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"country folk" vs "city folk"

40K views 204 replies 95 participants last post by  convoy669 
#1 · (Edited)
Just thinking about the advantages and disadvantages between those who have been raised in city/suburban area and those from the country. I guess that each has it"s place in different survival situations. There are dumb city people and dumb country people. Smart city people and smart city people. Does one really have an advantage over the other in a SHTF situation?
 
#3 ·
Should you really look as though one has an advantage over another? Each has their pluses and minuses and as ActionJackson points out each will be (in theory) better in their own element.

In my opinion, it seems as if TS will HTF in a larger, more populated area rather than in the middle of BFE, so I guess you could say the country folk have a leg up by being out of the "danger zone" to begin with.
 
#4 ·
The main disadvantage the city dwellers will face are the large numbers of people. When people get hungry they will start to riot. When people start rioting there will be alot of innocent people hurt/raped and killed. In country towns, there are those that don't have the skills to survive without govermental support and will attempt to steal from others. Just not in large groups.
 
#28 ·
The main disadvantage the city dwellers will face are the large numbers of people. When people get hungry they will start to riot. When people start rioting there will be alot of innocent people hurt/raped and killed. In country towns, there are those that don't have the skills to survive without govermental support and will attempt to steal from others. Just not in large groups.
And those that do try that kind of crap in the country, will probably find themselves staring down the business end of a gun with dire consequences....
 
#5 ·
I have done both. Living in the city does give some street smarts, if they have to survive on the street. Other than that most just go from work to home and back with blinders on. Living on the farm I hunt, fish and garden regularly. If something breaks I fix it not the guy at the corner shop. Living in the country tends to make people more self reliant if they let it. Some still just go to town for all their needs.
 
#6 ·
Self reliance is the key to wherever you are. There are many people who have moved to the "country", just outside of town and all they do is mow a bigger yard and plant flowers. I grew up on a family farm , and my wife grew up in the city. We have a fundamentaly different way of approaching problems. It actualy works out pretty well for us. Call it type "A" type "B" personalities. I see the end result or how things should look, what we need in total. She sees the individual pieces that will get us there.
 
#7 ·
It's a common saying that a lot of city folk prefer comfort and convenience, I think this is correct.

Some have the idea that money will buy there way out of anything. Might work some of the time now, but won't be guaranteed if something major happens.

For some reason a lot of city folks (in there minds) equate country with STUPID. This is VERY short sided! One of my neighbors is a MILLIONAIRE semi-retired.

Who is the smarter- the guy that realizes he can have a better life for less money living in the country so he goes and buys MORE house for LESS money AND has some land go along with it. If he's smart he'll do it DEBT FREE or- like a lot of folks did between 02 and 06 sell there overpriced house in the burbs and move to the country with the net proceeds from there house sale.

Or is the guy that stays in the city, deals with high taxes, high mortgages, battles road rage every morning in traffic, plunks his kids down in gubmint schools where they don't learn anything except how to be punks, is in debt up to his eyeballs and has health problems.

I'd say the guy that lives better is the smarter. One things for sure, only an idjit would fault the country one for the moves he made.

Lowdown3
 
#8 ·
I spent most of my life living in the city, and for the past few years I've been living in the country. The country folk around here have the same comforts and conveniences that city folk have. The only difference is they have a longer commute to work.

As for farmers, well, I think the modern farmer would be lost and helpless without his high-tech machines.
 
#16 ·
As for farmers, well, I think the modern farmer would be lost and helpless without his high-tech machines.
Trust me, I farm and most farmers don't own any high-tech anything. Most farm like their fathers and grandfathers. Most all farmers I know and me included work a 5 day a week job in town so they can afford to go home and work their ass off on their farms.
 
