I am sorry for me asking but Ive been thinking about this alot. what scnerios play out if SHTF and ect. personally buggin out to me means that things have gotten so bad that the only scnerio for future survival means relocating somewhere else leaving everything behind except what you can take with you. all possessions, house  ect all gone because your not coming back . now to me a bug out bag of which I hear ALOT about seems kinda meanial given my definition of true buggin out and all you take with you is a bag or back pack with some paticular items in it and expect to live for a long term.  . forgive my ignorance but thats crazy. SO this is where I am caught or confuzed ... is a bug out bag a real bug out bag or something to get you home in case you are away incase of hurricane, earthquake ect and kinda have to foot it for a while . Now i see this as my greatest problem seeing that I work away from my home sometimes out of state and if SHTF i would be in a pile of it . Having a Back pack with some survival items may help me get home in case I had to walk.  I mean I have, to most people, extensive survival training. Ive done 2  7day 50 mile survival treks and 1 10day 70mile survival  treck, multiple overnighters-3 days and they are not easy 10 day trek was inspiring because I took so much out of it but trying to do it for a longer period of time while trying to be security minded also would have SUCKED       So anyway if I were in A SHTF scnerio using a Tactical backpack may or at least in my perspectve bring attention to me as one who may have resources as I look like I know what I am doing. I mean what sticks piut the most some guy in fatigues or tactical pants wearing  para military accessories or somne one in jeans and a coat and regular backpack Both out of place but the one in fatigues may pose a threat to my exsistance so there in he is a threat in my eyes. take as you will Im just saying.
so anyway am I way off base or when or if SHTF a bunch of people run for the hills and try to make a new life based on what they can carry. sorry if I offend anybody I am just wondering how people think about bug out       .

Different people view bugging out in different ways.  Some see it as you do, a final "do or die" choice.  I tend to be of the second group.  I tend  to see my BOB (which I also refer to as a GHB) as providing me with everything I need to get by for a week to ten days.  I keep in my car in case I am stranded by some form of SHTF away from home and need to hoof it back.  It is also available if I need to leave my home for a period of time.

Why would I be bugging out?  Lots of rail lines around here, chemical spill is not out of the question.  Civil unrest could make me want to head to my BOL.  And then there is the Delaware River, she's jumped her banks three times in the last ten years.  So far I have been immune, but I could have to leave in a hurry.  All of the above are transient in nature, and I anticipate returning to my home.  Having a BOB means I do not need to worry about what to pack.

In an EOTWAWKI situation, I intend to Bug In as long as it is tenable.  I live in a stone house with walls almost two feet thick, very good for defense.  The people I share my BOL with all plan on meeting up at my place before heading out to the BOL (actually makes sense as I live between them and the BOL).  But the best plans only last until the first shot is fired, and then all bets are off.  A mob could be heading up my front lawn and I may need to bug out the back door right quick.  A handy BOB will make that prospect just a little easier.

stasiman

I dont have a BOL so I would have to Bug In.  Only down side is that I work 17.4 miles from home on the other side of town.  If vehicle transportation is not a viable option I would have to hoof it.  I really need to get a BOB together to make sure I can pull that easily or just hunker down at the shop for a few days.  I should also figure a way to communicate with the wife in case regular comm goes down as well.  Bugging out would be getting home for me.  Not to the boonies where I have a cabin (because I don't).

I work 47 miles from home, hence the BOB in my trunk.

As far as the BOL, well, I love to use the tacticool   phrase for what started life as a summer retreat that some friends and I got together on some years ago.  It is only in the last five years or so, as we have all gotten disturbed by what is going on around us, that we started to transform it into a real BOL.  It still has a long way to go, but it is getting there.  We now have accommodations for all parties, where in the past we shared some cramped quarters.

stasiman

Just because you may have to temporarily bugout doesn't mean you can't go back. I don't plan to bugout unless I would die at home, but there is still the possibility that I could come back. Depending on what caused the bugout, I could be back within hours or days or possibly not at all. If I was forced out by somebody attacking, I'd probably plan on coming back soon with some friends.

" the one in fatigues may pose a threat to my exsistance so there in he is a threat in my eyes."

You may consider him a threat, but if you go around deciding somebody is a threat just because of what he is wearing you will probably find yourself considered a threat by other people pretty quickly.

Truth is if a SHTF event has people bugging out the jeans and reg. backpack guy is going to get jumped far sooner than a guy with an AR. If people are attacking others during SHTF, everyone will be a target ,

try to look at it from a point of view of what has happened in the pass.
the Haiti earth quake for example. only 72 hours after it hit gangs formed and started looting and beating people. a bug out for sure. but you can come back when or if order is restored.

location has a lot to do with the choice to bug out or not. I live 5 minutes outside of downtown, theres no way I could repel roving gangs if something bad happened. they would pay a high price but they would get in at some point if the SHTF lasted long enough. in my high populated area, lighting the house with the generator would be like a signal flare a night. like moths to a flame they would come........

