[northernmaine]

I was wondering if anyone else has neighbors like I have. While I live in a very rural area I have a few neighbors close by and the closest one I believe is going to be a problem for me when TSHTF. He seems to be one of these 40 year old adolescents that never really grew up. He and his girlfriend are gainfully employed and take care of themselves at the moment but seem to only live for the weekends so they can party hard with their buddies. While we are busy on our side of the line gardening, planting orchards, canning and the like. They drink lots of Bud Lite, stay up late, and of course they have guns.
I can see them getting very hungry very fast when things fall apart and I don't think they would think twice about helping themselves to our stuff.
Having said that while I am no "high speed death machine" we are more than capable of defending what we have but any exchange of gunfire with anyone leaves open the very real possibility of someone on our side taking a dirt nap.

Has anyone been through a natural disaster and had to deal with people like this when the system as we know it ceases to exist?

I have other neighbors a little further away than this character (1/2 mile or more)that seem to be more self sufficient that I'm not worried about as much but this guy and his buddies give me a reason to pause and ponder what I might have to do to keep my family safe.

 

[Fuzzee]

I think just about anyone has at some point. I have multiple times and have some adult aged adolescents living next to me right now I know will be trouble when shtf and things get bad. You simply have to prepare to deal with them as best you can. If you've got any family members that live eslewhere that could add to your strength when things go bad you might see about having them hold up with you. Conflict and shtf in such a way will be a part of life. Same as it can be now, but on a far more aggressive and violent level. If you want to survive you'll have to meet violence with violence, because in reality that's the only way to meet it once the time for peacable solutions has passed.

 

[alterego]

Yes we all have neighbors who will be a liability after shtf. We all have neighbors now who are liabilities as a burden on society.

 

[northernmaine]

My neighbor knows I'm heavily armed, he has seen me send hundreds of rounds downrange. I have two grown children with spouses that will be coming here when the balloon goes up, we will have plenty of firepower and manpower.

 

[Jardude]

I've got the same neighbors. Problem is we're related. It'll be that much harder to "get them outta the way".

 

[Smitty901]

Not any where near by. However if there was any threat would be dealt with as needed.
SHTF don't come here unless invited.

 

[Rigged for Quiet]

I have one set of neighbors in particular that I am wary of. I do have three sets of neighbors that I believe will be quite useful in a mutual support situation, but we live in a subdivision and there are a lot of people I don't really know on other streets.

 

[paraquack]

You have voiced an idea that I have managed to push to the back of my mind for years. While one of my immediate neighbors would be an asset the other would be a burden. Fortunately the group is small and I know they (all females) are unarmed. Unfortunately at least one boyfriend is "gangsta" and I would not doubt he would be a real threat. The idea of being forced to defend my place from a friend or neighbor is the biggest reason I could see for bugging out. To me, it's a lot easier to say no to a stranger than a neighbor and back it up with the necessary force to get NO across to them. I wish I had more neighbors like the one who is preparing, albeit slowly due to money and lost job. I would not hesitate to share. I guess you have to do, what you have to do. I just don't know if I would be stupid and hesitate, I pray not.

 

[grinder37]

As i've mentioned before,I live in a very rural area as well with two of my best friends/families being my nieghbors and are also preppers.But we do have a third that is not,an old sickly man (which him and I have had many words over the years).Now that he's in bad shape,his 40 something year old son and his whore moved in to "assist" with the dads needs.To give you an idea,the boy has a mullet that looks just like Joe Dirt's and they (him and her) are covered in prison tattoos.They have in and out traffic at all hours which makes the rest of us think he's dealing drugs or running a meth lab as they have pretty much taken over the dads trailer.They've had the sheriff there numerous times over thier fighting with each other and people that show up.One time they and another couple ended up brawling naked in thier yard and once again had the sheriff haul them away (it was not a pretty sight,lol).They are the classic definition of white trash.When SHTF happens,we figure on them being our first source of trouble makers,but any acts toward us,violent,stealing,or whatever will be dealt with swiftly.Our 3 families are all in agreement that we will not live in fear from these two as i'm sure we'll have bigger challenges to face ahead.

 

[Montana Rancher]

The day after it hits the fan I'm telling all my neighbors that in the day time they are allowed to visit but after dark I will shoot anyone on my property. It's a well understood axiom of society that after dark a person does not have the ability to determine a persons motives it is assumed they are bad.

Once I told the scumbag neighbor that, then just set a half empty bottle of booze in plain sight and ambush them when they sneak over to take it, put them out of your misery and problem solved.

I don't know a couple of newer neighbors as they are anti social but I don't have any obvious problems, this is a preemptive move.

 

[Ripon]

I feel for you OP. is it possible to get to know them now? It may not but it may be easier then dealing with them later. If nothing else it helps you size them up. I had this experience about 3 months back. I have some in city neighbors that worry me. He had his vehicle shot at early one morning a few weeks back, police came, took report, officer told me he probably pissed off a local dealer - great. This neighbor came to my home a day later to ask me if I saw anything. He looks like an early twenties drug thug. He desired to tell me he'd just bought a shotgun for defense, and by appearances it means he was not defended earlier. Great, now I know, he has a shotgun and not much else.

