NationStates Jolt Archive

Imagine that you were forced to live in the country. Cities were razed to the ground, or too dangerous to live in. Would you survive? What skills do you have that would justify your continued existance?

With a portable power generator, a microwave and a frigde? Yes.

With a portable power generator, a microwave and a frigde? Yes.
Where will you get your food and petroleum?

I could whore myself out for food and shelter.

Where will you get your food and petroleum?

Well, the food is in the fridge and the power generator works with solar energy.

Would'nt slow me much I lived in the country for about 5 years growing up. I can shoot and camp and I'm a carpenter by profession but I also do some mechanical and electrical work from time to time. What mechanical and electrical you ask? If you don't think a bunch of country boys can get a motor to work on hooch (including one on a generator) you've been sorely miseducated.

I could whore myself out for food and shelter.
They will always need whores. You will be needed.

I could whore myself out for food and shelter.

Sweet I get whores too!

They will always need whores. You will be needed.

... And TSI survives yet another Armageddon.

Do you think you would create a new society, or would you prefer to take your chance alone in the bush?

Imagine that you were forced to live in the country. Cities were razed to the ground, or too dangerous to live in. Would you survive? What skills do you have that would justify your continued existance?
The short answer is no.


The long answer is still no.


I'm a computer programmer, for fuck's sake =D

Imagine that you were forced to live in the country. Cities were razed to the ground, or too dangerous to live in. Would you survive? What skills do you have that would justify your continued existance?

yes. plenty of cabins out of the city but very close to it's limits. plenty of moose, lakes, and rivers to drink from. oh and the moose? just kill them with the shotguns you get from the cabins.

define "in the country", I could probably live for a while, I can hunt and fish, I can start a camp fire and make shelter, what I would be worried about was fresh water to drink, I am sure that without clean water I would either die of disease or dehydration pretty soon. However if I was able to bring some basic supplies (like the ones in my tornado closet) I am sure I could live quite comfortably for a while.

That would be quite dificult, If i'm going to die might as well journey around looking for any source of survival.

Would I survive not living in a city? Well, I did well enough at it for the first 18 years of my life :p

But I'm gathering you mean something like "All the cities were destroyed and you managed to escape, what would you do?"

Well, I'd probably go find a family member who lives in the country and figure out what to do from there. I lived on a farm growing up, and I've hunted since age 8, so I'm pretty sure I could manage.

Could you define "city"? Do you mean any population center, or a certain size? The town near where I grew up had only 400 people, and I don't know anyone who considers that a "city".

If you mean living in the woods, without any sort of assistance I could easily manage until winter. Winters in Michigan can get pretty damned harsh.

I know how to hunt and fish. Could possibly grow crops if I needed. I wouldn't worry about my abilities really. Only reason I live near a city now is because of convinience. For fresh drinking water one could always dig an artesian well. The Native Americans did it for eons. There is no reason why modern humans couldn't do the same things.

Good question.

Well, I have some basic survival skills. I can do carpentry- I can pretty much fix or build anything assuming it doesnt have to stay fixed or built for very long- and I can fish. I once stayed in the woods for a week with only enough supplies to last me 2 days, just to see if I could.

However, I don't think I could hack it, even if I had all the neccesary supplies. I'm a city boy, and I need other people to talk to.

Imagine that you were forced to live in the country. Cities were razed to the ground, or too dangerous to live in. Would you survive? What skills do you have that would justify your continued existance?
Hell yes! After all I've been through, surviving is what I do best! Well ... maybe second best! :D

I would probably gather a few friends and family I trust, and depending on the situation, a few weapons. hit the woods, and hunt for a living.

Hell yes! After all I've been through, surviving is what I do best! Well ... maybe second best! :D

If this really does happen, can I whore myself out to you for food and shelter?

You seem like the best bet.

Imagine that you were forced to live in the country. Cities were razed to the ground, or too dangerous to live in. Would you survive? What skills do you have that would justify your continued existance?

Well, as a Boy Scout and a Boy Scout leader I learned a lot about survival. I also know how to hunt and fish. I also plan to live in the country when I retire in two years, eight months, and fourteen days. So hell yeas I would and will survive. Oh, I forgot to mention my wife grew up on a farm.

If this really does happen, can I whore myself out to you for food and shelter?

