City people vs Country people

[RECHRGD]

Most of my old friends live in large cities and are completely immersed in that lifestyle.  After a recent wind storm that took out power in many areas around Portland Oregon, many of my friends took to Facebook to voice there dismay.  In general, the power was out for anywhere from a few hours up to two days.  Listening to their complaints and anger got me to thinking about how unprepared and clueless these people are with regards to simple survival should the electrical grid ever really go down for an extended period of time.  At least most of us living a rural lifestyle have the abilities to keep things going for awhile.  I've had many outages over the years and one that lasted almost three weeks.  We have our own water supply and enough food stored and frozen to last for months.  As long as my gas tanks are full, I run the generators for freezers, lights, TV and other conveniences.  We grow most of our own vegetables and have the ability to hunt game animals if needed.  Granted, if living without power became the norm, most of us would be in the same boat.  But, from the comments I was seeing from my city friends over this minor inconvenience, I think chaos would be the norm after only a few days.

[Sublime/Sixpack]

I think you're right!

[Troy]

There's a lot to it. I have several groups of friends from different areas and sometimes it is astounding how little they know about each others' lifestyles. In general though, regardless of city or country living, the skills to take care of yourself in an emergency (or otherwise) just aren't being taught any more. Not to mention the overwhelming reliance on technology. Once the batteries die it's chaos.

Troy

[RECHRGD]

There's a lot to it. I have several groups of friends from different areas and sometimes it is astounding how little they know about each others' lifestyles. In general though, regardless of city or country living, the skills to take care of yourself in an emergency (or otherwise) just aren't being taught any more. Not to mention the overwhelming reliance on technology. Once the batteries die it's chaos.

Troy

Yes, the reliance on technology has gotten totally out of hand.  So many young people lack basic skills.

[Troy]

It's literally something I think about often. I recycled 250+ programming/IT books a while back. My primary "go to" source for everything (server setup, programming languages, mechanical info, home repair, recipes, cleaning, snake/spider identification, etc.) is Google and I've completely gotten away from books. I do still have the service manuals for my cars but most of that information is quicker to access on my phone. If I ever did lose the internet, all the things I know - but don't do often enough to be proficient - would be lost. It's funny that I have bookmarked some basic survival information that will probably be inaccessible when I need it!

Troy

[Arigmaster]

I remember a time when we had to memorize things as simple as phone numbers, addresses, names of people and businesses. The generations that follow take much of this technology for granted and then when it's time to go to plan "B" there isn't one. Never needed it so why have it? 

No matter how far technology advances... Just keep a plan "B" in mind for the simple day to day, and maybe even a plan "C" for when things get really ugly.

[68X426]

Food riots in the cities by the fifth day of a power outage.

Then again, would a man-bunned millennial snowflake high on weed even have the initiative to get out of mom's house and riot for food?

The cities are dangerous due to the residents' profound lack of awareness and preparedness.

I live in the country on purpose.  Yes I am a cynic about modern city life.

"country boy will survive".

[69DAYTONASE]

This is another reason I hate cities, you are completely reliant on the "system" instead of on yourself. My wife and I have this discussion often about how knowing the "old way" of doing things is vital.
How many people know how to properly can their own food any more? Store your own potatoes? Not many. Or even have brains enough to stockpile "boil" foods that have a long shelf life: oatmeal, pasta, instant potatoes, beans, etc.
We used to have "depression day" when our kid was growing up to teach about basic survival needs, no electricity, no car, no phone, no hot water from the tap, etc. For entertainment we told stories, played board games, did chores together, fished, etc.
Having had grandparents on both sides and parents on my side that lived through the great depression we felt it important to teach our kid how to be self reliant.
My kid was just commenting the other day that we should have a "depression day" and remarking how much fun it was.
Out here in the country we can grow our own food, hunt our own game for meat, chop wood for a fire, and pump our own water out of the ground if need be.
One of the basic critters you need to survive is chickens. If you have those you have a constant source of food with eggs and meat (note to city boys, eat the excess roosters- they're the ones that DONT lay eggs...LOL) and they keep your yard clear of dangerous parasites like ticks which to a chicken are like candy to us, they love 'em!
How's a city boy gonna survive? The only meat in a city once the stores are empty is rats. You city boys can eat rat and I'll enjoy my venison! (venison is deer meat BTW city boy )

[Kern Dog]

I see a clear distinction between city people and country folks. City people tend to be on a certain side of politics where government is thought of as the center of their lives. The Gov't provides help, answers, support and shelter. They only have to wait until the Gov't gets around to their area to start helping. That could take awhile. In the meantime, the country folks are busy helping themselves and their neighbors with food and shelter moments after the disruption. They are often on the opposite side of politics as the city people because they view Government as an obstruction to their lives, not an enhancement of it.

