4 ms·

I've responded about this already, but nobody is really forced to move to the city. They can get jobs, just not the job they want. You have to provide a service

I've responded about this already, but nobody is really forced to move to the city. They can get jobs, just not the job they want. You have to provide a service to your local economy, and in small towns, that means mending fences and cooking barbecue and working on cars. Thankfully the low density also means you can afford to pay your bills doing jobs like that. Some people want to do something they consider more rewarding and meaningful, its like the age old trope of the small town girl moving to Los Angeles to be a movie star. They move to the city because it's a trade off, their priorities tell them that living in a more densely packed environment will make their life better. But at the end of the day, it is always a choice.

giantg2 5y ago
Nobody is forced to do anything ever. Everything is a choice.
- xboxnolifes 5y ago
  Exactly. People can even choose to die instead of doing something they don't want to do.
  - betwixthewires 5y ago
    We aren't talking about dying here. This isn't analogous to being robbed at knife point. No need to be so dramatic. We are talking about deciding to move somewhere with a higher quality of life. For some, that means better pay in an office and diverse food options a short drive/walk/subway ride away, in exchange for more rent and more people. For others, it means a better view of the night sky and less traffic and cheaper rent in exchange for lower paying work.
    - giantg2 5y ago
      "For some, that means " Exaclty, it varies by person. For some, it is a matter of survival, and can be dramatic with consequences on par with being physically attacked.
      - betwixthewires 5y ago
        But that's not the point you've been making, it's not what I've been arguing against. Your point has been "survival in rural areas is untenable and so people have to move to cities for better prospects, therefore moving to the city is not a choice." My point was always "people go where they need to go based on their needs and priorities and survival outside of cities is not any harder than inside them, therefore moving to them is a choice." If anything, survival is easier outside of cities, because cost of living is cheaper and the minimum wage rate is the same. Anyway, we started with you saying you want to move more rural but you can't. But is that true? Could you do it, if you were willing to work a different type of job?
        giantg2 5y ago
        Nope
WkndTriathlete 5y ago
> Thankfully the low density also means you can afford to pay your bills doing jobs like that. Financial margins in rural areas have been decreasing over the last 100 years as corporations take over farms and people move to urban areas for more opportunities. There's not a lot of opportunity left in rural America.
- betwixthewires 5y ago
  Not a lot of opportunity for what? Cities are economic machines. Everything is abstracted. There are overarching systems to everything. And it has to be that way, that's both the draw and the solution to the density. Rural areas are entirely interpersonal relationships. People do business with one another. You have to do something within your local economy to get along. So there's not a lot of opportunity to go work for the big chemical factory that used to support your entire company town. But there's plenty of opportunity to live a simple life, if that's what you want. The bug difference is that you have to do things for the people you directly interact with to get paid, it's much smaller scale. It's less about employment and more about interpersonal business.

giantg2 5y ago

Nobody is forced to do anything ever. Everything is a choice.

xboxnolifes 5y ago
Exactly. People can even choose to die instead of doing something they don't want to do.
- betwixthewires 5y ago
  We aren't talking about dying here. This isn't analogous to being robbed at knife point. No need to be so dramatic. We are talking about deciding to move somewhere with a higher quality of life. For some, that means better pay in an office and diverse food options a short drive/walk/subway ride away, in exchange for more rent and more people. For others, it means a better view of the night sky and less traffic and cheaper rent in exchange for lower paying work.
  - giantg2 5y ago
    "For some, that means " Exaclty, it varies by person. For some, it is a matter of survival, and can be dramatic with consequences on par with being physically attacked.
    - betwixthewires 5y ago
      But that's not the point you've been making, it's not what I've been arguing against. Your point has been "survival in rural areas is untenable and so people have to move to cities for better prospects, therefore moving to the city is not a choice." My point was always "people go where they need to go based on their needs and priorities and survival outside of cities is not any harder than inside them, therefore moving to them is a choice." If anything, survival is easier outside of cities, because cost of living is cheaper and the minimum wage rate is the same. Anyway, we started with you saying you want to move more rural but you can't. But is that true? Could you do it, if you were willing to work a different type of job?
      - giantg2 5y ago
        Nope

WkndTriathlete 5y ago

> Thankfully the low density also means you can afford to pay your bills doing jobs like that. Financial margins in rural areas have been decreasing over the last 100 years as corporations take over farms and people move to urban areas for more opportunities. There's not a lot of opportunity left in rural America.

betwixthewires 5y ago
Not a lot of opportunity for what? Cities are economic machines. Everything is abstracted. There are overarching systems to everything. And it has to be that way, that's both the draw and the solution to the density. Rural areas are entirely interpersonal relationships. People do business with one another. You have to do something within your local economy to get along. So there's not a lot of opportunity to go work for the big chemical factory that used to support your entire company town. But there's plenty of opportunity to live a simple life, if that's what you want. The bug difference is that you have to do things for the people you directly interact with to get paid, it's much smaller scale. It's less about employment and more about interpersonal business.