I think your observation is on point. I just moved from Los Angeles to a smaller, mellower, suburban South Carolina and I see the complete fake dullness. I'm fortunate to have picked a place with a lot of local culture and history so there's a decent amount of stuff you would find in the bigger cities real close, but the fakeness of everything can be oppressive, especially returning from a recent trip to Europe. I've come to the same conclusion that you have to embrace the artisanal fakeness. I try to eat at local places and make my own culture by hosting dinners, parties, and patronizing interesting stores.
At their best, small towns can have their own unique character. I remember when I was a kid growing up in a small town (Montesano, WA) that had no chain restaurants, the local government was fighting hard to keep a Subway from opening up downtown. I didn't quite understand what the big deal was back then, but now I totally get it. Even one single chain restaurant can really color the entire rest of the culture of a town.
Absolutely. North of Los Angeles, in Ventura County there's a small town named Ojai. It's extra granola shitlib, lots of retired Hollywood types, and new agey cults, but they have the place on lockdown. No chains are allowed, no fast food, local restaurants and stores only. Kindof nice. I always wandered what a right version of it might look like.
not very much help, but i think whenever the idea of 'walks in nature' gets invented (e.g., by plato, by wordsworth, by everyone (now)) it's exactly then that nature has become a representation of itself. but perhaps nature being a representation of itself is better than a representation being a representation of itself.
I think your observation is on point. I just moved from Los Angeles to a smaller, mellower, suburban South Carolina and I see the complete fake dullness. I'm fortunate to have picked a place with a lot of local culture and history so there's a decent amount of stuff you would find in the bigger cities real close, but the fakeness of everything can be oppressive, especially returning from a recent trip to Europe. I've come to the same conclusion that you have to embrace the artisanal fakeness. I try to eat at local places and make my own culture by hosting dinners, parties, and patronizing interesting stores.
At their best, small towns can have their own unique character. I remember when I was a kid growing up in a small town (Montesano, WA) that had no chain restaurants, the local government was fighting hard to keep a Subway from opening up downtown. I didn't quite understand what the big deal was back then, but now I totally get it. Even one single chain restaurant can really color the entire rest of the culture of a town.
Absolutely. North of Los Angeles, in Ventura County there's a small town named Ojai. It's extra granola shitlib, lots of retired Hollywood types, and new agey cults, but they have the place on lockdown. No chains are allowed, no fast food, local restaurants and stores only. Kindof nice. I always wandered what a right version of it might look like.
not very much help, but i think whenever the idea of 'walks in nature' gets invented (e.g., by plato, by wordsworth, by everyone (now)) it's exactly then that nature has become a representation of itself. but perhaps nature being a representation of itself is better than a representation being a representation of itself.