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> The whole point of moving to the developed world is to not have to deal with developing world problems. Tell that to the people living in Appalachia or on sk

> The whole point of moving to the developed world is to not have to deal with developing world problems. Tell that to the people living in Appalachia or on skid row in LA. Like most third-world countries, the US is a fine place to live, if you have money and/or access to power. But if you're not in that category, don't expect anything from public institutions.

stickfigure 6y ago
I moved from SF to rural Appalachia* for a year around 2012. It was actually pretty nice. People were very friendly. Rent for a cute 2bd house on half an acre, walking distance from downtown, was $425/mo. Kroger had all the same things you find in supermarkets everywhere. Great climbing was an hour away in the Red River Gorge. Hiking and outdoor activities everywhere. I pick banjo now. IMHO you should re-evaluate your priors. * Morehead, KY
ethbro 6y ago
The whole point of moving to Appalachia is not having to deal with city problems. :)
- dublinben 6y ago
  If you're actually interested in the migration patterns within the Appalachian region, this report may be helpful.[0] You'll find that even within this region, more people are moving towards the economic opportunities offered by cities, not to rural counties to get away from "city problems." I assure you the problems of rural counties are worse. [0]https://www.arc.gov/assets/research_reports/EmergingPatternsPopulationRedistributionandMigrationinAppalachia1.pdf https://www.arc.gov/assets/research_reports/EmergingPatterns...
  - ethbro 6y ago
    I believe you missed the humor in my comment, as someone with generations of family in the region.
blhack 6y ago
I’m curious what part of the country you actually live in. As somebody who just got back from a couple of weeks in boring, rural, flyover country: it’s no surprise that the people who live there are so intensely patriotic.
- mrguyorama 6y ago
  So I'm literally "stuck" in rural Maine for this entire month. The landscape might be pretty sometimes, but there is absolutely nothing of value here. There are no jobs, no industry, no creativity, nothing being made or done or thought of here. The only people still left are the ones who couldn't run away. It actively feels like the town is dying, and it's not due to COVID as most people here think it's a hoax. What could these people possibly have to be patriotic of? This is my home town. My mother still lives here. I cannot fathom how. The grocery stores look so run down the the Walmart one town over has entire chunks of the store just flat and open and missing. I tried to purchase a basketball the other day and there was not a single one to be found in any of the three low quality dollar stores or anywhere else. I tried to get something mailed to me and instead of prompt delivery it disappeared into a USPS facility for five days. The town feels sick and dying
wrsh07 6y ago
This is a bad take 1) when people move to the US to avoid developing world problems, by and large they aren't moving to the places you mention. From my experience growing up in a rural state, most people who grow up there stay there - most people who move to the US aren't going _there_ for opportunities 2) the types of problems faced back home by people seeking asylum or by refugees are very different from the types of problems being faced by poor people in the US. Does being poor in the US suck? Yes, absolutely. We should do better. But let's not pretend it's comparable to living in a war zone.
unishark 6y ago
The point seems to be backwards and forced anyway. It's hard to enter the developed world. It's hard to get permission stay. Generally these things are much easier to do in developing countries from what I've seen.
howdyhere123 6y ago
Correct. I don’t think most of HN understands that. Migrating massive jumps in class are a form of internal immigration. Low social mobility, a safe homelife, and good schools are only for members of the lucky sperm-an’-egg club in the US

stickfigure 6y ago

I moved from SF to rural Appalachia* for a year around 2012. It was actually pretty nice. People were very friendly. Rent for a cute 2bd house on half an acre, walking distance from downtown, was $425/mo. Kroger had all the same things you find in supermarkets everywhere. Great climbing was an hour away in the Red River Gorge. Hiking and outdoor activities everywhere. I pick banjo now. IMHO you should re-evaluate your priors. * Morehead, KY

ethbro 6y ago

The whole point of moving to Appalachia is not having to deal with city problems. :)

dublinben 6y ago
If you're actually interested in the migration patterns within the Appalachian region, this report may be helpful.[0] You'll find that even within this region, more people are moving towards the economic opportunities offered by cities, not to rural counties to get away from "city problems." I assure you the problems of rural counties are worse. [0]https://www.arc.gov/assets/research_reports/EmergingPatternsPopulationRedistributionandMigrationinAppalachia1.pdf https://www.arc.gov/assets/research_reports/EmergingPatterns...
- ethbro 6y ago
  I believe you missed the humor in my comment, as someone with generations of family in the region.

blhack 6y ago

I’m curious what part of the country you actually live in. As somebody who just got back from a couple of weeks in boring, rural, flyover country: it’s no surprise that the people who live there are so intensely patriotic.

mrguyorama 6y ago
So I'm literally "stuck" in rural Maine for this entire month. The landscape might be pretty sometimes, but there is absolutely nothing of value here. There are no jobs, no industry, no creativity, nothing being made or done or thought of here. The only people still left are the ones who couldn't run away. It actively feels like the town is dying, and it's not due to COVID as most people here think it's a hoax. What could these people possibly have to be patriotic of? This is my home town. My mother still lives here. I cannot fathom how. The grocery stores look so run down the the Walmart one town over has entire chunks of the store just flat and open and missing. I tried to purchase a basketball the other day and there was not a single one to be found in any of the three low quality dollar stores or anywhere else. I tried to get something mailed to me and instead of prompt delivery it disappeared into a USPS facility for five days. The town feels sick and dying

wrsh07 6y ago

This is a bad take 1) when people move to the US to avoid developing world problems, by and large they aren't moving to the places you mention. From my experience growing up in a rural state, most people who grow up there stay there - most people who move to the US aren't going _there_ for opportunities 2) the types of problems faced back home by people seeking asylum or by refugees are very different from the types of problems being faced by poor people in the US. Does being poor in the US suck? Yes, absolutely. We should do better. But let's not pretend it's comparable to living in a war zone.

unishark 6y ago

The point seems to be backwards and forced anyway. It's hard to enter the developed world. It's hard to get permission stay. Generally these things are much easier to do in developing countries from what I've seen.

howdyhere123 6y ago

Correct. I don’t think most of HN understands that. Migrating massive jumps in class are a form of internal immigration. Low social mobility, a safe homelife, and good schools are only for members of the lucky sperm-an’-egg club in the US