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!