In clearer terms, many city people are clueless and unprepared because they rely on others too much. 

[Tilar]

In clearer terms, many city people are clueless and unprepared because they rely on others too much. 

That's the way I see it. We have generators here on the farm big enough to run our water wells, and if anything happened to that we have a live spring we can get water from... Food isn't an issue. We still have ways to make butter too. I don't mind helping people that need help but if it gets to an "Every man for himself" situation, we have plenty of ammo to keep people out if things go bad. And yes, we view Government as an obstruction to our lives, not an enhancement of it.

[Ponch ®]

Are we talking a short term disruption of services or a full blown apocalyptic event, like when our new russian overlords decide to cash in their chips?

If its the former, you may have a point.

If its the latter, youre just as screwed and simply delaying the inevitable

What are you gonna feed those chickens?  Any grain you may have stored will only last you so long and at some point you may want to eat that grain yoursef.

Youll only be able to hunt for "desireable" food for so long. As more and more of youre neighbors resort to the same thing, the supply will be depleted. I hear possum is tasty if seasoned properly.

Are you gonna be able to pump enough water to irrigate as well as drink?

And this is all assuming everyone in the household is healthy and able enough to carry on those tasks. A broken leg or illnesss and youre screwed - good luck getting medical care.

As supplies run low, you may not be as eager to help your neighbor anymore. Its you and yours or them. And he may not be too happy about that. Now, theyre prolly be like minded country folk wholl do whatever it takes to survive. First target? You.

Lets say you outgun your neighbor. By now, people are fleeing the cities and heading out to the country - looking for isolated targets to loot.  Sure, you have all sorts of firepower, but so will they (hello...gang infested cities?) and youll eventually run out of ammo. Plus, as Sun Tzu said, strength in numbers. Not that i expect any illiterate country folks to get the reference.  But hey, at least youll all be able to keep the family tree going, if vertically.

[Ponch ®]

I see a clear distinction between city people and country folks. City people tend to be on a certain side of politics where government is thought of as the center of their lives. The Gov't provides help, answers, support and shelter. They only have to wait until the Gov't gets around to their area to start helping. That could take awhile. In the meantime, the country folks are busy helping themselves and their neighbors with food and shelter moments after the disruption. They are often on the opposite side of politics as the city people because they view Government as an obstruction to their lives, not an enhancement of it.

In clearer terms, many city people are clueless and unprepared because they rely on others too much.  

Everyone hates the government until they need it.

Jobs disappearing to other parts of the world? Oh the its the government's responsibility to do something about it and bring them back.

Back when gas prices were at $4-5 gal, I remember seeing posts on this very board by a lot of the very same anti government crowd saying how the government needed to do something about those greedy oil companies.

House getting foreclosed? Why isnt the government going after those wall street bankers?

Free markets be damned, komrades!

[Troy]

Are we talking a short term disruption of services or a full blown apocalyptic event, like when our new russian overlords decide to cash in their chips?

If its the former, you may have a point.

If its the latter, youre just as screwed and simply delaying the inevitable

What are you gonna feed those chickens?  Any grain you may have stored will only last you so long and at some point you may want to eat that grain yoursef.

Youll only be able to hunt for "desireable" food for so long. As more and more of youre neighbors resort to the same thing, the supply will be depleted. I hear possum is tasty if seasoned properly.

Are you gonna be able to pump enough water to irrigate as well as drink?

And this is all assuming everyone in the household is healthy and able enough to carry on those tasks. A broken leg or illnesss and youre screwed - good luck getting medical care.

As supplies run low, you may not be as eager to help your neighbor anymore. Its you and yours or them. And he may not be too happy about that. Now, theyre prolly be like minded country folk wholl do whatever it takes to survive. First target? You.

Lets say you outgun your neighbor. By now, people are fleeing the cities and heading out to the country - looking for isolated targets to loot.  Sure, you have all sorts of firepower, but so will they (hello...gang infested cities?) and youll eventually run out of ammo. Plus, as Sun Tzu said, strength in numbers. Not that i expect any illiterate country folks to get the reference.  But hey, at least youll all be able to keep the family tree going, if vertically.

A few points...

We don't need to irrigate much here in Ohio. We didn't convert a desert into farmland...

We have, seemingly, 1,538 deer per person. Rabbits and squirrels outnumber deer 3,000:1. I've caught fish with a bare hook before.

If everyone in the closest city fled to the country we'd still be reasonably sparse.

Chickens eat all sort of things like vegetables, grass, and insects without any human intervention whatsoever.

