I stayed in a small town outside Chablis, France, many years ago. I rented a room above the only restaurant in town. There were a few businesses, mostly food-related and clothing repair. Everything just seemed slowed down. I watched a man in waders unload a dead boar he had just shot to the butcher at 9am. I watched two other men repairing brickwork on a foundation. I watched another woman tending a large garden, then go to work at a bar/restaurant. The stores were open for just a few hours. The shelves were free of random plastic trinkets and gadgets.

It just seemed like it was 1/10th the normal speed, somewhat Luddite... and every task seemed oddly fundamental.

I've also encountered towns like this in Spain, Greece, Austria, Mexico, Guatemala, Chile, Uruguay, Thailand and Cambodia.

After reading these comments, I would never have believed that so many small towns exist that seem untouched by 24-hour stores and everything cheap and on-demand. It sounds inevitable that everyone is eventually pushed into hyperinflationary always-working mode. But yet, these places persist. I might even chalk it up to depressed economies and "third-world" nature, but my samples include all sorts of economies.

I think we choose what kind of lifestyle we want, but it needs to be done at the community level. Without going all "we should all be farmers hippie dippy portland nature fetishist", it does seem like decisions have consequences and it is possible to steer away from hyperactivity.