How're ya goin' ta keep 'em down on tha farm?
Hunger might do it. The danger and hassle of travel when they treat you like a terrorist in your own country. Once I got a taste of the relative freedom on the farm, I had little desire to go to Paree.
I just have a feeling things are not going to be "business as usual" for too much longer in this country with some of what I call Overlooked Retirement Dangers coming to a head. I remember Miami during the fuel shortages of 1979. People got downright testy! I don't want to re-experience that when I'm 68. Not even now do I want to go to any big American city.
I enjoyed the Babylon blog, ladelfina. That's a parallel lifestyle I once lived and I'm trying to get back to.
I'm very attuned to the Peak Oil situation: check out one of my favorite authors, James Kunstler at
James Howard Kunstler . He doesn't see any good alternative to oil, not for the scale of the demands we place on oil. More crucial to agriculture, is natural gas; no fertilizer=back to near-subsistence production. And we're much closer to the end of natural gas reserves than oil.
I don't mean to be gloomy, but since we're talking about how we want our retirement to be, I bring these things up. Overlooked Retirement Dangers that can be avoided with a little planning. Most folks just would rather immerse themselves in Dancing with the Stars: someone else's glamorous pretend life.
I've been to Paris and Rome and Oktoberfest and Amsterdam, Mexico, Canada, and most of the U.S. states, and did it up right. But I don't think I'll be doing much gratuitous travel anymore like when I was 30. Things have changed and I don't have the tolerance for the BS that goes on at our airports, now.
If I do decide to check out someplace that might still be warm and friendly like Mexico was forty years ago, I may just go and not plan to return. A lot depends on how the election goes in 2008. This country seems to be getting polarized like it was during the Nixon/Vietnam years and - if there seems o be someplace that is more free and comfortable - I'd rather not be living under either Empress Hillary or Rudi Julie-Annie.
To get back to your original thought, We're only slaves to the system to the extent we need/want to buy stuff from them (Corporate America). What do I need from them if I can grow most of what I eat and trade for the rest with my neighbors? I've been there - it was great.
I haven't owned a car for 9 years and it's such a relief generally. I grin when I see folks lined up, idling at the Espresso booth, just beggin to pay 3 bucks for something they could make at home for a quarter. All the while burning up those precious hydrocarbons! I have realized I don't need 99% of what this world lures us into the Debt Trap with. Been there, done that, and got pictures to prove it.
Got to go - I'm starved!