You wake up and you're the only one alive. What do you do?

[Laggartha]

I've just started watching I Think We're Alone Now and this is the premise. I'm only 8 minutes in and we've just seen how our hero spends his time.

I think it's a fascinating idea so I had to pause it to consider what I would do. What would you do?

Besides the general devastation of course!

I'd arm up just incase it wAs a zombie apocalypse then id probably kill myself after a month.

Get armed to the teeth and get on my walking clothes. Probably have to pinch a motorbike (to dodge strewn cars on the roads) and ride to the warmest place in the UK (Sussex? dunno.) I could live for many years raiding houses for tinned foods.

AndIQuote extremely good point about strewn abandoned vehicles blocking roads.
ivy a mini haha - interesting and effective.

What keeps preying on my mind as I plan for this is that I would never believe I was alone (despite ops premise telling me so). Weapons needed anyway for roaming animals but I would love in hope and fear of ‘others’. Really don’t think I would ever lose that fear.

I have spent a ridiculous amount of time thinking about this topic all week. I even watched a documentary last night called Life Off Grid on Amazon prime which followed loads of Canadians living off grid. Even if I managed to somehow find a house that was functioning off grid - actually trying to figure out how to use their water , solar powered, wind powered systems etc before the internet went down would be slim. All of the peoples systems were different and seemed really complicated and they had developed them over many years through trial and error. In reality I think I’d need to find a newly built well insulated modern house that would keep me warm and that wouldn’t deteriorate over time or require loads of maintenance, of which I have no clue. Alternatively I’d have to find an older mansion type house with lots of open fireplaces that I could light fires in for heat and for cooking.
So I think as soon as my new reality dawned on me gathering as many matches and lighters, fire lighters, bags of coal, kindling etc from various shops would also be a top priority. Also filling a truck with as many bottles of water as possible and store them on my property, because venturing into shops after a while could become too dangerous with wild animals roaming around.
Also I think the reality of going on long journeys around the country discovering different places could in fact become very dangerous. What if your vehicle broke down and all of a sudden you are stranded hours and hours away in the middle of nowhere from your base?

@Ursy1

I have spent a ridiculous amount of time thinking about this topic all week. I even watched a documentary last night called Life Off Grid on Amazon prime which followed loads of Canadians living off grid. Even if I managed to somehow find a house that was functioning off grid - actually trying to figure out how to use their water , solar powered, wind powered systems etc before the internet went down would be slim. All of the peoples systems were different and seemed really complicated and they had developed them over many years through trial and error. In reality I think I’d need to find a newly built well insulated modern house that would keep me warm and that wouldn’t deteriorate over time or require loads of maintenance, of which I have no clue. Alternatively I’d have to find an older mansion type house with lots of open fireplaces that I could light fires in for heat and for cooking. So I think as soon as my new reality dawned on me gathering as many matches and lighters, fire lighters, bags of coal, kindling etc from various shops would also be a top priority. Also filling a truck with as many bottles of water as possible and store them on my property, because venturing into shops after a while could become too dangerous with wild animals roaming around. Also I think the reality of going on long journeys around the country discovering different places could in fact become very dangerous. What if your vehicle broke down and all of a sudden you are stranded hours and hours away in the middle of nowhere from your base?

Horse. Or a few horses. They break down much less often.

HeronLanyon* Motorbike or bike would be much easy to move round upon

In the space of five days I have gone from -
Jaunt through tunnel to sunny beach cove somewhere in Greece or south of France if I can’t face the alps/Pyrenees journey. Probably driving e type jag (seen a beauty at auction currently for 95k and many far higher. so irl is unlikely!).
To -
Hiked up inside moated U.K. property with drawbridge up and weapons at the ready. Using bike with some kind of delivery trolley attached for fearful forays through rat infested (and where are all of the bodies) wild dog pack riddled blocked roads to a shop full of vermin to try to scavenge some baked beans.
Hmmm

I love that people are still musing on this a week later. I keep thinking about it too, like it’s actually a possibility I need to consider

Oh yes I’m still musing too. I’ve got a whole plan laid out in my head!

