltway and cabin in West Virginia.
But when, that's WHEN, not IF, the SHTF or TEOTWAWKI happens, remember what Thomas Jefferson said about the Tree of Liberty and how it should be watered...