Strategic apartments

I have been on the lookout for an apartment for some months now. Sometimes just to study, or to gauge if it would be an ideal place to relocate to. We have just acquired a Jeep to work as our bug out vehicle, and to save us some much needed money I have opted to find a cheaper place for us.

The new apartment must compare well to our current one-in terms of qualifying as a decent bug in location. You see our current apartment is located outside of Manhattan, NYC. Still in a high value target area, but would be safe enough since the immediate target would be Manhattan. It is built on ground with about 60 feet of elevation-safe from flooding in case of a hurricane. The building is a pre-war building, made of brick, cinder block and steel. Interior partitions are of plaster-but the exterior would make good protection from bullets and radiation. We have steel doors all throughout the building-every main door to an apartment is steel, and interior doors are solid wood. We are above the ground floor as well, with a secure fire escape and multiple exits and ventilation sources. Another plus, geographically, is that have visual access to a major thoroughfare to get out of our island, and another access to the nearest bridge to get to the mainland. I know these would serve us well when a major evacuation starts. If our plans fail (bov, walk, bridges blocked), we have an alternate means to get out of the city-which I will opt not to mention any further-a very unique route only possible due to our unique relationship to a feature of the city.

So we are looking for a similarly advantageous apartment to relocate to. Some of our criteria for the location are:

• Crime rate (carjacks, robberies, muggings, drug activity)
• Local population (seniors, teenagers, unemployed) - will help me assess what threats to expect. I do not want to waste my time with local vandals and thugs. I keep an eye out for rowdy teens and know what areas they hang out at and how "rowdy" they are-if there is danger, I want to know how to minimize its risks to me.
• Surrounding businesses-these reflect what the community is about. What products, any food stamp programs, local interests like fishing, organic stores...On one occasion I learned about hidden gardens in my area when I had a chat with a local vendor at a dollar store. I was talking about the mason jars I was buying and he mentioned people who buy them have gardens, mostly in their senior years in parts of the area where no renters are found.
• Proximity to bridges out of the area and into US mainland-These will get clogged fast in an emergency and I want to be able to get to it as fast as possible. Maybe even relay info to parts of our group so they can avoid a nearby bridge if it is jammed.
• Proximity to police facilities and fire stations - Being close to them would offer security and some assurance (mostly, but they can always turn bad if things get bad enough).
• Proximity to Prisons, mental institutions, rehab centers (our current one is close to one of these) I recall reading about Egypt, that the prisons were set open and the prisoners let loose. It was a scare tactic for the people to get back home and protect their self interests rather than participate in the revolution. Being close to these places are never a good idea in the first place.
• Cleanliness of streets (litter is related to stress and quality of life)
• Cultural makeup (too much of one race/nationality is a contributor to rioting and gangs)
• Presence of offices and stores which support government hand-outs

For the building and apartment itself, we consider:

• Multiple exit routes-being above the ground floor with an alternate exit is ideal
• Access to a backyard or balcony-as we intend to upgrade our garden
• A working fireplace - hard to come by but would be a big plus so we keep a lookout
• A basement in the building-yup just good a old fashioned fall-out shelter
• Garage if possible-this would be a big plus as we can store more of our stuff and work on our bug out vehicle away from public view
• Building construction-we would be lucky to find a solid brick building or one made of modern cmu and brick together. I am in the building industry, and we can identify which walls would be useful for sheltering in place.
• A two story single-detached family home would be great as we would not have to deal with a horde of people living in the same building-but it would be hard to find one with a brick structure. However it would make the garden an easier goal.

It sounds like a pretty simple criteria. Still, we have yet to find a place which addresses these needs. Now and then we find something which looks promising-until we do our research and find that the local crime rate is high, or that rent is expensive.

Just another average day in a ticking time bomb of a city.