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Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

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41–50 of 107 posts

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#41
post #18

North Dakota is the only clearly discernible state boundary. Anybody know why that is? Does something about the legal regime of North Dakota really change the settlement patterns that much? Or is it some kind of artefact of the way that ND census block are formed, compared to the surrounding states?

It's pretty clear on the west coast of NoDak. *edit: After looking at it for a tish longer, I can see all three borders quite clearly. Being a North Dakota native may help.

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#42
post #2

Drove across Wyoming the other day on the way to Denver and I could definitely appreciate that it was the least populated state in the US (or least densely populated). Lots of open space.

I'm a recluse and I've actually considered one day retiring to a state like Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho. This infographic just made my eyes light up. "Oh my god I can finally get away from everyone" I thought.

Native wyomingite here - I wouldn't live anywhere else. Cheyenne (state capital) isn't even that densely populated and it's about the busiest city I'd ever want to live in. Here, life seems mostly laid back and relaxing where just a few tens of miles to the south in either Fort Collins or Denver, CO, life feels hectic and claustrophobic.

I'd call this city just about perfect, though - it's still in Wyoming, so there's still separation between people, but it's a quick hop skip and jump to a bigger city for any events in that area.

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#43
post #34

Maybe I'm the only one, but is anyone else impressed about the amount of populated areas in the country? It makes me wonder how long we have until we start shoving each other into the oceans.

Really? I have the opposite viewpoint. It's amazing how much of the US has zero people living in it. Remember, if the census block has is filled in, it could only have 1 or 2 people living in it (i.e. a farm). We have so much dam space in the US it's mind blowing.

A lot of the space is not really suitable for dense inhabitation, tho. (or any at all for a smaller subset)

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#44
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OK, I downvoted you because you played therapist online, making no attempt to understand the person and telling them they had a problem. That's really not OK in so many situations.

I did no such thing. I responded to someone's statement that he's a recluse with the suggestion that perhaps that's not a natural state. Somehow this is offensive? Then I went on to make what I considered a positive and constructive suggestion, that assuming I did not understand the person, he might look in places other than zero-population areas for suitable but more convenient habitation. I'm sorry you see that as…

The part that made your comment look foolish was the assumption that it was normal to want to live in high density populations.

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#46

Maybe I'm the only one, but is anyone else impressed about the amount of populated areas in the country? It makes me wonder how long we have until we start shoving each other into the oceans.

We'll fight each other over fresh water supplies long before we're shoving each other into the sea. The looming water crisis is a particularly big problem in California, Arizona, and parts of the Southwest. Interestingly, farmland irrigation accounts for a bigger drain on water than almost all of the nearby cities combined.

You can 'create' more water by desalination. The real problem is in energy.

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#47
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OK, I downvoted you because you played therapist online, making no attempt to understand the person and telling them they had a problem. That's really not OK in so many situations.

I did no such thing. I responded to someone's statement that he's a recluse with the suggestion that perhaps that's not a natural state. Somehow this is offensive? Then I went on to make what I considered a positive and constructive suggestion, that assuming I did not understand the person, he might look in places other than zero-population areas for suitable but more convenient habitation. I'm sorry you see that as…

But why don't you think it's OK for the other poster to be a recluse? Like him, I quite enjoy solitude and that's one of the reasons I posted this. I spent a month working in a remote desert last year and found it the peace and quiet very restful, in contrast to the hustle and bustle of city life. I enjoyed the latter much more when I was younger but over time my tastes have changed.

I see no reason for you to project your standards of mental health onto other people, even if you don't share their inclinations.

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#48
post #2

Drove across Wyoming the other day on the way to Denver and I could definitely appreciate that it was the least populated state in the US (or least densely populated). Lots of open space.

I'm a recluse and I've actually considered one day retiring to a state like Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho. This infographic just made my eyes light up. "Oh my god I can finally get away from everyone" I thought.

Well, if you do go the hermit/recluse path, I hope you keep coming up with the elegant products and great designs that you've created in the past [1]

[1] http://www.chrisnorstrom.com/category/creation/

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#49
post #33

Related to this is a PDF from the USGS showing the average distance to the nearest road: https://www.fort.usgs.gov/sites/default/files/products/publi...

Thanks for posting that link, very interesting! Two comments: 1. I lean towards the idea that the government wastes a lot of money on stupid things. This however, is pretty dam neat. 2. I'm surprised that most of the US (60%?) is purple/blue which would suggest most of the land in the US has a road within 0.2 to 0.5 km? That's really surprising. I guess if you threw in logging roads and any type of path that could su…

It's worth taking a look at the federal budget in detail sometime. Politicians love to argue and make a big deal about relatively small outlays, in comparison Social security + medicare/medicaid = 48% of spending, with military you have 66%. Non-military discretionary is only 17% which includes all of the department of the interior, including the USGS.

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#50
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a recluse and I've actually considered one day retiring to a state like Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho. This infographic just made my eyes light up. "Oh my god I can finally get away from everyone" I thought.

Move north. For this past long weekend I snowshoed into a remote lake and stayed in (and fixed up) a beautiful abandoned cabin. Ice fishing, star and northern light photography, wildlife viewing and beautiful sunshine. Didn't see a single person, and I would have been shocked if I did. I'm in the Yukon, Alaska is much the same.

Nice!. I've been wanting to visit Alaska for a while. Mainly to get away from the daily grind and constant hustle-bustle of my busy life.
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