Let’s assume that you’ve decided NOT to bug out; instead, you’ve chosen to stay home as long as possible.
Using your home as a base of survival operation comes “hell or high water.”
Not every survival scenario ends with you living in a tent or shelter made of branches.
And in a long-term, widespread disaster scenario, people will be forced to fight for survival.
Why? Because people will fight for food, water, and security when resources are limited.
Let’s assume you have a plan for this already:
- You’ve been stockpiling food and supplies
- You’ve got a decent-sized water stockpile
- You’re adequately armed
- You’ve educated yourself and know exactly how to defend your home
Basically, you’re a part of “The Resilient Few” or well on your way…
Often, your best chance of survival is on turf you’re familiar with – home-field advantage and all that.
Yet, with this strategy, you must address two major problems before disaster strikes.
- First: you are only one person.
- Second: neighbors (i.e., other humans) may surround you.
Wait – What About Complete Self-Sufficiency?
Listen, very few people can survive ALL alone.
Just because you live in your home does not mean you can lock the front door and go to sleep.
If the disaster means food and critical resources are scarce, many bad guys will crop up.
People willing to injure (or kill), especially IF they haven’t prepared.
The most dangerous folks are those who are both desperate and have questionable morals.
The more ruthless brothers and sisters, with a lot of firepower AND the will to use it in a negative way. Don’t let the fact they haven’t prepared with food/supplies in mind fool you into thinking they’re not dangerous.
These are the people who figure:
“Why waste time and money stockpiling food or gear when they can take what they need from someone else.”
This statement is a valid argument on their part. It is damn near Darwinian.
The lion doesn’t think twice about running the cheetah off from a kill.
The ruthless man who is willing to exert his ruthlessness can get what he needs. And this factor multiplies when cruel people start working together.
The police won’t be there to stop them.
If someone leaves no witnesses, no one can testify later should civilization reemerge. And it’s impossible to provide 24-hour security for your family alone.
You can’t count on your spouse or a ten-year-old on the roof with a deer rifle to cover the hours you have to sleep. To make matters worse, surviving will require more of you than just standing guard.
Instead, it’s wise to forge allies to share in these responsibilities.
This strategy is where local neighbors can come into play.
They are ripe to become your makeshift survival coalition for those who plan to stay.
I listed two problems above, the second of which were neighbors.
But Neighbors Are A Double-Edged Sword
Just like in normal times, your closest neighbors can be both an asset and a liability.
They can become a close friend or a time suck.
- ALL neighborhoods include a few responsible, dependable, skilled, friendly neighbors with solid morals.
- Yet ALL neighborhoods also include weak, unreliable, unskilled, unmotivated wastes of DNA.
Neighborhoods can come together to forge alliances for mutual protection and support. But only IF the right people are involved.
The wrong people can lead to chaos and mutual destruction.
You need to figure out which of these people live around you.
How To Form A Neighborhood Survival Coalition
First off, you start immediately – don’t sleep on this. You CAN’T wait until disaster strikes.
That would be rolling the dice with your family’s fate.
You must figure out who you’re dealing with today. That’s why I suggest you begin laying the foundations for a future survival coalition ASAP.
For now, let’s call them potential survival friendships.
You don’t want to come across as the nut job extremist in the cul-de-sac, which you are not.
You are just a rational person forging relationships for mutual interests.
The best-case scenario is your efforts will yield friends.
Buddies who can help you swap out an engine in your truck, go fishing, hiking, or backpacking on weekends. Nothing wrong with a few more friends, right?
So put yourself out there if you haven’t already.
Introduce yourself and your family to your neighbors.
Invite them over, have a block party, swap home improvement tips, whatever…
All it takes is one evening on the street grilling burgers and drinking beer. After this, you’ll have a decent idea of who exactly you’re dealing with.
Sometimes you can tell whom you’re dealing with upon the first impression.
For most people, you can usually tell if someone is an asshole or a patsy in the first thirty minutes or so.
Within an hour, you’ll likely know who’s resilient and who’s fragile.
