2006-08-13 22:29:34 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Just a note: Thanks to all who have answered my question already! My answer would be Yes...I think about it almost every day, living "simply."
2006-08-13 22:47:52 · update #1
Actually my sister has "lived" the simple life. About 10 years ago she bought a little cabin with no electricity, water or heat. There was an outhouse out back and she put in a wood burning stove. She lived like this until a couple of years ago when she finally broke down and started putting in things like a portable potty and she has electricity now and running water to a sink. She said it was a wonderful way to live, very peaceful but hard especially whenever she would get sick and couldn't do as much physical work to get the things done you need to do in a day living that way. I remember visiting her and always enjoying it but always happy to get back to running water and civilization. I think the worse part was having to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and taking the flashlight out to get to the flippin outhouse. It always felt like a "Blair Witch" excursion......and in the middle of winter.....AHHHHH!!! We live in a pretty cold part of Canada. I have to admit that I would pick my comforts of home over what I called her "getting back to nature" any day. :)
2006-08-13 23:00:25 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have thought about that a lot. Note; This was actually tried by a family a few years ago. They tried to live as you did back in the 1800's and I don't think they lasted even six months due to all the hardships involved just dealing with, and trying to obtain just the basic necessities of life such as food, shelter, heat, and water never mind the thousands of things we totally take for granted. I understand that the a real big killer of that deal too was that the women did not have tampons back in that day. I doubt many of us would last a year too unless you were extensively trained as a survivalist. I am now going to try and find their story on the Internet as it will certainly be interesting re-reading their efforts in this regard.
2006-08-16 13:43:09 · answer #2 · answered by COACH 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Were the 1800s simple??
It would be nice to spend a day travelling in time to see how everyone lived, but as it is today, things were not always as simple as you think.
Technology has made life easier for some yet harder for others. We all have a washing machine, most have a dishwasher etc which makes home life easier, yet with other creations such as mobile phones, internet and lap top computers it drives us to work harder and faster and for longer.
Life can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Personally I am happy the way my life stands now. It isn't always a bed of roses but I enjoy it and I learn from it every day!
2006-08-14 05:38:17 · answer #3 · answered by Gillipoos 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We live quite simply, in a tiny house with few possessions. We do have electricity and running water (although I lived without them for 5 years back in my hippie 'back to the land' days). As someone else mentioned, it was very peaceful, but hard work.
Back in the 1800's, electricity was not available, so it's hard to compare with today. Water had to be carried. Why do that today if you don't absolutely have to?
Today, simple living often is "living BELOW your means" so that you can become debt-free, and not consume a lot of meaningless material products. It respects an environmentally sustainable way of life.
This website is devoted to simple living:
http://www.simpleliving.net
2006-08-14 09:45:12 · answer #4 · answered by yahooserious 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Life was anything but simple in the 1800s. Middle-class families had servants in those days, but if you had to do all the work yourself it would make for very long days. How would you like to pluck feathers every time you want to eat chicken, or cut and split 10 cords of wood every fall? Want some bread?-get up at five and start baking. All your lamps need to be cleaned and filled at least once a week. Clothes dirty?-get out your washboard and the soap you made with lye and animal fat. Want new clothes?-get sewing. We've got it much simpler nowadays.
2006-08-14 07:44:27 · answer #5 · answered by michinoku2001 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most definitely - lately, I've been thinking in a philosophical sense and really taking a look at my life, the world I live in, the people that surround me in it, and the so-called "civilization" that exists in every corner of the globe, and I've found that I don't like it. I'm only 17, but just knowing that it's a fact that EVERYONE and EVERYTHING will die someday, it makes this life (which is filled with so many things that we do not like and are opposed to doing) rediculous to live in. I mean, simply put, if you only live once, then isn't it understandable if you just simply want to do everything the way you want to and never have to do something that you don't want to? Who is to dictate what is of worth in this life when you will die someday? The only one that can dictate what is of worth to you is yourself, and to do this, one must escape from this civilization based on metally retarded mundane tasks such as taxes, brushing of teeth, working for stupid causes, and generally being someone you really don't enjoy being. The most frustrating part is that it's almost impossible to live such a simple life where all you had to worry about was if your crops were going to be healthy after winter or whether or not your son churned the butter long enough...everyone always says that we're lucky to live in a world where things are done for us, but I beleive it's the opposite. Why spend the day worrying about charging your cell phone, getting ready for work, wondering if your next paycheck is going to allow you to pay the TV bill? I would seriously love to, now, go back in time, at LEAST to the 1800's, and just simply worry about sewing a button back onto my tuxedo in time for my wedding to a simple girl from Pennsylvania and not about my summer-assignment for Calculus that I've yet to do...if you'd like to chat sometime, just because you seem like an interesting person (which is one thing I do find of great worth to me, that is, talking to interesting individuals), you can chat with me on MSN with Zaevodnik@hotmail.com or on AIM with just Zaevodnik. Great question, by the way ;-) Really shows that you have a mind, and screw all those complex people, huh!?
2006-08-14 05:41:04 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No I'd rather not. The average life expectancy in the 1800s was around 30 so I'd be dead by now.
2006-08-14 05:37:14 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Trust me I lie a simple life every time I go to the countryside and those people taking care of their animals without any concern that they will have to pay a huge power bill or that they will miss their favorite soap-opera, and taking care of them self's without any concerns.
Truly it isn't the XIX-th century , they live somewhat close to the early XX-th century(1918-1938)
And this is in Romania. But don't consider that all of them are the same you can easily go too a village and see a house which costed to build(only one house!) up to 500.000 euros approx.(750.000 $) Conditions may vary!
2006-08-14 06:27:44 · answer #8 · answered by Jean-Michel de G. 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Depends what you mean by simply.
I'm broke and believe you me, my life is as simple as it gets. No car, no social life and the computer at the library.
2006-08-14 06:57:04 · answer #9 · answered by UKJess 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
its better of now coz when the temperatures sore up to 50 degrees Celsius we have the air conditioner and we can go to the doctor IN a car rather than ON a bullock cart
2006-08-14 05:39:07 · answer #10 · answered by sandnigga_og 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