Part 8 - Apocalypse?

Previously, everything I've discussed, planned, and executed on were for a local, short-term, but severe outbreak. What if things were worse than that? My current plans take me though a year, or so. What if things were so bad that staying here, even in a well-stocked, fortified position was a death sentence?

I'm in need of a compound, and one where most people will not be.

I'll start with a checklist, which I'll expand on afterward, of what the land should be:

• For sale.
• Undeveloped.
  
• Almost inaccessible.
• Waterfront (lake, ocean, or large river).
• Easily defensible.
• Able to support agriculture.
• Able to support livestock.
• Large.
• Cold.
  

Okay, now taking each of those and breaking them down.

I don't want to rent the land, it would need to be for sale. The last thing I want is to rent a large plot of land and then have the owner show up during the apocalypse asking for his land back. Wouldn't that be a nightmare?

Undeveloped land is more important because it's cheaper, likely off the grid, and it might not even have any roads leading to it. Also, you're now having to work with what's already there, or pay a price to alter the existing structures/infrastructures. Remember, having a road leading to your safe haven is just an invitation for unwanted visitors.

Speaking of which, I want the land to be almost impossible to get to. A zombie will walk until it rots away to nothing. Being far, far away from population centers doesn't just help reduce the chance of zombie encounters, but also encounters with the living.

Having waterfront property helps on several fronts. It can be a source of fresh water. It can be a means of travel (heaven forbid you should want to go anywhere). It can also be a source of hydro-electric power (if it's a river). Most importantly, it can be a source of food.

I wouldn't want to buy a bunch of land in the prairies, in a pleasant little valley, nor on the top of a mountain. Having said that, I want the land to be easily defensible; taking advantage of the terrain as much as possible. Part of being defensible means being invisible, too. Ultimately, everything so far points towards being on a largish island in the middle of a large, remote lake. That could, however, be a pipe dream.

The plan for a compound assumes longer than a year, maybe upwards of a decade. For this, you'd need to grow your own food. The land would need to be arable.

Ironically, in an effort to avoid being a piece of meat, I'd personally want access to meat. My fortress of solitude would have room for cows, pigs, and chickens. This alone brings up two huge concerns. 1) Cows need a lot of land. 2) Animals are noisy and zombies are attracted to sounds.

With everything I've listed so far, the area I'd need keeps growing and growing and growing... and it's not done yet. The plot would have to be large enough to support a small community. What? Community? Yes. It is one thing to keep your family safe. It's another to protect the species. There would need to be enough space for several families to be able to live, peacefully, together without the fear of overcrowding.

The last, but not least, point is the climate needs to be cold. Now, I'm not looking to cross into the Arctic Circle, as that alone would be an almost death sentence. No, that would be too extreme. However, North is definitely a wiser, safer choice than South. East wouldn't be too bad, but that's where the majority of this continent's population lives.

Okay, so now that I've given a brief breakdown of what I'm looking for, what are the next steps?

I need to research (future posts!) the size requirements. Then, I'll need to determine who gets involved and arrange for capital. Once that's all done, it's a relatively simple matter of plugging the high-level information into the real estate website and do a search for available properties. Hell, right now there are close to 100 waterfront properties, all under $100k, within my current geographic boundaries (that number goes over 1,000 properties if you remove the waterfront requirement).

Next installment: Bovines and Chickens and Pigs! Oh my!

Progress - An Update

It's been awhile since I've posted, but not due to any local outbreaks.

I've been in a holding pattern, and was awaiting certain things to sort themselves out. Here's the lowdown:

• Doors: I had found some fire doors on Craigslist, and awaited their arrival. All three doors, including the frames, arrive, and have finally been installed in the basement. (I had a tough time convincing my father, who was helping, that these doors were necessary, but that the rest of the house didn't need them... without mentiong the Zed word.) The one on the back of the house doesn't get seen by anybody but the few people who walk their dogs nearby, but it doesn't look like a regular door, so I had to paint it to look like all the other doors in the complex. It only looks "fake" when you're up close. Luckily, the door is in constant shade, and not near any foot traffic, so I'm good there. The front door will be an issue. I'm still looking into a suitable replacement. The sliding door in the basement is a huge concern (glass!), but having a lockable firedoor from that room to the rest of the house, which opens inwards to the room, helps maintain a safe domestic environment. (Note to self: banging on these doors is LOUD. Seek noise remedy.)
  
• Windows: The basement window (in the bathroom) has been barred. Only the General Lee could pull that thing clear. The Kitchen window and frosted window by the front door will be replaced by something sturdy when finances allow for it.
• Windows (part 2): I'm working on a way to "black out" the bedroom windows and the skylight in the stairwell, without looking like they're boarded up or blacked out. I don't want to draw attention to them from humans seeking shelter/protection/food during an outbreak. I want the place to look deserted, not fortified. At night, only the bedrooms will have lights on, so if it can look like the curtains are open, but it's dark inside, perfect.
  
• Solar Panels: I had been waiting to hear back from the Strata Council regarding installation of a few solar panels on the roof. After some back-and-forth correspondence, I convinced them that it wouldn't be very green of them to not allow me to install them "tastefully". I'm also going to cheat a little and use them to help me collect rain water, but Strata doesn't know about that. I'm currently negotiating purchase of a few panels with a few different suppliers.
  
• Attic: After poking my head through the ceiling to see what it was like up there, it's actually quite sturdy, but it's just beams and insulation; no flat surfaces. The access to it is less than 3 feet on a side, so it's not like I can just throw some plywood up there. Well, I can but I'll have to cut the sheets first so they'll fit. Once that is done (I have the required amount of plywood already), I'll be able to make a floor up there to store food and water.
• Water: Once the attic is fixed up, I'll be able to get the water collection started. I have the water mattresses, tubing, piping, valves, and charcoal filters, I just need to figure out where to put them, and where to cut the hole in the roof to bring the rainwater in. Once the solar panels are being installed, I'll be able to do this "undercover" at the same time. Should the mattresses fill up, and I'm running a surplus, I'm going to rig something to automatically fill the tank on the upstairs toilet so as to be a little "greener" in the meantime.
• Shark suit: I have not heard back from Neptunic regarding the shark feeder sleeves. I don't think they're taking me seriously. I don't think I should've mentioned "human bites" in my e-mail. If anybody knows how much these things go for (see Part 5, below), please let me know.
• Food: I've slowly been accumulating non-perishable food by the case. My wife will be happy once it finds a home out of sight. It's clogging up the basement hallway. It'll all end up in the attic, shortly.
• Stairs: I haven't touched them, yet. For now, they'll stay in one piece. (This whole exercise has been costly, this'll have to wait.) In the meantime, I have one very sharp axe. Very sharp.
  

More later.