How To Pick The Perfect Bug Out Location

Prepping is not necessarily a conventional lifestyle. Preppers are often called strange, paranoid, and outright crazy—but preparedness is never something to be ashamed of. In fact, disasters happen frequently and without warning all the time, especially in our ever-changing world of climate turbulence. 

A crucial part of surviving a major disaster or an emergency—one that could lead to a societal collapse—is having a bug out location (BOL). But what exactly is it, and how does one find the perfect spot? We’ll tell you. 

Everything You Need To Know About Finding The Perfect Bug Out Location 

A bug out location is a piece of land, shelter, house, apartment, or a tent that you can evacuate to in case of an emergency or a disaster, and it is different than your home (your bug in location). 

When choosing the perfect bug out location, there are a handful of factors to consider:

Accessibility

One of the first things you should take into consideration when picking the perfect spot is how easy it is to access. You really don’t want it to be too accessible, but you also don’t want it to be a three-day journey away as well. 

You will want to be able to get to your location relatively quickly from the city that you live in. If an emergency or disaster situation were to strike, everything starts to happen very fast, and you won’t exactly have a whole lot of time to get ready to leave. It’s not like taking your friends and family for a casual road trip or car ride. 

Every unnecessary mile you have to drive is another mile that you could encounter an obstacle or even a problem. While you might think the distance will make it safer once you get there, the truth is that none of that really matters if you can’t get there safely in the first place.

Take a little bit of time to really think about the safest route to take when traveling to your bug out location. Assume that the highways and main roads will either be blocked, bogged down with traffic, or even closed. This means you will need to identify a primary route where you can travel safely and undisturbed. 

Buffer Space

Buffer space is one of the most crucial factors when it comes to the safety of your bug out location. All of the best bug out locations put a significant distance between them and the chaos that is happening in the rest of the world. 

You could have the best location in terms of what’s on the land itself, but if it is pretty close to a city or a populated town, it’s not going to be safe… for long. 

Part of the reason why you want this buffer is that the majority of the population will not be able to make it to your location, and putting a good amount of distance between you, your family, and them will significantly reduce the amount of potential unfriendly—and unwanted—encounters you face. 

This makes it much easier for you to defend your space, protect your family, and monitor your land for trespassers or people who may mean you harm.

One tip that a lot of experienced preppers suggest is trying to make sure whatever structure or shelter you have on the land is not easily visible to the naked eye. This means having it tucked away from the street and, ideally, not visible from the air too. This is just another way to simply fly under the radar. 

Nearby Water

This is one of the tricky factors that can really complicate your search for the perfect bug out location. It’s not that difficult to find some land away from the public, buy land with a source of H2O is a whole other story. 

But trust us—it is well worth the extra time you spend searching. 

As you probably already know by now, water is about as important as it gets when it boils down to survival. Why? Because you simply won’t last long without it—that’s why!

Having a source of water as your bug out location is not only convenient, but it’s also safer too. When you don’t have to leave your bug out location for this critical necessity, this reduces the number of potential encounters significantly. And believe us when we say that leaving to go duke it out with some desperate individuals for water is not something that you’ll want to deal with. Let the unprepared do that while you stay safe. 

Any steam, river, lake, or pond is an option. It doesn’t have to be massive either. Just be sure not to forget your Stealth Angel Personal Water Filter so you can drink directly from these bodies of water without getting sick or exposing yourself to harmful pathogens!

Living Structure

Having a plan behind the kind of survival shelter you want long-term to place at your bug out location is also important.

You might be able to find a perfect property that has an existing structure on it that you can work with. Other times, you will need to build your own.

Regardless, you will need to do some work to make sure the actual structure you are going to be using is suitable for an emergency or disastrous situation. Think about the weather that the area faces and if you will be protected from the elements. 

This tends to be a hot topic for debate that comes with many different opinions from the prepping and survivalist community. Some preppers believe that a basic and simple, no-frills type of structure is best because it is unassuming and typically hard to spot. However, others think that you should go the extra mile and maximize comfort, safety, and security.

At the end of the day, the decision is up to you. 

Long-Term Sustainability

The best bug out locations are usually set up in a way that the owners can survive there for a long duration of time. You don’t want to arrive at the location and have only a few days before you have to venture into the chaos and unknown to try and find food and supplies.

Water, food, and energy all play a part in this. Try and envision this before you decide on a property.

Is it possible for a garden to grow and thrive? Is there a good amount of sunlight and the right soil to allow plants to flourish? This is the most predictable food source you have, so you’ll want to make sure it is an option. 

The presence of other animals to hunt and fish to catch is also a good sign. This will allow you to be more sustainable and keep your energy levels up.   

Conclusion

Having a quality bug out location that meets all of these requirements can let you and your family sleep better at night. Just make sure it has all of these essential characteristics, and you’ll be good to go! Also, don’t forget your Stealth Angel Survival Kit and bug-out bag, which was specifically designed and developed to keep you safe in any situation—perfect in the event of an emergency or disaster.

Sources:

https://theprovidentprepper.org/bug-out-or-bug-in-how-to-know-when-to-go-or-stay/

https://www.ifrc.org/en/what-we-do/disaster-management/about-disasters/what-is-a-disaster/

https://www.wikihow.com/Hunt