--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was the people, the interconnection…" description: "\"“It was the people, the interconnection, everyone relying on everyone else, the closeness. The villages are all dying now, small-town America is dying,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/lauren-groff-2802_arcadia_it-was-the-people-the-interconnection-ev_2157139.png" --- # It was the people, the interconnection, everyone relying… ![“It was the people, the interconnection, everyone relying on everyone else, the closeness. The villages are all dying now, small-town America is dying, and the only place where the same feeling exists now is here, in the city, millions of people all breathing the same air. This, here, now, is more…” quote by Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/lauren-groff-2802_arcadia_it-was-the-people-the-interconnection-ev_2157139.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/lauren-groff-2802_arcadia_it-was-the-people-the-interconnection-ev_2157139.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/lauren-groff-2802_arcadia_it-was-the-people-the-interconnection-ev_2157139.png) > ““It was the people, the interconnection, everyone relying on everyone else, the closeness. The villages are all dying now, small-town America is dying, and the only place where the same feeling exists now is here, in the city, millions of people all breathing the same air. This, here, now, is more utopia than utopia, more than your pretty little house out in the middle of the forest with only woodchucks for neighbors. Can't you see? All of we kids are here, almost all of the kids from Arcadia, are here in the city. We've gone urban because we're all looking for what we lost. This is the only place that approximates it. The closeness. The connection.”” [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lamentation of fading small‑town communities, contrasted with the dense, interconnected life of cities that offers a new, imperfect utopia **In simple terms:** Cities provide a shared, bustling environment that replaces lost rural closeness Key Takeaway Seek community connections wherever you are Themes urbanization community loss Mood reflective nostalgic Type social philosophical When to use this quote - urban planning - community building - migration trends Key Concepts sociology human connection Questions to Reflect On - What elements of rural life can be recreated in cities? - How can we foster genuine connections in urban settings? A Different Perspective Urban life can feel anonymous despite density ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arcadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arcadia/) [Closeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closeness/) ## Related quotes > [“Before you tell me how we shouldn’t be doing this—” did she dare say what she was thinking? “—I want you to remember how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-stockham/before-you-tell-me-how-we-shouldn-t-be-doing-this-did-she-dare-say/) [Kay Stockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-stockham/) > [“Et in Arcadia Ego”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/numerous-evelyn-waugh/et-in-arcadia-ego/) Numerous Evelyn Waugh > [Performing on stage is my first love - it's why I wanted to be an actor in the first place - and 'Arcadia' is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-riley/performing-on-stage-is-my-first-love-it-s-why-i-wanted-to-be-an-actor/) [Tom Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-riley/) > [Years ago I had a house in Sussex, it was like Arcadia, with an old Victorian bridge, a pond and the Downs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-roeg/years-ago-i-had-a-house-in-sussex-it-was-like-arcadia-with-an-old/) [Nicolas Roeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-roeg/) > [Alas! the road to Anywhere is pitfalled with disaster; There's hunger, want, and weariness, yet O we loved it so! As on we tramped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-service/alas-the-road-to-anywhere-is-pitfalled-with-disaster-there-s-hunger/) [Robert W. Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-w-service/) > [“We shed as we pick up, like travellers who must carry everything in their arms, and what we let fall will be picked up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-shed-as-we-pick-up-like-travellers-who-must-carry-everything-in-2/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“Bind Merrimoth," he finally said, "and I'll do that think you like later." "It's not like my power reacts to the reward system," I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-bennett/bind-merrimoth-he-finally-said-and-i-ll-do-that-think-you-like-later/) [Jenn Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-bennett/) > [“I spent a lot of time in Arcadia when I worked there in 2009.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-spent-a-lot-of-time-in-arcadia-when-i-worked-there-in-2009/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“At all times and in all places, in season and out of season, time is now and England, place is now and England; past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-w-wemyss/at-all-times-and-in-all-places-in-season-and-out-of-season-time-is/) [G.M.W. Wemyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-w-wemyss/) > [It's the wanting to know that makes us matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/it-s-the-wanting-to-know-that-makes-us-matter/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“So..."he whispered huskily in my ear, "we've discovered that you can arouse me." He demonstrated this fact by pressing harder against me, just in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-bennett/so-he-whispered-huskily-in-my-ear-we-ve-discovered-that-you-can/) [Jenn Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-bennett/) > [“I honed my fraud research techniques at the dangerous Desoto Solar Farm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-honed-my-fraud-research-techniques-at-the-dangerous-desoto-solar/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I dwell no more in Arcady, But when the sky is blue with May, And birds are blithe and winds are free, I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-chandler-moulton/i-dwell-no-more-in-arcady-but-when-the-sky-is-blue-with-may-and-birds/) Louise Chandler Moulton > [There's no doubt about it. Arcadia is Tom Stoppard's richest, most ravishing comedy to date, a play of wit, intellect, language, brio and, new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-canby/there-s-no-doubt-about-it-arcadia-is-tom-stoppard-s-richest-most/) [Vincent Canby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-canby/) > [“I regard an illegal non-disclosure termination agreement as an admission of guilt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-regard-an-illegal-non-disclosure-termination-agreement-as-an/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) ## More