Just seeing where we all stand...

For me it is not only lack of a group, but lack of one that fits my needs. I have equipment and certain abilities. The only people around here don't have much to offer.

Holy poll...  Do you even OCD, bro?

.....and might I add...

Just me and my family... and none of them except my 14-year-old son is particularly fit.

National Guard, so....  

"No, just me and my family/relatives"

should read


"Yes, me and my family/relatives we take care of our own"

I wonder if the Army Reserve actually thinks I'd show up if they called...

Family, hopefully just immediate. But then there's the in-laws from my sister's husband, and his parents of a few other kids, who also have kids, etc. Snowballing effect....

Hopefully just immediate family.

EXACTLY, I was looking for family under 'YES' as well. That's a group. But not the OP's intent me thinks.

It is just me, but I do know of several neighbors that I could count on.

Agreed,

I also went with "No, it's just me and my family/relatives"

But we are talking 20+ able bodied people depending on the situation

But I also have no desire to be in a formal group, I like pie,
and I am guilty of having a metric ton of .22

Someone else said something along the lines of "...most people feign survival at a level above what is real for them".

Most I know talk the talk, but hobby-talk only.

I am guessing that a group would form in direct relation to severity of shtf.

nope
nobody.

I would like to be in a group but I'd be worried that any group I found would just end up being a militia.

Got some friends and family, but mostly just family. It would have to be a darn severe SHTF for them to head this way, though. They would be leaving a lot of supplies, and enough propane fuel to for emergency winter heating for about 10 years. Likewise, I would not head their way unless I HAD to. They are closer to metro, lots of people in their area, and even though they are on a crop farm (retired, land rented) and have most of the equipment left, they are not setup to grow food. Hunting would be non-existent after the first 30 days (if that), and would be fierce competition with other hungry people. Also, no reliable open water in the area, no lakes within 5 miles either.

We are setup for food production, and getting more so every year. We have chickens (self-sustaining flock), much more rural, lots of water and lakes, and live on a hill we can defend. Our house is off the road and not visible without being all the way up the driveway. We use strategic vegetation to create choke points. We are also setup to run much more easily off-grid. Getting our dairy cow soon as well. Basically, we will be setup as a late 19th century family farm soon.


Problem is that family and friends figure out darn quick how well we are setup when they visit. While I can easily hide the fuel storage in the fuel shed and LTS food in the bunker, hiding the entire operation is impossible. I can even hide the pantry in our small house, but it is hard to miss the chickens, garden and soon a cow. Not to mention the orchard. Kind of obvious we can take care of ourselves, and I get comments akin to that. Our families jokingly call us the "Pioneers". We try out best to pass it off as just a hobby, but the more intelligent ones know better. I'm sure at least half have a good guess how far we have gone. Don't know what to do about that.


Surprisingly, we have actually influenced a few relatives and friends with how we live. My wife's niece was out one weekend, and we were carrying on as usual. It was baking day, and we were making breads, rolls, etc. She was out for the entire day and was involved with the entire process. She had lots of questions, and we did our best to answer them w/o breaking OPSEC. She knows we shop at Costco, buy in bulk, and make our food from scratch. She said to us: "A LOT of people talk about it, but you guys actually do it!". We also tried to show her how much money you save by cooking this way. It does take more time, but is worth it. Things clicked a bit.

It's just my family that will stick together for the most part.  I have close friend that are welcome to come if they can make it.  It's a bring your own shelter if they come.  For the most part my closet friends & train for a SHTF.  We train at the range in all weather conditions, most know if your firearms with the lub you use will work in cold weather.  We are planing a bug out trip later this spring.  None of us have tested our gear.  Everyone should test their gear.

Stone

This is a valid point...sorry I didn't think of it as an option....had to leave room for the "pie" choice...

why?  Just can't make your own mind up on which way to go?  

I'm LDS.

A real group won't go into the Guns and gear junk right off.
Food storage ...basic preps...compatibility with others (personality wise) and conformity to group standards ..knowing what the groups end goal is key IMHO.
No end goal...means faltering projects...leadership and communication problems that lead to other issues down the road. Aka 10 members and all are majors....:p.

