Many people seem to think that going/fleeing/refuging to the countryside will get them into safety. They are however very illusionistic. Many aspects they have thought about can become fatal.

Here i just pick out 1 aspect: physical security. My conclusion os that you can only attain that when you have a suitable, defendable structure and a residential (eg. living & working there) of between 20-50 people.

How so? Well, when the power-grid goes down, the country gets bombed then the cities and suburbs are the first to fall, gangs are formed and grouped and then the objects of interest get looted - forget police, army and anything electronic - all will fail and disappear. When there is not much more to find there, the neighbouring countryside will be harvested. And then the gangs will start roaming to further countryside.

Mix into this equation any awaked sleeper cells, targeted destruction of countryside (infra)structure to enforce the populations into cities, then you'll see that the romantic countryside has become an equal hell-hole. See developments on another continent where looting, expropriation and massacres go hand-in-hand.

Ancient Borg, notice the moat as part of the defence structure

A domain needs physical and natural defence structures, and everyone needs to be trained in handling defence tools. A round-the-clock guard and signalling system is paramount. A group of similar organised estates can proof very helpful. Yet, merely guarding and observation already needs a 24/7, shift-like organisation. We are actually thinking about the times of the ancient Borges, that arose after the Fall of the Roman Empire.