This morning, I saw a video by Appalachia's Homestead in which Patara talked about people picking up stakes, in DROVES, and moving to her state of Tennessee. (It does seem like a very popular place at the moment!)
Later I watched a video by Hoppy Quick (he's a woodsman living in the Catskill Mountains). In one of his videos, he made a comment about how we're all moving back to nature.
Months ago, during the stay-at-home orders in our state, I found myself connecting with nature in a way I never have before. I also kept homesteading videos on, started watching old episodes of TV shows like "Christy" and "Dr. Quinn".
Do you see a movement of people in your area heading back into nature? Maybe people are fleeing cities, seeking freedom, reconnecting with their roots? Perhaps I'm wrong. I've been living in the countryside for a few years and I'll tell you, I feel safer. Things are less weird out here.
I love living in the country. I think the Pluto in Libra generation has a thing with authenticity which I think plays a part. Also finances. Tennessee is not going to be cheap forever though.
@libra-noir From what I read in the comments on Patara's channel, houses and properties are selling like hotcakes and the prices are going up. Same in other places like North Carolina, Idaho, Arkansas, Texas.
@notmycircus This happened in my region California in this last decade. People from LA and SF started buying cheap property here and now there is basically no way to survive here in the middle class. The median home price in my county was 350,000 in 2010. Now it is 600,000 and rising. Great for older people who bought property in the past and great for people who made their money elsewhere but for younger people like myself who grew up here, there are few jobs that pay enough to afford a home. There is virtually no middle class here because of it. The very poor get services, the very rich can afford it here. So what happens is that people like me have fled the state, which has driven up prices in other states and the same thing will happen there and eventually the divide between rich and poor will increase.
There’s a political component as well, that is playing out politically but isn’t political at all. To see how it would play out in regions not on the coast just look at San Francisco. It’s very poor and very rich and little in between. Some things look good on paper but the reality is telling.
Many are moving from big coastal cities to southern states states such as Texas, North Carolina and Florida because they want to be safer from riots and for a better tax situation.
I think people are fleeing cities for the obvious reasons stated above, more than they are committing to reconnect with nature. There are a ton of popular homesteading channels on youtube and social media, but I don't believe that trend is anything new - I think it's just been sensationalized for mass consumption.
I love the country and have lived in a rural area for a long, long time. Connecting with nature changed my life in incredible ways for the better. Over the years, I've noticed some city people that have moved out my way. I can always tell who they are because they're afraid of the dark, the sounds from the woods at night and all the animals that wander around. They light their houses up outside half the night out of fear.
It takes awhile to adjust to the darkness and sounds of the country at night if you're used to city living.
Now with Covid and all the crime in the cities out of control, a lot of city dwellers are looking to move out in my neck of the woods.
lol yes we have a few houses in our area lit up like the Queen Mary half the night 
@jofrance This past summer I heard huge chirping sounds coming from every direction one night. My sister said it's probably just tree frogs getting it on, lol. (She has more experience living out in the sticks than I do.) During the stay-at-home orders in my state last April, I heard birdsong and other animal sounds at volumes I had never heard in my life! It didn't bother me--I thought it was amazing--but I could see how someone from the city might find it unnerving. It was VERY loud.
@jofrance That’s funny because that’s exactly how I feel in cities, uncomfortable. I trust nature more than I trust people and in fact Nature is my friend. One might find me howling with the coyotes here lol. They’re not going to eat me up. Even Mountain Lions that we have here try to avoid people. They are scared of US.
Absolutely, and now with remote working from home becoming more manageable and available, people have more options to do so.
I can't wait to get away from the city, I am disgusted with it at this point.