Hello Lasseter,
DieOff - Jay Hansen also crystallized my vision (
here is a snapshot from the wayback machine). I came to it in researching the causes of 9/11 (bin laden - not shadow.gov) and it fit right into my acceptance of "Limits" and the population growth problem "popularized" when I was a kid in the '60's & '70's. I'd been able to ignore all that and make payments on the American Dream for 20 years but by the time of 9/11 and certainly after the gov's reaction to it, I became more and more anxious and finally convinced my dear wife to make a move.
So 10 years ago we moved from the vicinity of masses of people on the US West Coast to the center of the country. The trade was one of earning less than in the population grinder out west but because of a lower cost of living, much less
need, to earn so potentially more independence.
We've been very successful in earning less, LOL. But seriously it has been exactly what we planned, I earn a fraction of my previous income but have no debt and spend only a small amount of my time in "billable" work. We are much more resilient than I could ever have been living relatively close to some of the highest cost of living areas in the country.
Then 5 years ago I developed type I diabetes, which is not a big deal at 51 with modern drugs but does tend to put a damper on most survivalist fantasies, LOL. Don't get me wrong, I never went in for the running-gun-battles-with-starving-suburbanite-moms, race war, collapse of government variety of survival; more the permanent shrinking economy, asset erosion, stagflation type of financial survival.
So now, a dozen years later I find myself much more sanguine about the world and it's direction even though decline actually looks more real and imminent than ever.
I sympathize with your loneliness, I would miss my wife terribly (although I get along fine without most other folks, LOL). My loving wife however does become lonely down on the farm, even with my scintillating companionship, amazingly enough. And that has prompted us lately to begin rethinking our situation. I own what is for me the perfect homestead and I could never reproduce in the west if I were to lose my senses and decide to return and (I'd have a hard time replicating it here for that matter). But we're going to make some type of move soon I believe.
So yeah, things change and I've always worried about getting caught out. But I need to remember that if all I do is keep my ear to the ground, eye on the horizon, nose to the grindstone and finger in the wind, I'll be in no position to smell the roses.
Good luck and welcome.