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I always feel better at the farm, except for curry.

I've said before I can't imagine going back to a city after leaving Baltimore for rural Howard county. I may have to drive 30 minutes to a decent movie theatre, but I've got a small town pub/restaurant within 5 and both chinese and pizza delivery.

I just had 4 palettes of garden soil delivered for my vegetable beds. You'd have to blow half a city council to get that much space in a big city. The other half to get it to yourself. And suburbs? *shudder* HOA... HOAs everywhere.

 streamdragon wrote:
I've said before I can't imagine going back to a city after leaving Baltimore for rural Howard county. I may have to drive 30 minutes to a decent movie theatre, but I've got a small town pub/restaurant within 5 and both chinese and pizza delivery.

I just had 4 palettes of garden soil delivered for my vegetable beds. You'd have to blow half a city council to get that much space in a big city. The other half to get it to yourself. And suburbs? *shudder* HOA... HOAs everywhere.

I use aquaponics for growing veg. And curry is a black cockerel with no sense of time.
4am cock a doddle do
5am cock a doddle do
6am cock a doddle do, If it crows once more its curry.

I've thought about turning part of the basement into hydroponics for tomatoes and eggplant. Right now I have about 200 square feet (well, cubic feet I guess) of raised beds for growing tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, snap peas, okra, and all sorts of other stuff. Looking to add asparagus and maybe celery to the roster this year. Tomatoes are my main focus, generally big heirloom varieties.

Because once you have actual fresh tomatoes from a garden, you can't go back to tomatoes from a grocery store. They taste like sand.

 streamdragon wrote:
I've thought about turning part of the basement into hydroponics for tomatoes and eggplant. Right now I have about 200 square feet (well, cubic feet I guess) of raised beds for growing tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, snap peas, okra, and all sorts of other stuff. Looking to add asparagus and maybe celery to the roster this year. Tomatoes are my main focus, generally big heirloom varieties.

Because once you have actual fresh tomatoes from a garden, you can't go back to tomatoes from a grocery store. They taste like sand.

Use fish not chemicals, easier on the water. better for you(organic) and once you try aquaponics, you won't want to garden again.

Meh, being out in the dirt and sun is half of what I love about growing my own food. I also grow organically, no chemicals or anything. Fertilizer is from my own animals, when I bother to anyway.

I mostly want the indoor setup for winter when growing outside is problematic.

Also for sprouts, which grow better under growlights than outside.

So there is an Idea that rural america has what? More Values and simpler Lives?

chaos0xomega wrote:
I hate it, mostly because of all the (sub)urban kids that think/act/call themselves 'country' even though they know jack about being 'country', aside from what the gakky music they listen to tells them 'being country' is all about (like... calling your girlfriend 'girl', flannel shirts, big pickup trucks, dirt roads, and moonlit nights down by the river/lake).

You're not exactly what I'd call "country" either....

Note: I've met Chaos at TempleCon this year...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
So there is an Idea that rural america has what? More Values and simpler Lives?

That is the general consensus.

Rural life starts early in the day working the land, growing what you need, milkin' yer cows, etc... They tend to be good Christian folk that thank the good lord for providing them with the skills to take care of their family. Meals are taken early in the evening with the entire family seated around the table, prayer is said before anyone eats.

It don't have the hustle and bustle of city life...

 Alfndrate wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
So there is an Idea that rural america has what? More Values and simpler Lives?

That is the general consensus.

Rural life starts early in the day working the land, growing what you need, milkin' yer cows, etc... They tend to be good Christian folk that thank the good lord for providing them with the skills to take care of their family. Meals are taken early in the evening with the entire family seated around the table, prayer is said before anyone eats.

It don't have the hustle and bustle of city life...

I cant tell whether or not this is sarcastic.
But why, as a mstly urban country, do we think this way, I wuld be willing to bet that most rural areas are not like that

Edit: I said something jerky and I'm sorry

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
So there is an Idea that rural america has what? More Values and simpler Lives?

That is the general consensus.

Rural life starts early in the day working the land, growing what you need, milkin' yer cows, etc... They tend to be good Christian folk that thank the good lord for providing them with the skills to take care of their family. Meals are taken early in the evening with the entire family seated around the table, prayer is said before anyone eats.

