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I don't doubt that there are certain downsides to living like the people in the video (at least when it comes to creature comforts and their overall lifestyles)

I don't doubt that there are certain downsides to living like the people in the video (at least when it comes to creature comforts and their overall lifestyles), but personally i just find the surroundings very scenic and calming. As someone who got to move away from the city and work remotely from my countryside home thanks to the pandemic (silver linings), i actually find my current circumstances to be far more stress free than the city life, even if going to the store turns out to be a larger, weekly event, and washing myself involves heating water (or sauna) for a lot of the day with a furnace that consumes firewood instead of just jumping into the shower (and, you know, the house being cold in the mornings, before the centralized heating does a few cycles of water through the radiators and everything heats up). Of course, living in the countryside also involves a huge amount of things that need to be done - everything from mowing the lawns constantly throughout the summers, tending to the greenhouse (due to my dad's desires to have one), using a tractor to mow down the grass on the fields and collect it (governmental penalties for not doing that), repairing everything that breaks, from water pumps, to having to repaint wooden window frames so they don't rot, acquiring firewood for the winter, making sure that irrigation ditches are okay and don't collapse and so on... But in exchange for that, i get no nosy neighbors to invade upon my privacy, fresh air, no soot from all the cars on the frames of my windows (and the inside of my lungs, probably), no sense of urban sprawl or the need to rush anywhere and no worries about the current pandemic either (even though i'm vaccinated). Plus, growing your own tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and herbs, berries and other stuff is nice, at least as far as the end results go. And building anything or making improvements to the home doesn't take permits upon permits upon permits. My sleep is also pretty much excellent nowadays and i also have a safe environment for doing exercise with no judgement or social pressures whatsoever. In short, there are both benefits and drawbacks, but living closer to the nature just feels more right, a sensation that's utterly devoid from urban life, save from regularly visiting parks and such.

southerntofu 5y ago
> Of course, living in the countryside also involves a huge amount of things that need to be done That's why living in a community has upsides. Of course, getting along with your "neighbors" is a prerequisite, but it fixes problems such as: - who's going to take care of X while i'm sick? - i'm familiar with water pumps, but i have no clue about repairing truck engines; who will do it? - i'm very good at farming but i'm clueless about making bread In addition, communal living enables economies of scale which urban individualized lifestyles have completely dismantled. For example, the video mentions communal cooking and laundry, which overall consumes much less resources than each household having their own fridge/stove/oven/laundromat. > but living closer to the nature just feels more right, a sensation that's utterly devoid from urban life It feels more right because it is more right. There's nothing inherently wrong with some level of population concentration, but modern cities are car-centered nightmares where everything is concrete and pollution and where life without money is utterly impossible, and where the population concentration is such that any form of self-sustaining lifestyle is impossible (if only for energy and food).
- anm89 5y ago
  They moved a little bit outside a city, not to another plant. You can still have someone repair your truck.
lm28469 5y ago
Cities have always been describe as worse than the country side, even as far back as Epicurus. I would argue the main issue nowadays is that people born and raised in cities are so disconnected from nature that it seems hostile to them, they lost all the connections rural people grew with and learned to love. All they want is instant gratification, convenience at all price, least amount of friction and physical work, constant internet connection I remember watching the stars with my grandma when I was 6 or so, we'd get deckchairs, a cup of tea and warm blankets and stare at the sky for hours, she told me about the moon, stars, the milky way, satellites, potential alien life out there &c. It was magical. It was absolutely silent, public lights were switched off after some time so the light pollution was very low. There was nothing better than waking up with the sound of owls or cicadas I went mushroom picking with my dad every year, learning about the right timing and conditions for optimal mushroom growth, learning which ones are the best, which ones are comestible but not very tasty, which ones will make you sick or kill you, we'd see wild animals, their tracks, their skeletons, &c. We had a garden in which I spent a lot of time, you could notice how the different seasons had effects in the flora, which insects, birds, small mammals came out of their hiding spots and at what time of the year. Seeing how vegetables were growing, bending down and snacking on the strawberries you planted yourself. Living in the country side means living in sync with the seasons, you witness their impact on the world surrounding you, trees, plants, insects, wild animals, type of food you have access to, occupations you can enjoy. In the city you're kind of locked into a sort of constancy, sure it gets cold or warm, you have more or less sunlight, but that's about it, everything else stays the same, same activities, same dull concrete jungle, same cars going the same way every day, same dark empty sky, same constant noise Now I live in a city, I never get a single minute of silence no matter what time of the day or night. I can't see stars, let alone the milky way. Insects are pretty much gone besides the occasional fly or mosquito. Pigeons and crows make up about 99% of wild animals you can spot I very often go for walks late at night, covid was a blessing for that, the streets were virtually empty. During that time I've seen a howl, foxes hunting for rats almost every day, hares, some kind of weasel, a beautiful heron enjoying the lack of tourist boats. Now that people and tourists are back life has disappeared again and the noise/cars are back to pre covid level I truly pity people who did not experience this, I wouldn't be surprised if it is a big part of the modern alienation a lot of people seem to go through
jseban 5y ago
It's stress free yes, but also boring for many people. People don't live in big cities because of how easy it is to take hot showers, they live in big cities because of culture, social life, activities, sports, shopping, restaurants, jobs/career, nightlife etc etc.
- cpach 5y ago
  Indeed. I live in a small town with ~6000 inhabitants. It’s nice and calm here. But if I go 4-5 days without visiting the large nearby city I become incredibly restless.
- JKCalhoun 5y ago
  Having become a parent, I think job and restaurants are the only things from your list that still resonate with me. And after retirement it will only be restaurants.
- Zababa 5y ago
  I live in a big city because I suck at all the housework stuff and I don't like it, and can easily trade money with time by having people do it for me.
- dkersten 5y ago
  Depends on the person. For many people, living in a City is super lonely, despite having many many people around. At least the "neighborhoods" in this community seem to be quite tightly knit, so people actually know each other. I haven't spoken to my nextdoor neighbor in months besides saying hello. As for activities, they seem to have some there, if those are the kind of things you're into. If not, then sure, its probably not for you and living in any village or small town wouldn't be for you. Its definitely not for everyone, for sure. Personally, while I love the peacefulness of the countryside (I grew up there) and love to visit, I prefer a city lifestyle. My ideal setup, at my current point in life, would be to live outside a small city with a ~30min bus ride to the center. Of course, I haven't actually found such a place :)
Tenoke 5y ago
>no soot from all the cars on the frames of my windows (and the inside of my lungs, probably) I suspect all that wood you burn and possibly some of your other activities are comparably bad if not worse for your lungs but it depends on your setup and which city location we compare to.

