Americans have disasters on the brain \u2014 some real threats, and some imaginary.<\/p>\n
For instance, more than one in 10 believe we\u2019ll eventually experience a zombie apocalypse, according to a 2025 survey of 1,000 Americans by Barter Insurance (1).<\/p>\n
Whether or not the prospect of a zombie apocalypse terrifies you, there are other pressing concerns, like \u201cunequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate,\u201d according to NASA (2). About one-third (35%) of adults worry about climate change weekly, according to the American Psychiatric Association (3).<\/p>\n
And nearly half (46%) of Americans are worried that the U.S. could enter a nuclear war in the next decade, according to a YouGov poll (4).<\/p>\n
And if you\u2019re wondering just how extreme their catastrophe thinking gets: Just a few years ago, four in 10 Americans told Pew Research they believed we\u2019re \u201cliving in the end times\u201d (5).<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s zombies, climate change or nuclear annihilation that keeps you awake at night, modern threats are driving recent interest in bomb shelters \u2014 a trend that\u2019s expected to grow until at least 2030, according to the market research firm Blueweave Consulting (6).<\/p>\n
If that describes you, then you might be interested in a recently listed Arizona property.<\/p>\n
Described as a \u201ccrown jewel\u201d on Realtor.com, the property \u2014 on a hill overlooking the historic mining town of Bisbee, minutes from the U.S.\/Mexico border \u2014 is actually a former gold mining bunker.<\/p>\n
While it may be a little rustic (it lacks a kitchen, bathroom, or running water), it can be hooked up to town water, electricity and sewer service, leaving the cave dwelling ripe for development. . The listing envisions the bunker as a wine cellar to a \u201cmajestic castle,\u201d an entire mini home or a \u201cbasecamp for outdoor enthusiasts\u201d (7). Or, of course, it could also serve as a bunker. It\u2019s also the centerpiece for 10 contiguous lots, six of which are leveled homesites, so the property could also anchor a gated community (8).<\/p>\n
Living in a cave isn\u2019t as unusual as it might sound: Humans have lived in caves since prehistoric times, and still do in some parts of the world. For example, in Guiadix, Spain, 4,500 people live in caves. \u201cIt\u2019s a good place to sleep: cool in the summer and warm in the winter,\u201d cave dweller Maria Carmen Lopez recently told German news station DW (9).<\/p>\n
Not only do caves help protect residents from rising temperatures, they help fight climate change as well. They \u201cconsume much less energy, there\u2019s no need for air conditioning or heating,\u201d cave builder Jorge Herrero told DW.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn future, caves will become more attractive, as they have a direct impact on the fight against climate change. There is no concrete here, no steel beams. No energy-intensive materials are used at all,\u201d adds architect Juan Calandria Hernandez (9).<\/p>\n
Read More: The average net worth of Americans is a surprising $620,654. But it almost means nothing. Here\u2019s the number that counts (and how to make it skyrocket)<\/strong><\/p>\n New ways of living could prove important in the U.S., as American real estate is facing a \u201c$1.4 trillion potential reduction in unadjusted real estate value over the next 30 years due to climate-related risks,\u201d according to a study by climate risk financial modeling firm First Street (10).<\/p>\n Already, climate change is routinely pushing insured property losses caused by weather catastrophes to more than $100 billion per year, according to data from the Insurance Information Institute (11).<\/p>\n An increase in wildfires, flooding and severe storms is driving up insurance premiums and even creating insurance deserts, where homeowners insurance is unavailable or prohibitively expensive (12).<\/p>\n Cave living, as odd as it may sound, could potentially protect homeowners from many of these risks and expenses.<\/p>\n As an added bonus, the Bisbee gold mining bunker is listed at $247,000, well below the December 2025 median list price for a U.S. house of $399,950 (13). Admittedly, it needs some work, but its lower price could help combat the current and real threat of the housing affordability crisis in America.<\/p>\n If price isn\u2019t an issue, you might consider a more luxurious cave home. They do show up for sale occasionally, including a 5,802-square-foot home with three bedrooms, four bathrooms and a stunning view, also near Bisbee. It was listed for sale about five years ago for $998,500, but didn\u2019t sell, and is not currently on the market (14).<\/p>\n If you\u2019re concerned about affordability and looking to protect your home from climate change \u2014 but aren\u2019t interested in living in a cave \u2014 you might want to consider relocating to the Rust Belt (15) or the Great Lakes Region (16), which have a lower risk of wildfire and are sheltered from hurricanes and sea level rise. They also have some of the lowest median home prices in the country (17).<\/p>\n Affordability has always been a factor in where people choose to live, but in recent years climate change has also become a pressing concern. In the face of these two challenges, some Americans may want to consider creative solutions for the homes we live in \u2014 though there\u2019s no guarantee they\u2019ll protect you from a zombie apocalypse.<\/p>\n Enjoyed this story? ClickFollow<\/strong> above for more. To get our best content and exclusive interviews first, join 250,000+ readers who subscribe to our weekly newsletter.<\/p>\n We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.<\/em><\/p>\n Barter Insurance (1); NASA (2); American Psychiatric Association (3); YouGov (4); Pew Research (5); Blueweave Consulting (6); Realtor (7); Realtor (8); DW (9); First Street (10); Insurance Information Institute (11); World Economic Forum (12); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (13); Realtor (14); Virginia Politics (15); The Atlantic (16); World Population Review (17)<\/p>\n This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Americans have disasters on the brain \u2014 some real threats, and some imaginary. For instance, more than one in 10 believe we\u2019ll eventually experience a zombie apocalypse, according […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Affordable, climate-resilient housing options<\/h2>\n
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