[crosscanadian]

I was wondering about the people who choose to homestead on the beach. I am curious to know what their lifestyle is like and what their homestead site is like. Is it on the sand next to the beach or do you just live in a beach town?

Do you fish in the ocean for food? I would love to have shrimp a couple of times a week for dinner! That would be living a luxurious lifestyle!!

 

[Samoan]

Fish is great for your diet! I would love to be able to have that abundent source of food nearby! There is only 1 small stream by my house which houses teeny tiny minnows.

 

[Visor]

If you make a homestead on the beach it should probably be built high up off the ground so it doesn't get flooded; I can see a lot of potential for wind energy though maybe water energy?

 

[Samoan]

Good point, Visor. One thing I just thought about that would absolutely drive me crazy about living at the beach would be the sand. Forgot about that very small, yet very annoying detail!

 

[TechAdmin]

We have family who lives on the Texas coast. They have quite the setup and make their living crab trapping. If your knowledgeable about the area it would be a perfect homestead area. You would have to have raised beds to get some good crops going but you would get plenty of rain and have an abundant food source.

 

[redskies]

When I was on the beach at night (Texas Coast) there were lots of these really large crabs that can run semi-quickly into holes if you scare them but alot of the time I can catch them. Do you know what kind these are?

 

[hamburgler]

Wouldn't your B.O.V. have to be a Dune Buggy???

 

[Samoan]

I guess so, hamburgler! Or a Jeep would probably work just as well. As long as you have four wheel drive.

Homesteading on the beach would leave an abundant source of food. I would definitly become a fisherman....or fisherwoman, I should say. That would be a great way to make money and you can feed your family as well. Afterall, give a man a fish and he eats for a day....teach a man to fish and he eats for live. Fishing is a great tool!

 

[crosscanadian]

I would love to homestead on the beach! But I already have a great set up in the country where I am at. Maybe in my next life!

 

[SurvivalNut]

Just some annoying thoughts on an otherwise happy thought thread:

On a beach are you more exposed to the mercies of weather conditions?

In a SHTF scenario is the beach more defensible or can you be easily flanked from behind and cornered with your back against the sea? Think Pirates. On the rise now, even in our Gulf. Haitians. Cubans. Mexicans. The issue is not racism, just a shift of population when the flag goes up and Uncle Sam bails on us.

I am reading the LONG EMERGENCY. Not done yet, but Kunstler mentions the issues of coastal hazards.

I have spoken with Aussie military personnel. They have a real world mission patroling their coasts. Within a few days you can have a complete fishing village of Asian squatters set up camp.

A lot of prime coastal USA areas also have highways capable of dumping any number of refugees into your small town idealic retreat.

Coastal areas may have some special difficulties regarding farming (lotta sand, cool weather, wind). In a SHTF scenario, a beach retreat would rely on some inland trading partners (perhaps more so than an inland retreat would rely on a beach partner?)

Vacation yes, retreat no.

Simple thoughts from a simple mind.

 

[ke4sky]

Storm Surge

Storm Surge
Storm Surge

HISTORIC STORM SURGE EVENTS

Opal 1995
Hurricane Opal made landfall near Pensacola Beach, Florida as a Category 3 hurricane. The storm caused extensive storm surge damage from Pensacola Beach to Mexico Beach (a span of 120 miles) with a maximum storm tide of 24feet, recorded near Fort Walton Beach. Damage estimates for Opal were near $3 billion. More...

Hugo 1989
Devastated the West Indies and the Southeastern United States, including South Carolina cities Charleston and Myrtle Beach. Hugo was responsible for sixty deaths and $7 billion in damages, with a storm surge estimated at 19.8 feet at Romain Retreat, South Carolina. More...

Camille 1969
A Category 5 hurricane, the most powerful on the Saffir/Simpson Scale with maximum winds of more than 200mph devastated the Mississippi coast. The final death count for the U.S. is listed at 256. This includes 143 on the Gulf coast and another 113 from the Virginia floods. More...

Audrey 1957
There were 390 deaths as the result of a storm surge in excess of 12 feet, which inundated the flat coast of southwestern Louisiana as far as 25 miles inland in some places. More...

New England 1938
A fast-moving Category 3 hurricane (the Long Island Express) that struck Long Island and New England with little warning on September 21. A storm surge of 10 to 12 ft inundated the coasts of Rhode Island, Connecticut, southeastern Massachusetts, and Long Island, NY, especially in Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay. Six hundred people died due to the storm. More...

Okeechobee 1928
A Category 4 hurricane that made landfall near Palm Beach on September 16 with a central pressure of 929 mb. The center passed near Lake Okeechobee, causing the lake to overflow its banks and inundate the surrounding area to a depth of 6 to 9 ft. 1,836 people died in Florida, primarily due to the lake surge. More...

Galveston 1900
More than 6,000 people died when hurricane storm tides (the surge plus the astronomical tide) of 8-15 feet inundated the entire island city of Galveston, TX. More...

 

[sailaway]

My Beach Homestead

First try to find some cheap land along a lake with a beach. My house is on Sandusky Bay, which opens up into Lake Erie. I can drop a fishing pole in the water off my back wall and catch many varieties of fish. We can cook them on the grill and in mid late summer have fresh vegtables from our small garden. (neighborhood zoning prevents a larger one) The only problem is that we pay $30.00/day in property taxes. I reside on Cedar Point, it technically is an island. We can sit on our back terrace and see the best amusement park in the world. When I cross the causeway bridge I feel as though I have left the rat race of Sandusky. (population 50,000) Sandusky is the cesspool of Erie County, all of the section 8 people live there, the city is also 70% rental property. I tell my wife that some day all the in town people are going to come out to our neighborhood and rip us off. Most of my neighbors are armed and getting their carry conceal liscences. I am entertaining that thought, but am more interested in having a place to go to that those in town people wouldn't think about. I like the idea of a sailboat it is cheaper than owning waterfront land, When your tired of the sunset, your neighbor or things become dangerous you can move.

 

[Canadian]

The beach looks nice but I'm not a big fan of sand. It gets in everything. I'll admire the beach from a distance.

 

[northernontario]

...The only problem is that we pay $30.00/day in property taxes. ...I tell my wife that some day all the in town people are going to come out to our neighborhood and rip us off. ...

I hate to say it... but paying $11k a year in property taxes... you're already getting ripped off.

 

[dyermaker]

I'm gonna have to agree with your Canadian. I hate sand as well. It gets in and on everything, it sticks to everything...yuck. I especially hate sand in my bed. I don't think I would able to with stand the humidity at the beach.

 

[Canadian]

The only thing that comes close to being as bad as sand is pine needles from the Christmas tree. They keep turning up months after the tree is gone no matter how well you clean up. I'm glad I don't live in a country with lots of sand. I'd go batty.

I don't like humid either. I don't think i could handle living in England or Vancouver. Too much rain and humidity are a real bummer.

If I lived on an island and didn't want people to come over I'd invest in getting my explosives permit and some dynamite and det cord. If things got really bad I'd set charges on the bridge supports and blow out a section. That should keep most of the bad people out. After that a quad .50 cal at the end of the bridge would be a good idea.