I can see the appeal of living in nature, off-grid, but I see a few problems that are really hard to solve for such type of living:
1) healthcare access - you might be hours away from medical assistance. It's all nice and good until you need it.
2) social activity - it's nice to be by yourself, or with a few people, for a few months; but would you live like that for decades? Wouldn't you miss social interactions?
3) work - not everybody can be a software developer. What kind of work you could do if you are so far away from any community?
4) sense of community, sense of belonging - this is the hardest I think. Humans are social animals, there's no way around it. Some of us are perfectly fine living in a semi-isolated state; but at least for me, that would become a problem eventually. One thing that Covid has taught me is how important my social interactions are.
Edit: also on HN today you find "What Makes a Community? (2020)". Interesting read. [0]
I grew up in the absolute middle of nowhere in Africa (bus ride to school took 50 minutes one way), so I have some experience here.
1. Most things can be taken care of to a point where a lengthy journey to help is possible. In an extreme case you can get a helicopter in on the radio. Of course the US makes this challenging, because you have to pay for healthcare. That's a hurdle for sure.
2. People that live isolated lives choose it because it's isolated. I ended up in London but am still happiest on my own. Until I met my girlfriend my most meaningful relationship was with my dog. No guile there.
3. That's the point though, isn't it? Sustaining yourself and yours becomes your work.
4. Again not so hard. The people drawn to this life like the solitude. Sure they will find their way to a store or post office every now and then where they'll see enough people to remind them why they're out there and isolated.
Did you meet her in London, or did you meet her when you were a hermit? I'd guess the former. Another good reason why a large community provides certain things that living in quasi-isolation doesn't.
In any case, thanks for your thoughts; I value them, despite my comment above.
I completely agree. I'm a big city person myself. I like having access to culture, art, music festivals, restaurants, social events, economic opportunities, etc.
However, it can wear on you a lot. I would absolutely love to own an off-the-grid second home. That's very appealing to me.
But to live like a hermit out in the middle of nowhere full-time seems crazy to me in the long-term.
A lot of people in cities barely know their neighbors. Living rural you'll likely be part of a community where everyone knows everyone. I'm seven years in and going to town the other day took an extra hour just because I was chatting with people I ran into. In a city you are more anonymous.
I don't think it's that extreme. What do you mean exactly by shut out? You'll always be able to transact, put your kids in school and participate in society. A hard example - parents of a teenager that murdered an innocent child in a small nearby community still live there and still operate a business that services that town. I'm surprised by this.
I can see the appeal of living in nature, off-grid, but I see a few problems that are really hard to solve for such type of living:
1) healthcare access - you might be hours away from medical assistance. It's all nice and good until you need it.
2) social activity - it's nice to be by yourself, or with a few people, for a few months; but would you live like that for decades? Wouldn't you miss social interactions?
3) work - not everybody can be a software developer. What kind of work you could do if you are so far away from any community?
4) sense of community, sense of belonging - this is the hardest I think. Humans are social animals, there's no way around it. Some of us are perfectly fine living in a semi-isolated state; but at least for me, that would become a problem eventually. One thing that Covid has taught me is how important my social interactions are.
Edit: also on HN today you find "What Makes a Community? (2020)". Interesting read. [0]
[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26274450