Strategic Relocation & The Secure Home - Joel Skousen

I have been doing a lot of reading this summer and wanted to give you
all a review of two very good boks that I have recently finished.
They are "Strategic Relocation: North American Guide to Safe Places"
and "The Secure Home" both by a Joel M. Skousen. His website is at,

http://www.joelskousen.com

I believe that both of these books are probably the most valuable that
I now have in my survival library. The information contained in these
two books is massive and something I wouldn't want to be without. They
both provide real world practical advice for pre-SHTF preps.
I have other books that I would not part with in a post-SHTF situation
but these two are ones that we need today.
I highly recommend them both as they compliment each other.
"Relocation" will tell you just how secure you are at your current location and
advise on the safest places to be or get to in your geographic area and
also the safest place to be in the US. Based on a short, mid-length,
and long term crises.
They are expensive but well worth the investment. About $45 each.

Who is Joel Skousen?

The following is from his website;

"Joel Skousen is a political scientist, by training, specializing in
the philosophy of law and Constitutional theory, and is also a designer
of high security residences and retreats. He has designed
Self-sufficient and High Security homes throughout North America, and has consulted
in Central America as well. His latest book in this field is Strategic
Relocation--North American Guide to Safe Places, and is active in
consulting with persons who need to relocate for security and increased
self-sufficiency. He also assists people who need to live near a large city
to develop contingency retreat plans involving rural farm or recreation
property. "
"Joel was raised in Oregon and later served as a fighter pilot for the
US Marine Corps during the Vietnam era prior to beginning his design
firm specializing in high security residences and retreats. During the
80's he took a leave of absence to serve as the Chairman of the
Conservative National Committee in Washington DC. and concurrently served as the
Executive Editor of Conservative Digest. For two years he published a
newsletter entitled, the WORLD AFFAIRS BRIEF, and served as a Senior
Editor of "Cogitations" a quarterly journal on law and government . The
World Affairs Brief is now back in publication and is available as a
weekly email newsletter or in a monthly print edition. "


" In today’s bookstores, it’s easy to find information about the "best
places" to live. Such literature undoubtedly will concentrate on the
positive aspects of life, such as numbers and ratings of golf courses,
doctor/patient ratios, warm sunny climates, availability of cultural
activities, status of educational institutions, and the growth potential of
the local economy.

But while these highly-rated metropolitan areas may offer ample
opportunities to enhance your lifestyle, what happens when a major crisis
strikes? What if:

a labor crisis halts the inflow of food and business goods? Will these
communities provide the basic necessities of life?
an economic crisis that threatens your pensions, investments and other
so-called "guaranteed" income?
a major earthquake or other natural disaster suddenly upset the natural
social order for months at a time? Could you get out of harm's way if
massive social unrest erupts in the wake of a crisis?
the area’s freeways are clogged during an emergency? Do you have
contingency plans to exit the area?
if the "unthinkable" happens—nuclear war? Or have you thought about the
potential of a major terrorist attack on a U.S. city with chemical or
biological weapons?
It’s easy to dismiss these threats during times of peace and
prosperity, but they are real. Not only that, but the probably of such events
coming to pass increases every year. Strategic Relocation: North American
Guide to Safe Places is an in-depth analysis of North America’s safest
places to live. This book will help you look ahead for potential
threats that most other people fail to see or choose to ignore. It contains a
complete discussion of the strategies and relocation contingencies
that will help you avoid or mitigate each of the major modern threats,
from national disasters to economic collapse to nuclear war.

As a relocation expert, Joel Skousen also offers personal paid
consultations for those who want advice on selecting land or working out
special contingency retreat plans. He recommends that anyone interested in
these services read the book first. Contact Mr. Skousen at joels NOSPAM @
joelskousen.com to talk about the book or for consultation. No
appointment is necessary.