It don't have the hustle and bustle of city life...

I cant tell whether or not this is sarcastic.
But why, as a mstly urban country, do we think this way, I wuld be willing to bet that most rural areas are not like that

I'm being serious. I'm fairly certain there are large swaths of farm land in those flyover states the East and West coasts don't like to think about. But as someone that has worked in a town of 500, and lived in the 'urban sprawl' of Ashland County (seriously the people around the city of Ashland, Ohio think it's a big place). The idea of rural life being simpler holds true, at least anecdotally (so some donkey cave is gonna yell things about my argument blah blah blah don't care). Living in a rural area where your nearest neighbor might be a mile away leads to a close knit family community. Sure you might be wary of strangers and "city folk" but in most cases they're friendly, hard working people. Why are they this way? You can attribute it to the idea that they're holding on to values handed down by parents and grandparents from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, etc... The fact that most of these 1 stop light towns might congregate around a single church in the area, leading to the prevelance of a religious slant to their friendliness (i.e. my comment about good Christian folk). You could also chalk it up to the fact that they might literally not have access to high speed technology due to coverage areas. My buddy's parents still have dial-up internet because any internet service provider will not run a line down their road for three house in a three mile stretch.

Think about walking around big cities and having to deal with the crowds, and moving with the speed of the crowds, the feeling of everything bearing down on you, the tall buildings blocking out a majority of sunlight, the smells... None of that exists in rural areas. Just stars, flat land, and possible cow manure...

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
So there is an Idea that rural america has what? More Values and simpler Lives?

That is the general consensus.

Rural life starts early in the day working the land, growing what you need, milkin' yer cows, etc... They tend to be good Christian folk that thank the good lord for providing them with the skills to take care of their family. Meals are taken early in the evening with the entire family seated around the table, prayer is said before anyone eats.

It don't have the hustle and bustle of city life...

I cant tell whether or not this is sarcastic.
But why, as a mstly urban country, do we think this way, I wuld be willing to bet that most rural areas are not like that

If you're going to start a thread and this is your major then quit assuming things. Study the evidence. Your REAL question should be do stable societies create these virtues?

 Alfndrate wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
So there is an Idea that rural america has what? More Values and simpler Lives?

That is the general consensus.

Rural life starts early in the day working the land, growing what you need, milkin' yer cows, etc... They tend to be good Christian folk that thank the good lord for providing them with the skills to take care of their family. Meals are taken early in the evening with the entire family seated around the table, prayer is said before anyone eats.

It don't have the hustle and bustle of city life...

I cant tell whether or not this is sarcastic.
But why, as a mstly urban country, do we think this way, I wuld be willing to bet that most rural areas are not like that

I'm being serious. I'm fairly certain there are large swaths of farm land in those flyover states the East and West coasts don't like to think about. But as someone that has worked in a town of 500, and lived in the 'urban sprawl' of Ashland County (seriously the people around the city of Ashland, Ohio think it's a big place). The idea of rural life being simpler holds true, at least anecdotally (so some donkey cave is gonna yell things about my argument blah blah blah don't care). Living in a rural area where your nearest neighbor might be a mile away leads to a close knit family community. Sure you might be wary of strangers and "city folk" but in most cases they're friendly, hard working people. Why are they this way? You can attribute it to the idea that they're holding on to values handed down by parents and grandparents from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, etc... The fact that most of these 1 stop light towns might congregate around a single church in the area, leading to the prevelance of a religious slant to their friendliness (i.e. my comment about good Christian folk). You could also chalk it up to the fact that they might literally not have access to high speed technology due to coverage areas. My buddy's parents still have dial-up internet because any internet service provider will not run a line down their road for three house in a three mile stretch.

I find your mention of "Tight Knit Family" rural the most interesting. From reading about family connections, families grow tight knit in the city as a survival mechanism for surviving the anonymity of th city

 Compel wrote:
Um... Rural life?