I shoot about 700 rounds per week now and have a pretty good stockpile so I don't have to buy every week. If I decided to ration ammo for only bad guys it would take me about 20 years to run out. Hopefully I could round up whatever the bad guys were carrying and last a bit longer.

You're assuming country folks wouldn't band together for protection and to share resources.

I grew up in the country, moved to the city, and now I live in the middle. I'm not a survivalist but also get nervous stuck in large crowds. I worked downtown when we had a string of riots. Without transportation, the city dwellers aren't going to make it 25 miles to my place in their Air Jordans.



Troy

[Mike DC]

  

I see a clear distinction between city people and country folks. City people tend to be on a certain side of politics where government is thought of as the center of their lives. The Gov't provides help, answers, support and shelter. They only have to wait until the Gov't gets around to their area to start helping. That could take awhile. In the meantime, the country folks are busy helping themselves and their neighbors with food and shelter moments after the disruption. They are often on the opposite side of politics as the city people because they view Government as an obstruction to their lives, not an enhancement of it.

It's hard to grow your own crops and keep a store of survival supplies when you live in an 800 sq/ft apartment on the 4th floor in a concrete city without a car.   (And this is not a description of an extreme poor ghetto living situation in many cities.  Lots of middle-class people with real jobs are paying thousands of dollars per month for tiny apartments like that.)  

Those dense prosperous coastal cities also tend to be paying a much bigger share of the govt's yearly taxes too.  Some states are effectively carrying others.  If the rural states seceded from the big-city coastal states they would be much poorer when the smoke cleared.  

[69DAYTONASE]

Having a lot of ammo is a necessity! Plus you gotta know how to reload ammo if need be. City boys are mostly afraid of guns because they only see gang bangers using them to commit crimes of all sorts, especially murders. No gun ever pulled its own trigger period! Out here in the country a gun is a necessary tool. Especially when you have eastern coyote and coy dog packs running around you never know when you might have to blow their brains out to keep from getting attacked or protect your family or other critters from getting attacked. Those damn things will kill you if you don't defend yourself! That's why I laugh at these retard politicians from the city that think guns are a political statement! Talk about clueless, most of those retards have never even shot a gun.
Most all people who haven't shot a gun before find out its a lot of fun and change their attitude about guns once they feel that lovely kick after they touch off a round- ear to ear grin most ever time!

[birdsandbees]

Hell, sometimes your girls just want to carve pumpkins..   

Sure keeps the boys guessing... 

[RECHRGD]

 

I see a clear distinction between city people and country folks. City people tend to be on a certain side of politics where government is thought of as the center of their lives. The Gov't provides help, answers, support and shelter. They only have to wait until the Gov't gets around to their area to start helping. That could take awhile. In the meantime, the country folks are busy helping themselves and their neighbors with food and shelter moments after the disruption. They are often on the opposite side of politics as the city people because they view Government as an obstruction to their lives, not an enhancement of it.

It's hard to grow your own crops and keep a store of survival supplies when you live in an 800 sq/ft apartment on the 4th floor in a concrete city without a car.   (And this is not a description of an extreme poor ghetto living situation in many cities.  Lots of middle-class people with real jobs are paying thousands of dollars per month for tiny apartments like that.)  

Those dense prosperous coastal cities also tend to be paying a much bigger share of the govt's yearly taxes too.  Some states are effectively carrying others.  If the rural states seceded from the big-city coastal states they would be much poorer when the smoke cleared.  

My State (Washington) kind of relates to your post.  We really should be East and West Washington.  The state is extremely polarized politically.  Although more taxes are generated from the Seattle area, most of those dollars stay there.  The east side is taxed at the same inflated rates as the west, yet little of it benefits us rural folks.  All the dollars 'required' for the west side rarely solve any of their issues.  Most people on the east side would probably see little difference if we were cut off from the west.  For what it's worth; I used to live in Hawaii and had to adjust to the million dollar 800 sq' condo life.  No thanks!  I'll take the country any day.........

[RallyeMike]

Although more taxes are generated from the Seattle area, most of those dollars stay there.  The east side is taxed at the same inflated rates as the west, yet little of it benefits us rural folks.

This is one of those fables that never dies. The facts, if you choose to believe them, is that in your State it is the City folk who are paying your Country bills: "People in King County contribute nearly 42 percent of the state's tax revenues, yet receive only 25 percent of the money spent from Washington's general fund budget". There's much more if you'd care to read:

Source:

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/King-Co-pays-for-the-rest-of-the-state-is-that-969099.php

"The five counties getting the biggest bang out of their tax bucks were Whitman County, which paid $52.3 million in state taxes in 2007 but got $252 million back, for a ratio of 4.82. Whitman, in the southeastern part of the state, is home to Washington State University. Next is Thurston County, home to the state capital, with an expenses to revenue ratio of 3.17, then Lincoln County (2.54), Ferry (2.40) and Garfield (2.25). Lincoln, Ferry and Garfield are all small counties in Eastern Washington.