southerntofu 5y ago

> Of course, living in the countryside also involves a huge amount of things that need to be done That's why living in a community has upsides. Of course, getting along with your "neighbors" is a prerequisite, but it fixes problems such as: - who's going to take care of X while i'm sick? - i'm familiar with water pumps, but i have no clue about repairing truck engines; who will do it? - i'm very good at farming but i'm clueless about making bread In addition, communal living enables economies of scale which urban individualized lifestyles have completely dismantled. For example, the video mentions communal cooking and laundry, which overall consumes much less resources than each household having their own fridge/stove/oven/laundromat. > but living closer to the nature just feels more right, a sensation that's utterly devoid from urban life It feels more right because it is more right. There's nothing inherently wrong with some level of population concentration, but modern cities are car-centered nightmares where everything is concrete and pollution and where life without money is utterly impossible, and where the population concentration is such that any form of self-sustaining lifestyle is impossible (if only for energy and food).

anm89 5y ago
They moved a little bit outside a city, not to another plant. You can still have someone repair your truck.

lm28469 5y ago

Cities have always been describe as worse than the country side, even as far back as Epicurus. I would argue the main issue nowadays is that people born and raised in cities are so disconnected from nature that it seems hostile to them, they lost all the connections rural people grew with and learned to love. All they want is instant gratification, convenience at all price, least amount of friction and physical work, constant internet connection I remember watching the stars with my grandma when I was 6 or so, we'd get deckchairs, a cup of tea and warm blankets and stare at the sky for hours, she told me about the moon, stars, the milky way, satellites, potential alien life out there &c. It was magical. It was absolutely silent, public lights were switched off after some time so the light pollution was very low. There was nothing better than waking up with the sound of owls or cicadas I went mushroom picking with my dad every year, learning about the right timing and conditions for optimal mushroom growth, learning which ones are the best, which ones are comestible but not very tasty, which ones will make you sick or kill you, we'd see wild animals, their tracks, their skeletons, &c. We had a garden in which I spent a lot of time, you could notice how the different seasons had effects in the flora, which insects, birds, small mammals came out of their hiding spots and at what time of the year. Seeing how vegetables were growing, bending down and snacking on the strawberries you planted yourself. Living in the country side means living in sync with the seasons, you witness their impact on the world surrounding you, trees, plants, insects, wild animals, type of food you have access to, occupations you can enjoy. In the city you're kind of locked into a sort of constancy, sure it gets cold or warm, you have more or less sunlight, but that's about it, everything else stays the same, same activities, same dull concrete jungle, same cars going the same way every day, same dark empty sky, same constant noise Now I live in a city, I never get a single minute of silence no matter what time of the day or night. I can't see stars, let alone the milky way. Insects are pretty much gone besides the occasional fly or mosquito. Pigeons and crows make up about 99% of wild animals you can spot I very often go for walks late at night, covid was a blessing for that, the streets were virtually empty. During that time I've seen a howl, foxes hunting for rats almost every day, hares, some kind of weasel, a beautiful heron enjoying the lack of tourist boats. Now that people and tourists are back life has disappeared again and the noise/cars are back to pre covid level I truly pity people who did not experience this, I wouldn't be surprised if it is a big part of the modern alienation a lot of people seem to go through

jseban 5y ago

It's stress free yes, but also boring for many people. People don't live in big cities because of how easy it is to take hot showers, they live in big cities because of culture, social life, activities, sports, shopping, restaurants, jobs/career, nightlife etc etc.

cpach 5y ago
Indeed. I live in a small town with ~6000 inhabitants. It’s nice and calm here. But if I go 4-5 days without visiting the large nearby city I become incredibly restless.
JKCalhoun 5y ago
Having become a parent, I think job and restaurants are the only things from your list that still resonate with me. And after retirement it will only be restaurants.
Zababa 5y ago
I live in a big city because I suck at all the housework stuff and I don't like it, and can easily trade money with time by having people do it for me.
dkersten 5y ago
Depends on the person. For many people, living in a City is super lonely, despite having many many people around. At least the "neighborhoods" in this community seem to be quite tightly knit, so people actually know each other. I haven't spoken to my nextdoor neighbor in months besides saying hello. As for activities, they seem to have some there, if those are the kind of things you're into. If not, then sure, its probably not for you and living in any village or small town wouldn't be for you. Its definitely not for everyone, for sure. Personally, while I love the peacefulness of the countryside (I grew up there) and love to visit, I prefer a city lifestyle. My ideal setup, at my current point in life, would be to live outside a small city with a ~30min bus ride to the center. Of course, I haven't actually found such a place :)

Tenoke 5y ago

>no soot from all the cars on the frames of my windows (and the inside of my lungs, probably) I suspect all that wood you burn and possibly some of your other activities are comparably bad if not worse for your lungs but it depends on your setup and which city location we compare to.