As you get to know these people, steer the conversation toward resilient hobbies, such as:
- Camping
- Hunting
- Fishing
- Firearms
- Martial Arts
- Gardening
- Cooking
- DIY Projects
Why? Because people love to talk about their hobbies. And it’s an entirely natural thing that will tell you volumes about someone.
Now you don’t have to be friends with everyone. Truth be told, that might even be a significant mistake.
You may want to keep a very healthy distance from a few folks.
For example, some may prove too ruthless and not looking to cooperate.
Or they might be happy to remain a part of the fragile masses. You can disqualify the fragile masses immediately. They are likely to become a severe liability in a survival situation.
Now, don’t immediately disqualify the ruthless folks from your survival coalition.
In fact, a ruthless guy who’s willing to cooperate and has a modicum of morality can be a great addition to your team.
Quickly, you’ll begin to sort the good from the bad, the wheat from the chaff.
Although you may be forging friendships with the wheat – don’t piss off the chaff!
Keep on friendly terms with everyone in your neighborhood, if possible.
That asshole may change their tune when SHTF.
How Much Should You Share?
So does this mean you have to spill the beans to your new friends that you’re building a survival coalition?
No. Bad idea!
No matter how you do it, you won’t sound rational to the average neighbor. And to be taken seriously later, you must be thought of as sensible today.
Just keep a mental list of your new prospective survival coalition team members.
And take note of the unique skills, tools, equipment, and vehicles they possess.
File it away in the back of your mind for future use, and enjoy your new friendships.
So what if the seeds of disaster start to sprout?
There are disaster scenarios where the public can see an event coming (i.e., economic collapse, hurricanes, civil unrest).
Occasionally, you’ll see disaster coming weeks or months before it arrives.
In these cases, keep current on the news and ensure your friends in the neighborhood are current as well.
Encourage talk amongst themselves about what’s coming. You may be surprised when your friends start talking about making plans.
They may be feeling you out on how you plan to deal with the coming disaster.
This is an opportunity to slowly work the mutual protection concept into the conversation. And put your friends at ease with the notion you’ll all take care of each other.
So again, when do you start sharing?
- Do you tell your newfound survival coalition about your food stockpile?
- Do you mention your underground shelter?
- Your guns and ammunition?
- Your survival radio communications?
Remember the number one rule for both bunkers and stockpiles?
“Don’t talk about your bunker or stockpile?”
Well, this is still a good rule.
But as the time of the disaster approaches, you will have to share this information at some point.
That is IF you want mutual protection.
Still, be wary about who you share information with.
It’s OK to leave most neighbors in the dark – especially those on the cusp of acceptance.
At least until you can ascertain their true intentions, yes, it’s a judgment call – just like most things in survival.
But, in general, extreme caution is a wiser choice than regret when it comes to sharing your prepping.
That’s why it can take time to build a strong survival coalition. But it’s necessary for the long-term security of you and your family.
Better to find out now which neighbors can help and which can hurt your chances of survival.
Final Thoughts
I’ll leave with two final pieces of advice…
Only join forces with others who:
- You Can Trust With Your Life
- Pull Their Own Weight
If you can’t trust them, disqualify them.
If someone doesn’t have ANY critical supplies or skills –they’re a survival liability.
This same concern goes for someone’s temperament.
Anyone who’s “unstable” during normal times is NOT someone you want in your coalition.
But with anyone who meets these two requirements, Trust and Worth is an excellent coalition addition.
The bottom line is:
Avoid the fragile masses and seek those who are (or are striving to become) a part of the resilient few.
A strong survival coalition dramatically increases your odds of survival, no matter what the uncertain future holds.
“Just In Case” Jack
P.s. – EVERYONE needs to be a part of a survival coalition! Why? Because a good coalition provides lots of motivation and mentorship. Basically, a good survival coalition helps you start living a resilient life!
So if you want to avoid going alone and want help from like-minded resilient folks – consider joining THE RESILIENT LIFE.
It’s an intense self-paced program for those who want to become more resilient (and less fragile) to life’s uncertainties.
"Just in Case" Jack
Co-Founder of TheResilientLife.com and SkilledSurvival.com. Creates content, helps members, and is the visionary behind The Resilient Life’s way of living. Husband, father, mechanical engineer, survivalist, and prepper.
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