Doesn't that amount to:

Work 12 hours a day (minimum) at the farm. Go to the pub, which is the only place you actually talk to someone else (except for a few sentences with other workers, or maybe the wife, in the morning), get hammered, then drive home drunk, probably knocking someone down and/or killing them on the way. Go to bed, start it all over again.

Yeah, not my thing...

What the holy fu-...

wow dude, just wow.

 streamdragon wrote:

 Compel wrote:
Um... Rural life?

Doesn't that amount to:

Work 12 hours a day (minimum) at the farm. Go to the pub, which is the only place you actually talk to someone else (except for a few sentences with other workers, or maybe the wife, in the morning), get hammered, then drive home drunk, probably knocking someone down and/or killing them on the way. Go to bed, start it all over again.

Yeah, not my thing...

What the holy fu-...

wow dude, just wow.

Im surprised he forgot the "Beat your Wife when you get back" part

hotsauceman1 wrote:I find your mention of "Tight Knit Family" rural the most interesting. From reading about family connections, families grow tight knit in the city as a survival mechanism for surviving the anonymity of th city

Interesting because I wouldn't think that one would need a tight family connection in a large city. Is it really that disparaging to be a face in the crowd?

The reason why rural families tend to have tight knight communities is because if you're lucky enough to have a family farm, everyone tends to help out. One of my fraternity brothers is from a dairy farm, and has been working it since he was at least twelve. I mean you build relationships with co-workers, the same would extend and then some to family members. I would honestly suggest you go out and experience rural life man.

streamdragon wrote:

 Compel wrote:
ignorant comment....

What the holy fu-...

wow dude, just wow.

Don't acknowledge him, let his ignorant comment fad into the nether.

 Alfndrate wrote:

hotsauceman1 wrote:I find your mention of "Tight Knit Family" rural the most interesting. From reading about family connections, families grow tight knit in the city as a survival mechanism for surviving the anonymity of th city

Interesting because I wouldn't think that one would need a tight family connection in a large city. Is it really that disparaging to be a face in the crowd?

The reason why rural families tend to have tight knight communities is because if you're lucky enough to have a family farm, everyone tends to help out. One of my fraternity brothers is from a dairy farm, and has been working it since he was at least twelve. I mean you build relationships with co-workers, the same would extend and then some to family members. I would honestly suggest you go out and experience rural life man.

HAHA, No, I pass out in the heat to easily.

But yes, Families tended to be more tight knit in Urban Enviroments(As do Friends) due to it being a survival mechanism. Im not sure it is just anonymity.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

hotsauceman1 wrote:I find your mention of "Tight Knit Family" rural the most interesting. From reading about family connections, families grow tight knit in the city as a survival mechanism for surviving the anonymity of th city

Interesting because I wouldn't think that one would need a tight family connection in a large city. Is it really that disparaging to be a face in the crowd?

The reason why rural families tend to have tight knight communities is because if you're lucky enough to have a family farm, everyone tends to help out. One of my fraternity brothers is from a dairy farm, and has been working it since he was at least twelve. I mean you build relationships with co-workers, the same would extend and then some to family members. I would honestly suggest you go out and experience rural life man.

HAHA, No, I pass out in the heat to easily.

But yes, Families tended to be more tight knit in Urban Enviroments(As do Friends) due to it being a survival mechanism. Im not sure it is just anonymity.

Passing out in the heat too easily sounds 1) really difficult to understand considering the state you live in and 2) really unhealthy... You're probably not drinking enough water to stay hydrated (which allows you to regulate your body's temp more easily).

Also experiencing rural life doesn't mean go work the farm, it just means go find a place that's like an hour from the nearest big city where people don't have technology...

Y'know those people that claim they have Sun Allergies? Im one of those people who ACTUALLY does. Im so fair skinned that I burn to easily and suffer from heat stroke easily.

 Compel wrote:
Um... Rural life?

Doesn't that amount to:

Work 12 hours a day (minimum) at the farm. Go to the pub, which is the only place you actually talk to someone else (except for a few sentences with other workers, or maybe the wife, in the morning), get hammered, then drive home drunk, probably knocking someone down and/or killing them on the way. Go to bed, start it all over again.

Yeah, not my thing...

And the donkey-cave comment of the week goes to...

