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Fleeing the Farms and Forests to Live in a Delightful Dystopia

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posted on Feb, 15 2015 @ 12:40 PM
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My thesis: There is a subtle message being conveyed to everyone (at least where I live) which seems to say "It's really a lot easier and more convenient to just go live in the city.." and i happen to entirely disagree with this notion.

People flock to the cities to pay upwards of $1500 A MONTH to live in a studio apartment.. Traffic is overwhelming and requires leaving an hour or two ahead of time just to get across town (it took me 45minutes to cover 5miles and get home)..
something isn't right here.

Just to give some context:

as I have said in other threads, I currently live in western Washington, about an hour outside of Seattle, near Redmond (the capital of Microsoft etc).. I used to live in the woods on a 10acre property that I shared with some outdoors-y hippie folk, and now I live with my girlfriend just outside of Redmond. It's not as deep in "the woods" as i used to be, but it is still rather rural in comparison to the cities and suburbs around here.

my point is that I have lived in "the woods" (in one form or another) for about 12 years now, and so I tend to see the changes in the attitudes of people in the cities.

here's some cognitive dissonance that has been a bit rampant lately:

-the idea that if you don't live in a major suburb, you can't get a connection to cable or DSL internet.. you have to get a data plan. I live 10minutes outside of the capital of MICROSOFT and yet we have to pay around $50 dollars a month (on my iPad) for internet just so my girlfriend can do her online classes for college.. this is DATA we're talking about here.. how is nobody keeping these companies in check?? I know we're not the only people who are in this situation, and yet i hear nothing about it. Online or otherwise.. How is this the case???

-the idea that rush "hour" has become an occasion which is now "celebrated" between 3:00pm and 6:30-ish.. and everyone seems to be thinking that this is perfectly fine. I mean, I literally never hear people complaining about it, outside of friends and family. nothing on the news. Nothing from the "small talkers" who love to talk Seahawks and The Weather.. People seem to just be getting used to the idea that their time and gas couldn't be spent in any other way, but to drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic every day.. and it just gets worse as the years go by. with no solution in sight.

-the idea that Public Transportation is something that is really only needed in suburbs and cities, and all those towns on the outskirts can.. figure out things for themselves. Bus routes and stops and have been cut every year for.. many years now. Wouldn't it stand to reason that the people living in towns outside of the cities, would be needing public transit the MOST..?? ..again, nobody seems to think that cutting bus-lines is an unthinkable bunch of crap that deserves some media attention and (dare i say it?) PROTEST?? It's outrageous that NPR and other news services will cover stories like This story where busdrivers in Seattle are wearing diapers due to a lack of restrooms on their routes.., but then something like bus-lines constantly being cut is just.. not really talked about in a way where people feel they can expect change or compromise..

-lastly (but perhaps most interestingly/horrifyingly) Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are all still being celebrated as somehow "saving the economy and job market of Washington".. and i just can't help but shake my head in awe. Sure, this might be a perspective that makes sense if you base you opinion purely on the big cities but if you go to MOST ANYWHERE ELSE IN WASHINGTON, you will see a different picture. People act like Seattle and the Puget Sound make up the entirety of Washington haha.. and it's so far from the case. Try stopping at pretty much any down alongside the I-5 freeway, or go anywhere in eastern Washington and you will find that the "abundance and wealth" which seems evident around Microsoft-ville, really doesn't reflect the whole situation.
not to mention, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon mostly deal in DATA (which is just copies upon copies of code) and really don't produce any "thing" themselves per se.. and we're okay with our economy being based upon that?

How do you think Google and Microsoft can afford to constantly throw such HUGE parties for their employees, so often? hmm.. maybe because their profit margin is ABSURDLY HIGH and MOST of "what they do" consists of maintaining computer servers which push data around... electrons move through the wires and.. checks are written. Keep the employees good and distracted (and feeling slightly guilty for such "good treatment" without an occasion) and hopefully nobody will think about trying to criticize the BIG picture..

all-in-all, i am curious what you folks make of this situation, especially if you live here or know someone who does. Things are getting out of hand (ESPECIALLY with the traffic) and i don't see any solutions in sight. It's a shame because i love living out here, but it seems like everyone is being brainwashed into thinking they should move into a small apartment, buy a huge TV, get a job at Microsoft, watch the Seahawks, and die.

