San Francisco recently lost their Whole Foods grocery stores, Nordstroms and even Walgreens. I don’t feel sorry for them. We don’t have those stores either.
I had to search online to find the closet Whole Foods. It’s a 90 minute drive.
We don’t have a Walgreens, either. Instead, we have an old, run-down CVS about 30 minutes away.
I also had to Google the closest Nordstrom’s. Turns out, it’s in another state some three hours away.
Whole Foods, Walgreens and Nordstroms are just a few of the companies that left San Francisco because of the crime, the homelessness, the high rate of shoplifting, and the poor quality of life.
Quality of life. That’s one area where my little Podunk village and our economically depressed county outshine San Francisco and all the other big cities.
We don’t have homelessness because with Section 8 housing assistance, everyone can afford an old singlewide or a small, rundown house. Our drug addicts (most of them use meth) must use in their own living rooms because they are not camped out on the sidewalk downtown. I expect they’d get three hots and a cot in the County Jail if they did.
Crime Without Punishment
San Francisco, like many liberal cities, is soft on crime. They defunded their police without thinking about the consequences. Shoplifters aren’t prosecuted unless they steal $900 worth of stuff, and maybe not even then. They emptied their jails in the name of “social justice,” only to find out some of those people were locked up for good reason. Social justice has led to social disarray.
In this area, they take a much harsher view of crime.
The last time someone tried to hold up the local store, they got shot by the proprietor, stumbled out of the store, jumped into their car, and crashed a couple miles up the road. I don’t know if the guy died from the crash or if he crashed because he died from the gunshot; the newspaper didn’t say. In any case, they didn’t prosecute the store owner.
The last time someone shot at a sheriff deputy, it resulted in a high-speed pursuit. Another agency joined in, and the bad guy died from a severe and sudden lead infection. The cops involved got a week or two off work while there was an investigation. The powers that be cleared them of any wrongdoing.
No one sued them. No one blamed it on racism. There were no criminal apologists to suggest that the police should have “shot the gun out of the bad guy’s hands” or to use mental illness as an excuse for the criminal’s actions.
It’s refreshing.
Concealed Carry
The other day, I went to my local bank, and they had a no handguns sign on the door for the first time. I ignored it, as I often do. As I was waiting for a teller, I was greeted by the woman who helped me open my account. “What’s with the no guns sticker on the window?” I asked her. “I’ve never seen one on your bank before.”
“Oh, our new branch manager put it on,” she said with a slight eye roll. I’m guessing she transferred to our rural branch from an urban one.
“Well, tell her I am offended by it.”
“I am too!” she said, explaining that she had a concealed carry permit as well. “Just ignore it,” she told me
I will. And so will anyone intent on robbing the bank. In fact, being a “gun free zone” will probably make that branch a bigger target.
I can’t imagine having a conversation like that in San Francisco, Chicago, or Boston.
In Praise of Country Life
I’m happy with our quality of life. Beyond that, I’m happy with the attitude of people I meet and interact with. They are friendly, helpful, and always willing to chat. No one is in a huge hurry. Sure, we have to drive half an hour to go grocery shopping or visit anything other than a dollar store, but that’s a small price to pay. Besides, I once commuted 45 minutes to work. Half an hour is nothing.
I can go fishing right down the road. I can hunt in my backyard. Last week, I did some target practice in my front yard. No one complains about my beehives, that my roosters are too loud, or that we cook meat. There are no sirens or horns, and no trains with squealing brakes to wake me when they rumble by. Sometimes when I am outside, I hear the faint noise of a plane flying over and I look up to catch a flash of silver or see a contrail. But other than that, I hear birdsong and woodpeckers during the day. At night I hear owls hoot and coyotes yip. We get the sound of streams and the wind in the trees. Everywhere we look is green with flashes of yellow and pink flowers as spring moves full speed ahead. At night, we get stars, lots of stars.
We may not have fancy shopping, specialty coffee or the newest cocktails, but we drink spring water and enjoy safety, peace, and quiet.
Move to the country. It will be good for your blood pressure, good for your family, and good when the SHTF.
