I grew up in southern California, in Los Angeles county — county of the Angels by name alone. Sometimes I can’t understand why. Maybe it was not so crazy-populated back in the 60s, maybe it was good for me to learn how to navigate chaotic freeways. LA county covers a large area, and we lived in the suburban neighborhood of Crescenta Valley  in Whiting Woods. We had lots of oak trees among the sage brush. And poison oak and rattle snakes.

According to census data, by 1970, the La Crescenta – Montrose area had about 19,000 people. Whiting Woods was actually annexed to the city of Glendale, a population of 119,000 in 1960.

In 2014 the estimated population for the county of Los Angeles was approximately 10 million. Not a good place to live when chaos begins. I don’t want to live in a large metropolitan area. I don’t like to hear the traffic or drive in it. I like nature. Unfortunately, your job and livelihood often requires you to be in a place that is not conducive to your innate desires. But, if you could live anywhere, where would you go?

Would you want to live off the grid — or do you want the best of both worlds? I still want the internet, and my cell phone. But less people. I want to be able to live off the land.

Use this interactive census viewer to analyze any area in the United States.

U.S. and World Population Clock

credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Population_Density_by_County.svg

credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Population_Density_by_County.svg

US Population Density