I’ve always had a fondness for planning and imagining scenarios and of course we’ve had years of brexit related thoughts - however minor our sticking up may have been - and now a year of having to adapt our whole lives to an unexpected event. Seems to have encouraged my musings on things like this !
Oh for the days when I fantasised about how to deal with a massive lottery win rather than dead bodies in cars eh ?

Apols that was a bit grim. Unintended.

Heron don’t worry

I’ll admit I sometimes conjure up the variables of a virus that would be the worst (long asymptomatic period, high R, high mortality). Could spread them bam

Too much? I think there’s a game that simulates it but I don’t play it, Ds and I talked about it at beginning of all this.

Toilets! I was thinking about it and realised the water would go off so I would need a pit loo.
Then I realised I probably couldn’t dig a deep enough hole myself to make a proper one so maybe a series of shallow ones round the garden? Which seemed a bit grim. Chamber pot in house then empty in the garden? Then I started worrying about all the farm animals starving to death and the cows left unmilked and dying of mastitis. And then the animals trapped in zoos. Can we have an ‘all humans AND trapped or tricky to care for wild and domestic animals have vanished scenario’?

Composting toilet, easy. Raid pet shops/equine/farm supply stores for woodshavings. Results can be used on garden after a few years.

Off the back of this thread I ordered a second hand copy of “Remnant Population” by Elizabeth Moon and have enjoyed the first few chapters this morning. Thanks!

Setting up one composting toilet should be fine.

I'd live at The Ritz and shop in Harrods.

I’d say move to a remote beautiful island but I’d obviously have no way of getting there.
So a book on gardening so I could eat going forward as no new supplies and then I have no idea.

“Can we have an ‘all humans AND trapped or tricky to care for wild and domestic animals have vanished scenario’?”

Good idea!

One person isn’t going to need a composting toilet......there’s no one to be bothered by the smell!

@Myneighboursdomyheadin

“Can we have an ‘all humans AND trapped or tricky to care for wild and domestic animals have vanished scenario’?”

Good idea!

One person isn’t going to need a composting toilet......there’s no one to be bothered by the smell!

myneighbour I need this very badly to stop what should be a diverting musing becoming fraught with awful scenarios (as if everyone dying isn’t awful ).

@Cathpot

Toilets! I was thinking about it and realised the water would go off so I would need a pit loo. Then I realised I probably couldn’t dig a deep enough hole myself to make a proper one so maybe a series of shallow ones round the garden? Which seemed a bit grim. Chamber pot in house then empty in the garden? Then I started worrying about all the farm animals starving to death and the cows left unmilked and dying of mastitis. And then the animals trapped in zoos. Can we have an ‘all humans AND trapped or tricky to care for wild and domestic animals have vanished scenario’?

My first thought was "Why would water go off? " Then I realised you meant the mains supply would fail.

I really wasn't joking about my bore hole. I only use it to water the garden, but it is perfectly drinkable (it's been tested) and would certainly flush the loos.

I hesitate to say this as peak mumsnet etc but we also have a well in the garden (unexpected discovery when we bought the house) however the pump and the treatment bits and bobs we put in to make it drinkable and bring it to the house are all powered by electricity. Plus the chemicals would need refreshing. However I could haul water up by hand and boil it so there is that. I hadn’t thought of the sawdust in the outside compost loo option so I can stop worrying about that. Which is a relief as I am spending too much time musing on these imaginary problems.
I live next to an industrial estate with a plastics works so I was thinking about LOTS of guttering and water butts for collecting water - maybe some camping shower bags etc . Or old school metal bucket with holes in scenario.

I’m with @Bvop, comfy underwear first!

So we need a water supply then?

I guess bottled water from supermarkets will only last so long

A bath in peace. Then read lots of books.