Feeling lonely in a crowded room? That is because you do not have any meaningful connections within the group.
And, this is the epitome of city living. Where you do not know your neighbors, and often do not want to know them.
Especially right now, where if you are a MAGA in a blue city, it may be life threatening to talk with your neo-liberal neighbor. If you are not a part of the "correct" group (and it changes every week) you can find yourself on the outs, and find yourself with people trying to get you fired from your job, and get your life cancelled.
To have a meaningful life, you need friends and community. And these people should not turn their backs on you or stab you in the back because of which direction the political winds blow. You need to feel connection and safety. You need to be in a community of like minded people, who you can feel a kinship with. Who you trust to have your back.
And the size of this community needs to be below Dunbar's Number
What is Dunbar's Number?
British anthropologist Robin Dunbar came up with this number, based on the size of the brain pan of primates, and the size of the social groups. Basically, a person only has so much room in their brains for remembering uniquely other people.
In humans, this number is about 150. You only have room in your brain, for 150 stable relationships, and our cities, our work places, our suburban housing tracts all have way over that amount.
And things are getting worse. Young people, especially men, are reporting having only one close personal friend, with many reporting ZERO. This is an epidemic. Our structure that used to provide access to friends has broken down. No churches, no (small) schools, no family groups.
It becomes quite apparent that humanity needs to go back to tribes. But that doesn't jive with the way corporations want to have cog like workers, with tons of people fighting over those jobs.
People will be fleeing cities
City life is getting bad. Malls are shutting down. Employers are laying off people. The night life isn't there anymore. Crime is rising. Homelessness is rising.
People who can, are leaving large cities and moving to small cities or large towns. There is no reason to stay, especially if you can work from home. And there is growing reasons to not be anywhere near the large cities.
But, even more than fleeing the evils of city life, what will really change things is the homestead movement, and people coming together as tribes/"family"
What will be termed as "The Great Migration" will be a world wide phenomena where people move from where they are to form small communities with the people that get them.
The Great Migration
With the homestead movement, and new technologies coming on line that allow you to live off-grid even more easily, the places where a small community can start their new life are huge. And, if we get flying cars in time, roads won't even be a necessary concern.
As public services start failing because of lack of funding, and other issues, people are going to be looking for a group that can defend themselves. And as the food systems start failing, they are going to be looking for people to grow food with.
Basically, every force is going to be pushing people to find their tribes / "families". And people will be moving, and there is nothing that the govern-cements of the world can do about it. And, increasingly, the govern-cements will become meaningless. The Great Migration is at hand.
Just knowing that this is the beginning of The Great Migration will help you comprehend the feelings in your gut. Sure, you may be thinking of getting out of the city, but there will be an impetus for you to find your "family"
Maybe you will be the first to afford a homestead with your crypto wealth, and then start to invite some of your friends to come build around you / with you.
Maybe you have a self defense group, and you are tight. Maybe its time to really work on that compound you have had rumbling in the back of your brain.
Maybe you have an online group of people who talk the same as you, and share your morals and outlook. Maybe its time to meet in person. And build a place together.
Yes, building a group that can work together, even when they are packed close, is a pain. But it is even more of a pain if you are caught in a city when gangs start going door to door looking for food.
So, keep your eyes open, and ears perked, to finding your tribe.