Observations from a Rural Outpost

I am spending this week with family in upstate NY. My parents have lived in the same house for close to 45 years, and I love getting up here a couple of times a year to enjoy a change of scenery.

A few things have jumped out at me since we have been up here.

Americans watch a ton of television. I guess I don’t notice it as much where we live for whatever reason, but as we have been out at night enjoying the brisk winter air it seems that every house has their TV on. Some of it is no doubt generational. Many of the people living here are older, and there is but so much that one can do in 30 degree weather. None-the-less, it’s been eye-opening, and a touch depressing.
The migration away from small towns feels very real here. As I drive down the road, I often try to figure out what the people that live here are doing for a living. As the factories that powered this area have closed down, it gets harder and harder to find real industry or job-producing engines. More and more homes stand empty each time we visit. Living in North Carolina, I know where a lot of them are going. Charlotte and Raleigh are top destinations for people leaving New York.
I realize why many people crave the small town living experience. There is something about living in a town of less than 2,000 people that you can’t get in a suburban neighborhood. I don’t know that the opposite is true.
Somehow Uggs boots manage to find their way into every crevasse in America. It’s one of life’s profound mysteries.

Below are some scenes from here in Franklin.

My parent’s house