As our nation unravels due to the complex effects of dwindling energy supplies, it’s more important than ever to find the right place to put down roots. Although the outbreak of COVID-19 was not the cause of this crisis, it was the historic transition interregnum between an era of frenzied consumption and a new era of resource scarcity. Author James Howard Kunstler agrees and calls this era “The Long Emergency.”
The Long Emergency is the era where ecological, economic, and energy crises converge to shape the future of humanity. In his January 7, 2022 blog post on Kunstler.com, Mr. Kunstler asks these questions to reorient our minds for this new era we find ourselves in:
"The broken giants will have to be replaced by lower-scaled systems for producing stuff, moving it, and selling it. That includes food, especially, by the way. How are you going to be part of that where you live? What role can you imagine yourself in? What are you good at? What do you dream of being good at? Can you assemble a social network for yourself? Do you have any ability to look after the public interest? Can you speak coherently? Do you mean what you say? Are you grounded morally in right and wrong? Can others depend on you to keep your word? These are the questions that will matter going forward, not whether you were vaccinated, or voted for Mr. Trump, or know the lyrics to God Bless America."
The above quote lays the groundwork for a series of blog posts that will explore various topics that help to narrow down areas to call home. In this series, we will look into socioeconomic forces, crime, education, mobility, environment, population density, and so much more that will help you determine what areas are a good fit for you.
Cultural Context
This series is based on my experience with the local culture in central Appalachia. My move to this region has opened my eyes to a variety of issues plaguing the region and the nation at large. I believe understanding the local culture allows us to identify places that can adapt to a changing world or places that will make necessary adaptation almost impossible due to unhealthy/hindering belief systems. Sure, a location may be scenic or have ample natural resources, but how well will you assimilate with those who already inhabit the area?
Understanding the local’s culture and belief system is key to finding the right place to live. Simply put, do you even feel comfortable with the people around you? Do you feel safe? What are the healthy or unhealthy mythologies of the locals? In Appalachia, for example, there are folks who base their superiority over someone else based on which town they grew up in. I do not subscribe to the idea that a geographic location reflects an individual’s self-worth or identity, but to some locals here, it’s everything to them.
To help explain this unhealthy behavior, psychologists have coined the phrase collective narcissism. Collective narcissism is defined as:
"An emotional investment in a belief in the unparalleled greatness of an in-group contingent on external validation. It is a group-level equivalent of individual narcissism. It focuses on grandiosity and entitlement of an in-group rather than the self. An individual that scores high on collective narcissism tends to perceive a larger number of threats and stereotypes of another group. Its own personal insecurities combine with more aggressive behavior display and derogatory towards other groups looking for more validation from peers. The behavior towards other groups tends to be cautious and easily sways to aggressiveness if the group is criticized."
This communal narcissism is so pervasive in Appalachia that folks such as Sharyn McCrumb (click on her name to watch the YouTube video) actually proclaim that if you do not pronounce words, such as “Appalachia,” according to their standards, then you are an enemy to them. The fact that this woman has won literary awards, has been on PBS interviews, and is celebrated by her peers should give us pause on the stranglehold communal narcissism can have on people. Do you really want to be neighbors with someone so small-minded and narcissistic? Probably not, but they do exist in Appalachia and beyond, so we need to be aware.
Keep in mind all humans have narcissistic tendencies known as the id. The refusal to be introspective and self-aware enough to manage their id defines a true narcissist. When someone is saying, “You’re not from around here, are ya?” or “I’m from [insert their location]” in the context that they are superior to you, this is an example of collective narcissism. This and many other collective roadblocks hinder social cohesion. If folks are not able to be accepting and open to others who are not entirely identical in every way to them during these relatively “good” times, how on earth will they be decent people when socioeconomic problems continue to spiral out of control?
Know Thy Neighbor
Let’s take a moment to define what low class means in the context of this Finding Home series. In his thorough book Strategic Relocation- North American Guide to Safe Places, author Joel Skousen defines what low class means to him:
"We define low-class as people who have chronic bad judgment, insensitivity to conscience, and who lack the ability to sacrifice short-term cravings for long-term advantages. This form of personal corruption afflicts all economic levels though it shows up more in the poverty levels simply because chronic bad judgment almost always takes a person toward poverty. A few problem people are able to evade the consequences of vices or bad judgments for a while, but it eventually catches up to them."
And the congregation said AMEN! Being low class is not necessarily synonymous with being financially poor. People of all socioeconomic classes can be low-class. They are simply more prevalent with those who are economically poor due to chronic bad choices. Expanding on Joel’s description, in a way, low-class people can be linked to lower levels of emotional intelligence with higher than average levels of mental illness such as Antisocial personality disorder, Narcissistic personality disorder, Schizoid personality disorder, and more. Those who lack emotional intelligence exhibit a plethora of unsavory characteristics. According to Psychology Today, emotional intelligence can be defined as:
“The ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. Emotional intelligence is generally said to include a few skills: namely emotional awareness, or the ability to identify and name one’s own emotions; the ability to harness those emotions and apply them to tasks like thinking and problem-solving; and the ability to manage emotions, which includes both regulating one’s emotions when necessary and helping others to do the same.”
To conclude, let’s define how emotionally unintelligent people behave. A person lacking emotional intelligence “…believes the world is against them and that it’s never their fault. They can’t deal with frustration or manage their emotions. Hence, they are prone to combative, aggressive, and at times, manipulate behavior in order to bully others into getting what they want.” Here is an excellent example of a person you do not want to raise a family or a homestead near.