You seem like the best bet.
Mwahahahahaha! :D

yes. plenty of cabins out of the city but very close to it's limits. plenty of moose, lakes, and rivers to drink from. oh and the moose? just kill them with the shotguns you get from the cabins.

I don't think you are going to kill many moose with a shotgun. What guage and type of ammunition were you planning on using on them?

Mwahahahahaha! :D

Well, do we have a deal?

Hell yes! After all I've been through, surviving is what I do best! Well ... maybe second best! :D

Anyone who would eat some of the food you did in survival school could live forever outside the city. Us Air Force types might be in trouble when the rations run out. :D

Hmm...I depends. If it’s a neauklear apocalypse, then I'll probably end up dead anyway, even if I survive initially.

If it’s just that all the major cities in the world got destroyed and whatnot, I might survive, but not on mah own. Then I would probably die some horrible death...horribly.

Seriously, I don’t really know. Maybe, maybe not.

If this really does happen, can I whore myself out to you for food and shelter?

You seem like the best bet.

I'm sure he is looking for your telephone number and address right now. :) You couldn't have picked a better person to survive with although I could be available. :D

I'm sure he is looking for your telephone number and address right now. :) You couldn't have picked a better person to survive with although I could be available. :D

Hell, we could do a threesome! If one old man is sexy, imagine what TWO is like!

:fluffle:

Celtlund: Repping Boy-Scout power.

Yep, with those lovely years of Boy-Scouting behind me, I can handle the outdoors.

the question is for how long, and where.

For example, England. I think I could get away for a few weeks, maybe a month.

But the rain would eventually get to me.

And I would need some permanent form of habitat. Tents, or even sleeping in the woods, just won't last with the damn English weather.

Well, if its just the major cities that are destroyed I won't have to worry so much about my safety. Between my friends and family we could probably scrounge up quite an arsenal. I have a Yugo SKS and 200 rounds and I am by far the most lightly armed household among us :)

Just come on up to Mount Pleasant, TSI, we'd probably need a few more hands to keep out the hordes that would be spilling out of Detroit and G Rapids.

Hell, we could do a threesome! If one old man is sexy, imagine what TWO is like!

:fluffle:
ROFLMAO! Can you say, "Oh my frakking GOD," boys and girls? :D

Im gonna opt for whoring, its easy enough. Yes, even for guys... MANWHORE POWER! :fluffle:

Well, what you're talking about is everyone being forced out of the cities, not just me. In that case, there would be massive competition for any resources outside of the cities, as the former urban population scavenges. The result would be a massive die-off as soon as the formerly urban hordes consumed everything it could reach.

In such a situation, the most critical "survival skill" would be the ability to get as far away as possible from a city as quickly as possible, to avoid the scavenging urban hordes. You'd need to find a remote place out of range of the scavengers, with enough food supplies to last you a couple of months.

Unfortunately, living in a city on the East Coast, I'm not in the best position to find a remote hideout. Those of you in Montana and Wyoming have the best shots at survival.

:p

Well, what you're talking about is everyone being forced out of the cities, not just me. In that case, there would be massive competition for any resources outside of the cities, as the former urban population scavenges. The result would be a massive die-off as soon as the formerly urban hordes consumed everything it could reach.

In such a situation, the most critical "survival skill" would be the ability to get as far away as possible from a city as quickly as possible, to avoid the scavenging urban hordes. You'd need to find a remote place out of range of the scavengers, with enough food supplies to last you a couple of months.

Unfortunately, living in a city on the East Coast, I'm not in the best position to find a remote hideout. Those of you in Montana and Wyoming have the best shots at survival.

:p


I live on the MA/NH Border, Im sure I could find woods. As far as competition, I could win out in that.

Nyk's Patented Survival Plan for the Horny:

Kill the Poor, sex up the Rich, and keep moving North!

ROFLMAO! Can you say, "Oh my frakking GOD," boys and girls? :D

So we have a deal? Celtund, you, and I will find some place out in the country, you'll hunt and fish and farm, I'll make the home,and after dinner we can have massive man sex!

Weuuuu!!!

Hell, we could do a threesome! If one old man is sexy, imagine what TWO is like!

:fluffle:

Deal but only if my wife agerees. :eek:

Deal but only if my wife agerees. :eek:

She can make home with me too.

Can I buy into this survival foursome?

Celtlund: Repping Boy-Scout power.

