I don't live in the best neighborhood right now. Lots of "ethnic diversity" here, mostly from south of the border. I used to live in campgrounds, and being "the young guy who runs a handyman service," I would get the late night visits ... "My electricity is out ... my faucet broke ... there's a tarantula in my coach ... I'm locked out ..." So I got into the habit of sleeping in "street clothes" out of convenience for speedy response and minimal effort on my part. If need be, I can wake up, grab my truck keys and blast out the door in 20 seconds dressed well enough to be seen in public without drawing attention to myself.
I keep my exterior doors locked, windows open, but blocked to 4" opening max, bedroom door locked, Glock 27 with LaserMax and two extra magazines at my side, motion sensors on exterior of property and security cameras with IR floods all around, camera monitor and speakers on my nightstand. AUX 12vdc power for the cams, IR floods, audio and DVR, so even a power outage doesn't take out my "eyes and ears."
No one can move within 20 feet of my property line (1/2 acre) without setting off a motion sensor that triggers a gentle tone in my house, just to let me know something is moving around the outer perimeter. I have audio mics around the house exterior, so I can hear someone walking by as the pebbles crunch under the soles of their shoes on the asphalt driveway.
Yeah, I hear the tone for passing dogs and coyotes, cat fights and bums looking for aluminum cans, low-flying owls and such, and I hear the distant Harley getting onto the freeway, buses stopping at the railroad tracks, and teenagers doing burnouts or shaking a spray can getting ready to tag my neighbor's fence, but I get back to sleep easily.
If they only graze the outer perimeter, I barely roll over, but if they penetrate the second band of motion sensors, they trigger the flood lights and a different beeper sounds off, letting me know that they are now within 50 feet of my doors and windows. For THIS sound, I wake up, put my shoes on and grab my essentials.
I've gotten so ordinary outdoor night sounds don't wake me, and I rarely open my eyes to check the cams for the outer perimeter tone unless I hear an unusual noise, but someone would have to be awfully talented and tech savvy to get close to any of my doors or windows without having me wide awake and waiting on the other side already.
I know ... MOVE! Well, what the heck. The home is nice enough, no mortgage, on a hill with a view, pool, and I've done so much to get everything just so ... landscaping, drip irrigation, Computer room, LAN network everywhere, custom solar pool heater, ceiling fans, wall safes, 240vac service for my welder, industrial shelving in the garage, etc. ... I'd hate to have to pack up and do all of this again!