I'd like to think that there are alternatives





posted on Feb, 15 2015 @ 12:49 PM
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a reply to: HyphenSt1

Speechless. I deal with city people everyday and they accept the inefficiency and cramped, smelly conditions as a way of life, because they really can't fathom anything else. NYers think the city is all that. They're just pushing people into these cities so they can "restore the wilderness".

I prefer the country. The animals I see/hear everyday are preferable to the chatter and endless noise of the city. The only thing rushing up here is the wind. S + F



posted on Feb, 15 2015 @ 01:15 PM
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a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

I'm there with ya!

I've known a few people who have moved TO the city, after living out in wilderness.. it's very weird to watch. They grow up in "the country" thinking that they need to go and move to L.A. or Seattle before they can really "live life".. but even if they don't end up moving back, they tend to at least just... stagnate. I definitely haven't seen anyone begin to THRIVE after moving into a city.

People wonder why they feel "stressed out" and why they "don't ever have enough time".. but i think the answers are right in front of them. Doing monotonous tasks all day, then dealing with constant traffic, advertisements, and news radio.. it's kinda surprising to me that more people don't entirely lose their minds in public.

I think a lot of people have been taught their whole lives to blame such feelings on themselves and think "well, i better toughen up and face the facts", instead of dare to criticize anything..

but i think this ignor-ance of their own feelings and the true nature of the place in which they live, is what has led to a lot of the dis-ease and lameness of our society in general..

that being said however, i know that some people who have grown up in the city, definitely DO thrive and it is possible to hear the "noise" of the city as "music".. You and i might prefer the music of organic nature, but ultimately the cities are not "separate" from Nature.. and perhaps it is this realization which could help our cities acquire a more organic and lucid atmosphere.

-

P.S. Praise "Bob"!



posted on Feb, 15 2015 @ 01:35 PM
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Shhh. Don't be spreading rumors like that. Those city slickers might come out into the country and make it hell out here, passing rules that you cannot pee on a tree or start a little campfire in the back yard to cook some hotdogs. All those carcinogens in the smoke might cause them to get cancer so they will pass laws that only gas grills can be used with special filters. Yet they live in a smoggy city now and don't complain.



posted on Feb, 15 2015 @ 01:43 PM
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a reply to: HyphenSt1

Agreed 100%. All I have to say


I know the city folks love to dictate what country people do with their lives. I live in tourist central, NY state and it's slowly becoming more expensive and "convenient". All for the weekenders/tourists who come up for 5 months out of a year to trash the woods, taunt the animals, slow down traffic and make the property rates skyrocket.

As for the rest of the year it's a poor economy but clear roads, quiet and not much littering



posted on Feb, 15 2015 @ 02:17 PM
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I lived in the city and hated it. Now, I live in the mountains and don't go to town unless I really have no choice. I love it.
By the way, I like your avatar. Vincent Price was the man.



posted on Feb, 15 2015 @ 03:46 PM
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It was a culture shock living in the suburbs of Detroit then moving to the woods of west Michigan. It took a year or so, but I even though I disliked the city before, I can't stand it at all now. After close to 20 years living in my swamp and drinking my own well water, the city stinks and the tap water tastes like crap. And the citiots that come up in the summer and treat us "locals" like dirt, tear up the place and get drunk to the gills every weekend, just to try to have a good time are completely pathetic.

I love the fall with the big skys and long shadows, but the lack of weekenders makes it a paradise on earth. Now, all the city folks aren't that bad, but they are pretty messed up like I was at one time when I'd come here on weekends and burn through a bunch of ammo and generally go crazy in the woods.