Yep, with those lovely years of Boy-Scouting behind me, I can handle the outdoors.

the question is for how long, and where.

For example, England. I think I could get away for a few weeks, maybe a month.

But the rain would eventually get to me.

And I would need some permanent form of habitat. Tents, or even sleeping in the woods, just won't last with the damn English weather.

Hog snoggles. The English have survived in all kinds of climates including the climate in the UK. :D

Can I buy into this survival foursome?
Only if Eut, Celtlund, Celtlund's wife, and me agree.

Only if Eut, Celtlund, Celtlund's wife, and me agree.

Good, Im all yours. I'm good with a gun too... :sniper: "Damn hobos!"

Itll be one big survial orgy... :fluffle:

Im gonna opt for whoring, its easy enough. Yes, even for guys... MANWHORE POWER! :fluffle:

Sorry! If that's what you want you can not sit at my campfire. :D

Sorry! If that's what you want you can not sit at my campfire. :D

Hey! Dont knock it till you try it. Besides, a manwhore's gotta do what a manwhore's gotta do. I bet your wife'd like me...

Hmm...I depends. If it’s a neauklear apocalypse, then I'll probably end up dead anyway, even if I survive initially.


Hmm, thats something I never thought of. If (when) something really really bad happens in New York City, I fully expect to be right there evacuating people- okay, turning the siren on and looking important- okay, doing paperwork (form ANFH-5894794, Request for "Force Mobilization/ Citywide Evacuation Procedure- Put Your Head Between Your Legs and Kiss Your Butt Goodbye, and When to Do This" Manual Requisition Form, in triplicate, by hand, black ink only) right up until the end.

So it's a moot point. Either the radiation/anthrax/avian virus/mutant sewer rats will get me or the looters will. Yay, one less thing to worry about!

See, silver lining.

You'd need to find a remote place out of range of the scavengers, with enough food supplies to last you a couple of months.
:p

Supplies to last a couple of months? You never heard of hunting and fishing or finding edible wild vegetation? You need to get the Boy Scout Handbook or some of the Firefox series.

I dont know how well I'd do in the country, but say the we have a hurricane and the city is evacuated. Hell, I'd stay and loot! When we get into looting, I could definately do that.

So we have a deal? Celtund, you, and I will find some place out in the country, you'll hunt and fish and farm, I'll make the home,and after dinner we can have massive man sex!

Weuuuu!!!

Deal. I'm sure Eut is in on this as well. Hey, what was the name of that movie? It happened in the West. A woman married two men. One of the actors was Lee Marvin. It was very funny and the music was fantastic.

Can I buy into this survival foursome?

$10,000,000.00 US cash, small unmarked bills, no sequential serial numbers. :eek:

$10,000,000.00 US cash, small unmarked bills, no sequential serial numbers. :eek:

I said I was a whore, not a whore/lawyer/hotel-heir

I dont know how well I'd do in the country, but say the we have a hurricane and the city is evacuated. Hell, I'd stay and loot! When we get into looting, I could definately do that.

And after all the food, water, and booze are gone you would.....?

I said I was a whore, not a whore/lawyer/hotel-heir

ROFLMAO :fluffle:

I have a bunch of books about edible wild plants, poisonous wild plants, and how to survive in the wild. Therefore, all I have to do is find a bunch of illiterates and I'll be too valuable to dispose of. Doing this will be an easy task. If I play my cards right, I'll be in control of most of my state in a matter of months.

Would it be like the country in "Of Mice and Men" or "Fargo?"

Deal. I'm sure Eut is in on this as well. Hey, what was the name of that movie? It happened in the West. A woman married two men. One of the actors was Lee Marvin. It was very funny and the music was fantastic.
Marvin was great! Ever see "Waterhole Number Three?" Hilarious! :D

maybe, maybe not. My age (tickling 60) and physical condition (fat and arthritic) would work against me. But, I can hunt, fish, know or can find out about edible plants, build a fire, cook over said open fire, construct a lean-to, spin wool into fiber and turn the fiber into fabric - so my survival-ability is probably better than most.

maybe, maybe not. My age (tickling 60) and physical condition (fat and arthritic) would work against me. But, I can hunt, fish, know or can find out about edible plants, build a fire, cook over said open fire, construct a lean-to, spin wool into fiber and turn the fiber into fabric - so my survival-ability is probably better than most.

