A proper prepping strategy involves considering many factors—this includes where you live. If you need to live in a city, choosing a city compatible with as many elements of your survival plan is crucial. The question is, what cities are best for preppers?
The best city for a prepper to live in is one—such as Colorado Springs, Colorado—that has numerous options for accessing alternative water and food sources. Additionally, its infrastructure should be robust enough to allow you to implement either a “hunker down” or “bug out” strategy.
This article will identify the characteristics that make a city “prepper friendly.” It will also list the American cities that best reunite those traits. If you want to enjoy city life without sacrificing your preparedness for a survival situation, read on and discover your options.
Being a Prepper in a City Environment
There are many reasons for living in an urbanized setting. These can be job-related or simply because you enjoy the accessibility that a city environment offers you to cultural venues, entertainment, restaurants, and other lifestyle-related luxuries.
However, when it comes to living in a city and reconciling that choice with having an optimal survival strategy, serious considerations need to be taken.
Suppose you are serious about prepping and equally insistent on living in a densely populated urban setting. In that case, you need to select wisely regarding the city where you are going to live. Choosing a city at random and failing to properly analyze the potential survival liabilities in terms of location and infrastructure can be dangerous.
Before ideally listing a group of best for preppers, it is important to clarify what characteristics are analyzed in making such a determination. After all, in the United States, if you define a city as a population center having over 3,000 inhabitants per square mile with a minimum population of 100,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 317 such locations. Knowing what to look for will help you to make your subjective determination.
Water Supply Considerations
When it comes to survival, the single most important element that needs to be considered is your water supply. Quite simply, without water, you are not going to survive.
This is why, when analyzing any city for its suitability in a survival scenario, you need to consider where you would supply yourself with water if your water stores were depleted. If the city’s water grid was offline, where would you find a reliable source of water?
Cities close to a freshwater source, such as a river or lake, are best in this regard.
Food Supply Considerations
When living in a rural setting, you can cultivate your renewable food supply. This usually is in the form of gardening and animal farming. Even in a suburban setting, you can set up a small garden and have some room for raising chickens or rabbits. In a city setting, however, gardening and farming become difficult, if not impossible.
This means that it would be beneficial for you to choose a city with undeveloped areas nearby where natural animal fauna thrives. Be it deer, small game, fish, etc., being near a place where you can hunt or fish for food is important. This is why having hunting and fishing skills are important even when you live in a city.
Recommended: How to Store Canned Food Long-Term – The Complete Guide
Mobility Considerations
Depending on your survival strategy and the specifics of the survival situation you will face, you will have to decide whether hunkering down and riding out the storm or bugging out to a more secure location will be best.
Either way, the city’s infrastructure where you choose to live will have a direct impact on this decision. If escaping your city requires crossing bridges or tunnels, which will severely limit your mobility, these are susceptible to damage. Likewise, if your city has potential transportation choke points along the roads and highways leading out of it, you may want to avoid it.
After all, even if you have a well-stocked bug-out location, what good will that do you if, due to infrastructure failures in your city, you’re unable to get there. Always plan for multiple exit routes from a city. Consider potential choke points and have contingency plans in place in the event of damage to your city’s transportation infrastructure.
Increased Risk of Conflict
In choosing a city, you also need to consider local laws and ordinances regarding weapons—especially firearms.
In the event of a survival situation in an urban environment, the chances for conflict increase tremendously. Looting, opportunists, desperate people seeking food and water, rioting—all of these are situations that you may have to face in defending your home in the city.
Therefore, choosing a city that is friendly to the defense of life and property is important.
Recommended: What Off-Grid Living Skills Can I Learn While Living in an Apartment in the City?
Location Considerations
You also need to consider the implications of the city’s geographic location that you choose to live in. For example:
- Is it on or near the coast? If so, you could be more susceptible to damage from natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding.
- How seismically active in the region? Earthquakes are the most unpredictable disasters. If your city is in a seismic region, make sure that your survival plans incorporate contingencies for earthquakes.
