I have talked about the concept of strategic relocation before.
If you haven’t read that blog post yet you absolutely have to.
This is one of the most important concepts to understand and accept!
If you have made the decision to move to a different area or country, you need to determine: What requirements should your new home meet?
Let’s talk about a few of the factors to consider…
Population Density
Population density is a key factor when it comes to surviving and thriving in the future.
Climate change will lead to an increased risk of crop failure. Once there is a national or even global food shortage, things will get nasty.
This is especially true for urban or suburban areas with a high population density. They rely solely on outside food deliveries to feed a large population.
This problem could be slightly mitigated by transforming unused warehouses or factories into hydroponic or aquaponic indoor gardens. Vertical gardening projects already exist in major cities!
The problem is, those gardens produce not nearly enough calories to feed the population.
This is why you MUST choose a rural environment for your future home!
How Rural is too Rural?
While urban areas are too densely populated, the opposite is just as bad.
Yes, there is something like too rural!
In order to survive and thrive in the future, you will need a community. Nobody can become completely self-reliant alone. Our entire civilization is founded on the concept that people specialize in certain fields. Everyone within your community should be a food producing homesteader but specializing on certain fields is important. To name just a few, you will need experts in:
- Medicine (Doctors)
- Mechanics
- Blacksmithing
- Agriculture
- Hunting / Fishing
- Carpentry
- Security / Tactics
- …
So, as you can see, the romantic notion of a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness simply won’t work in the long run.
This is why community building is an important topic on Climate-Preparedness.com! We’ll be sure to cover this topic a lot more in the future.
Choosing the right location for your property
Deciding to move to one of the areas suggested in my post about strategic relocation was the first step in securing your future.
Going for a homestead in a rural community was the next important decision.
Now you need to find a suitable property.
This property should be well suited to the challenges of climate change. Some of those challenges include:
Wildfires
Extended droughts will become more frequent in the future. This will lead to an increased risk of wildfires everywhere! Wildfires can be absolutely devastating. I generally recommend moving to a forested area BUT make sure to clear your property of any trees or shrubs within 100m of your house! With the appropriate building structure this should be enough to survive wildfires relatively unharmed.
Flooding
Just like droughts, extreme precipitation events will occur more often. Parched earth is bad at soaking up water which leads to the flooding of large areas.
This is why I recommend building your house on a slightly inclined piece of land. This makes it easier to install appropriate drainage.
Also, keep a fair distance away from rivers, lakes or other areas that already get flooded regularly!
Storms
Severe storms and flying debris pose a threat to people, livestock and buildings. They will increase in frequency and severity especially in coastal areas. While the nearby sea could be considered an additional source of food, I still recommend choosing a property further inland. This way you can avoid the worst of an incoming storm.
But how can you find a job in the middle of nowhere?
A fair question. Becoming a full-time farmer and living 100% self-sufficient is simply not realistic for most of us. After all, the new homestead requires a large investment and constant maintenance.
How can you ensure an income then?
In my experience, you can find a job everywhere as a skilled craftsman. Most trades are in demand in rural areas as much as in urban ones.
For everyone else there are plenty of jobs online! There is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to run a business in consulting, trading, coaching, teaching or coding from your homestead. The opportunities are endless. You just need to make it happen!
Watch out for many posts about climate resilient, self-sufficient homesteading in the future!
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