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 MWHistorian wrote:
Having lived in both rural (very rural) and big city. (all sizes and many countries.) I can tell you that it isn't a myth. Living in the country had a much stronger sense of community, right and wrong and charity. That said, people are still individuals and you'll get jerks and horrible people just like you would anywhere else. But I prefer living in the country for many reasons. The people are far more polite and caring, they'll leave you alone but still check in on how you're doing if they think you need help. Don't trust out of touch college professors to tell you the truth of the world. As someone with multiple college degrees I have experience in that as well.

This is from several books I read, just not a college proffessor. What im saying is that while Community will be stronger in Rural america, In urban america is it shown that while the ties of kinship and friendship are less numerous, They tended to be stronger.

I think it depends on community in question. Certain ethnicities certainly form tighter communities than others. Some of the strongest off the top of my head are the Samoans/Pacific Islanders and Hispanic communities. Though usually with most of the hispanic communities I've been exposed to, this is only true if you share the same national origin as the bulk of the group (ie. only Mexicans get the strong bond with other mexicans, people from PR with PR, etc)



I do also somewhat agree with other posters' here, in that, when dealing with particular groups of especially suburbanites (read: White people who listen to country) that believe in this mythos, even without any sort of understanding of what rural living truly is. While I would imagine that in particularly large cities (ie, NYC, London, etc) there would/could be a fairly strong sense of community/caring for each other within a block, or even a building in the largest places.

Not bigoted. Just years of law enforcement experience seeing this stuff first hand.

 Alfndrate wrote:

Interesting because I wouldn't think that one would need a tight family connection in a large city. Is it really that disparaging to be a face in the crowd?

People in large cities meet large numbers of people every day. One must make oneself relevant if they do not want to be forgotten; and the family is a network many people need to fall back on when the competition gets tough.

Sorry folks, I was overly jerk-ish when I was intending to sound slightly mean and/or a tad snarky.

On the other hand, there was a citation for my comment. Back home, in a town in the center of a rural community (mind you, everywhere in Scotland that isn't Glasgow is ultimately the center of a rural community), that decision caused a lot of debate and discussion.
Alternatively, one of Scotlands most famous poems is what happens when a farmer drunk-horserides home.

I'm also an equal opportunities snark, I'll quite happily make a snarky comment about Scottish town life too. (Probably less involving drunk driving and more involving getting hammered then causing a good sized brawl in the street. - Usually outside my bedroom window back home.)

I'll bow out of the thread now but I'll leave a Scottish classic behind that might show another relationship between rural life and cities... Each gives as good as they get.

Spoilers for occasional swearing.



Sorry again.

Rural areas have a sense of community.

Unless you are other in which case they turn into horrid monsters spouting racist, homophobic, rape apologistic, and sexist garbage.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

hotsauceman1 wrote:I find your mention of "Tight Knit Family" rural the most interesting. From reading about family connections, families grow tight knit in the city as a survival mechanism for surviving the anonymity of th city

Interesting because I wouldn't think that one would need a tight family connection in a large city. Is it really that disparaging to be a face in the crowd?

The reason why rural families tend to have tight knight communities is because if you're lucky enough to have a family farm, everyone tends to help out. One of my fraternity brothers is from a dairy farm, and has been working it since he was at least twelve. I mean you build relationships with co-workers, the same would extend and then some to family members. I would honestly suggest you go out and experience rural life man.

HAHA, No, I pass out in the heat to easily.

But yes, Families tended to be more tight knit in Urban Enviroments(As do Friends) due to it being a survival mechanism. Im not sure it is just anonymity.

Do you have proof or is that just what your prof said? Its sounds like your prof is anti rural.
Families are typically tighter in the country because they have been there for generations. My wife's family makes up half the population of their town, and almost all of the teeth.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Y'know those people that claim they have Sun Allergies? Im one of those people who ACTUALLY does. Im so fair skinned that I burn to easily and suffer from heat stroke easily.

A lot of red heads are like that. Your risk for skin cancer is a lot higher too. Don't forget to wear a big hat when you're out like a light sombrero type or what we used to call outriggers (outback cowboy style safari hats with one side buttoned to the main).