I can foresee plenty of situations that could drive me out of my house in a hell of a hurry. Not just shtf, or teotwawki.

There could be a day when I am driven from my home rather than be rounded up for believing the things I believe in. You can say it will never happen here, but its happened too many times in the past. This is one of the reasons I keep a BOB stocked up and ready.

all really great reasone. I live in a neighborhood that we are all kinda loking out for each other . even when it comes to a really bad situation we have plans to make sure evryone is ok beforew we decide what to do. safety is in numbers we believe. But when it comes to bugin out its different they look as everyone who may try to take from them or anyone in the vicinity of them as a potential threat mainly because in a bad sit they probably shouldnt be walking around. now if the had a AR then to them it makes them worse threat therfore they would as soon take them out. messed up thinking to me this is where I seperate myself from them and prefer to go at it on my own. but I have jus been curous as to other people view as to buggin out .

as far as a threat goes. the only thing I would consider a threat in a SHTF sit would be people really coming at me..
joe blow walking down the street in camo's may just be looking for his dog or something.

Valid points in all aspects.....due to the fact that the need to "bug out" is a very personal decision.

The BOL we have chosen....is roughly 60 miles from home....and our BOBs reflect that. Wheels are best....but can hoof if necessary.

There are  people coming in from many directions.....and way points have been established to be "pick up" points for others in our group if necessary.

The decision to leave wont be taken lightly.....but the plans have been made....and the drills have been run.

We are currently setting up COMMs for multiple locations and vehicles.

The decision to leave will be base upon a lot of variables.....the safety of my family being paramount.

The wife is a stay at home mom (the most insane job if you ask me...)....and we are Scouters....and actually adhere to the life style of "be prepared". She can literally have the Suburban packed and ready to go in a couple hours. If for some reason this doesn't pan out....there are enough supplies in the BOBs and at the BOL to get through most situations.

The amount of time we are prepping for is 18 months....at minimum....all resources...for quite a few people.

The BOL is set up for housing many....and commonly there will be more people there on the weekend than actually live there. I know my kids love it there and ask me regularly if we can go just to play. This being said.....if I jump the gun....and "bug out" over a false alarm.....it is no big deal....just a vacation.

The items in my shop will be the biggest challenge....but the lathe is moving there this Christmas...along with some non-essential equipment.

I personally feel that time grows short.....You gotta keep living your life......but closely observe what's going on around you.

If you guys have been reading my meager post.....you've noticed I've ramped the pace up a little.

If I have to go for an extended period of time.....take the house.....enjoy the DVDs and TVs......bring your own food and such.....the neighbors have some sheep.....so mint jelly may be in order.....my family is important....a house can be replaced.

As far as the MIL garb and such.....if we were observed walking....(which I'm really hoping to not have to do).....we look like a family.....not a threat. You don't need full camo to blend....UPS brown and gray pants work well in my neck of the woods....and my pack is tan. The rifle may give me away though...

OP is confusing BOB and GHB - while there may be lots of overlap, they are not the same thing. One is designed to get you from wherever you happen to be when SHTF back to your home/BIL, the other is designed to get you the F outta Dodge, whether you plan on coming back or not, and hopefully you have somewhere to go.

I have both a GHB that is my daily carry bag - carried to work daily - and a BOB that resides in my vehicle along with lots of other useful goodies. I am not doing the ankle express BO - with a family that is simply not in the cards (anyone who thinks it is is deceiving themselves). They have different purposes, are good for different applications, contain some overlapping items, but mostly not. In a GH situation I am generally traversing 10 or maybe a bit more miles - I can do it in a few hours, and don't need that much to do it. In a BO situation I may be traversing hundreds of miles and obviously am going to have a more involved packing list. I am driving if at all possible (by far most likely), but if that's not possible... I'm planning for a long, miserable multi-day hike with family in tow. Not so with the GHB.

My advice is to not try and make your BOB your GHB. They are not the same thing, and if you make them the same thing you will just end up carrying a metric shitton more than you want to carry to get home.

I was not satisfied with the usual definitions, either.  This is how I conceptualize it:



"I'll go to Houston and get a hotel room" or "I'll go stay with my cousins in ______ " or "I'll run to the hills and live off the land" are NOT specific  plans; neither are they viable, sustainable, nor self-sufficient - as thousands of Louisianians can tell you.

Most people that automatically state "I am not going to but out" are probably in or near urban areas that are nuclear targets, have large masses of system dependent people, etc.

