The Difference Between Urban and Rural PreppingFor most preppers, their dream scenario would include something like a Doomsday Castle or a massive underground living facility. Unfortunately, reality always seems to get in the way, and we must figure out an alternative. So what is the difference between urban and rural prepping?

While it’s true, your chances of survival increase the further away from people you are, but that’s not an option for most people. In fact, some people have no desire to head out to the middle of nowhere.

With that being said, this article is not about which is better, but rather what the differences between rural and urban prepping are.

There is a lot more that goes into moving to a rural area than buying some property and packing the U-Haul truck. There is quite a bit of freedom that comes with living in a rural area, but there is also quite a bit of responsibility. In an urban area, everything is within walking distance and readily available. In a rural area, you need to plan ahead or figure out alternatives.

SPP192 The Difference Between Urban and Rural Prepping

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In today’s show, we talked about how your prepping will be different depending on where you live. An urban area will require different supplies and plans than Rural prepping, and a suburban area is a little bit of each.

Picking the Right Prepping Supplies

The supplies you need will be different depending on where you live. In an urban environment you might need something like the Ontario SPAX Tool, a Pry Bar or a Lock Picking Set. In a rural environment bushcraft skills, storing fuel and larger amounts of food and water will be a priority.

In a suburban environment, you will have the best, and worst of both worlds. Because you sit right between urban and rural, and have more storage space, both situations could apply to you. Here is a good video that goes over the differences in prepping supplies for urban and rural.

Urban VS Rural Preparedness

This list is some of the important differences when it comes to urban and rural prepping. Keep in mind, a suburban area could require you to think about all these different areas of preparedness. Your living situation, family size and location will dictate what you need to become better prepared.

Urban: Most people chose to live in or near the city because you are closer to work, and closer to infrastructure. Finances also play a big role.
Rural: Living out in the boonies takes a commitment because EVERYTHING is far away. The trade off is freedom and less people.

 

Urban: In (or near) the city, events like Martial Law and civil unrest are more immediate. You will need to be on high alert, and react quickly.
Rural: In an urban area civil unrest might not be as immediate. Although unlikely, the golden hoard might be headed your way.

 

Urban: In high population areas there are more people. More people = more potential problems. It would be easy to become caught in the middle of something you never saw coming.
Rural: While there are less people, and less potential problems, you might be on your Own. This could be a good or a bad thing depending on the situation.

 

Urban: In the city people are more dependent on Infrastructure. While this is OK now, in a SHTF event there will be more competition and lawlessness.
Rural: In a rural area and some suburbs, there is less infrastructure to utilize. Planning ahead and storing supplies is critical for survival.

 

Urban: Because there are more people, news will travel faster by word of mouth. Be careful about what is really news, and what is rumor.
Rural: In a rural area you might only have a handful of neighbors, and they could be miles apart. The news you do get is more likely to be true though.

 

Urban: With the more people there are in an area, there is an increased risk of disease. This is especially true in a large scale disaster.
Rural: The downside of living in a rural area is there might be less medical help available, and help is further away.

 

Urban: With limited space, storing preparedness supplies is much harder. This requires thinking outside the box a little bit.
Rural: If you live in the middle of nowhere, you will have more room so store supplies, but you also have more property to protect.

 

Urban: In high population areas, bugging out should be a priority. Getting away from people and potential problems could be the difference between life and death.
Rural: If you live in a rural area you are already bugged out, so bugging in should be a priority, especially if you work or travel in or to the city.

 

Urban: In an urban area, clean drinking water could be hard to find. Drinking from a city river could be deadly, but there are ways to find clean water in the city.
Rural: In a rural environment you will need to depend more on mother natures resources, and less on man made resources. 

 

This is just a few of the differences when it comes to rural and urban prepping. Your situation will dictate which of these apply to you, and how you should prepare. This is not to say that people in an urban area don’t need to worry about Martial Law, it just means we need to prioritize the threats we might face.


Dale
Dale

Survival and being prepared should not only be a passion, it should be a lifestyle. The definition of a prepper is "An individual or group that prepares or makes preparations in advance of, or prior to, any change in normal circumstances, without substantial resources from outside sources" Like the Government, police etc. I don't believe that the end of the world will be the "end of the world" I believe it will be the end of the world as we know it now. You can also find me on Google Plus and Twitter

    2 replies to "The Difference Between Urban and Rural Prepping"

    • Randy

      Lots of good compare and contrast here.

      As I was reading I was thinking, “Oh yeah, that’s true. I hadn’t considered that.”

    • Ben Leucking

      Here is another “compare and contrast” observation:
      The mortality rate of urban dwellers will far exceed that of rural people. The vast majority of city dwellers won’t make it 50 miles due to highway congestion, road rage and gangs. Those that do manage to break out from the Golden Horde will find themselves staring at the barrel of a rifle firmly held by the rural folk.

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