The Reliance School

500 Words / 2 min. Read

As the climate crisis hits closer to home with each passing year, you might be wondering if there’s a safe haven out there;¹ someplace that’s isolated or protected from worst-case scenarios. If you're asking this question in 2024, consider yourself ahead of the curve; generally speaking, Americans are still moving to risk-prone areas in droves.^2,3,4‍

But it's only a matter of time before those trends reverse, and as disasters pile up (and as insurers pull out in response), large swaths of the country may become unlivable within our lifetime.⁵ We all want to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe from harm. So how can we identify which parts of America are best-placed to weather the storm?

To start, we need to acknowledge that no region or city will be left untouched.⁶ Even if we manage to dodge heat waves, rising tides, and natural disasters, we can’t escape their effects on our society.⁷ That’s why we advocate for a holistic approach to this crisis; location is one factor, but so is personal resilience, preparedness, self-sufficiency, and community.

At the same time, it’s clear that some parts of the country will fare better than others.⁸ We can’t eliminate risk, but we can mitigate it by choosing a location that's not in the path of climate-fueled disasters, has access to key natural resources, and is both socially and economically resilient.

Unfortunately, most of the "top 10" lists out there aren't grounded in any real research, models, or climate projections. Several top results recommend cities such as New York,⁹ Orlando,¹⁰ Knoxville,¹¹ Salt Lake City,¹² Albuquerque,¹³ and Las Vegas,¹⁴ all of which are facing severe climate threats over the coming decades. We hope that no one’s basing a decision of this magnitude on a single news article, but even so, many of these pieces may be doing more harm than good.

Since this could very well be a matter of life and death, we wanted to create a resource that was current, comprehensive, and up-to-date with the latest climate research and projections. After years of work compiling datasets and comparing areas across the nation, we created Where to Live: America, our guide to the 10 regions and 25 cities that are best-placed to survive the coming decades.

But if you’d rather run the numbers yourself, you’re in the right place. To start, we've collected over 40 maps of climate risk which you can access for free here. And in this 4-part series, we’re going to give you a set of principles that you can use to eliminate high-risk areas, narrow down your options, and ultimately find a safer town or city to call home.

So without further ado, here's your formula for finding a climate haven:

A small city in northern latitudes, with abundant water and farmland, and a low risk of natural disasters.

Let's start by breaking down the first part of that statement (a small city). >> Climate Havens, Part 1: Rural or Urban?

Footnotes & References

1. 30% Of Americans Cite Climate Change As A Motivator To Move In 2023 (Samantha Allen, Forbes)
2. More People Are Moving In Than Out of Areas Facing High Risk From Climate Change (Lily Katz, Sebastian Sandoval-Olascoaga, Redfin)
3. Migration to Environmentally Risky Areas: A Consequence of the Pandemic (Sam Khater, Len Kiefer, Ajita Atreya, Freddie Mac)
4. Americans keep moving to where the water isn’t (Bryan Walsh, Vox)
5. Climate Abandonment Areas (Jeremy Porter, First Street Foundation)
6. ‍Ask Umbra: Where should I move to escape climate change? (Eve Andrews, Grist)
7. We’re on the brink of a ‘polycrisis’ – how worried should we be? (Simon Torkington, World Economic Forum)
8. Here’s The Best Place To Move If You’re Worried About Climate Change (Maggie Koerth, FiveThirtyEight)
9. The 20 Best Places to Live For Climate Change (Liz Flynn, Money Inc)
10. Orlando a favorite among best cities to avoid worst climate change impacts. (Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today)
11. The 10 Largest Cities (Relatively) Safe From Climate Change (Stephen Johnson, Lifehacker)
12. Most Climate-Resilient Cities (Amanda Lutz, Architectural Digest)
13. 20 Best Cities for Climate Change (Hippo)
14. The Best Places to Live in the U.S. if You're Concerned About Climate Change (Devon Thorsby, US News)