< Too Fast, Too Loud, Too Much

~tracker

I don't know that I've ever really lived in a big city. I grew up on Air Force bases in the USA, which are all little gated communities that have their own grocery stores, schools, movie theaters, places of work, and community spaces. I've often described it as "growing up in Wal-Mart", in that no matter what state you are in, the bases all seem to look more or less the same. Once I became an adult, I moved to the other side of the country for college and found myself in the rolling forested mountains of Vermont. Here the population is small (under 650,000 people in the whole state) and most folks live in sleepy little towns and villages, made up mostly of dirt roads winding through the hills and valleys. Except for the state's two interstate highways, all we have are one and two lane roads with minimal traffic. Billboards are illegal here and development is regulated to preserve the beautiful scenic views everywhere you drive. I live off-grid in a yurt on 67 acres of forested land down a one-lane dirt road in a town of 1000 people, almost all of whom are scattered through the forest in their own secluded homesteads. I'm also fortunate enough to be able to work from home over satellite internet, so I usually only get in a car once or twice a week on the weekends to drive to the nearest town for running errands. Out here, it's just me, my partner, my companion animals, and the wildlife. If I want to see other people, I can travel out to find them, but they rarely come out to find me. The homesteading chores are significant everyday, but I wouldn't trade it for city or suburban life for any amount of money.

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