And you would probably survive a hell of a lot longer than some of these young pups who have been brought up on TV, the golden arches, and computers. :D
At least some of us "old farts" know how to survive and that is why we are "old farts." :)

I'd go back to my people's lands. Or, to get away from you wapiskatimwak, I'd go further up north and live in the bush quite happily with my family.

I turned 28 yesterday...does that make me an old fart?

There's a lot of variables to consider--when the cities were razed, did most of the population go with them? what about the wildlife that most people would depend on for food until agriculture got restarted? do you have to deal with issues like fallout? All of that impacts the survival issue, plus a hell of a lot more.

But that said, assuming I wasn't having to deal with radiation, I could do okay. I was raised in the country, can fish and bow hunt and grow food as well as scavenge, and I can do basic carpentry. I could survive, but not much else.

I'd go back to my people's lands. Or, to get away from you wapiskatimwak, I'd go further up north and live in the bush quite happily with my family.

I turned 28 yesterday...does that make me an old fart?No, it does not. And happy birthday. :fluffle:

Not only would I survive, I'd likely be king.

I've read a great deal of fantasy and adventure, so I could probably give suggestions to help a more physically fit person hang on a little longer. Beyond that, I have no illusions: poor strength and endurance, no experience... I could hold out for a while, but probably nothing too long term, unless I as well took up the manwhore option. (I'd probably have to get over my aversion to skinny women, if we were all starving. Damn.)

yes i would survive just fine. id do what untold ages of women have done to survive

id cook

Of course

But, then, I've spent 70% of my life on a farm ... and not a modern one either. I can till soil with a hoe and my backsweat, I know when to plant, where to plant, and can generally tell you about the soil by tasting it.

I know how to raise chickens (and slaughter, pluck, gut, and cook them), break a doggie (that's an unbroken horse, by the way), and can easily build a fire without matches. I grew up in "shotgun shacks", so I know what it's like to summer without a/c and how to keep cool regardless. I also know how to preserve meats, fruits, and stretch and tan skins.

Yes. I would survive. Healthy and happy, well fed, and sane.

On the whole, I'd rather have the fridge and a/c, but if it came to it, I'd be fine.

All I would need is a skilled stonemason, a hunter who can track without GPS, and someone who understands structure for housebuilding.

I've got a cadre of rifles in various caliber, two shotguns, and a .40 S&W handgun, along with something in the vicinity of three thousand rounds of 7.92x57mm Mauser, along with plenty of other shapes and sizes. If it came down to it, I'd take what I need by force and shoot anyone who happens to get in my way.

My survival is first on my mind, and if anyone has a better idea, they'd better have a bigger gun than I.

I wouldn't make wild assumptions about having an unlimited supply of ammo, or even access to guns at all. When in doubt...a snare is easy to make, and if you have a fair sized area to lay down a trap line, you can keep yourself and your family fed on that alone. Seeing as how our weather is not particularly friendly around this time of year, my primary concern would be a shelter to last out the winter. I suspect the vast majority of my time would be involved in building said shelter, cutting firewood (assuming I had an axe...if not I'd be gathering what deadfall I could) and stocking up on as much food as possible before it got too cold.

But I would love the challenge...would it take a disaster to get me back out on the land? I think it's time we built a cabin somewhere up north...I grew up learning by doing, and my girls need to have these skills as well.

I suspect I'd fare all right. I'm good at resolving disputes, and at delegating tasks, etc, so I'd likely be able to get what would amount to a tribe up and going, without being a domineering leader (I just play one on NS).

As for survival skills, I can hunt with gun or bow, build shelter (permanent as well as temporary), grow crops (which includes the tilling and weeding, knowing when and where to plant), fish, identify plants (edible and otherwise), cook, do quite a bit of wilderness first aid, start a fire with flint and steel, various other Boy Scout things (I was a Boy Scout long ago).

So if we had to flee the cities, before long, I'd hope to have a little autonomous village up and running (and would preferably have someone else "in charge" while I did most of the behind-the-scenes managing of affairs).

The stuff I'd have to delegate would be papermaking, well-digging, fabric weaving, metalsmithing, and the butchering and tanning of larger animals (I don't know how to get the most bang for my buck when it comes to that). Further, I would want to have someone with military experience to train the tribe, hopefully someone with a weapons cache. It's much easier to try to survive when you don't have to do the whole lot of tasks alone, at any rate.

