# Where Should I Go After The Disease Apocalypse? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 17, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526 "2014-12-17T21:55:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/1 "2014-12-17T21:55:09Z")
When we have the disease apocalypse (DA), I plan to go south where the livin’s easy (well, it doesn’t kill you half of the year, anyway), but I can’t figure out where the best place to go is. California is out because of the threat of The Big One earthquake; Nevada is out because there’s no water there; Florida, the east coast, and the Gulf of Mexico are out because of hurricanes. I’m thinking maybe Oklahoma might be the place to head for - good land to plant crops, weather is mostly mild, except for those pesky tornadoes, winter’s are much more mild. Maybe the Oklahoma City area. What do you guys think? ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/2 "2014-12-17T22:05:24Z")
Diseases tend to flourish in warm weather. You may want to find a place that’s a bit cooler without being too cold. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/3 "2014-12-17T22:43:11Z")
You can freeze to death in the snow in OK for 3 months per year. Just like in AB. And there’s a lot of OK which is desert. So it’s still a crappy place to live rustically. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/4 "2014-12-17T22:47:31Z")
I don’t think the Great Plains can be classified as desert. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2014, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/5 "2014-12-17T22:56:42Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > California is out because of the threat of The Big One earthquake; California is a big state, and most of it (an area much larger than Oklahoma) is outside the zone where you could anticipate the Big One. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/6 "2014-12-18T00:31:22Z")
If you want good temperature, go find an ocean. The buffering effect will even the seasons out. I’ve lived on the West coast of the US my whole life (WA and CA) and for me, winter is a lot like summer, just wetter and 20 degrees cooler. Snow and extreme heat are things you head inland for, if you want them. You’ve ruled the West out because of earthquakes, but I’d rather have earthquakes than tornadoes, especially if we’re in the post-apocalypse. The P-A world will have no tornado warnings or predictions, leaving you more vulnerable in OK, whereas you’ll have your pick of earthquake-resistant structures in CA. Plus, I see the coast as buffering your food options. Hunt inland, fish at sea. Maybe even do some solar distillation if freshwater goes short. I suppose a good lake or river could provide that benefit elsewhere, but then you may open up a flooding risk that doesn’t exist with the ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/7 "2014-12-18T00:45:26Z")
Having lived in both earthquake land and tornado land (CA, OR and MO). I’m going to vote West Coast. I managed to get hit directly by two tornadoes in my brief 18 month tenure. Do not recommend. OK seems to get seriously f-ed up on a regular basis by them. I can also state that I have lived through hundreds of small earthquakes and Loma Prieta (officially a “Big One”). If you want to go where the living is easy, and the earthquakes don’t happen often in a terrible way, head a bit north to OR. Stay south of the big volcanoes. See, there’s always something. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/8 "2014-12-18T00:50:26Z")
Margaritaville. Watch out for pop tops. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/9 "2014-12-18T00:57:48Z")
> [@jimbuff314](#): > > I don’t think the Great Plains can be classified as desert. Unless they have another one of them thar dust bowls. I saw the documentary on that. At least I saw part of it but stopped because it made me want to shoot myself. I, personally, will be heading to Baja California! ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/10 "2014-12-18T02:25:07Z")
I’d probably stay put. Yes, winters get effing cold around here, with lots of snow, but fresh water is plentiful and the soil fertile. The upside is fewer refugees would come up here. I’d probably have to relocate or seriously winterize my quarters (I do have a wood stove already in my living area, it would need a little work but it could be make operational) but that’s doable. At least I’m familiar with the climate and local dangers. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/11 "2014-12-18T02:28:20Z")
\<_What the hell am I thinking?_\> Yeah, yeah - that’s right. Tornadoes mess you up real good. California. California is the place you ought to be. Heap big tornadoes here. No comie! All desert in OK! Ha! What a suck-ass abbreviation for a place like this. All tornadoes, desert and salt plains. Look it up! Stay near warm ocean breezes. No come here! Bad Indians too! No come! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/12 "2014-12-18T02:41:32Z")
I’d have to agree there’s nothing especially wrong with a cold climate for riding out the apocalypse. As long as there IS a growing season, there’s the opportunity to grow food. Beating the cold is as complicated as staying indoors and having firewood. It’s a lot easier than riding out a hurricane, a tornado, or an earthquake. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/13 "2014-12-18T02:46:48Z")
Riding out a tornado isn’t that difficult, either, provided you have the requisite knowledge and skills. That’s why people in tornado alley have basements and/or storm shelters that frequently double as food and other storage facilities. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/14 "2014-12-18T03:44:56Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > You can freeze to death in the snow in OK for 3 months per year. Just like in AB. And there’s a lot of OK which is desert. So it’s still a crappy place to live rustically. But other than that, it’s basically OK. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/15 "2014-12-18T03:47:40Z")
Appalachia sounds nice to me. Plenty of fertile soil, cool but not too cold weather (hardly tropical by any means), friendly people, and easier to defend from raiders. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/16 "2014-12-18T04:06:31Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > California is a big state, and most of it (an area much larger than Oklahoma) is outside the zone where you could anticipate the Big One. Good point. Maybe some place like Fresno. > [@ddsun](#): > > \ > If you want to go where the living is easy, and the earthquakes don’t happen often in a terrible way, head a bit north to OR. Stay south of the big volcanoes. See, there’s always something. 😉 There IS always something - too cold, too hot, too earthquakey, too deserty, too tornadoey, too hurricaney. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/17 "2014-12-18T04:08:14Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Appalachia sounds nice to me. Plenty of fertile soil, cool but not too cold weather (hardly tropical by any means), friendly people, and easier to defend from raiders. I’m not concerned about the people - I forgot to mention the 99% mortality rate of my disease apocalypse. I want to go someplace with lots of good infrastructure to use, once you clear the corpses out. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/18 "2014-12-18T04:16:43Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m not concerned about the people - I forgot to mention the 99% mortality rate of my disease apocalypse. I want to go someplace with lots of good infrastructure to use, once you clear the corpses out. Infrastructure on a modern city level takes a lot of effort from a lot of skilled people and a lot of support technology to keep up and functioning. To you, alone, it is essentially useless. You’d be better off finding a nice farmhouse or dacha with gravity flow water or a hand pump and a woodstove. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/19 "2014-12-18T08:23:20Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m not concerned about the people - I forgot to mention the 99% mortality rate of my disease apocalypse. I want to go someplace with lots of good infrastructure to use, once you clear the corpses out. In that case, I’m going over to the Amish country - lots of homes already set up to live off the grid. Only about 20 miles away, could do that in a single day on foot if I was desperate, but presumably there will be working cars and gasoline remaining at least at first. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526/20 "2014-12-18T08:53:41Z")
always Madagascar to escape the disease apocalypse, assuming they haven’t already closed the borders. Best go now to be safe. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-go-after-the-disease-apocalypse/707526.md?page=2)