#9 ·
Maybe three to four years ago, after coming home from work, I plopped myself down on the couch. It was a warm, sunny day in the summer. After a half-hour of watching a TV show, I noticed the sun had all but disappeared. What sparked my curiosity was that sunset was not going to occur for at least two more hours. I walked outside and felt the eerie calmness and saw the black sky. The Heavens opened up, the rains fell, and the winds blew. Living in southeast PA, I usually don’t see too many fierce storms. This one looked so big and nasty to me that I gathered my pets and shoved them into the basement and was prepared to shelter with them if things grew worse. The last time I remembered seeing the trees sway in the wind like they did was back in 1983 when I went through my first tornado at four years of age (yes, I do remember that!).

The storm passed, but it knocked out the phones, electricity, and blocked many roads with fallen trees. Within two days the roads were completely cleared, though an effort of private citizens and the township. However, all electricity and phone services did not return for over a week. My area was hit the hardest, and I estimated I was in the middle of a 100 square mile blackout zone. Numerous other blackout zones existed as well.

So what am I getting at with this? I noticed a big difference between the city and country folks. My neighborhood was once all farmland, fields, and forests 50 years ago. Overtime, two housing developments have emerged near my home, with seemingly two different classes of people. To the east, you’ve got the low-middle to mid-middle class country folks. To the west, there are the upper-middle to low-upper class of city folks who moved into the country. A walk through both developments at night revealed the following:

All country folks had flashlights, lanterns, grills, camp stoves, and radios in their homes. Maybe half had generators. Their lives continued as close to normal as possible. The city folks did not have anything at all! No flashlights, candles, lanterns, stoves, etc.

On my way to and from work, I stopped in at some gas stations and noticed most of the city folks were buying deli sandwiches from the station’s shop. Others went out to eat at restaurants every night.

Just from viewing my neighborhood, I noticed the country folks, even if they are not true “survivalists”, will always have some basic supplies on hand. It’s just part of their nature. City folks never, or rarely, have any emergency supplies stored, but rather try to use their wallet as a last minute solution.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I grew up in an urban environment but was lucky to have a father that had grown up in both downtown and backwoods areas! My father was self-employed and was fairly fortunate in his endeavors, so I guess when I was in about the 5th grade we moved to one of these private subdivisions.. I bet they all thought we were the Clampits! I can't tell you how many times squirrels would get on or in our roof, and ol' pops would be in the front yard with a .22 popping those suckers left and right or trapping ***** in the front yard because they were trying to eat his pond fish!! Nobody ever called the cops though.. they might have been scared of us or something..who knows? He started taking me hunting before i could even carry my own gun!! All in all, i do not regret having spent a lot of time in both country and city environments b/c i learned much from each.. I can skin a buck and I can run a trot line, (so in this case) a city/country boy can survive!!!
 
#11 ·
We moved from a large city 10 years ago to a community of 500 people. It took us a while to get adjusted. Our first power outage had a steep learning curve in the city my power had never been out for more then a about 3 hours that I remember.
The power was out for 3 days and my stove was electric. The local Hardware store was open but had no camp stoves to buy. I was lucky the guys who owned the store loaned me his barbecue for the duration.

My next door neighbour and I worked for the same company and when I ran out of gas because the pumps didn't work he gave me a ride to work. 50 KM away he was headed there anyway but still. He had a extra gas on site because this had happened before.

Our well pump was electric as was the pressure system (no town water). ran out of water the first day I called my landlord about it he explained the issue and brought water over to me from his well powered by a genset he had for that purpose. My boss told me next time jus drive out and use the barns water it was good to drink and it had a gen set and the utility had the power there in less then a day.