- Is it near a potential target? The modern world brings dangers beyond those from nature. Iconic structures, nearby military installations, power plants, dams, nuclear facilities, etc., all can be considered high-value targets to those seeking to terrorize.
- What is the severity of the local climate? Does the local climate go through extremes of hot and cold? Do you need to plan for a range of weather conditions? Is it prone to flooding?
With that said, here are five of the best cities for preppers to live in.
Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs is the second-largest city in the state of Colorado. It is also on the list of the 50 biggest cities in the United States. Currently, it is ranked 39th in the population nationwide. With a city population of 478,000 and a metropolitan population of 738,000, it is among the largest cities that can be considered “prepper friendly.”
Also, its population density is less than 2,400 inhabitants per square mile. This makes it one of the least densely populated cities of its size.
Located on the eastern side of the southern section of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) above sea level, it offers its residents access to the vast natural resources associated with the Southern Rocky Mountain region.
Interstate 25 is the main transportation artery that connects Colorado Springs to the rest of the country. It is also the primary route to take to reach Denver.
Large enough to be considered a major city while also being located near so much pristine wilderness, Colorado Springs should be on the list of those preppers wanting a city vibe.
Lexington, KY
Lexington has a city population of 328,000 and a metropolitan population of 745,000. Compared to Colorado Springs, its urbanized city population is smaller, but its suburban community is larger.
When you consider that its urban density is lighter, at 1,123 inhabitants per square mile (453 per square kilometer), Lexington offers the benefits of city life without overcrowding issues. This is positive when it comes to prepping.
Combining a cityscape with high-rises with urban development policies that protect its surrounding horse farms, Lexington delivers on the city experience while also providing quick access to a rural escape.
Lexington offers a more sedate attitude to those with a prepper lifestyle than other nearby cities, such as Cincinnati, OH, Columbus, OH, and Indianapolis, IN. Yet, being within 120 to 160 miles (193 to 257 km) of those urban centers, it provides you with ease of accessibility to them if it were necessary before and following a survival incident.
Boone Creek runs 12 miles (19.3 km) to the south of Lexington, and Beaver Lake is 35 miles (56.3 km) to the west. Both will be good sources of water if local potable water delivery becomes an issue.
Madison, WI
Madison is the state capital of Wisconsin. This brings many economic and infrastructure advantages. Madison has one of the healthiest economies in the upper Midwest. Over 48 percent of its population over the age of 25 has, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree.
With a core population of 259,000 and a metropolitan area that spreads out over four counties and encompasses 654,000 people, Madison is another city, like Lexington, that provides a solid urban core with a semi-rural suburban ring that is spread out over a large area.
What does this mean to a prepper?
This means that you can derive the benefits of a big city without necessarily living within the most urbanized areas. Choosing to live in Madison’s suburban outskirts would give you more opportunities to establish survival gardens, raise chickens or rabbits, and have more space for storing provisions and survival gear.
Having a healthy local economy and well-grounded local population usually results in a populace that—even though they are not preppers themselves, they have the means to have some semblance of supplies in their home to last a few days weeks. This tends to minimize civic unrest—at least in the early stages of a survival situation.
Madison’s location on an isthmus surrounded by four freshwater lakes—Lake Monona, Lake Kegonsa, Lake Mendota, and Lake Waubesa—provides an easily accessible water source. The lakes are also good resources for fishing.
With three interstates and three other U.S. highways connecting the city to points east, west, south, and north, you are less likely to encounter overwhelming congestion if you had to evacuate the area.
The one potential negative about prepping in Madison is that you have to consider its harsh winters. You need to take this into account in the survival gear that you store, how it can affect your gardening, and having contingencies for heat.
Boise, ID
Due to the congestion, the local political climate, and the type of terrain common in the Western United States, there are not as many cities present in this region that you could consider to be truly prepper friendly. Boise, Idaho, however, is an exception.