Some Strategic Analysis:

WORST 25 METRO AREAS FOR CRIME:

1. Miami, FL

2. Baton Rouge, LA

3. New York, NY

4. Tallahassee, FL

5. Los Angeles, CA

6. Jacksonville, FL

7. Gainesville, FL

8. New Orleans, LA

9. Little Rock, AR

10 Jackson, TN

11. Tampa/Clearwater, FL

12 West Palm Beach, FL

13. Baltimore/Washington DC, MD

14 Albuquerque, NM

15. Chicago, IL

16. Dallas, TX

17. Lakeland/Winter Haven, FL

18. Charlotte, NC

19. Pueblo, CO

20. Fresno, CA

21. Flint, MI

22. Jersey City, NJ

23. Kansas City, KS, MO

24. Orlando, FL

25. Riverside, CA

THE TOP 5 MOST DANGEROUS METRO AREAS FOR EARTHQUAKES:

1. Mexico City, Mexico

2. San Francisco/Oakland

3. Los Angeles basin, CA

4. Anchorage, AK

5. Seattle WA

THE TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS NUCLEAR TARGETS IN OR NEAR A METRO AREA
(there are several other primary targets not listed that are not near a
major metro)

1. Washington DC /and related bases (major command and control for the
President)

2. Colorado Springs, CO (Cheyenne Mtn Control Center, 2 space
command/comm bases)

3. Omaha, NE (secondary command and control bases)

4. Seattle, WA (Trident Missile Sub base and numerous Naval Bases)

5. Jacksonville FL/Kings Bay GA (Trident Missile Sub base, Major East
Coast Naval Center)

6. San Diego, CA (largest west coast naval complex)

7. Norfolk, VA (major east coast naval complex)

8. Kansas City, MO (Whiteman AFB, B-2 nuclear bombers)

9. Cheyenne, WY (Warren AFB, Minute Man and Peacekeeper MX missiles)

10. Great Falls, MT (Malmstrom AFB --Minute Man missiles)

Now for some good news: Here are my current ratings for the TOP 10
MODERATE GROWTH, MEDIUM SIZED METRO AREAS that are relatively safe from
strategic threats, or where you have a good chance of mitigating those
threats. This are not the best areas, but the areas where most people who
need to stay in the job markets will find medium term security:

1. Boise, ID

2. Provo-Orem, UT

3. Beaverton, OR

4. Santa Rosa, CA

5. Greenville, SC

6. Winston-Salem/High Point, NC

7. Austin-San Marcos, TX

8. Grand Rapids, MI

9. Reno, NV

10. Madison, WI

For those of you on a tight budget, here are the TOP 10 MOST ECONOMICAL
STATES to live. These ratings take into consideration overall taxes,
housing, and cost of living. These ratings also exclude most large metro
areas, where costs are much higher than the state average.

1. Arkansas

2. Alabama

3. Louisiana

4. Texas (except Dallas Metroplex)

5. West Virginia

6. Oklahoma

7. South Carolina

8. Mississippi

9. Wisconsin

10. Tennessee

SOME STATES WITH TAX ADVANTAGES: This doesn't tell the whole tax story
since all states collect a lot of taxes. However, a person whose
financial structure or income structure is different from the average person
can take advantage of this by living in a state which doesn't tax his
particular form of income or spending patterns. There are more details
in my book, "Strategic Relocation"

STATES WITH NO INCOME TAX: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, Tennessee, New
Hampshire (but has 5% tax on div/int) , So. Dakota, Texas, Washington,
Wyoming.

STATES WITH NO SALES TAX: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire,
Oregon,

STATES WITH NO INCOME OR SALES TAXES, BUT HIGH PROPERTY TAXES: Alaska,
New Hampshire.

STATES WHO SHARE A BORDER WITH NO SALES TAX/NO INCOME TAX STATE: In
these states, you can live in a no income tax state and shop across the
border in a no sales tax state: Washington/Oregon Wyoming/Montana So.
Dakota/Montana

As you can see, it can be rather enjoyable or frustrating doing this
kind of analysis, depending upon where you presently reside. I hope you
will enjoy the entire book, which offers many more areas of interest to
analyze."

The book itself contains much more info. There is a section that lists
every single county in every State in the US> it breaks down factors in
each county such as,

Total population
People per square mile
ethnic make-up % of White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native-American
Crime statistics for each county
political make-up % of Dems, Reps, Independents, Liberals

It has a section devoted to "Threat Analysis" that lists every known
nuclear target in the US. It has maps of fallout patterns and prevailing
winds.
I think the most valuable section has maps of different geographoic
areas of the country anbd shows the "Safe" places in those areas. All
graded with an A thru F ranking. The criteria for this assesment is listed
and considers such criteria as poulation make-up, distance to
metropolitan areas, etc.
I can't break the whole thing down but here is a basic (very basic)
synopsis of each area.