On the first day of the power outage I was the only person going to the store to buy stuff everyone was good natured about the situation and I made sure I had the stuff on hand for the next one.
Then I moved back to the city four years ago and watched hurricane Katrina happen and though geez those guys where unprepared. Then I took a look around. We had no water, no real food stores and no cook stove fuel on hand. Yet we bought coffee out every day at least once I realized what had happened to them in the city there is very rarely power out for anything length of time. When something happens the cities gets the help first because of the sheer number of people. City folk are use to having 24/7 access to stores and supplies water and power country folk have at least a few of this situations per year. So they have the stuff on hand for it. In the event of a large scale situation the regular city people are dead. For those of us thinking ahead we will need to defend our supplies from hungry people trying to get food. THe country guys will have issue but the majority of their neighbours will also more then likely be willing to help out. Course the town I lived in was in the middle of no where everyone knew each other and most of the people working in town where there to support their farming habit. I mean farm.
 
#12 ·
Ah, back to the ol boards...been a while. Figured I'd weigh in on this one. I grew up in the country, hunting, camping, fishing, gardening, the works. Used to visit my grandparents farm in PA several times a month. I learned everything I could about bushcraft and the like, however, as soon as high school ended I took off to the state capital for school. Lived here for about the last 7 years. In all honesty survival comes down to 1 thing. Preparedness. Thats it.

It is true that street smarts and woods smarts are different, but their much of the same. Look for food either a) in traps and snares or b) in the garbage behind grocery stores, restaurants. Yea it helps to know how to make fire, build shelter etc. in both territories however, street smarts simply dictate to use whats already built, oh wait, so do woods smarts lol.

Dealing with larger groups of people is a key difference though, however, there is also the opportunity to belong to a larger group of people. its a give and take situation. However, I think we can all agree that if **** goes south, bail on the cities.

(or just wait until everyone else does???)

food for thought. Nice to be back!!

~Nash
 
#23 ·
I live in the burbs of Houston so im not technically back country but not technically urban.........
I think this is a HUUUUUGEly overlooked point on this site, in regards to threads of this type. Everyone seems to separate people into those "2" categories...the major city people who are apparently all doped up gangsters and the country people who bring 6 shooters into the grocery store....but why does everyone overlook the suburban people. I bet thats where most average peope are living, and a lot of people on here too. We aren't stuck in the cement walls of metropolis and yet we aren't 40 miles from the nearest walmart. I guess I have no point to this other than, yes, there is a between stage of living.....the burbs.....
 
#14 ·
I grew up country, joined the Corps, now I live in the city. It blows big donky balls. I hate most city people. Most city people are the definition of ..."Sheep". I have had buddies see my food/water/weapon stores and ask why. I tell them why and I get two responses, "Your crazy", or my favorite, "man if we ever go to war, I want you on my side". Most city folks heads are controlled my the media and influenced too much by peer pressure to "blend in". Country folks view the world at a distance and have a clearer picture of reality. Of corse this is just the way I view things......Im a dumb ******* as some have said.:thumb:
 
#18 ·
Yeah but can the ******* hunt and gut a deer. Most likely not. Have any of them even seen a wood stove before and what do they do when the food isn't in the super market and no water from the taps most of the country guys at least know where water, milk, beef and pork come from. We had a threat by farmers to "strike". It was a political ploy to get people to notice they where dieing by a thousand cuts. The response from one of the city idiots was "I'll just go to the super market and buy my food from there I don't need your road side stands." Keep in mind this is a province that needed farms to exist.
 
#22 ·
Back in 1990 I moved from a hobby farm in central Massachusetts to a suburb of San Francisco. In that community it seldom got very cold so the copper water pipes came up out of the ground about 2' where it connected to the house's water system (where the shutoff valve was.)

Anyway one night shortly after I moved in it got bitter cold, down into the teens. Woke up in the morning and no water, obviously the pipes had frozen all over town. Okay, no big deal I can handle this. Dipped a couple gallons of water out of the toilet tanks. Put it on the gas stove and brought it to a boil. Went outside, wrapped the valve and the supply side pipe with the towel. Poured the hot water over the towel. Turned on the hose bib right there and shortly the water started to flow. I went in, took my shower and headed off to work. No problem... My neighbors were all pissed because they had no water and no way to brush their teeth, flush the toilet more than once or take a shower until the following day when things warmed up. OBTW most all of them had the same material to work with that I did, they were city folks and had no clue as to what to do...

