Until then all you can do is build your base of operations around your local community. If you have a relationship with your neighbors and local institutions then many of the weapons of reputational slander the enemy uses will be ineffective against you. And as a bonus you and your family get to live in a better place that you are helping to build.
Actually TALK to your neighbors and if possible find stuff to occasionally do together. Go to church and city/county meetings and neighborhood associations. It isn't as much fun as vidya but think of it like prepping. You are laying the groundwork for what might possibly help you and your family survive the collapse. No matter how you feel about them your neighbors are your default cover and backup.
Most of the people who live on either side of me look like overweight redditors who hate going outside. The ones who were willing to actually talk were kinda creepy. I definitely can't count on them...but it's worth the effort to make new friends even if they're a few blocks away.
Only try to befriend people with fertile land you can use to grow your own crops. Resources will be the most essential commodity when the collapse occurs. Being able to plant food somewhere and having a stockpile of ammunition and weapons will be your most valuable assets. Only befriend people who will help you survive.
A few decades of Mad Max will tighten people up.
Until then all you can do is build your base of operations around your local community. If you have a relationship with your neighbors and local institutions then many of the weapons of reputational slander the enemy uses will be ineffective against you. And as a bonus you and your family get to live in a better place that you are helping to build.
Actually TALK to your neighbors and if possible find stuff to occasionally do together. Go to church and city/county meetings and neighborhood associations. It isn't as much fun as vidya but think of it like prepping. You are laying the groundwork for what might possibly help you and your family survive the collapse. No matter how you feel about them your neighbors are your default cover and backup.
Most of the people who live on either side of me look like overweight redditors who hate going outside. The ones who were willing to actually talk were kinda creepy. I definitely can't count on them...but it's worth the effort to make new friends even if they're a few blocks away.
Only try to befriend people with fertile land you can use to grow your own crops. Resources will be the most essential commodity when the collapse occurs. Being able to plant food somewhere and having a stockpile of ammunition and weapons will be your most valuable assets. Only befriend people who will help you survive.
Everyone is potentially a warm body that can help defend land if you want to go by that scenario. Or take it over.