North Western

There are several spots strewn throughout this area but the primary
safe areas are located in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. There are some
lower ranked areas in Washington and Oregon but no "A" ranked areas due to
several factors such as political environment and the threat of massive
population surges from California and Nevada in a long term situation.
The best rated areas are (not a complete list)
Most of central and northern Idaho, the western half of Montana,
specifically around the Kalispell and Hamilton areas. The North West corner
of Wyoming. Specificaly the Wind River range and the Tetons, and more
specificaly the Star Valley area south of Jackson Hole.

North Eastern

Very few places at all in this area and only one "A" rated area that
being far northern Minnesota/Canada border area. Lower ranked areas would
be the northern woods of Michigan, Northern Maine, the Adirondack and
Catskill mountains. But the main idea here is get somewhere else if you
can. And that goes pretty much for all the Eastern half of the
country.

South Eastern

Again, only a few "A" places here. And very few of lower ranks.The
predominent ones being; East Texas Piney Woods, The Ouchita Forrest of
S.E. Okla., and S.W. Ark., the Ozarks of N. Ark and S.W. Missouri. The
only other "A" rated areas are in the Appalachian Mountains. Eastern
Tenn., Western Carolina's and Virginia. And specifically mentioned is the
northern edge in Kentucky near the Lexington area.

South West

Numerous places scattered around these states. The only "A" rated areas
are one in Nevada, the Ruby Valley area South of Elko.
Arizona is ranked lower each year due to political factors and
poulation increases. But at this time it has one "A" ranked area ledt that
being the Gila mountains in the central part of the state around the cities
of Prescott and Payson.
No "A" rated areas in Colorado or New Mexico. Primarily due to
political factors and nearness to major military targets.
What surprised me was the area recommended as the most secure in all
the US for long term survival was in Utah. Every area in the state is
either an "A" or "B" rating with the top ones being the Wasatch Mountains
of central Utah. With the southern half of this area having an "A+"
rating. A moderate climate with good growing seasons. Sparse but adequate
rainfall, and a high dry desert environment that would not necessarily
appeal to a lrge group of uninformed people. Low population density,
cheap land, and good conservative people. The only draw back is low
employment oppurtunities in a pre-SHTf world.

So there is a good summary of just a little bit of the info contained
in this book. There is tons more. It is definately one that will be in
my bookcase from now on. MM

 

The Secure Home

After you decide where the best place to be is, or if you intend on "Sheltering in Place" then you would do well to have Joel Skousens other book. "The Secure Home".
Whether you intend to build or re-model and existing home this book will give you valuable insight into ways of making it as secure as you can afford to. I am going to be building a home soon and I can tell you that this book will be by my side through the entire process.
It is a large book, almost 700 pages , and is full of good solid practical ideas that you can do to increase the security of your home. There are a good many drawings of design details that could be copied and taken directly to a builder or architect, the quality is that good.
I was very impressed with his ideas and how he incorparates them into a practical design.
Look over the table of contents taken from the website and you will get an idea of how comprehensive this book is.
I highly recommend it. MM

from the website;
http://www.joelskousen.com

How Secure is Your Home?
Securing your home and protecting your family requires more than simply installing solid door locks and a security system. As people in the Northeast discovered during the 1998 winter ice storms, crime is only one type of misfortune that can strike a family.

To illustrate, take the following quiz about the security of your home:
1. How would you keep your house from freezing in the winter if electricity were unavailable for a long period of time? Do you have some type of wood burning heater? What about hot water?
2. Do you have back-up cooking facilities if an earthquake made natural gas unavailable for a month or two? Could you heat hot water?
3. What if you lose both electricity and gas?
4. Would you be willing to rely on batteries and candles for illumination if a major power outage lasted more than a week?
5. Do you have extra tanks of potable water should public water supplies be cut off or contaminated? Would you know how to collect and filter your own water if none was available for a long time?
6. If a winter storm damaged windows in your home, would you have sufficient plastic sheeting and repair materials to quickly enclose the open areas to retain heat?
If you answered "No" to any one of the above questions, your home is NOT secured, and your family is NOT protected.
Learn more about securing your home in my book "The Secure Home", as well as my Special Reports on survival and security. If you already own The Secure Home, check out the on-line update on Recommended Products and Services.



TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction:

Section 1: GENERAL PHILOSOPHY AND STRATEGY OF SECURITY AND SELF-SUFFCIENCY

General Assessment of the World Situation--analysis of what threats we have to prepare against

Philosophy of Self-Sufficiency

Contingency Planning and Mitigation of threats

Lifestyle Changes necessary under self-sufficiency

Security proceedures for quick reaction in a crisis

Analyzing you present situation and location--flow chart for relocation decisionmaking

Section 2: PLANNING: DESIGNING FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION AND REMODELING

General and specific site selection

Residential design criteria

Retreat criteria

Preliminary Layout and Planning

Remodeling criteria and suggestions

Environmental control and climate matching

Section 3: INTEGRATION OF SECURITY AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY SYSTEMS

General Systems overview

Household appliances (all the latest new developments in energy efficiency)

Normal Electrical systems (Meter base, grounding, subpanels, 110 volt and 220 volt circuits)

Alternate Electrical systems (Generators, Inverters, Solar PV panels, batteries, controls, wiring)

Normal and Alternative Water supply systems (public supplies, wells, springs, cisterns, water pumping alternatives)

Multi-fuel/source Hot Water Systems (wood heated, gas heated, solar heated and electric)

Multi-fuel Space heating systems (wood, gas, oil combination furnaces, solar hydronic heat)

Mechanical cooling systems (solar, cool tubes, 12 volt and normal evaporative or a/c system)

Plumbing and Sanitation systems (black water, gray water, cisterns, storage tanks, pumps, solar)

Transportation systems (the latest in high-tech, long range vehicles, electric cars and bikes etc)

Security systems (Strategy, tactics, fencing, interior trap zoning, cameras, intercoms, alarm output systems etc)

Other Survival Equipment (special winter clothes etc)

Systems Integrations: How to integrate all the different systems together

Section 4: CONSTRUCTION AND IMPLEMENTATION

Site work, excavation, grading, landscaping

Residential construction techniques (Wood frame, Insulated Masonry, Post and Beam, Log Homes)

Underground Homes

High Security Shelters Implementation (reinforcing, waterproofing, vents, sanitation, power, escape exits, concealment)

Contracting and subcontracting, Getting a fair bid on work.

Privacy issues in dealing with building codes, inspectors and contractors

Section 5: RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIERS (Listings and descriptive comments)

 

re: Strategic Relocation & The Secure Home - Joel Skousen

The new 2006 second edition of "Strategic Relocation" is the one I am refering to. I can't attest to the material but I would imagine that in an updated "second edition" that any dated material would be updated.

 

re: Strategic Relocation & The Secure Home - Joel Skousen

He says that the data comes from the 2000 census and from police reports. This list of cities must come from the website because the book only lists individual counties.

The crime statistics are in two catagories, serious crime (murder,rape, physical assault,domestic violence etc.), and property crime (where no personal injury is involved). The way he ranks it is not by the number of crimes reported but by the number of repoerted crimes per 100,000 poulation. A much more revealing method.

For leon County Florida the rate of serious crime was over 5500 and property crimes over 14,000 per 100,000 population. (I am at work and don't have it in front of me).

The 2006 population of Tallahassee Fla. is over 350,000. So if you extrapolate the 2000 crimes statistics to that poulation you would get a serious crime rate of 19,250 reports per year and a property crime rate of 49,000 per year. That is a considerably high number, especially compared to a place like Dallas Tx. which has 3 times the population.

I would say check your six seawolf, maybe T-town is not as safe a harbour as you think it is.

 

re: Strategic Relocation & The Secure Home - Joel Skousen

@phishi has ben sharing info via phone calls on this book.
Good stuff so far.

Thanks MM

 

re: Strategic Relocation & The Secure Home - Joel Skousen

He says in the proloque that statistics are very subjective and that many are subject to political pressures among other influences. He says that they are to be taken as more of a general yardstick than a precise measure.

I found it interesting that the 2006 population of Tallahasse is larger than the entire Leon County population in 2000. That is a significant growth in just 6 years.

 

re: Strategic Relocation & The Secure Home - Joel Skousen

The SECURE HOME is awesome!!!!
It should be in every library. MM wanted me to pass it on but I don't know if I can for a long time. It's such a great reference on almost everything we try to cover in Survival here.

Just awesome and Big Thanks To Minuteman for it!

 

re: Strategic Relocation & The Secure Home - Joel Skousen

Definately a valuable resource. that's why I didn't want to loan it out. Just too much info to absorb quickly. I would recomend everyone get a copy. The best $50 you will spend.

 

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