Country folk will win out over the average city slicker any day...

Allan
 
#27 ·
Back in 1990 I moved from a hobby farm in central Massachusetts to a suburb of San Francisco. In that community it seldom got very cold so the copper water pipes came up out of the ground about 2' where it connected to the house's water system (where the shutoff valve was.)

Could someone define "hobby farm" for me. Seriously. I have heard the term before but have no idea what it means. Thanks.
 
#25 ·
I think i was lucky,i grew up in the city and the country,most of the year in the UK and a few months in Ireland a year were i was teached hunting and trapping but i became street wise in the UK in the City.

I also lived in Ireland twice as a kid,in the middle of noware.

Now i live in a Village with the city 4 miles away and the country in my back yard so to speak.
 
#26 ·
I think this is a HUUUUUGEly overlooked point on this site, in regards to threads of this type. Everyone seems to separate people into those "2" categories...the major city people who are apparently all doped up gangsters and the country people who bring 6 shooters into the grocery store....but why does everyone overlook the suburban people. I bet thats where most average peope are living, and a lot of people on here too. We aren't stuck in the cement walls of metropolis and yet we aren't 40 miles from the nearest walmart. I guess I have no point to this other than, yes, there is a between stage of living.....the burbs.....
Great point! I am very guilty of this. I lump suberban areas in with city areas myself. Right? No of course not. It is just how I always viewed it growing up. I would visit my familily in suberban towns (Millford, Framingham, Peabody, Danvers) of Boston and to me it was just the same. There were no tall sky scrapers or anything but in the neighborhoods the houses were all close, stores/stripmalls everywhere. I guess it was the population density that I could not get by. Obviously now I see there is a great difference. I still consider suberbanites more closely related to city people than country folk though. This is just my bias and individual assesment.

I am changing this thought because I think statement like this...
The burbs are where the majority of the hunters and fishermen live these days.
are true.
 
#32 ·
In all seriousness, humans are creatures of habit. When the SHTF for real, I firmly believe that many of the City Folk will try to stay where they are, in their comfort zone.

I think the Contry Folk will do the same. Having said that I also think there will initially be somewhat of an exodus from cities for a while then a gradual return as the City Folk realise they can't hack it 'out there'.

As to has the greatest chances of survival, I come down squarely on the side of the Country dwellers, and those who are PREPARED to BO and make the change to being a Country dweller.
 
#33 ·
The issue isn't food so much as water. Cities will be well stocked. If a country person is thirsty and comes to a pond or stream, that's not a big decision. If a super-metropolitan person has to go to a neighbor's toilet for a drink, that's where nature will weed out the strong from the weak.
 
#34 ·
I've read alot about the idea that there will be a mass exodus from the city. Where I'm living I don't know if that would be the case. Sure I see food out there I don't know if there is the connection in their heads to this idea in the city. Even the ones with guns a fair number have never shot anything moving before. Hunting game isn't point and click it requires knowing how to find the animals in hte first place. Most of the people here can find you a good deli. Finding a deer or rabbit is beyond them. besides I think you will see a lot city folks getting put into refugee camps (going willingly) while the government is "handling" the crisis for them. they will leave the country people alone as they Handle the problem getting the city back in line will be first priority because if you lose control of 6 million people in one location it's far harder to get back control. The country people will be the last to be "helped." The rural communities know this when you lose power in the country they fix the cities first because that's where the most voters are. When our power was out teh utility took 3 days to get me power. it took them one day to get the barn power why. Because the barn was worth 5 million dollars and paid high taxes and improved the road leading up to.
SHTF they will let them return to their houses after they have it cleaned up.
The end of the world. Well the will most likely die of starvation or kill each other over the supplies. Never seeing the food is out there, I wonder how many hunters there really are. In Canada inorder to buy a hunting license some of the retailers require you show both a hunter safety and a gun license. So that means we should have only 2 million hunters in our population from coast to coast. Not all of that 2 million are hunters The average age at some of our deer camps are approaching 55 at least here in Ontario or so I have been told. they are desperate to attract new guys to hunting I don't know if there are that many hunters in either country any more. I still keep wondering if they really will wonder in to the country or if they die trying to find food in the city.
 
