Looks as though we are in general agreement here. I was sort of speaking initially to the fantasy that someone would pick up pennies in front of the steamroller till the last instant, then "bug out" to a faraway and very different place, just in time.
I think we know what "a crowded exit ramp" implies in markets, which are not the only place the concept is valid. It's just not a trivial thing to do at the drop of a hat.
Makers, takers, fakers - human nature is the reason the 4 most dangerous words in the market are "it's different this time". The underlying details/backdrop might be, but human nature doesn't change, or changes very slowly and mostly only in great need - that's what never seems to be "different this time". Often, if the need goes away, the old bad parts of human nature return. I'd bet many of us have known people who are great till they get married, or reach some other goal, then turn back to s**theads.
The place has something to do with it. Here, a trip to the store takes a long time and is expensive - even if all you need is a buck's worth of cottage cheese, you'd spend 3-6x that on the transport costs alone (well, for people who don't have electric cars like me, and half a day is now toast regardless). This enforces people having a plan, living without one is just too expensive. I think that the forced responsibility in one area helps in others - it's habit-forming, and there are a lot of examples in farming that don't apply so much to the denser areas. It's kinda harder to dash off for a week if you've got livestock, for example. Most people who could take care of them for you have their hands full with their own, and you wouldn't want someone with no knowledge doing it.
Seems in the poorer areas, some sort of pride in not being in debt (to other locals or perhaps even the bank) makes things work differently. There's a higher percentage of "salt of the earth" types. Like I said, a lot more value is in intangibles - I do a lot for the people around here, and get props for "good karma". People here, and there is a wide spread of money-type wealth, want that prize more than money, and it affects one more day to day than (reasonable amounts) of money do.
To me, money could be divided into a few amounts of reasonableness or whatever word we want to use there:
1. Not enough to get by. Lots of possible reasons for that. If it's not your fault, people look at it one way, and help you. If it's perceived to be "your bad", you get a different treatment - and around here, that probably means you'll be moving to "greener pastures for a taker" before long - that's key to this area maintaining how nice it is, frankly. Not many will help you if your problem is that you blow money instantly on hedonism and are always coming back for more, neglecting your other responsibilities.
2. Enough to get by on some level, maybe not the lifestyle you'd like, but enough - reasonable.
3. So much you own everything and everybody - the servants take care of things.
#2 is more or less the norm here and that definition covers quite a span of physical resources. Most of the area falls into this category, including me.
Getting from one number to the next is often a large jump. Going up (by this measure, money != wealth) is hard work and probably involves at least some good luck. Going down, if it was due to obviously bad choices, it not well looked upon. If it wasn't that - then most will reach down a hand and lift you back up - for the karma. And to have you in a state of being able to help them when *they* need it. Not everything that looks like altruism isn't simply enlightened self-interest. The latter probably dominates. you could argue that enlightened self-interest is a lot more likely and a lot more reliable than altruism. Some people think the latter does not truly exist - and I'm friendly to that camp.
*in the mountains, if you limit it to cycling distance - it'll be about 4-5 in your group. The hills are such that it's even hard to get a horse to willingly go up them, sometimes. The few die-hard cyclists around here first use a truck to get their bikes to some flatter area, you never see one on my road, or within a few miles of my place. Go/golf karts, riding mowers, tractors are much more popular transport for visiting, and it's not from being out of shape. My own bit of land has several 160 ft changes in elevation.
**as a long range shooting competitor, which is more or less being a sniper, but on paper targets - I value a dentist more myself. Of course, the sniper thing is a fantasy even if one can really shoot well (I hold some all-time records at that) - there's more to it skills-wise (good at being patiently invisible?) and temperament than I have, probably a good thing.
The only living things we shoot in this game are insects - flies on the target, for laughs. The idea of shooting another human or even a deer kinda makes me feel ill, though I suppose I could manage if the circumstances were there for that. So far, that seems very unlikely. I'm glad it's not much of a worry at this point, and unlikely to become so here even if it does elsewhere. You need zombies for a zombie apocalypse. The supply of possibles is pretty low around here, compared to any city and most towns. I call that a feature.
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Of course, it could all be just boasting on my part, that I've found (and built and own) a place where if TSHTF hard, I'm probably among the better off - I didn't do this for that reason, but it came along with the rest. Daily, in normal times, some would argue other things matter more. There is for example, no plumbing in the building I spend 99.9% of my time in, no pushbutton heat anywhere - you have to go at least turn a knob on a propane heater, or feed a woodstove. Nothing much is automatic.
You need a plan to live efficiently - when I go out for errands - I've got a plan to hit as many stores as have things I need - or will soon, as if I might not get out again for weeks (which is sometimes the case). There are some days I don't have all the electricity I'd like without thinking about it or adapting to what the sun has given me (as well as the opposite, sometimes I'm scrambling to use as much as I can). In fact, I look abjectly poor by some standards - all my clothing would fit in a trash bag (there'd be one really heavy pair of socks in it, though - no boats here). I could rationalize it as character-building and not be totally off-base. I think the freedom, which is nearly total otherwise, is worth it. It's certainly rare in the U.S..