I can slaughter animals, ride horses and play guitar. A five mile hike is a good way to spend a Sunday morning and three days in the woods is a vacation for me and my friends.
If you think you have to be from south of Baltimore to be self-sufficient you've displayed enough ignorance for one day.
There are plenty of "Yankee rednecks".
I have friends in western upstate NY that are as hardy and self-sufficient as any southerner ever born.
I'd bet you live somewhere *outside* of the cities of New England.
That would really classify you as more of a "mountain man" then redneck but it's all semantics, anyway....:)
It's really more of an "urban" vs. "rural" issue.
"Redneck" is just a handy, convenient label....:)
Case in point;
My ex was born 2 miles north of the Mason-Dixon but grew up [barely] suburban in western MD.
If disaster had struck, he wouldn't have survived a week.
He was literally helpless in "rough" conditions.
My husband grew up in extremely citified Federal Hill, Providence RI.
He's lived everywhere and learned all he knows on his own.
If disaster struck, his only setback would be getting gas for a generator to run his welder and there's nothing he -can't- do, build, make or fix.
No matter what comes, he'll take care of it and me.
I also can hunt, fish, split wood, grow food, etc and between us, we'd do just fine.
Self-sufficiency is *not* the sole property of any geographic location.
"Redneck" is a state of mind....:)