With a city population of 228,000 and a larger metropolitan area that totals 709,000, Boise is sizable enough to offer its inhabitants the perks of city living. When you add that it is the state capital of Idaho and the most populous metro area in the state, you can tell why Boise can offer the economic, employment, and infrastructure opportunities found in many medium-sized cities.
If you look at a map of the United States, Boise might appear to be somewhat isolated. However, in the event you need to evacuate the city, Interstate 84 connects to Portland, Oregon, in the West and Salt Lake City, Utah, further south. U.S. Highway 55 provides you with access to points Northeast of the city.
Boise has many bike paths within its city limits. This could facilitate mobility within the city if fuel shortages were to impede you from using your vehicle for intra-city travel.
The areas immediately around Boise—to be accurate throughout the whole state of Idaho—are well known for being prepper friendly. A minority, but very significant, portion of Idaho’s population is composed of preppers or individuals who look favorably at the prepper lifestyle. This makes everything from procuring survival supplies and equipment to weapons much more comfortable and less prone to generating attention.
Boise has many local ponds in its immediate vicinity. The ponds are great sources for rainbow trout, largemouth bass, and other edible fish. Provided that you have proper water filtration equipment, they are also a convenient source of fresh water.
Additionally, there are other locations within an hour’s driving distance of Boise that can provide you with the water you need in a long-term survival situation. These places include the South Fork Boise River, Swan Falls Dam, and the Arrow Rock Reservoir.
Being located in Idaho, Boise also makes it economically realistic to purchase a piece of land well away from the city. Land prices are affordable compared to other parts of the country. You can buy land and condition it to be your bug out a spot outside of Boise.
If you are looking for a decently sized city with a welcoming population to the prepper mindset and plenty of supplemental water, fishing, and hunting areas nearby, Boise is an excellent choice.
Huntsville, AL
Huntsville, Alabama, has a core city population of 180,000. When you add the community that resides in the greater metropolitan area, that number swells to 417,000 inhabitants. With NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the United States Army’s Aviation and Missile Command located within the metro area, the city’s infrastructure is on par with that of cities of a much larger size.
A large space and defense industry in the city, along with a Toyota Automobile Plant, gives Huntsville plenty of economic stability.
Huntsville only has one interstate highway that connects to it. This is a spur of Interstate 65; it is Interstate 565. This provides you with a link to Decatur, Alabama. There are, however, three U.S. highways that provide connectivity to the city. These being U.S. highways 72, 231, and 431.
It is important to note that in the latter part of the last decade, 383 million dollars have been committed to road construction to improve Huntsville’s transportation infrastructure and its adjoining areas. Having a roadway transportation system that is undergoing amplification and improvement implies that getting out of the city to become necessary becomes easier.
Huntsville has a humid subtropical climate. This means that winters are mild. The climate is conducive to the cultivation of small and large gardens. Depending on your crop selection, it is possible to get two harvests out of certain crops each growing season.
One thing to consider regarding Huntsville’s weather is that it is located in an area known as “Dixie Alley.” This area experiences a large number of thunderstorms and tornadoes. This means that if you were to reside in Huntsville, you should take appropriate proactive measures to secure your survival equipment and supplies from potential damage from tornadoes.
Huntsville has the Flint River nearby as well as many ponds and creeks. Finding sources of water is relatively easy. The rivers and ponds in the area have a reputation for being excellent fishing locations. Additionally, being located in the Appalachian region of Northern Alabama, finding suitable hunting grounds for small, medium, and large games is also facilitated.
Conclusion
With 317 population centers in the United States that can be rightfully named cities, as a prepper, choosing to live in one requires that you consider the fundamental characteristics that make certain cities more prepper-friendly than others.
The five cities listed above are excellent examples of prepper-friendly cities. When analyzed, they meet the five basic requirements that you should consider before choosing any urban environment as a prepper.
By considering water, food, mobility, conflict potential, and geographic location, you can conduct your subjective analysis of whatever city you are considering.
