Sure, it has a dozen names..Rancho Ballistica, Commander Zero’s Post Nuclear Love Bunker, Area 52, etc, etc…but it all amounts to the same thing: Zero’s Dream House.
The design is completely up for grabs as long as several caveats are kept firmly in mind:
a) security
b) durability
c) efficiency
d) redundancy
Someplace with enough thermal mass to stay warm in winter, cool in summer. Completely and easily adaptable at the flip of a switch to go from grid power to self-contained power. (Not *that* big a trick…) Several layers of energy production..solar, hydro, etc. Nice big gardens, fish pond, gated driveway, enormous basement with unbelievable storage possibilities, shooting range, workshop, guest quarters, etc.
Nice thing about such a place is that the kind of land no one wants to buy is perfect for it. People want stuff close to town, close to roads, with power lines nearby, etc. Not me. I want something that you have to drive up three miles of washboard road before you even get to the (locked gate) driveway. Something that if you didnt know it was there, you’d never find. Someplace that, in winter, if you dont have seriously good four-wheel drive you will never, ever make it to.
Naturally, being the Zero, it would have thick strong walls, heavy shutters, odd markers at various distances, intrusion detection devices, area lighting, and all that goodness. But, ideally, what we’re shooting for is something that is as close to perfectly self-contained and self-sufficient as you can get. Someplace that if the power goes out you wouldnt notice it for a few months.
Whats involved? Hmmm..I think 15-20 acres abutting against national forest or timber co. land. That way you get a several million acre backyard. Build a small cabin to use as slabs and walls get poured, rafters nailed up, powers systems laid in, ponds and irrigation ditches dug, barricades poured, gardens planted, etc, etc. Wouldnt be cheap, but when it was over you’d have the perfect retreat from the world…everything you’d ever need, food, water, power, shelter, warmth, security, etc all in one place and all exactly to my specs.
And, I should point out, it wouldnt look like a missle silo. You can build some pretty darn attractive structures that dont compromise on durability and survivability. I’d love some sort of mission-style house with huge walled courtyards….
Ah well, the land will be the cheapest part. I need to get that first. Once thats under my belt, the rest can come later….
That’s my plan. Land next to national forest is already done. (Actually, next to state reserve land on two sides, national forest is one mile beyond that.) Now I’m looking at rammed-earth home designs with passive solar features. The wife and I figure that if we have a setup like that, we can probably live on 4-5 ounces of gold a year. (We try to think in terms of real money, ’cause who knows what inflation’s going to do by then.) It won’t take very long setting aside ounces on a regular basis to provide for our old age.
Sounds like a plan. I have a similar plan – land near a national forest. Completely self sufficient. I am mostly interested in retiring from the working world though and not so worried about society collapsing.