My chemistry knowledge leaves a bit to be desired, but I'm sure that in some sort of post-apocalyptic city-fleeing scenario, I'd earn my keep, as people want their broken bones mended, rashes treated, and infections kept out of their nasty cuts. ;)

I can fish and I can walk long distances.

I imagine everything else will be learned quickly out of necessity.

What skills do you have that would justify your continued existance?

You stole that from me, didn't you?

My chemistry knowledge leaves a bit to be desired, but I'm sure that in some sort of post-apocalyptic city-fleeing scenario, I'd earn my keep, as people want their broken bones mended, rashes treated, and infections kept out of their nasty cuts. ;)

Aye. Still, I bet everything else would be secondary for you: medical skills would be gold in that kind of situation, never mind about the rest.

I was born and raised in the country, I live it the country now, and you couldn't drag me back to a city to live with a tank.

Cities=people=sucks ass.

Human instincts suggests that most of us would survive and get back to our pre-disaster lives (not quickly of course). We humans started off being scavengers and that's what we will resort to. We will become territorial (weapons might be used) and some of us might be innovative like planting foods on the ground, something out of ordinary for city folks. Barter system might return as how bills would be of no use. Finally use our useless dogs for something (hunt). That's my talent, foreseeing and understanding troubles, so I'm one step a head of others :D. Also, I'm from a war torn country, so experience is on my side;)

Survival is more a matter of mental attitude, awareness and preparation than anything else. Many people give in to panic or dispair and lose their mental bearings. They will most likely not survive.

It helps to concentrate on a very few primary issues at the outset: protection, water, shelter, food, not necessarily in that order. Depending upon the kind of disaster we're discussing, protecting yourself ( and your family ) from threats may take paramount importance, although you cannot ignore the other primary issues for long.

As with almost any contingency planning, the better your preparation, the more likely your sucess. I keep a store of bottled water and canned food for emergencies, although this would not be adequate for a disaster of any significant length. I also have a weapon and know how to use it, as do most of my grown children.

Being physically fit is vital as well. Sadly, those most adversely affected by disasters are the very old and the very young. If you're between about 15 and 35, and relatively physically fit, your chances of survival are effectively doubled compared to younger or older people.

There are a number of excellent survival sites online. Google "survival" and "surviving disasters."

I turned 28 yesterday...does that make me an old fart?

Happy belated birthday. Old fart? Hell no, you are such a young pup you still are still sucking on the nipple. :D Damn, I wish I were still 28 and sucking...:)

But that said, assuming I wasn't having to deal with radiation, I could do okay. I was raised in the country, can fish and bow hunt and grow food as well as scavenge, and I can do basic carpentry. I could survive, but not much else.


You can do more than most and could survive. By the way, do you like squirrel. My wife likes them in squirrel and dumplings but I prefer them fried.

There are a number of excellent survival sites online. Google "survival" and "surviving disasters."Hate to break it to ya E, but if google is your survival plan, you might as well kiss it goodbye...

You can do more than most and could survive. By the way, do you like squirrel. My wife likes them in squirrel and dumplings but I prefer them fried.Mmmmm squirrel...


Tastes like chicken...:D

Hate to break it to ya E, but if google is your survival plan, you might as well kiss it goodbye...
How can Google be "a survival plan," pray tell? I don't understand your comment. :rolleyes:

yes i would survive just fine. id do what untold ages of women have done to survive

id cook
A survival skill if ever there was one. People often say, "now what in the world ever prompted people to think of that as a food?" Survival.

Imagine that you were forced to live in the country. Cities were razed to the ground, or too dangerous to live in. Would you survive? What skills do you have that would justify your continued existance?
the question for me would be could I survive in the city. i live in the country, and cant stand cities.

A survival skill if ever there was one. People often say, "now what in the world ever prompted people to think of that as a food?" Survival.Yep--what is now often considered a delicacy was once eaten because there was nothing else. Example: escargot.

How can Google be "a survival plan," pray tell? I don't understand your comment. :rolleyes:Aw geez E, gimme a break. OK it wasn't the best joke I've ever made, but damn...

I was born and raised in the country, I live it the country now, and you couldn't drag me back to a city to live with a tank.

Cities=people=sucks ass.

