I'd definitely give it a shot!
Unfortunately I don't have any skills that would be of use in a small community like this. But if I could get by just helping everybody and doing odd jobs, why not? Could be nice to get away from it all (and end up in the stomach of a graboid).
I think it would depend on your financial situation. The main drawback of living in that town is that you are so far from everything, and anything other than basic canned goods is going to cost you extra premiums to obtain. If you can afford that, you could have a relaxing lifestyle out in the country. If not, you are going to struggle to scrape by on a very minimalistic lifestyle.
I think Burt and his wife must have some amount of money. They have a fully loaded bunker with tons of expensive weaponry and survival gear and nice vehicles. I'm not sure what their jobs are because we never saw them doing anything, but they must have some amount of money to afford all that.
On the other hand, Earl and Valentine are handling sewage in desert heat and doing any odd job that they can find to try and make a few dollars to scrape by. Not an easy or casual lifestyle.
I agree.. I don't think it explains how far Bixby was away, but let's assume an hour or so. Still, that's not bad. Just have to drive out once a week for groceries and what not and make sure you make a darn good list. Chang's store also seemed to be reasonably stocked and he probably drove out himself and grabbed a ton of groceries and charged a bit of a premium.
If something in Bixby costs $2 and Chang's is charging $3 for it, you'd probably just go get it due to the convenience. And he knew everyone and likely knew what their shopping preferences were.
Parents own a cabin that is kind of out there a ways. It has a much bigger town and way more houses, but before they put a pretty sizable grocery store out there (which still marks up a little bit) the nearby convenience stores (kind of like Chang's, really couldn't buy meat, etc.) charged like a 50-75% markup. And people still paid it.
So yah. Everyone probably drove into Bixby and stocked up on chicken/beef (and froze it) and other groceries. Then used Chang's as a quick stop in for anything on the fly. Didn't get the impression any of these people were really eating healthy anyway. "Bologna and beans..." lol.
Yeah thats the problem with being so far away from things. You end up eating shelf stuff with lots of preservatives because you have no other choice. Driving out of town multiple times a week for fresh groceries isnt feasible and fresh stuff wont last long if you try to go in bulk trips.
shareWith the amount of land in that area, all you would need to do is find a water supply (likely underground) and start up a farm. A year or two of composting and mulching and you'd have decent enough soil for good crops. Corn, sweet potatoes, peppers, and several types of beans grow nicely with little water.
shareWhile there is a certain appeal to Chang's store, I'd need more to live comfortably.
shareNot more than 14 people in the entire US, I'd guess.
"You didn't come into this life just to sit around on a dugout bench, did ya?"