No county in Eastern Washington pays more in state general fund taxes than it receives back in expenditures. In the more populous western part of the state, seven counties contribute more than they get in return (Island, Jefferson, King San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom)."

You're welcome you ungrateful bumpkins!  

[BDF]

Hell, sometimes your girls just want to carve pumpkins..   

Sure keeps the boys guessing... 

Those girls have been raised right and are KEEPERS!

[shorty442]

...just finished reloading another 100 rounds out here in the woods on our 5 acres.

but can get to a small town in around 10 minutes in most any direction, when desired.

also lots of fish bearing lakes in the vicinity.

these days when I have to go thru Chicago or Detroit I kinda get the heebie-jeebies.
   did my time there for too many moons.  retired to the "Up North" 9 yrs ago and have never looked back.

[RECHRGD]

Although more taxes are generated from the Seattle area, most of those dollars stay there.  The east side is taxed at the same inflated rates as the west, yet little of it benefits us rural folks.

This is one of those fables that never dies. The facts, if you choose to believe them, is that in your State it is the City folk who are paying your Country bills: "People in King County contribute nearly 42 percent of the state's tax revenues, yet receive only 25 percent of the money spent from Washington's general fund budget". There's much more if you'd care to read:

Source:

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/King-Co-pays-for-the-rest-of-the-state-is-that-969099.php

"The five counties getting the biggest bang out of their tax bucks were Whitman County, which paid $52.3 million in state taxes in 2007 but got $252 million back, for a ratio of 4.82. Whitman, in the southeastern part of the state, is home to Washington State University. Next is Thurston County, home to the state capital, with an expenses to revenue ratio of 3.17, then Lincoln County (2.54), Ferry (2.40) and Garfield (2.25). Lincoln, Ferry and Garfield are all small counties in Eastern Washington.

No county in Eastern Washington pays more in state general fund taxes than it receives back in expenditures. In the more populous western part of the state, seven counties contribute more than they get in return (Island, Jefferson, King San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom)."

You're welcome you ungrateful bumpkins!  

Oh shush Mike!  LOL....  Probably a lot of truth in your link.  My point originally was how unprepared most city folks are to deal with a real life emergency.  As far as tax dollar distribution goes, it is still the west side liberal policies that strongly influence how the funds for us "bumpkins" is spent.  So what if you west side folks generate more tax dollars, it doesn't seem to have changed what the original topic addressed.

[stripedelete]

Country or city, life/survival skills erode each generation.  An example that sticks in my mind; The new construction house next door did not have an a/c condenser installed for the first month or so when the neighbors  moved in.   That was ten years ago, they were in thier high mid 40's.   They did not know how to live without  air conditioning!   That's no suprise for gen-x or a millennial.  But for boomers?

As for a breakdown in civilazation, if it's short term ammo will help.  If it's long term and you're not between the age of 18 and 35, you only need one bullet,,, for yourself.   And all those deer?  In 90 days they will be as scarce as white unicorns.  (Especially those CORN FED Ohio deer).

[flyinlow]

At least global warming will stop. 

Grew up in the city.  Got tired of being told what color to paint my front door and what tree's I could cut down. Country boy the last 12 years. More room for a big garage. 

[alfaitalia]

Post Deleted....I decided my post was too political........! Will just sit back and laugh at this thread!!! And for the record....country boy born and bred!

[bakerhillpins]

There's a lot to it. I have several groups of friends from different areas and sometimes it is astounding how little they know about each others' lifestyles. In general though, regardless of city or country living, the skills to take care of yourself in an emergency (or otherwise) just aren't being taught any more. Not to mention the overwhelming reliance on technology. Once the batteries die it's chaos.

Troy

I'm just about as much in the country as I can get, hell I even live on a dirt road. After years with the Fire department there is no shortage of stupid out here vs in the city (lived there too in the past). Troy hit the nail on the head though, they just don't teach the stuff. Any of it. Used to be they liked kids that have diverse (well rounded) backgrounds for college. Not so much now, though it is changing. When I was young - 2 years of your schooling you took a solid course load in Shop and Home Economics. Not anymore...   

I'm trying to teach my kids to be able to think ahead and actively when there is a need. Mostly, its just to be resourceful. It's amazing how much is sitting right in front of them and they still ask for help.