If your family are builders, why wouldn't they be interested in alternative building technologies? After you build your house, maybe they will see the value of it and add that knowledge to what they do now. It might decrease the cost of alternative homes for the un-handy among us.
We are also planning on moving (from Southern California- hot, dry and crowded) and although we want a family "compound", the relatives at this point do not want to chip in financially. That is kind of you to want to help with the family bug-out. For us, trying to buy a place that will welcome the relatives in the future is challenging.
Your decision is harder in light of the fact that we do not know what the future holds- will Winnipeg get colder, dryer, wetter? It sounds like you would be wise to move to higher drier ground if you question the infrastructure. The plains in the States have been hard-hit by massive flooding in the last few years, beyond what anyone expected.
The other issue you have is the emotional one of the impact of leaving the family. Is anyone willing to relocate with you? Maybe a brother or two if you have them-
Shannon
), an IT job that can be done remotely, and no debts or liabilities tying me down to any particular place. I've been mulling over this decision to move, specifically to British Columbia, for a couple of years now. The future is unknowable, and I've come to realize that remaining flexible will make adaptation that much easier. Within the framework of staying fluid, all I need to decide for myself is what I want from life over the short term and to go for it. In the immortal words of Gandalf the Gray: "All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you."
The big question running through my mind at this point is where I should settle down for the next ten to twenty years. I put a time limit in place because it could be that the climate will have changed so much by then that I may be forced to move regardless of where I am. I currently live with the majority of family in Winnipeg, MB, which is smack dab in the middle of a massive flood plain fed by the Red River and Assiniboine River basins. The city has a floodway built around its boundary, much like a moat, that helps to mitigate the damage of all but the worst floods. My concern is how well that infratstructure will hold up over the coming decades. There is also the small matter of the bitterly cold winters we get. I think that could be mostly mitigated by building a home suitable to the climate; that would most likely require living outside the city limits due to unconventional housing being frowned upon by most people. I can only imagine how my family, who are home builders by trade, would react to my wanting to build a sod-house half-buried in the ground!
I love my family dearly, and would like to stay close to them during the difficult times, but I am not against moving to a more suitable location to ride out the decline. I've been thinking that if I can establish myself in another region, it will give my family an option to bug out of Winnipeg if things really do get bad there. They could come join me where I'd already have a community established, and as we all know, a solid community is key to doing well.
Has anyone any personal experiences or opinions to share on the matter of relocation?
Tim