📖 Overview
Strategic Relocation analyzes potential safe locations across North America for those seeking to protect themselves from various threats and upheaval. The book provides detailed assessments of each U.S. state and Canadian province based on factors like population density, climate, food production, and proximity to military targets.
The guide includes maps, statistics, and specific recommendations for both urban and rural relocation strategies. Skousen examines infrastructure vulnerabilities, social stability indicators, and natural disaster risks for different regions.
The work covers practical considerations like water availability, building codes, gun laws, homeschooling regulations, and tax policies that affect relocation decisions. Nuclear target maps and evacuation routes receive particular attention in the threat assessment portions.
At its core, Strategic Relocation reflects growing concerns about societal preparedness and self-sufficiency in an increasingly uncertain world. The book represents a systematic approach to evaluating safety and sustainability in modern North America.
👀 Reviews
Readers value this book's detailed analysis of geographical safety factors and its comprehensive coverage of relocation considerations. Reviews highlight the state-by-state threat assessments and nuclear target maps as helpful planning tools.
Positives:
- In-depth research on natural disasters, population density, and crime statistics
- Clear maps and charts
- Practical considerations for property evaluation
- Nuclear fallout pattern analysis
Criticisms:
- Data from 2011 is now outdated
- High price point ($65-85)
- Some readers found the political commentary unnecessary
- Several noted the book focuses heavily on nuclear scenarios while giving less attention to other threats
Ratings:
Amazon: 4.5/5 (382 reviews)
Goodreads: 4.2/5 (89 ratings)
One reader noted: "The nuclear target maps alone are worth the price." Another criticized: "Too much emphasis on Mormon communities as safe zones."
Many readers recommend buying newer editions due to demographic changes since publication.
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Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life by Neil Strauss The book documents a first-hand investigation into survival communities, emergency preparedness, and off-grid living strategies across America.
When Technology Fails by Matthew Stein This resource covers sustainable living skills, alternative energy systems, and self-reliant solutions for medical care, food production, and shelter.
Life After the Cities by Bruce Clayton The text examines relocation strategies away from urban centers with analysis of geographic, economic, and security considerations for sustainable settlements.
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🤔 Interesting facts
🔹 Author Joel Skousen served as a fighter pilot in the Marine Corps and has worked as a professional architectural designer specializing in designing high-security residences and retreats.
🔹 The book evaluates potential relocation areas based on 14 different factors, including nuclear targets, population density, crime rates, water availability, and food production capacity.
🔹 First published in 1998, the book gained renewed attention after the events of September 11, 2001, and has been regularly updated to reflect changing global threats and demographic shifts.
🔹 The guide specifically warns against areas downwind from nuclear targets, identifying a "death zone" that stretches from Montana to Ohio where fallout would be most severe in a nuclear event.
🔹 Skousen recommends the Intermountain West (particularly Idaho, Utah, and parts of Oregon) as having the best balance of safety factors, including low population density, good water resources, and distance from major military targets.