Bugging out to another country?????

[Jay]

We have had many discussions on bug out kits , bags etc. most seem to cater to the idea of leaving civilization behind and heading for the tall timber.

But what would you do if you had to get out of the country?....if you cant just catch a plane....in other words if you had to enter another country clandestinely and keep a low profile. If you had to live in the wilderness of another country? What would you take along?

[vthompson]

I would take my main BOB, because it has all of my basic survival gear in it like fire making material, first aid kit, water collection, shelter material, etc. I would definately be up the creek without it. I would have to rely on wild game and edible plants for food.
My BOB is equipped to provide the basics for a long time, so if I had to, I could lay low for a good bit.

[crashdive123]

Jay - you pose an interesting question. Having to live in a clandestine manner (like the college kid that wants to be a squatter) will assuredly add to the stress of the situation that you find yourself. What would I bring - probably as much as I could. Based on your previous posts, if it was Sri Lanka - elephant repellent.

[Pict]

I do bug out to another country for four years at a time. I live in a house. Mac

[trax]

My downside to this concept is the only other country nearby. In a TEOTWAWKI situation I'd be running into hordes of escapees heading north while I was trying to stealthily find my way south! I guess Alaska here we all come, put a door and that dang sh**ter hope!

[DOGMAN]

I've got places in Mexico, Ecuador, Manitoba and the Yukon mapped out. If the USA becomes unbearable I have options.

So, what is it about the USA that you are most tied to- the land, the people, or the ideals....

For me, its the ideals. I still believe in the constitution and the beliefs that this country were founded on. However, those things are being compromised in a battle that is being fought without guns, in a war that the common person can't really engage in. If those things disappear- there are nice people and big mountains other places.

[Beans]

I've got places in Mexico

IMHO if you go to Mexico bring a bullet proof vest

[Rick]

If I had to leave the US because of anything other than a natural catastrophe I'm sure the other places would be much worse. If I had to move to Sri Lanka, I'd take you.

Japanese WWII soldiers did just that for decades after the war ended on the islands where they were stationed.

Rebels around the world live that way today.

[DOGMAN]

IMHO if you go to Mexico bring a bullet proof vest

I think it depends were you are in Mexico. I agree though- its not the same place it was 2 years ago when I was last down there. Most likely I'd be Yukon bound- IF I had to bug out to another country

[RobertRogers]

New Zealand might be a good choice too.

[endurance]

If this is supposed to be a scenario, there's a lot of information lacking. Why am I leaving? Advancing glaciers and climate change? The eruption of a super volcano? Foreign invasion? Political/social/economic turmoil? Are borders legal to cross or does it need to be done clandestine?

It wouldn't be my first choice, but I have a friend in Monterey, Mexico who would be there if TSHTF. True, they just arrested a captain of the cartel there, but if Yellowstone erupts or something equally bad happens, anywhere will be better than here. He'd at least be a resource for resupply and a local guide to get me established or help me find a way further south.

My first choice would be to fly, my second choice would be to drive, my third choice would be to travel by bike. I don't see covering 1,000+ miles on foot as a very viable option if things are bad enough here to make me want to go south.

My bugout kit would certainly vary by why I'm fleeing and what I'm fleeing from. I'd certainly be more inclined to grab my precious metals so I don't arrive poor than I would if I were fleeing a wildfire and going to a shelter. I'm less likely to bring a large assortment of firearms if I'm trying to legally cross the border. If I'm trying to blend in and avoid detection, then I'll be on my bike without the trailer and just paniards and a pack. If I'm trying to arrive as well equipped as possible and nobody cares about a guy on a bike with a trailer full of crap, then I'm grabbing my trailer.

[SARKY]

I've got places in Mexico, Ecuador, Manitoba and the Yukon mapped out. If the USA becomes unbearable I have options.

So, what is it about the USA that you are most tied to- the land, the people, or the ideals....

For me, its the ideals. I still believe in the constitution and the beliefs that this country were founded on. However, those things are being compromised in a battle that is being fought without guns, in a war that the common person can't really engage in. If those things disappear- there are nice people and big mountains other places

So you would cut and run rather than defend your country??? WE ARE DOOMED!!!!!

[crashdive123]

So you would cut and run rather than defend your country???

Not a chance Shipmate.

[Rick]

Just to put things in perspective, we don't have soldiers taking over our homes. It took the 3rd Amendment to outlaw it. We no longer have to worry about one man owning another courtesy of the 13th. Woman can actually vote! We have the freedom to travel anywhere we want, work anywhere we want at any job we want or not. We can worship in any manner we choose or not.

The citizens have always seen a threat to our freedoms. Some imagined, some real and some far more apparent and horrible than anything we face today. We no long have debtors prisons or county poor houses or the right to burn someone at the stake. Even the Supreme Court recently reaffirmed our rights under the 2nd Amendment.

In many many ways I have more freedoms than have previously existed in this country. At least when I go to bed tonight I won't have to worry about a British squad kicking down my door and using my home to billet in.

[trax]

So you would cut and run rather than defend your country??? WE ARE DOOMED!!!!!

Well since the thread is about bugging out to another country, my guess is that that was what he was responding to. Just a guess, though.

[chiangmaimav]

I already did this and moved to Thailand. I have 2 homes here. One is in a populated area, Chiang Mai, but the other one is in the jungle. There I have a small farm which local people tend to when I am not there. I have fruit trees and chickens on the land where my house is and I also grow vegetables on some other land nearby. The house has generator and also a satellite dish. If I moved there permanently year round, I would get some pigs also. They eat ground up banana trees which I have plenty of and I could use pig manure for fertilizer. There is a stream near the village with plenty of fish. If you are 50 years old or older, have a steady income over a certain amount, which I get from my pension, or if you have 800,00 baht, which is at present about 25 thousand US dollars,in a Thai bank, it is easy to get a 1 year renewable retirement visa. Also, if things got bad here for some reason or if there were some further economic disaster, it is not difficult to go to Cambodia or Laos, where living is even cheaper than it is here.

[DOGMAN]

So you would cut and run rather than defend your country??? WE ARE DOOMED!!!!!

If it was a real war, with real battles and a real enemy I'd surely fight (example WWII). I try to defend the constitution and the values that I believe represent the USA regularly- by taking part in the election process and informing elected officials of things that matter to me.
But, if the tide keeps changing in this country, and certain freedoms are encroached on to a point, that I find this place no longer free. Well, then I'd head some where else.
Ultimatly my allegiances are first to my family, then my friends, before my country.
In general,to me, survival for myself and loved ones trumps blind-Patriotism

[Jay]

Based on your previous posts, if it was Sri Lanka - elephant repellent.

If you find one that works ...please, please, pretty please share it with me. I recently had to run over a mile in horrible terrain on a hot afternoon.....and I'm not built for extended runs! Besides it was a time of day that no self respecting elephant should be out and about! ( they've changed their behaviour patterns.....its a conspriracy against poor hardworking field researchers!)

[Jay]

[QUOTE=Rick;108830] If I had to move to Sri Lanka, I'd take you.

Thankee kindly sir! BTW I like your new pic......But you look a little unsteady on your feet. one beer too many???

Getting back to the original question.....What would you do to prepare for such a overseas bug out??? Supplies, clothers, Language?, Local customs etc? What will you do to blend in?

[Rick]

Blending in is a very good point. There are a lot of places in the world I might just as well hold a blinking lamp with a sign that says American. Blending into some cultures would be next to impossible because of size or shading. Anything that makes you conspicuous makes you vulnerable.