We are a "get it" couple who have been preparing since August '98. We know the dangers of living in Wisconsin in 2000 and we want out! The problem is, we 've lived here all our lives and don t know where to go oro what to do. We've thought about national forests and parks, which sounds like the best idea, but what about our guns and year's worth of supplies? Where would we put it? What about other freaks like us, but who have more guns, more food, more power of numbers, and a realllllly bad attitude about it? Help! We need advice! We're also considering having other folks join us (several friends have expressed interest, but they are not acting serious about it). Any advice u can offer us would be greatly appreciated. The email address is really ours. Thanks for all yer help. :)

Mr. and Mrs. Zoobie

-- zoobie and mrs.zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), May 05, 1999

Answers

Good afternoon to you,

My fanily and I live in Wisconsin. Personally, I can't think of a better state to be in (except for maybe Oregon or Washington). Why would you want to leave (besides the cold)? Seriously - I'm curious to see if you know something I don't.

Wisconsin has good crop land...plenty of clean water...game...seclusion...

Get yourself a wood stove and stick it out!

-- hi there (cheeseheads@packers.com), May 05, 1999.

"We know the dangers of living in Wisconsin in 2000 and we want out!"

You need to say what you think those dangers are.

If it is just cold weather with no electricity, a wood stove and half a dozen cords of wood plus some light sources is the answer.

Actually the cold is your friend. If it is windy, cold, and snowy, do you think rioters and looters are going to hike around the country side in a -10 F. wind chill looking for easy targets?

If you live in a large city right next to the projects, that's a good reason to move just during normal times. If you are rural you're probably already in better shape than 95% of the population.

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@earhlink.net), May 05, 1999.

I agree w/ all the above. We, too, live in Wisconsin. The cold will be your friend. No one will be fleeing North; they all will be headed south, as will Chicago.

-- have q's (answer@here.com), May 05, 1999.

Yes,

Wisconsin is indeed your friend. My parents and brothers are GIs and all plan on toughing it out here. I'd rather be here than head to the unknown. Hang in there.

Geegee

-- Geegee (GEEgee@madtown.com), May 05, 1999.

Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family seemed to have a pretty good life during their Wisconsin period in the Little House on the Prairie books. They didn't even have most of the stuff we're so afraid of losing. Perhaps now would be a good time to go reread these classics.

I've spent some time in Wisconsin, and let me tell you, there are not many better places in the country. Cropland, forests, game, lots of water and, best of all, relatively moral people who still retain some ancestral memory of what it means to be a sodbuster. Grow where you are planted.

-- Prometheus (fire@for.man), May 05, 1999.

Hello From California!

It's funny you should ask about leaving Wisconsin, because I am leaving this month from California to go back to Wisconsin!

I "got it" with the famous Summer '97 Newsweek article and have been spending the last amost 2 years alienating my family and friends. I tried and tried and tried and the most I could do was to get my Dad to accept delivery of 3 wood stoves that I bought.

I spent a lot of time going over the Wisconsin vs. elsewhere argument. I finally came to this conclusion: Once you take care of the heat issue, all the other problems are pretty much the same as they are elsewhere. And, you can't put a price on familiarity, if it indeed gets bad. Also, you know your neighbors (at least better than any new ones) and you have all your things. Not only what you have bought in the last year, but every jar of screws, every tin of buttons, every piece of clothing you haven't worn in 10 years because it doesn't fit but it does now because you've been eating less...get me? You know every crack, every strange noise in your house - no surprises.

Handle the heat. Get a stove. Make friends with your neighbors. You and I both know there are alot of closet GIs out there.

It's too late now to move anyway. It takes a lot of time to find a place and arrange moving... you've got enough stress as it is. I say stay. What do you think Mr. and Mrs. Zoobie?

BTW, Prometheus, Je suis Czechoslovakienne!

-- Goombah (goombah@aol.com), May 05, 1999.

Zoobie, there have been several posts telling you why WI is the place to be. I personally would have to disagree .....and yes we are leaving. Not just because of y2k but because of our commitment to a sustainable lifestyle which isn't possible in a state with such taxes. Yes this is good AG land but most ag here is agribusiness, not self reliance. Taxes are such that small scale growers can't survive.

We have had a small organic farm here for years. Everyone jokes that if the shit hits the fan they are coming to my house. We cook with wood. We have a years worth of food every year, not just cause of y2k. This is not a self reliant place...... Ever wonder why WI refuses to participate in studies of state compliance???

Zoobie, if I remember you are a grad student. Are you in the Mad City?

Sheep

-- sheep (sheep@sheeple.com), May 05, 1999.

Who cares about taxes? If the shit hits the fan, I seriously doubt if the tax collector will come knocking. I just want to add that Tommy Thompson is an asshole. That old frog neck should have been ousted years ago.

-- Geegee (Geegee@madtown.com), May 05, 1999.

Mr. and Mrs.

Prior posts pretty much cover it - but if you want to leave because you are concerned about survival do it ASAP, yesterday if possible.

You'll need to learn you new homestead. Its growing season, soil, rainfall, game paths and migration patterns, resource availability, etc. Survival is more than warmth. Heck, I'd venture the proposal that a group of family and/or friends could 'handily' survive Wisconsin winters in an unheated basement. Not the ideal situation, but warm clothes, insulation for the rafters, straw bales around the exposed foundation - throw in heat from the ground, body heat, and cooking sources and you have a survivable situation. Admittedly not modern comfort but survivable. Game is 'plentiful' - even in Milwaukee if you know where to look (the botanical gardens have had a heck of a time with deer in recent years). If you know the growing season, the pests, the soil, the woodlots...

Good Luck in your decision but decide soon you'll need time to acclimate.

jh

-- john hebert (jt_hebert@hotmail.com), May 06, 1999.

The have nots will vastly outnumber the haves if I was a dwgi in wisconsin and TSHTF I'd go looking for anyone with a woodburning stove.that's why I'm leaving wisconsin

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), September 05, 1999.