Quarantining outside a big city has opened my eyes to how much urban life is purely consumptive activity. Living in a low density area, just having space and a vehicle to transport supplies I was able to grow vegetables, restore an old motorcycle, build a computer from components, cook and cure meat etc. In my small city apartment all of this activity would've either been impossible or required spending lots of money- turning what was either a fun hobby or a value generating activity into just consumption.
My father recently described this phenomenon to me as, "buying one's lifestyle." I'd never heard the phrase before but I think it perfectly describes what so many of us do in urban areas once we've established a foothold financially.
I have actually done all the things you list living in Brooklyn, NY over the past seven years. But it hasn't come easy. I grew the vegetables at a community garden, which took years for me to get into. I had to work on the motorcycle in the alley way of my building, which due to recent crime increases in the area is now untenable. I cook and cure my own meats on occasion but due to the high costs associated with getting good meat, the tiny kitchen I have to work with, and the vegan next-door neighbors who roll their eyes at me any time they smell a steak cooking, I obviously don't do it as much as I'd like.
The value of the city for me, as someone who both grew up here and then returned after school to pursue work, has been all of the metropolitan values: living so near so many interesting, distinct, and different kinds of people. I work in tech and media but I really tend to enjoy the company of those who work in other fields - I enjoyed the diversity of interests, talents, and values here in NYC. But every place has a point where things become too oppressive and expensive to yield any further cultural benefits - and we clearly hit that mark here even before quarantine.
Now, with quarantine in effect, the one thing I really cherished and held onto over the years - being near people - has become a major detractor living in NYC. Without a magnificent amount of reversals, I will be looking to buy property in a state where I am not paying an entire paycheck in taxes to my city government.
We moved to a small town some years ago and I agree with you. A lot of our "leisure" time is taken up with our somewhat massive garden and food processing in general, which we enjoy. We are also building a new greenhouse, fixing fences, etc. and we've converted our garage to a combination gym/woodworking shop, which makes for the occasionally dusty workout.
If I worked at my job less, I'd have more time for these productive activities and I certainly wouldn't pine away searching for "meaning" in my day job, that's for sure.
Well part of that has to do with a significant amount of the value add of a dense area like a city is doing things that involve lots of people, especially people who are somewhat strangers. This isn't exactly possible when there's a plague.
That doesn't make those activities consumerist though.
Really much of the "consumerism" is a fundamental of civilization and complexity - specialization yields benefits. Production is geared to what they are "best" at economically for better yields. Consumption still occurs even when DYIed paired with production. It may even be more wasteful ironically. To go a bit anti-Nilhist meaning is what you make it - one can reasonably find both labor and consumption to fufill requirements meaningless.
