OK, so, for those who don't know, "bugging" is the term most commonly associated with reacting to a SHTF scenario. A "Bug-Out Bag" (BOB) is a bag or some form of gear with equipment/food to last 72 hours, as well as equipment to help you out for longer-term survival. "Bugging In" refers to fortifying your home and equipping it with enough provisions such that, in the event TSHTF, you can stay in your home for enough time to weather the crisis. "Bugging Out", therefore, refers to leaving your home and heading for some (hopefully) pre-planned and pre-fortified position (A "Bug-out Location", or BOL) in which to weather the storm.

I won't go into the supplies you should have at either location, because a) they should be all the same (food, water, shelter, tools, clothing) and b) there are other forums dedicated to these topics in more detail. What I'm going to do here is cover some of the factors to consider when deciding to Bug In or Bug Out, the pros and cons of each, and what to look for when deciding.

Bug-In

Bugging in is a logical choice for many people. It is a known place, and required no travel to get there (assuming you are home when TSHTF)

Pros:
1) You know the area well
2) You can make preparations daily, if desired, because you're always there
3) If you're home or near when the SHTF, you don't have far to go

Cons:
1) You can get too dependant on the thought of bugging in
2) Easy to steal "just a little" from your supplies, and quickly have none
3) Most people's BIL is their house, which is often around other houses. If you're prepared, have food/water/generator (generator especially) this will become obvious to neighbors and passersby, potentially making you a target.

What to consider:
When buying a house/looking at an apartment, it is ideal to look at the place with Bugging in in mind. "Can the doors hold? Is it defensible? Can I hook up a generator? Is that enough support for storage (If you're on a 3rd story apartment, you might not want to put 100 gal, or about 800 lbs, of water in your closet)

Bug-Out

Bugging out is the logical choice for many. It too has its pros and cons.

Pros:
1) You often have more freedom to choose the location
2) Fortifications are out of daily contact, and thus less likely to be molested
3) You can often set up to your heart's content

Cons
1) Require more time and energy to supply, because travel is required each time you want to stock something up
2) Often have to choose between investment, compromise of security, or illegality/risking losing your BOL:
1) The most secure way to make a BOL is to buy land. This, however, costs money
2) The next is to get permission to use someon'es land, but most people will want
to know why, and you either have to lie or compromise your security by telling
3) The last resort is to make stores/preparations on someone else's land without
getting permission. While this may not be a problem, you risk criminal/civil
prosecution for trespassing, and you risk losing your stores (which you'll have no
right to) if they're discovered. Legal issues will likely not be a problem if TSHTF
but they could certainly create complications on your supply/prepare runs.
3) Travel is required to get there, which can be time-consuming and dangerous in the PAW

In the end, the choice is yours. You have to consider things from every angle. My personla opinion is that bugging in, if you can properly fortify, is the best option. However, where I am right now - 3rd floor apartment, in the middle of a 9 building complex, in the middle of a pop'n 10k city - makes bugging in not an option at all.
Still, I intend to keep a few supplies in addition to my BOB on hand, just in case conditions make travel to my BOL impossible for a while.

My ultimate recommendation is this: Plan to Bug-In AND Bug-Out. Have a primary, but always have a backup. It's no good to have supplies for a year at home, only to have TSHTFand you come home and find they've all been looted. Now you have no place to go. Likewise, it's no good to have all your hope set in a BOL only to find that you can't leave your house/apartment because of rioters/martial law/whatever. Always have a backup.

Just to make the bug out question a little harder, when do you bug out?

As soon as things go bad? or to you sit tight and get some information?

Do you travel at night or in the day?

Exactly. All a part of the game. If you're going to Bug-In, and then zombies are overrunning the place and you've got martial law, you're screwed. On the other hand, if you Bug-Out too early, you may find it was all only temporary, and now your bills aren't paid, and you've lost your job. Of course, if you Bug-Out too late, you might be stuck or screwed anyway.

I think an ideal situation, if you're going ot Bug Out, is to have something I call a "Pre-Bug-Out" location. It's a temporary place near your home where you can get out of the way (especially important if you're in a city) but remain close enough to see if things are going to blow over. If they are, you haven't gone far, and haven't lost much. If not, you're still in a position to get out, and probably a more advantageous one.

