Aruba: Not an ideal place to be...

[Ultralight]

I recently (for the past week and a half) visited Aruba.

They grow nothing edible on the island. All food and consumer "goods" are imported. They do have the second-largest desalination plant in the world, but I suspect it runs on fossil fuel rather than solar panels.

Anyone else been to Aruba and noticed what a "Cheap Oil"/fossil fuel driven place it was?

Thoughts on Aruba? Any other "This would be a bad place to be in an emergency or during a collapse?" examples? haha

[kib]

Well it certainly wasn't an ideal place for you to be, we almost collapsed without you! :D

[Float On]

Haven't been there, but at one time we almost accepted a job on Bermuda where everything has to be shipped in including the drinking water.

[Ultralight]

Whoa! That would make me really tense. Water is something I have profound concern with, and not just for fishing. Thirst is frightening to me.

[Kestra]

Interesting. I don't know much about places like that. It would definitely bother me to rely on imported food. Certainly much of northern Canada is the same way - all food brought in. People used to live there on the land just fine, but I believe a lot of the skills have been lost due to European intervention.

[Ultralight]

You spelled that word wrong. ;)

It is not "intervention" but rather "invasion."

[Kestra]

You spelled that word wrong. ;)

It is not "intervention" but rather "invasion."

A situation where tone of voice would be useful. :)

[Ultralight]

I know! haha

[iris lilies]

Isn't this true for many (most?) of the tropical paradise islands? Imagine me using tropical paradise in quotes.

My aunt and uncle lived on the Caribbean island of Antigua. They had a water cache system that originated from roof water. They practiced water conservation. And everything not grown on the island which was 99.9% of anything was bloody expensive.

I have no desire to live on one of these places.

I love living by the Mississippi River where water is abundant. May I reiterate that our city water tastes the best in the country? Our water bill is a flat fee, not based on use. This is paradise, baby.

[bae]

Isn't this true for many (most?) of the tropical paradise islands?

This is why my wife and I elected for the "temperate climate paradise island" solution :-)

[Ultralight]

Isn't this true for many (most?) of the tropical paradise islands? Imagine me using tropical paradise in quotes.

My aunt and uncle lived on the Caribbean island of Antigua. They had a water cache system that originated from roof water. They practiced water conservation. And everything not grown on the island which was 99.9% of anything was bloody expensive.

I have no desire to live on one of these places.

I love living by the Mississippi River where water is abundant. May I reiterate that our city water tastes the best in the country? Our water bill is a flat fee, not based on use. This is paradise, baby.

I love the island life, the tropical paradise life. The heat I can get used to (and I have!). When I studied abroad in Costa Rica, I went without AC all summer.

But my water anxiety is powerful! haha So I would not live in Aruba unless they had a desalination plant that ran on solar, along with back up solar panels, and some solar Mr. Fix-its around to make repairs.

[Ultralight]

This is why my wife and I elected for the "temperate climate paradise island" solution :-)

Now this is interesting! :)

I find it intriguing that you'd factor in emergency preparedness and/or collapse into your choice of where to live. Few people do that.

[bae]

But my water anxiety is powerful! haha So I would not live in Aruba unless they had a desalination plant that ran on solar, along with back up solar panels, and some solar Mr. Fix-its around to make repairs.

I suspect Aruba does not have the infrastructure or natural resources to manufacture solar panels (or solar charge controllers, or batteries, or ...) from on-island materials and labor, so you're always going to be vulnerable....

[bae]

http://www.simplelivingforum.net/showthread.php?1349-Where-does-*your*-water-come-from

[Ultralight]

I suspect Aruba does not have the infrastructure or natural resources to manufacture solar panels (or solar charge controllers, or batteries, or ...) from on-island materials and labor, so you're always going to be vulnerable....

I know... I know...

:(

[bae]

Now this is interesting! :)

I find it intriguing that you'd factor in emergency preparedness and/or collapse into your choice of where to live. Few people do that.

I even drew probability patterns of the drift from Mt. Baker and some of the other local volcanoes and similar threats (zombies from Microsoft) to pick a suitable location :-)

[Ultralight]

What got you interested in this so much that you'd go to these lengths?

I think the average American just thinks: "Got some fast food joints, some shopping areas, and a suburb and I am all set."

[bae]

What got you interested in this so much that you'd go to these lengths?


I'm a nerd. This effort didn't strike either my wife or I as going to any great lengths :-)

We had just had our first child, and were looking for a place to relocate to raise her in a more mindful environment - to escape the culture of Silicon Valley. For instance, I took my Family & Medical Leave Act time after her birth (which required threats of litigation, as I was male...), and noticed that nearly every child I encountered at the park in my lovely neighborhood was accompanied by a nanny or au pair, and not parents...

We set out a whole list of requirements as to climate, terrain, culture, security, cost of living, ..., then went on a search worldwide to find just the right sort of small-village environment we wanted, which ended us up here. Some of the requirements included the resiliency of the community when faced with supply disruptions, climate change, natural disasters, manmade disasters, economic disruptions, and zombies.

The day we arrived on this island to investigate it, the ferry from the mainland malfunctioned, and destroyed the ferry dock, interrupting regular ferry service for many weeks. We were sort of trapped for about a month here. The positive and resourceful reaction of the community to this disaster (striking during the tail-end of the main economic season for the island, ~50 businesses folded later in the year...) convinced us that these were good folks to be around. We bought a house during this period, went back to CA to pack up our house there, and were living here full time a month or so later.

[Ultralight]

What do people on your island do for a living? For instance, in Columbus, OH most people work for the government (state, city, county, or university). What about your island's main line of work?

[bae]

What do people on your island do for a living? For instance, in Columbus, OH most people work for the government (state, city, county, or university). What about your island's main line of work?

It's a wacky economy. Most people work at 4-5 different jobs throughout the year.

We have a very strong seasonal tourist economy, but it only runs for ~10 weeks a year. During this time the population here doubles-to-triples, and we receive lots of visitors from around the world. This is the boom time for most folks who live here - running eco-tours, working in restaurants or the lodging industry, selling gear/supplies to tourists, ....

About 1/2 the homes on the island are only occupied during the high season. There's a good supply of jobs doing maintenance/upkeep on them on and off-season. There's also a solid real estate industry, and construction industry for new/remodeled homes, but those are very tied to the state of the real-world economy - when the national economy is down, building/real estate drop off a cliff here, and don't come back for about a year after the mainstream economy recovers.

There are a small number of farming/fishing/logging jobs here.

Our top (by number of employees) full-time year-round employers are the county (public works/roads primarily), the school system, and the electrical power cooperative.

[Ultralight]

Ah, I see.