If I were you I would plant a tomato garden as close to them, as far from you, and with clear site to you just for them. It's called bait. If they are as described they'll go for what is easy first, and give you a chance to take a serious advantage in that time.

 

[AquaHull]

It doesn't matter what you do or how bad azz you think you are. It doesn't matter how often you practice, All it takes in 1 round from a sniper you don't see. That can come from inside your neighbors house thru an open window.

 

[northernmaine]

I feel for you OP. is it possible to get to know them now? It may not but it may be easier then dealing with them later. If nothing else it helps you size them up. I had this experience about 3 months back. I have some in city neighbors that worry me. He had his vehicle shot at early one morning a few weeks back, police came, took report, officer told me he probably pissed off a local dealer - great. This neighbor came to my home a day later to ask me if I saw anything. He looks like an early twenties drug thug. He desired to tell me he'd just bought a shotgun for defense, and by appearances it means he was not defended earlier. Great, now I know, he has a shotgun and not much else.

If I were you I would plant a tomato garden as close to them, as far from you, and with clear site to you just for them. It's called bait. If they are as described they'll go for what is easy first, and give you a chance to take a serious advantage in that time.

He was here when I bought the place, his house was neat and well kept, and I even meet him before we bought the place, he seemed nice enough at the time, we get along ok but you can just tell they are the type of people that don't think about tomorrow in the least.

The approach I'm going to take when everything comes crashing down is to simply tell him that any and all that threaten our family will be killed on sight. It's really not something I am looking forward to doing, I would much rather live in peace.

 

[northernmaine]

It doesn't matter what you do or how bad azz you think you are. It doesn't matter how often you practice, All it takes in 1 round from a sniper you don't see. That can come from inside your neighbors house thru an open window.

That works both ways.

 

[AquaHull]

Yes but a "Good Guy" is less apt to utilize that option.

 

[grinder37]

Yes but a "Good Guy" is less apt to utilize that option.

True,but it would also depend on the situation and the threat you could be dealing with as to who would/could snipe who.People may be shocked at what a "good guy" is capable of when it comes to the safety and preventative protection of their family.Speaking in a WROL scenario only of course.

 

[Ripon]

Worst case scenerio for you is that his friends decide to but out to his place. If its rural they'll think they can hunt and pilfer food from gardens and such. If they arrive and are there in mass you have a real problem. You can be a great shot but you can only fend off so many or hit so many at a great distance.

I hate to say this but you might even want to explore a death bucket. That's my name for a 5-6 gallon bucket of kibble that will kill the party that eats it. It might be easier to poison some alcohol and then make sure the stuff is easy to find.

 

[grinder37]

Worst case scenerio for you is that his friends decide to but out to his place. If its rural they'll think they can hunt and pilfer food from gardens and such. If they arrive and are there in mass you have a real problem. You can be a great shot but you can only fend off so many or hit so many at a great distance.

I hate to say this but you might even want to explore a death bucket. That's my name for a 5-6 gallon bucket of kibble that will kill the party that eats it. It might be easier to poison some alcohol and then make sure the stuff is easy to find.

True,one can't plan for every single scenario,in which case everybody will/would be at the same risk.But I like the "death bucket" idea alot,sort of like some bait you could say.But I seriously do think once we hit wrol,I would still eliminate the threat and we also have 7 men and 3 women between the three familys to keep watch and defend when it all does come down.I would never consider being the aggressor as things are now,but after shtf,I don't think I would hesitate.My best scenario would be for them to bug out fast and I think they would as they have nothing to sustain them where they're at unless they think they're gonna live off of what we worked for,but we have already planned for that.

 

[Leon]

my neighbors to the right of me are on friendly terms, but the neighbor on the left side is a haughty worthless asshole. Most of the folks who live around here are rich and spoiled, they don't know how to grow anything or actually survive without their job. Their big houses will be the first targets of roaming gangs and I am willing to bet most don't own guns. Even if they do, that little 9mm glock with one clip in the nightstand won't be near enough.

 

[Ripon]

Yep I have one of those next to me right now, and a solid Korean war vet on the other side. I don't plan on being here long enough to help him out if SHTF, he's got a nice old pick up so I might offer to let the ole guy follow us to NV - always better to have someone to travel with. (gotta have a point man right)?

Again to the OP come up with plans. Be it plant a trap garden, prepare poisoned goods, establish a solid field of fire between you and them, set up security cameras with enough distance to be able to monitor them, maybe invest in your own drone, examine early warning boobie traps, lethal boobie traps or at least one to cause harm, etc etc. The fact is you are now thinking about it - they are not. That is one hell of an advantage.

my neighbors to the right of me are on friendly terms, but the neighbor on the left side is a haughty worthless asshole. Most of the folks who live around here are rich and spoiled, they don't know how to grow anything or actually survive without their job. Their big houses will be the first targets of roaming gangs and I am willing to bet most don't own guns. Even if they do, that little 9mm glock with one clip in the nightstand won't be near enough.