While someone who lives a simple, spartan lifestyle probably means that their needs are fairly simple, it does not necessarily mean that they are superior in foraging or can necessarily survive any better in unusual circumstances. The spartan lifestyle may reflect living in an environment of abundance, in a temperate climate.

Mike Adams of NaturalNews once thought that living as an expat, including on an idyllic farm in Costa Rica, was the best way to escape and prepare for coming bad times. He eventually decided to return to the US, but he once wrote an article about his experience abroad and he mentioned the very now-centered mindset of the Costa Ricans.

He mentioned that they would only buy enough for today or now, whether talking about food or only buying a small handful of nails at a time for some project even though they *know* that they need many hundreds of nails. Adams mentioned that he did not consider the Costa Ricans to be preparedness-minded.

I've seen something similar living in a low income neighborhood. I'm hestitant to say that lack of money is the sole reason, but many folks also have a now-centered mindset there. In the few stores there, things are packaged in small amounts. You can even buy cigarettes one at a time. Some of these folks are very resourceful and would probably excel in some crisis, but most would be helpless and lacking in any reserves to fall back on.