Mother nature taught me many lessons after living out here and many of my citiot misconceptions have vanished in the face of the real world outside of the city.



posted on Feb, 15 2015 @ 03:52 PM
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Cities are like giant corrals. Make it as easy as possible for people. Convenient stores, grocery stores, public transportation, public utilities, internet, so forth. You can insert all the comforts you'd like. Then, one day when it suites TPTB, the noose will tighten. Controls will be introduced on what goes in and out of a city. Then the city will go from a corral to a cage.

It's much simpler to control urban areas than rural areas.

It's all about control.



posted on Feb, 15 2015 @ 07:41 PM
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originally posted by: HyphenSt1
"It's really a lot easier and more convenient to just go live in the city.."





Many of social issues in small towners are caused by lack of space and lack of change within the social environment. Moving to the big city may not be the prime way to solve social issues in a general sense but moving in general to any other location would "freshen things up" psychologically for anyone. Nobody wants to live a stale homogenized life. We've evolved to welcome change and adapt well to new situations. Trading new friends for old friends works well too.



posted on Feb, 15 2015 @ 07:57 PM
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I moved out of the city a year and half ago and it is a breath of fresh air ...where i am the water is cleaner,the air is cleaner,hell i can hear the rain coming in the distance there is so little going on,the local small town shuts down at 8pm on a friday and saturday night.....first time i saw that i just thought to myself "i could get used to this"

There is not enough money in the world to get me back into the cramped angry fast paced city.....and my son who turns 5 shortly has a much better prospect being brought up here,the people are friendly and there is a real community ....everything is better ....



posted on Feb, 15 2015 @ 09:48 PM
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I used to live in the SeaTac area.

Traffic sucks. People were flaky. Then I moved to DC. Same s***, different coast.

I will stick with my Midwest thank you very much. Can't see another house from my place. Just the way I like it.



posted on Feb, 15 2015 @ 10:51 PM
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originally posted by: MichiganSwampBuck
It was a culture shock living in the suburbs of Detroit then moving to the woods of west Michigan. It took a year or so, but I even though I disliked the city before, I can't stand it at all now. After close to 20 years living in my swamp and drinking my own well water, the city stinks and the tap water tastes like crap. And the citiots that come up in the summer and treat us "locals" like dirt, tear up the place and get drunk to the gills every weekend, just to try to have a good time are completely pathetic.

I love the fall with the big skys and long shadows, but the lack of weekenders makes it a paradise on earth. Now, all the city folks aren't that bad, but they are pretty messed up like I was at one time when I'd come here on weekends and burn through a bunch of ammo and generally go crazy in the woods.

Mother nature taught me many lessons after living out here and many of my citiot misconceptions have vanished in the face of the real world outside of the city.


I wish I didn't wait so long to move out of Detroit. I will never go back to living in a city, not even a suburb of one. No one around to call the law for petty # out here in the sticks. The police don't mess with us and sometimes stop to chat. The well water here is great. We can have bonfires to clear the brush without a problem. The neighbors are few and far in between. They are mostly nice people who are pleasant to talk with. I hear more gun shots around here than the big city of Detroit. The thing about that is it's not fired in crimes. You have to love that. I did my time in a few cities and will not miss them (wave). The trade off is well worth it. The rat race is over!!!

Too many people increase the odds of many things. Traffic jams, pollution, and crime to name a few.



posted on Feb, 16 2015 @ 01:32 PM
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People flock to the cities to pay upwards of $1500 A MONTH to live in a studio apartment..


I pay $275 a month rent and live in my motor home.

That is something you can not do in many cities

I have not lived in a city since 1972 when i was in the navy living in long beach calif.

I am looking for a rural place where someone will let me live on there property.(caretaker or security)

I have no problems shooting criminals that is why i will never live in the city again its hard to get rid of bodies in cities.

but its easy to find a place out here in the country.



posted on Feb, 16 2015 @ 01:53 PM
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a reply to: HyphenSt1

I'd poop in the high street at rush hour before I would consider that my only option to attend the call of nature was to wear a DIAPER.


So wrong on so many levels...

Journalist sensationalism?







 
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