Problems Facing Rural Prepsteaders
Kevin Felts 01.15.19
For a number of preppers, their goal is to obtain a piece of property in a rural area, then establish a self-sufficient farm. They may envision a fruit tree orchard, chickens, goats, pigs and maybe some cattle. Maybe they envision making cheese and butter after milking their livestock.
The dream is a far cry from reality, as there are a great number of problems which face prepsteaders. When someone lives miles away from the nearest town, certain issues arise.
Drive Time
When it is almost an hours drive round trip just to go to town, one has to make sure they get everything they need for a project.
For example, a few weeks ago the check valve went out between the water holding tank and the water pump. This valve prevents water pressure from blowing back into the holding tank. So I made a list, went to town, picked up everything I thought was needed to fix the problem, and guess what, one piece was missing from the list.
By the time you add going into the hardware store, finding the part, then buying it, we are looking at around 90 minutes for a single part.
Then there is the drive time to work. With towns in rural areas spread out over a wide area, one may drive at least 30 – 45 minutes to the nearest town to find a job. If something happens to that job, one may have to drive an hour to an hour and a half to find another job.
Even skilled professionals such as teachers, nurses… etc may have issues finding gainful employment. Schools may have all the teachers they need. A great number of small rural towns may not even have a hospital.
Internet Access
While some people may not feel Internet access is essential, it sure makes life nice in rural areas. Traditionally, people living in rural areas were limited to what local stores carried in stock. For example, while looking for a new rifle the purchase would probably be limited to what the local gun store has in stock. With the Internet we could order a firearm and have it sent to a local firearms dealer.
This is coming from someone who lives in a rural area – Amazon Prime is your friend. Having stuff delivered straight to your front door opens possibilities your grandparents and great grandparents never expected.
The problem is, high speed Internet is not available in all areas. Even cell phone service is hit and miss. There are areas here in Southeast Texas along a major highway which does not even have cell phone service. One just area is along Hwy 96 just south of Pineland, Texas. People living in that dead zone do not have cell phone or access to high speed Internet.
Being Self-Sufficient
When the power goes out, or when a storm blows trees across the only road going to your house, the rural prepsteader needs to be self-sufficient. This means food, water, and the ability to sustain themselves for several days at a time.
For example, a great number of people in rural areas get their water from a water well. However, when the power goes out they may not have a generator large enough to run the well pump. Even though there is water in the well, they have no way to get it out.
Water is one reason why I have a Royal Berkey water filter. When the power goes out, I get water from a creek that runs through the property and filter it through the Berkey.
Chickens do not need electricity to lay eggs. When the power goes out we have breakfast of fresh eggs and items from our preps.
Final Thoughts
So why weren’t firearms mentioned? In all honesty, we have very few problems with people driving around looking for trouble. In just about any rural area it is a given people living there will have dogs and a gun in the house.
That is not to say petty theft is not a problem. Drug use is rampant in some rural areas. The good news, those types of people typically stay in certain areas. It is an accepted fact if someone prowls around a farm, they may find themselves looking down the barrel of a shotgun.
Regardless of where a prepper lives, they face their own unique problems. Just because someone moves to a rural area does not mean they will live problem free. The issues we face here are just different than urban dwellers.
