Comments by "P M" (@pm2886) on "Lord Spoda" channel.

The lack of people is so strange. Where I live, even dying small towns still have people out in the street, gardening, walking dogs, maintaining their homes, etc etc.
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They are not "left behind"! They are smart, actually.
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That's a beautiful town! Yes there are some who don't keep their houses and yards clean and tidy, but you get those in every town. This looks amazing to me. I don't understand why more Americans on low incomes don't buy houses there, and reinvigorate the town. That's happening in a lot of previously run down country towns where I live. Young people priced out of the big cities, are finding these picturesque and historic old towns with cheap housing, and bring life and civic pride back.
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One thing it's very hard to understand, is abandoned houses. In my country there are very few, because every house has infinite value to whoever owns it. It's impossible to fathom why someone who has nothing but that house, would think they're better off leaving and renting. It doesn't make any economical sense at all. For that reason, I suspect people abandon houses just because they can't be bothered looking after them. I mean if you wanted to move for better job opportunities, you'd make the effort to tidy the place up and sell it. IOW I think these abandoned places are just sheer laziness and apathy.
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What's so alien - to my eyes at least - is the lack of people on the streets. Even in the centre, there was no one. Towns of 70,000 in my country are full of pedestrians at 9am. The centre would be buzzing with foot traffic. So strange and surreal.
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@amberpowell2609 So you're basically agreeing that there are at least large areas of these towns, which are effectively abandoned. It still doesn't explain anything. WHERE are the people who live in the towns. If your small city has 20,000 people (for example), they would be very visible. They would be out and about around town. Walking their dogs. Gardening. Shopping. Catching up with friends at cafes. Playing tennis. Working out. Hiking. Riding bikes. Commuting to work. Jogging. Etc etc? All the normal things that normal people do.
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@MrAshley4440 That was exactly my response! I'm in Australia, and it's the same here (and in the UK). Even in small impoverished towns, people still walk their dogs and do a little gardening etc. They also go for walks ... because walking is free.
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@brightharbor_ It doesn't work like that where I live. Here, country towns are bustling during the day, and quiet at night.
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If you own your home outright (which is much easier in such places) and can grow your food, $300 - $400 a week is plenty to live well. If you share your resources house/land etc with others earning the same, you're pretty much rich.
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@amberpowell2609 Sure, a town of 1000 isn't going to have crowds. But I've seen these documentaries about actual small cities (like 50,000+), and the streets were empty even there. No one around. No one out and about living lives. Just the odd person aimlessly wandering desolate and decaying streets. No one doing 'normal people' stuff. So where are they? Even on weekends these places are deserted. It's actually quite post-apocalyptic. No one taking care of their homes. No one walking dogs. No kids hopping off the school bus. No one in the cafes (some don't even have cafes .. which is super weird). No one engaging in sport/recreation. Not even shopping.
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@HSBsoulsurfer But why would that mean the streets are deserted?
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@mommynab Right, so why don't they SELL the house and give themselves a good head start? If these people are poor, then why the hell aren't they raising money by selling the house? No normal poor person would just abandon an asset like that, so it tells you there's something wrong with those people. They are not normal, and they don't even try to do something about their poverty. It's laziness and apathy, 100%.
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I just commented the same thing! Where are the 70,000 people? Why is there no one walking around?
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@cynthiamatthews Walking is free. Walking the dog is free. Chatting with your neighbours across the fence is free. Bicycling is almost free. Hiking is free. A game of tennis with friends is almost free. A coffee at the cafe is $5. This has nothing to do with poverty, in other words. And I'll wager that these hiding people are spending way more than they should be on things like junk food and beer, so that makes it even worse.
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@BorisZech But they're old towns, so that can't be true.
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@godschildyes So if they don't have cars or jobs, why aren't we seeing them out walking during the day?
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@godschildyes If they're poor, it's not going to be better inside. It's not like they can afford to run airconditioning. I'm not poor, and I can't afford it!
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@LCx829 Exactly! I live in a place where everyone is outdoors during the day. It's SO odd and spooky seeing an actual town with no people.
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@Igotyoutriggered The logical thing to do, in that case, is to make your own garden beautiful, and your house exterior pristine and pretty. Then your immediate surroundings provide you with lots of pleasure. You might even start a trend in the neighbourhood. I mean why live in a small town which has lots of space, only to sit indoors? That's just bizarre behaviour.
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