Is there any Furniture that you'd recommend for hiding #10 Cans of Freeze Dried Food & Water?

This is true.
It sounds as tho he's barely getting by as it is ,, I'd grab a map and start looking for , and researching for other areas to live ,, I can guarantee there's cheaper rent outside of California.
Make a move Ed ,,, you got a car ?? , pack your stuff ,, put it in your car ,, gas it up ,,, hit the road,,, run out a tank of gas ,, stop there and find a quick job for a week or 2 ,, then move on again ,, till ya find somewhere you like. Construction jobs ,, temporary manual labor can be had pretty easy,, they're always looking for help.

 

He says he doesn’t know how to drive. Maybe this is a skill he can pick up as priority number 1.

 

Really !!!
Well ,, it sounds like he's held a sheltered life ,, if that's the case ,, he's done for if the world goes to shit anyway .
Time to step out , and up , Ed ,,, ain't nobody gonna help you , but you . Nows your chance .

 

I've had a sheltered life by decisions I've made for myself. My middle class parents basically stopped supporting me when I got my Columbia U. MBA and then I was on my own. I know you won't feel for me but I went to school with some really rich kids whose parents supported them all the way. What I'm trying to get at is I managed on my own accord to live in cities where mass transportation was great, I had secure decent paying jobs with the Federal Government, I lived comfortably and had friends and attractive girlfriends and had it relatively easy but that was by my design. No one did that for me. Sorry, I wouldn't trade that life, for roughing it out in the outoors, etc. You guys might, each to ther own. But yeah, you're better equipped to survive if TEOTWAWKI happens. At least one thing I have over my fellow sheltered community is an awareness and ability to make good situational decisions and an ability to delegate.

 

Not to be a jerk (much) but living in LA, in an apartment, with no means of getting out of dodge (no car) trying to protect 2 years worth of supplies in 1 location does not scream good situational decisions for long term survival.

 

Don't take the " sheltered life" statement as an attack on you or your way of life ,, it was just an observation on my part ,, right or wrong.
Just in my opinion,, if you're worried about these scenarios,, is in a way , a good thing ,, it shows your thinking ahead ,, now you just need to move ahead ,, start experiencing, exploring some ,, outside of the comfort zone you've been acustomed to.
Just a thought .

 

"Ability to delegate " will do you no good at all. Awareness is good.
Its not like I've been out rubbing sticks with Bigfoot on the roughing it. I just know how to garden and preserve food which includes killing and processing meat. When in a city or 15 minute camp you know how to navigate well were as i would be lost and disrupted. You have strengths, just add to them.

 

I was planning on taking First Aid Classes when Covid Hit and that put an end to that but as you guys said I do need to add a skill other than decision making and delegating in an urban environment & I'll get off my ass in the next few months and see if I can sign up for some first aid courses. Right now the problem isn't how can I be of use to survival groups but where the hell do I fInd them in middle class Los Angeles,lol, that aren't part of the lunaticc fringe! I did try to run some ads on Craigslist and the like but I guess perspective members didn't like it when I said all group members would be vetted. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

 

Yes. that's the problem.

 

Yeah, Learning First Aid is on my to do list.

 

If you are committed to an urban life perhaps go for something safer than LA? I get that you are currently doing some music, but there are other places you can do that. Nashville, perhaps. It's not all CW there by a long shot.

But if you are stuck to LA, then the best you can do is the best you can do. Perhaps prepare for temporary riots realizing and accepting that long term survival is not going to happen?

Some possibilities here I'm going to investigate as a suburban prepper
https://www.youtube.com/@TheUrbanPrepper
also here
The Urban Prepper | Prepping.com

 

Sorry mate. I am not trying to be a prick however the urban sprawl will be ground zero for every horror story you can imagine if there is widespread civil unrest. You only have to go back to the 90s and at the former Yugoslavia and how whole local populations turned on each other in the most horrendous ways. I live in Sydney (largest city here in Aus) because of work. I grew up in the bush and will return there in the next few years.

If you want to see what your apartment building/local suburb will look like if things ever go to hell go watch a good documentary on prison (specifically the “politics” and structure of the yards and who controls what). This is human nature devolved into its most primal (short of society collapsing). If you don’t think you wield the strength to control a yard in a maximum security prison your powers of delegation are next to useless.

First Aid is a good start. Genuinely if you can’t actually drive, go learn NOW. You don’t need to even buy a car or motorcycle but being able to operate one well may be the difference between living and dying. Also learn to drive a manual transmission vehicle. Many can’t so those vehicles may get passed over.

I have spent a good bit of time in LA and NYC. Those places will be horrendously bad !!! NYC maybe worse.