Social media
Checking out the locals on Facebook is a great way to get a feel for who they are. Here are some examples of the types of people you would be wise to avoid. You will notice flipping the middle finger, tongues sticking out, substance abuse, and illiteracy are common denominators in low-class people. A pervasive theme amongst this demographic is that they fully believe that all other people behave like them. They are the only group that lives in such a dog-eat-dog world of grandiose narcissistic delusions and chronic low emotional intelligence (plus general intelligence). When people like this believe it is acceptable to post these behaviors on social media, their local culture is degenerating into savagery. Be smart! Run as fast as you can away from people and places like this!
Shop Local
Shop at local stores in the area you are interested in to get a physical feeling of the community. Do you walk into the local Walmart and are instantly appalled at how morbidly obese, trashy, and drug-addicted the shoppers look? This may sound harsh, but let’s leave political correctness at the door. If your gut is telling you that you feel uncomfortable, trust your instincts. This place may not be for you.
Forums and Videos
Forums such as CityData are helpful to get a general overview of the area, but I find that many posters are extremely biased towards an area they grew up in or hyperbolic with how bad a place may be. With so many videos on Youtube, there is a high probability that you can search a town or county, and someone will have posted a drive-through video of the area. In them, you can see if the homes are nice and adequately maintained or if there are numerous cars parked on the lawn, unkempt homes, or trash lying about. This has helped me when looking at potential home sites in south Georgia, where the land prices are affordable, but the towns look like ghetto methvilles.
Investigate Potential Neighbors
One major lesson I learned while living in Appalachia is to look up potential neighbors on the state’s public criminal records website. Doing so may save you from tremendous grief and potential harm. I wish I had read a series like this before I made the move because I found myself next to a low-class property with a 70-year-old drug dealer named Dave. At the time of my move, he was in prison, so the neighborhood was peaceful. Once he got out, however, he immediately went back to selling meth and hydrocodone all hours of the day. The constant traffic of drug addicts coming in and out of his place really spoils the enjoyment of the area and makes for a very unsafe situation.
Note:
Before we continue in the series, I want to be clear that unsavory people exist all over. I believe small towns are the future, but not all of them. Resources and the quality of inhabitants will determine which communities will survive in a future of decline. I myself am searching for rural land outside of a small town to build my future. That is why I am writing this series to show what I'm doing to find the "best" location for our new farm. Furthermore, I am only highlighting low-class people due to the fact that their chronic bad choices are a drain on the community and lead to harming others. Notice again that I am not talking about poor people. By most standards in American society, I live way below the poverty level in regard to income and living conditions being off-grid. Still, this does not make a person undesirable or "low class." Some readers may think that I am being harsh, but the reality is, is that you need to be informed as much as possible about what people are like in order to find your perfect place. Relocating is not cheap, so we need to look at the good sides AND the bad sides of people we may encounter. Knowing what to look for and what to avoid will be invaluable as the Long Emergency unfolds.
Personal Background
Being on a limited budget and after almost two years of property searching, we found 11 acres of flat land with good access and a stream for $35,000 in the mountains in 2018.
After losing my job to the lockdowns and Chris’ through his resigning, we decided to move to our budding homestead in early Spring of 2020. We picked our farm’s location, primarily focusing on a compatible climate for specialized crops, access to water, flat land, and population density within Appalachia. Unfortunately, I was naive that these were the only things to concentrate on in our search. Since that time, we have been on a steep learning curve in various areas that I will expand on in this Finding Home Series. Using the knowledge of what we have been learning over these four years, I am hopeful this information will help you determine the perfect place to put down roots.
Stay tuned and make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next three posts in the finding home series. Part two focuses on local culture.
Great idea for a series and very timely for us as we are actively looking at areas in eastern TN for a retirement / homestead.
One bit about the other side. Although I agree that being cautious about neighbors and community is extremely valuable, we should also be careful that we don't let our biases, upbringing, personal comfort zones, and many of the prejudices that have been brainwashed into us poison our view of others.
For example, a person might stroll into the local Walmart as you say and feel uncomfortable, but why? Are the people dressed differently than what you're used to? Do they speak differently? Hairstyle? Tatoos? Overweight? Underweight? It is awfully hard to form correct insights about people based solely on appearances. They might not be the people you want to invite to the opera or a soiree at the country club but in a collapse society where the ability to fight like hell could be key, you might not care that much about language or appearance. People sometimes look rough because life is rough and has kicked them around. Some have lost hope and turned to drugs or other escapes. Yes, be careful. But consulting with Psychology Today may not be the best guide either.
Point being: it's hard to know about people. You could visit local churches in areas you are considering, but what does that tell you? Some of the most selfish and manipulative people I have met over the years have come from Sunday church groups. My take here is that the primary consideration is economic viability and security. If things get truly SHTF, the people who make poor life choices are not going to be around for long. Heck, even people who make good choices might not be. Are there enough good, reliable people to partner with in a given locale that will ensure long term success? If so, that is about the best we can hope for. Being far from large cities that will generate gangs of desperate, roving criminals is key. Having trusty neighbors for assistance against any local gangs is next in priority to me.
One final word on Kunstler. Love the guy's writing. He is wrong about the oil/energy issue. He conflates his desire to see life return to the 1890s with a view that oil and gas are disappearing and will soon be gone. Plenty of oil and gas and coal. We just happen to have an insane government that won't allow us to extract it in an economic way because they have a psychopathic need to control us and use green energy ideology as the tool. It is manufactured scarcity, plain and simple. The only way we go back to the World Made By Hand envisioned by Kunstler is if the insane neocons provoke a nuclear holocaust. If that happens, there won't be a world worth living in, hand or not.
In Australian rural regions we often end up with a pattern of respectable towns alternating with crappy towns full of dodgy characters. The people in the nice towns drive them out, but they have to accumulate somewhere. Does the same thing happen in Appalachia?