Safe Area

New Hampshire is consistently rated the safest state in the country. Maine and Vermont are close behind. It's not something you notice -until it's gone.

Once you get beyond food, shelter and clothing, security is one of those basic needs. If you don't feel safe and secure, your whole life suffers. It makes it hard to do anything or to plan for the future.

Some people look at northern New England and figure we are safe because it's fairly rural with a low population density. That helps, but it takes more than that. Alaska has a disturbingly high crime rate.

Good jobs and good schools make a huge difference. If people are able to make a decent living, property crime tends to go down. I think another factor is that people have a sense of community. There tend to be more of a neighbor helping neighbor feel to things. Maybe it's because we have all help each other to survive the cold winters.

Sure, living in a safer area is nice, but when times gets rough, it's going to really matter. I'm not so naive to think that some sort of collapse won't cause problems. When people are stressed the ugly can come out. However, if you are living in an area that's already bad, imagine how much worse it could be. If you aren't safe now, how rough will it get in a SHTF situation?

-Sixbears