Reason you take your time...real groups will do the same be wary of the "ohh your in dude...here's your rank...." speed of entry into one....that will lead you to issues ....
Just some quick thoughts ...nothing more.

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Problem I have is.....
I don't really want to be a member of a group that would have me as a member.

It's just me and while my folks are still around - them.  They have basic food water stored for short term but that's it.   I have a couple of good friends that we have loosely discussed what we would do if there was a collapse of social order.

Sounds like solid advice, appreciate it.

Just me and my family.  I can barely envision a "group" working out in my favor.  It'd end up being just like the group assignments in school-- a large percentage have nothing to offer, and only leach off the efforts of others.

Its just me , my folks are nearby but they are getting on both age and in health and while I  have them prepped for short term hiccups ( generator and water and food ) .. any long term issues would be bad for them ( medical issues )  they both grew up post WWII in Europe and while I suspect my dad would be able to use shot gun I got him for home defense ... My mother has already said she "mentally" could not use it to cause harm  ( took her to the range to practice and I was impressed on how well she did at 70+ )  Our plan for them is to bug in and hunger down and try to be unnoticed.  We live close enough to each other that we should be able to make it the others house on foot  and make supply runs between houses if needed.  

I am single and have no dependents, my plan is to bug in and hold out as long as I can  ( I live in the burbs )

My long term goal is to move out further and get some acreage  and set up for my retirement and shelter in place .. that most likely will not happen until my parents are gone .

Yes, close friends and family. Some people scattered near by.

We have a plan. We sometimes practice together. I wouldn't say its an official "organization" more of a group of like minded folks who work together for common goals. No club meetings or anything.

What does "SHTF" mean? I know what it stands for, but it's such a vague term it's basically meaningless. Losing your job during a recession can be a SHTF scenario. Breaking your leg when you do physical work can be SHTF. Or are we talking WWIII or Yellowstone blowing?

I've lost my job during a recession, I worked it out on my own. If a comet strikes the planet and destroys civilization as we know it, I'll join up with family.

Meh i guess you could say we are kinda organized since we have somewhat of a tentative plan. Mostly family and my closest friends are pretty into guns, shooting, survival and shtf. Have a friend with a 100 acre ranch.

There are several like minded folks around that I would trust shtf. We dont have any formal group together and have never talked about it.
Mostly just my family, none of us are in tip top shape but we arent couch potatoes either. Id love to have a small group, 5-8 people that could ban together if needed.
Neighbors for me are out, across the street their son just od'd on heroine (lived) and also "accidentally" killed his brother with a shotgun blast to the face a few years back. So they are out.
other neighbor is elderly, home health stays most of the day. My only other neighbor is my sisters ex husband and he and I are pretty cool, he shoots skeet and we talk guns. He hunts in the woods behind both of our houses. He is pretty out of shape but he has skills and we get along ok.

Out here where I live, everyone has 2-3 acre gardens, usually well balanced of fruit, veggies, grains and carbs, at least 1 head of beef, chickens, etc. Most everyone has a method of catching rainwater.
I know we have a alot of former military and alot of us get together for rifle/pistol shooting competitions.
We also have a great collection of welders, mechanics, electricians, truck drivers, an explosives guy, a bunch of nurses, teachers etc.

We have conversations....hut at this point, nothing too formal.

I don't know any of my neighbors and all my friends are hundreds of miles away so it's just me and my wife hiding in the bathtub.

Just me and my wife here now.  Family live 100's of miles away.  I have met people that are shooters, hunters, and sportsmen, but none I really know well. I have always been a loner; so no big deal there.  I have met some great people at the Appleseed shoot last Fall and plan on meeting with them again this Spring. Maintaining opsec is not a problem, all gear is kept behind a door in the basement.  The garage is cluttered in a good way with all gear covered, stowed, or boxed.

Is planning on a couple of wives an option?  Yea I got spanked for that thought before. Just us, I have had friends that would have made a group, but they found non-prep gfs and there is nothing happening there