Let's get past the 13 year old "red dawn" vision of "bugging out" as just strapping a backpack on and heading into the wilderness. It's such a stupid cliche it's almost not worth mentioning. Yet to some people their are just the two extremes-

1. Staying in their home 2 miles from a large urban ghetto and thinking they will be hunkee doree.
2. Heading off into the woods with only a backpack.

Both 1 and 2 options are great for people that maybe have only been into this a few months. I submit that we should all spend some time PLANNING for our OWN, INDIVIDUAL circumstances based on where we live.

"Comfort", "Convenience" and "the wife won't let me" should not be criteria in this. Or you risk dying in "comfort and convenience."

Folks need to do an HONEST assessment of the area where they live. Not the wishful thinking, "things won't be that bad" bullshit planning that could cost your family your life.

Their are MANY OPTIONS other than just 1 and 2. Folks need to stop thinking so linear.

Lowdown3

I concur with lowdown I talk to and see way to much linear thinking thats why I brought it up, One thing I think ab out is if it gets bad enough I have to leave then Its probably for good. Taking into the area the possible scnerios If its that bad then we as a community here where I live had have enough of a disaster weather it be man made or not but that other shave run out of necessities and are now out scavaging making my family and friend s targets and thus making it safer to possibly bug out but by doing so we leave behind our home and belongings to get taken. so there is by what I mean that if we end up leaving it may be for good., If its that bad I believe that there would be a major break down in the goverrmental, utilities, securities and basic living infastructures thus causing what ever problem we had to begin with even worse.

This is where you probably err. 99.95% of all situations are SHTF, not TEOTWAKI, and you will be returning home after a bit. Hell, even with Katrina most went back, or could have had they not decided to get govt cheese instead, and their houses were wrecked, under water, etc.

You are really only not going back if your residence is totally destroyed. Even then, you still work there, or have other ties. Your departure will most likely be temporary.

Anyway, there is no amount of shit you can load onto your back to prep you for a permanent, "never going back" move. Other than cash. And you would do well to dismiss any notions of living off the land indefinitely. That is fantasy.

the amount of people I know that could "live off the land"....I can count on one hand. I don't include myself in that #....cause I don't know. anyone who thinks they can should go out into the middle of nowhere and give it a shot for more than a couple days. I've had the wilderness survival training....and really enjoyed doing it.....because I new that in 5 days there would be a cheeseburger at the end. It can be incrediably demoralizing having to find food and avoid getting shot.....with no end in sight....

The hills are terribly overrated.
First of all, bugging out means you abandon  a (at least up until then) safe, known location where you have many if not all of your supplies.
This means you have to be sure about what you are doing and not duing a stupid decision you’ll regret later.
Floor, fire, earthquake, industrial disaster, terrorist attack, any of these could force you to abandon you home. In most cases its only temporary until its safe to go back.
Then you have things like war or changes in the social scenario. With more or less urgency you will want to relocate as well. Jews during the nazi regime, Bosnians during the Serbian invasion and siege, white farmers in Africa, these are all situations where you’re likely to leave permanently, sometime you get to actually “move” everything you own (if you had enough foresight) or just carry what you can just to save your life. All in all, a BOB kit is important to have, but its not mor or less important than a survival kit you have in your vehicle/office, and the EDC gear you have with you at all times. Its all important and each should fulfill its role.

FerFAL

Going to the Superdome and waiting for the government to take care of them didn't work too well, either.

There was an incident back some time ago called Chynerobyl, I would call that a SHTF and not a TEOWAKI..... just sayin
edit: and not to far from me is Centralia

Right, and if a Chernobyl hits you're going to don a pack and walk off into the woods, and live happily ever after? I think not.

There are extremely rare situations that will call for you to evac an area and never come back, but the vast majority of situations will be temporary and will have you coming back at some point. This includes hurricanes, tornados, floods, ice storms, riots / civil unrest, chemical spills, gas leaks, and any other realtively common occurrances that may spell imminent peril, but will subside with time. The ones that make you permanently relocate - war, radiological contamination, asteroid strike, an unhappy God - are very very rare, and not so much something you can adequately plan for in any event. Your best bet in planning for such an event is to have large amounts of cash or precious metal reserves - enough to start over - and a way to evacuate. Short of that, you're just a fuckin' refugee. Which is what most people without significant means will end up being in such a situation.

In which case, probably your greatest prep would be to have a marketable ability that could get you a decent job in a new locale.

I repeat, slapping on a pack and tromping off into the woods to live the life of an outdoorsman is fantasy.

I agree I will not slap a pack on my back and wander around the woods but they can't go home again is all I am saying.