If you are in a city, or within so many miles, you will have to worry about hoards of people. However, you have said exactly what I have read in other places. In in war torn countries, people still get gas, still eat, etc.. Are there refugees, yes, but lots of times many, many people are killed off...and in a total collapse, that would happen here. However, the chances of total collapse are very, very unlikely. You may be living under an enemy flag, but in most cases, even dictators want something to dictate over, and an area in constant turmoil isn't something any politician/dictator wants, at least for a prolonged period of time.
So, the further away you are from population centers, the better. Even if you live in the city, your biggest issue will be a large spike in crimes, specifically armed robberies and home invasions. Fully expect more and more self-defense shootings/deaths. These additional deaths of criminals, combined with deaths of the elderly/sick, will cause large spikes in overall death rates. While most don't want to hear it, the death of these folks will actually bring stability back to an area. It is the amount of welfare needed which has helped ruin the currency, added to the debt load.
The one thing you will have to watch out for is for that small group of two or three, or more likely a person who is alone, and don't trust your neighbors. I belong to another forum that has a focus on survivalism/preparedness. One poster lives in Florida and gave a good account of what happened after a hurricane rolled through. I am going to re-post it below so folks know what could happen even in a minor SHTF situation. The first part was his initial, short to the point post, then I asked him to expand upon it:
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]When hurricane Ivan came thorugh our area years ago, I got to see first hand how some neighbors will react to you being prepared. My mistake was not keeping a LOW profile and because of that, one of the neighbors that live where I do ( and I had never met this guy either ) demanded that I give him my Coleman stove and lantern for his family. Let me repeat that, never asked to borrow it, DEMANDED I GIVE IT TO HIM and was very irate that I had hot food and he and his family did not. Another mistake was going to the door without any type of protection. Never again when a disaster hits I will do that again either.
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[FONT=Verdana,Arial]When the hurricane hit, the power, water, all public service was out. This lasted in some areas for over a month but here in my area it was only for 6 or7 days. It was on the 3rd or 4th day there was a knock at my door. A guy who lived up on one of the streets above me and I want to point out that my street is the only way in and out of the houses above me. I could tell he was irate about something and mad. He demanded to know why my lights were on and his still off. I explained to him that I have a Coleman lantern that I use for camping. Then he smelled the food I was cooking and went nuts. He then demanded to know how I could cook and have hot meals.
I told him that I have camping equipment and we are using that in the house. He became more aggitated with me because of what we had. He then demanded I give him my stove and lantern and all of my fuel for his family to use. At this point he was screaming and red in the face and really was pissed. I told him he could not have the stove or lantern but if he would bring his food down I would cook it for him. He then told me he was going to take my stove and I became mad at this point and told him to get the hell off my poperty. He stepped towards the door and I told him if he made one more move towards me that I was armed and I would shoot him. I did not have any weapons on me and I was lucky I bluffed him and he then backed off. He then told me he was going to call the cops on me and have me arrested. I then told him go ahead but if I seen him on my property I would shoot to kill.
He then left and I never had anymore trouble with him and the police never came either. I was out in the yard a week later after everything had gotten back to normal and was picking up tree limbs. He stopped and got out of his car and apologized to me for his behavior and even asked me where he could get a Coleman stove and lantern. I told him to go to Wal-mart in the camping section and see what they had, and also told him he almost got shot that day, just to make sure he knew never to try that again. So lessons learned that day is, in a disaster to cover the windows with black plastic so no light can be seen from outside and never go to the door unarmed again, plus check to see before I open the door who is out there with what. And be very careful with cooking food and hiding the smell of food cooking. I think that made him mad more than anything that I had hot food and he could smell it.[/FONT]
I wouldn't worry too much about hoards of people, unless you were very close, or in, a city, but you do need to worry about anyone who comes upon your property in a time of emergency. More and more life is getting easier for humans in the US: Heat at the flick of a switch, the ability to cook with the turning of a knob, using FRNs to purchase food, etc.. If there is a breakdown in this, watch out. Hell, we are talking about the same folks who go absolutely crazy on Black Friday, fighting over video game stations, trampling other human beings, etc.. Yet some folks say to trust other humans. I trust me and mine, no others. Unless you are extremely close to someone, don't trust them for one second. Everyone has an agenda, and some will have an agenda to work with you to survive, and others will only care about them and their family surviving.
Keeping a low profile is key. I can't believe how many folks here talk about, and post pictures of, their cases of ammo, their safes with all sorts of guns, their trucks, maybe a couple of home shots, etc.. Even if you don't post pictures of yourself and your home on this forum, plenty of people have linked their photobucket accounts to photos they do post, and I have been able to find their accounts and see a ton of other pictures that give even more info on the person. Ridiculous and dangerous and just as stupid as my Facebook friends who post about being gone for a weekend, or a full week. It is best to speak in vague terms, don't post detailed info ever, etc.
Geez melensdad why are you NOT trying to help the economy out buy buying stuff. Why?