My groups plan involves meeting up at a secure building with heave trucks and tons of supplies. Stay there over night and hit the road before sun-up the next day. The heavy trucks are like F-750s with 200 gallon fuel tanks. The building has 2,000 gal of diesel, a lot of gator-aid and several cases of MREs (last count was 7 cases).

We have some time there to decide if we really need to hit the road, or just hang there.

planning is great, but the number and type of possible scenarios means it isn't possible to plan for everything. some decisions will have to wait unitl the time comes. the best solution is to have in your head as many ways out of your area as possible just in case you don't have time to think about it. one scenario few people think about is a chemical spill. tanker trucks carry all manner of toxic crap through our areas every day. if a tanker of liquid chlorine were to split open and you found yourself in the path of a deadly cloud of gas with 5 minutes to get out of the way your 'regular' bug out route may well be cut off. you will need to know which way to go and how to get around roadblocks in order to survive.

a hurricane is easy to see coming but most folks wait to be told to evac, hoping the storm will turn before hitting them. if you also wait for the notice you'll likely be caught in the evacuation traffic jams and end up spending the disaster on the highway...waiting in that case is deadly.

[/ one scenario few people think about is a chemical spill. ] damn good piont i live with in stone throw of a RR tracks and ty this one slipped my mind

In a terminal shtf scenario such as economic collapse or EMP attack, your only choice is to bug out. If you live in an urban area and have stocked supplies, eventually you are going to run out. One has to perpetually replenish sustinance to maintain an existence. That could be quite difficult in an urban locale.

Another aspect is that other urban dwellers have not prepared as well as you. In essence, you have food and they're hungry. Since the 1940's the concept of static defense has been shown to be an exercise in folly. So unless you live within a stone rampart, the best option would be to scoot. Fighting off hordes of hungry neighbors and nefarious characters is at best , a losing proposition.

Now like CFI said, appraise the situation and act accordingly. That's the best anyone can do. If something happens, you'll know when to di di.

Christian for Israel wrote:planning is great, but the number and type of possible scenarios means it isn't possible to plan for everything. some decisions will have to wait unitl the time comes. the best solution is to have in your head as many ways out of your area as possible just in case you don't have time to think about it.

+1

chicom, while i agree that a static defense is unwinnable in a military situation, hordes of hungry neighbors will act much differently...more like animals than anything. they will not be dragging wounded comrades back to the aid station, instead everytime one of them falls the others will be all over him to get what he has. the mob will turn on each other and tear one another apart as soon as they detect a weakness, and long before they would go against an armed homeowner directly. they will always seek out the easy path to get what they want. a horde isn't a fighting force, it is a large group of individuals all looking out for themselves.

that will work to the advantage of the static defender. it has been said that, if a man is hungry and his kids are crying from hunger that one in ten will steal food to feed them. one in a hundred will kill someone else in order to take what they have. one in a thousand will eat human flesh and one in ten thousand will actively hunt humans for food. given this (and personally i feel those numbers are too high), by simply shooting one in the horde a good number of his neighbors will turn from assaulting you and instead get what they need from him. also, as happens whenever there is a riot and the police fire rubber bullets at the crowd, if you fire on the horde many of them will run away to seek less dangerous game.

i say all this to point out that, with a little preparation, any home, urban or rural can be made to withstand this type of assault. is it the best situation? hardly. but, even those who have bugged out will likely have to face mobs of starving refugees so it is best to be prepared to deal with them.

In the end, they'll still get you. Even if it is nothing more than out of spite. Humans are the most guile and crafty creatures on the planet. Yes there may be a mob, but there will be a command element within. Power hates a vaccum. Unless your home is made of stone, one of the oldest weapons of warfare will be employed against you, fire. Eventually a leader will emerge and foster an "us against you" mentality and foster cohesion for a common goal.

How many here can sustain a firefight from multiple axis's for an undetermined period of time. That be alot of bullets my man. It's the law of inevibility. They can make all the mistakes in the world, but you can only make one.