First in the Country then in the Town

Back in September CNN had a story about the rising poverty in American suburbs. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be poor in a suburb. I have experienced poverty in the city and in the country. But in both there are advantages that take the hard edge off poverty. Being poor in the suburbs must be a living hell, they have all the disadvantages of urban living but none of its advantages, and they have none of the advantages of rural living.

Part of my Kitchen Garden

As a young man I lived in Dublin in the late 1980s during the last Irish recession. I lived in a single roomed bedsit in the city centre and survived on welfare. But I managed my money well and took full advantage of the cities amenities. In a small city like Dublin everything was within walking distance, so I had no transport costs.

My big shop of the week was done late on Saturday afternoon in Moore Street, the cities traditional open air market. There was no market on Sunday so all perishable goods like vegetables, fruits and baked goods could be picked up for small money. Traders would accept almost any offer for goods, as soon as the market closed they would have to dump them anyway.

Dublin is full of great libraries, galleries, and museums, which I made full use of. As a young man who liked alcohol the opening of exhibitions were always a good source of free wine and entertainment. In Stephens Green (the main park in the city centre) there would be lunchtime recitals by brass bands, more free entertainment. There were always good buskers on Grafton Street. Cinemas had half price afternoon shows. I was poor but life was good.

Living in the countryside is the easiest option for a poor person. While it does not have the cultural life of the city it has a lot more opportunities for foraging resources. I have written already about foraging firewood (see Windfall in September) but free food is the real treasure on offer in the countryside.

The bounty starts in spring with nettles which make an excellent soup and sorrell which is a good salad leaf. But the real easy foraging comes in autumn, when the hedgerows are full of fruit like blackberries, crabapples, raspberries, wild strawberries etc. My brother is an avid collector of edible wild fungus in autumn. There are lots of neglected fruit trees in the Irish countryside.

All year round wild game can be shot and trapped. The rivers and lakes are full of fish. If you live near the seashore shellfish and edible seaweed are available. In the countryside it’s never to hard to get some land and start growing your own food. It’s always possible to keep to small livestock like poultry, rabbits or goats.

Lots of people will tell you that it's impossible to live in the countryside without a car, but if you are fit and have lots of time a bicycle is all the transport you need.

The CNN story

http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/23/news/economy/poverty_suburbs/index.htm?iid=HP_LN