Tyler Durden was the fictional narrator of the film Fight Club. It is also the chosen pseudonym of a collection of essayists who expound on matters financial and otherwise, generally in a conservative direction, at a site named Zero Hedge.
Today one of them expounds on where to live after the civilization crumbles, if you seek a chance to survive the collapse. The author identifies five locales in the US that give you a possibility of surviving. They are not places to go after things fall apart, they are places to get established before it happens.
These are (1) the Interior Redoubt consisting of Idaho, Montana, and yes, Wyoming, (2) the Ozark Plateau comprised of parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, (3) the Appalachian Highlands which is eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and West Virginia, (4) Upper Peninsula Michigan, and (5) Interior Alaska.
What follows is not a guide to bunker construction or food storage. It is an examination of five regions where the conditions for long-term survival exist - not because these places are easy, but because they are hard in ways that matter. They possess water, space, soil, and social structures that function without constant external inputs. They demand physical toughness, tolerance for isolation, and willingness to abandon the conveniences of contemporary life. They offer no guarantees. But they offer possibility, which is more than can be said for the places where most Americans currently live.
As someone who has owned a home in WY for over 30 years, I find his description of the Interior Redoubt fair and mostly accurate. We know people who never lost the feeling of being outsiders here, and are bitter because of it.
We've not had that experience, maybe because we didn't expect to be part of community life as part-year residents. Oddly, we have year-round resident friends because we let them come to us, and the other DrC is outgoing.
We never wanted WY to become like CA, that was the point of being here. We dodge the winters but we miss WY when we're away and make no secret of that.
This article isn't a cheerful read. I found it grimly enjoyable, although I am clearly ambivalent about efforts to survive a societal breakdown at my advanced age. My axe, chainsaw, and rifle days are no more.
