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Thanks. I've had a look at tether and it looks like its web based. Is there a desktop wallet I can use where I control my own keys? If not, it's no different from leaving cash on an exchange

You can consider Sovereign Hero from Bitshares, but it has only a few months' history. It is supposed to appreciate 5%/year against the $ though. I will be using a combination: mostly Tether, some Hero, some CDN $ on QuadrigaCX, which I consider to be relatively trustworthy (call me foolish?). If someone has a better Tether solution, I would be interested in hearing it too. I have seen commentary on reddit saying that you can use a BTC wallet, but it was too advanced for me. I also have a little tied up in ICOs where I kind of feel like I am sitting it out till they go live (Tezos, MOdum). Finally, someone mentioned Dash, and it really held up well during the last correction.

If I can't withdraw tether to a wallet which I control, it's no better than leaving cash on an exchange. I have no issue with using an exchange and withdrawing but if the bear market turns out to be a year long, like the one a few years ago, I'm not prepared to leave large amounts of cash on an exchange. If I withdraw I get hammered for tax. Iam better off staying invested and riding it down and back up.

I"m not a fan of Tether as it is not 1:1 with USD. But, then, it could go >1:1 to USD with massive demand for safety. This is also why I dont' use Poloniex so much.