#35 ·
Even the ones with guns a fair number have never shot anything moving before. Hunting game isn't point and click it requires knowing how to find the animals in hte first .
So true. That's why I have to smirk sometimes when I think about some people who think they will be out there with their AKs that they have probably ever only shot at targets. Real life is not like what you see on tv with these guys down on there ranches with big bucks running around everywhere. Sorry folks. That is why it's on tv. Good hunters, ones who could actually supply there families with food have been doing it for there whole lives. It is a developed skill like anything else. Most deer don't drop where they are shot. I don't think a lot of people understand how difficult it can be to follow a blood trail. Sometimes one tiny drop every fifteen feet or so.....while the sun is going down.....it's 20 degrees outside.....in the rain.....with no shoes...okay I'm just playin now:D:
 
#79 ·
Good hunters, ones who could actually supply there families with food have been doing it for there whole lives. It is a developed skill like anything else. Most deer don't drop where they are shot. I don't think a lot of people understand how difficult it can be to follow a blood trail. Sometimes one tiny drop every fifteen feet or so.....while the sun is going down.....it's 20 degrees outside.....in the rain.....with no shoes...okay I'm just playin now:D:
No doubt.

My husband and boys did not even nab a deer this year due to just these things. For one, they were trying to BOW HUNT during bow season, AFTER my hubby got home from work - on Grandpa's land. (which left maybe an hour and a half of daylight to hunt)

Around here I believe you can hunt all you want on your own land, but grandpa's land is in a "no gun" zone - so it has to be by bow. Bolts get expensive when you can't find them.

There have been a number of missing arrows, one doe presumably shot and never found :( Then, if you have someone else out there who thinks YOU are a deer, and you think THEY are a deer - it's good sense to know when to hold your fire until you actually SEE the deer. heh. That's how accidents happen - so consider that too.

This is why I don't mind the young boys going hunting with dad - because there are no other hunters around - and they know who is with them and where. Usually the nephew goes too, and occasionally one or two others. One goes to the tree stand. The hubby and boys stick together, and the last person goes to the end of the property to drive any nearby deer up to the front where the rest of the crew waits.

Believe me, they have baited, left food, salt blocks - and have seen some huge tree rubs, tons of tracks etc. So it wasn't due to lack of experience that we don't have some deer meat.

THEN - comes the worst part for anyone who is anywhere near squeamish. You hang the deer, you skin the deer, you chop it, grind it, pack it. Can't tell you how much easier it is to just pay for a butcher to do it - but last time we sent a deer (and a cow) over that way - they added nitrates to the trail bologna and who knows what else - which irritated the heck out of us. So seriously - best to know how to do your own.

I've been in both country and city - hard city life as a child with mom in the city (divorced parents) - but lots of country with the poppa. He bought a 13 acre farm, and we had a horse most of my life (still have one) always had cats, and shepherds, etc. etc. Then I met the hubby, and we've had chickens, rabbit, and cows.

Personally I LOVE training animals, and have been tossed by horses so many times in life it's crazy. I can train large dogs to do just about anything, including attack. These I think are excellent skills, that just do not come from the city. Yeah, they have pitts that fight, and large dogs in the city - but definitely not horses. And when is the last time you saw a cow standing out in the back yard?

So I don't know. Considering all my experiences, I would venture to say what I have learned from "po folk" has been a lot more valuable than what I have learned from "city folk." :)

Thanks!
 
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