2 years, 8 months, and 14 days and I'll be in the country. Yes, yes, retirement, a garden, fresh air, and a house in the middle of 1 to 3 acres. No neighbor with a living barking four footed beast within earshot. :)

Mmmmm squirrel...


Tastes like chicken...:D

Hell no, tastes like squirrel. :D

the question for me would be could I survive in the city. i live in the country, and cant stand cities.

I was raised in the suburbs of Boston and will retire in the country. I don't like big cities exept to visit.

Yep--what is now often considered a delicacy was once eaten because there was nothing else. Example: escargot.

Rice bugs.

Hell no, tastes like squirrel. :DDoes that mean Chickens actually taste like Squirrel...?




'cause every rodent I've ever eaten has tasted like chicken...

or at least like the white meat...

And after all the food, water, and booze are gone you would.....?

sleep/have sex

There's a lot of variables to consider--when the cities were razed, did most of the population go with them? what about the wildlife that most people would depend on for food until agriculture got restarted? do you have to deal with issues like fallout? All of that impacts the survival issue, plus a hell of a lot more.

+the biggest issue for me: When it's going to happen. On winter, not a chance, on summer, there's a possibility that I could survive.

Yep. I'm guessing for 3-4 months, that's without factoring in hunting and fishing, both of which I am good at :D. It pays being a country boy!

I have a 45 gallon fuel tank in my car, giving me...1200 miles of range. I have 1500 rounds of SKS/AK ammo and about 100 or so for the M1. I also have a pond full of Goldfish is I really get hungry. Yes, they are BIG goldfish.

What the heck, I don't even live in the city. City slickers better stay off my property :sniper:

Aw geez E, gimme a break. OK it wasn't the best joke I've ever made, but damn...
Joke? :eek:

Ohhh-kayy. My bad.

Yep. I'm guessing for 3-4 months, that's without factoring in hunting and fishing, both of which I am good at :D. It pays being a country boy!

I have a 45 gallon fuel tank in my car, giving me...1200 miles of range. I have 1500 rounds of SKS/AK ammo and about 100 or so for the M1. I also have a pond full of Goldfish is I really get hungry. Yes, they are BIG goldfish.

What the heck, I don't even live in the city. City slickers better stay off my property :sniper:
Heh! "Crowd control" as a survival skill.

Well, as a Boy Scout and a Boy Scout leader I learned a lot about survival. I also know how to hunt and fish. I also plan to live in the country when I retire in two years, eight months, and fourteen days. So hell yeas I would and will survive. Oh, I forgot to mention my wife grew up on a farm.
Heh, I know few English Boy Scouts who can't even build a tent. I quess one doesn't need survival skills in English countryside.

Heh! "Crowd control" as a survival skill.

For Crowd control I was thinking pits full of zombies and an M60E4 with a full belt of BALL ammo. Trying to take my food can be hazardous to your health :D

Imagine that you were forced to live in the country. Cities were razed to the ground, or too dangerous to live in. Would you survive? What skills do you have that would justify your continued existance?
yes, this is one Computer Tech that is not afraid to get his hands dirty on a farm.

For Crowd control I was thinking pits full of zombies and an M60E4 with a full belt of BALL ammo. Trying to take my food can be hazardous to your health :D
We have plans to sieze ... uh, I mean "take into protective custody" the local supermarket the moment a disaster happens. :D

Imagine that you were forced to live in the country. Cities were razed to the ground, or too dangerous to live in. Would you survive? What skills do you have that would justify your continued existance?


Actually, the question is: Should the cities become uninhabitable, would I be willing to do what it takes to defend my accustomed way of life from the invading yuppie scum?
I would like to think the answer is yes. but also hope the test never comes.

Forced out of the city, this requires some more specification, WHAT exactly would be the city? I question if the suburbia I am in is actually a city. As for being forced out, is it everyone right at the same time getting kicked out, or slowly leaving? As for the city? Well Anchorage is pretty friendly and I would be able to hook up with most of my friends who are shooters within a few hours. I've got a good friend about two blocks away who always seems to have another trick up his sleeve. The worst problem is all the extra baggage I would end up having to carry. And by "baggage" I mean "people" and by "carry" I mean "bring along". The ex and her family (if they found me, which they probably would), people at the church...families of my friends...

Imagine that you were forced to live in the country.
Forced? I like it here.

Cities were razed to the ground
Like Hemel Hempstead?

or too dangerous to live in.
Like Manchester?