by Lauren Groff > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [You had to pick up a landline to make sure your best friend wore a matching outfit to school. I do remember people talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/you-had-to-pick-up-a-landline-to-make-sure-your-best-friend-wore-a/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [“Then, when we had done so, we put our hands upon the freezing cold monster, our monster. And this is what we felt: vertigo,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/then-when-we-had-done-so-we-put-our-hands-upon-the-freezing-cold/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [I see history as really cyclical in terms of the intense idealism, and the desire to create a better life outside of societal norms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/i-see-history-as-really-cyclical-in-terms-of-the-intense-idealism-and/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [“He thinks of the rotten parachute they played with as kids in Arcadia: they hurtle through life aging unimaginably fast, but each grasps a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/he-thinks-of-the-rotten-parachute-they-played-with-as-kids-in-arcadia/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [I love writing from enclosed spaces: you really learn about your characters when they have tight walls to push against.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/i-love-writing-from-enclosed-spaces-you-really-learn-about-your/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [ “\[Still apparent in him, the tiny boy, mewling in cold and hunger. It’s less delicious, this badness bred from survival.\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/still-apparent-in-him-the-tiny-boy-mewling-in-cold-and-hunger-it-s/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [Even still, we run. We have not reached our average of 57.92 years without knowing that you run through it, and it hurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/even-still-we-run-we-have-not-reached-our-average-of-57-92-years/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [I had a series of terrible jobs, whatever would allow me to write for four hours during the day. During that time I wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/i-had-a-series-of-terrible-jobs-whatever-would-allow-me-to-write-for/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [“The stories themselves aren't what moves him now...What moves him are the shadowy people behind the stories, the workers weary from their days, gathering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/the-stories-themselves-aren-t-what-moves-him-now-what-moves-him-are/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [“Even still, we run. We have not reached our average of 57.92 years without knowing that you run through it, and it hurts worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/even-still-we-run-we-have-not-reached-our-average-of-57-92-years-2/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [“Lugubrious and pretentious at the same time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/lugubrious-and-pretentious-at-the-same-time/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [But I've married a deeply sensible person who is extremely good at talking me down from my various ledges, and who takes care of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-i-ve-married-a-deeply-sensible-person-who-is-extremely-good-at/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [Writing is the lonely sport of sad sacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/writing-is-the-lonely-sport-of-sad-sacks/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [“They sit here in the darkness, trusting. That the coffee will be hot and unpoisoned. That no raging madman will come in with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/they-sit-here-in-the-darkness-trusting-that-the-coffee-will-be-hot/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) [Explore all 149 Lauren Groff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) ## More Arcadia quotes > [“Et in Arcadia Ego”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/numerous-evelyn-waugh/et-in-arcadia-ego/) Numerous Evelyn Waugh > [There's no doubt about it. Arcadia is Tom Stoppard's richest, most ravishing comedy to date, a play of wit, intellect, language, brio and, new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-canby/there-s-no-doubt-about-it-arcadia-is-tom-stoppard-s-richest-most/) [Vincent Canby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-canby/) > [I dwell no more in Arcady, But when the sky is blue with May, And birds are blithe and winds are free, I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-chandler-moulton/i-dwell-no-more-in-arcady-but-when-the-sky-is-blue-with-may-and-birds/) Louise Chandler Moulton > [“I honed my fraud research techniques at the dangerous Desoto Solar Farm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-honed-my-fraud-research-techniques-at-the-dangerous-desoto-solar/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“So..."he whispered huskily in my ear, "we've discovered that you can arouse me." He demonstrated this fact by pressing harder against me, just in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-bennett/so-he-whispered-huskily-in-my-ear-we-ve-discovered-that-you-can/) [Jenn Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-bennett/) > [It's the wanting to know that makes us matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/it-s-the-wanting-to-know-that-makes-us-matter/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“At all times and in all places, in season and out of season, time is now and England, place is now and England; past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-w-wemyss/at-all-times-and-in-all-places-in-season-and-out-of-season-time-is/) [G.M.W. Wemyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-w-wemyss/) > [“I spent a lot of time in Arcadia when I worked there in 2009.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-spent-a-lot-of-time-in-arcadia-when-i-worked-there-in-2009/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Bind Merrimoth," he finally said, "and I'll do that think you like later." "It's not like my power reacts to the reward system," I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-bennett/bind-merrimoth-he-finally-said-and-i-ll-do-that-think-you-like-later/) [Jenn Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-bennett/) > [“We shed as we pick up, like travellers who must carry everything in their arms, and what we let fall will be picked up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-shed-as-we-pick-up-like-travellers-who-must-carry-everything-in-2/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Alas! the road to Anywhere is pitfalled with disaster; There's hunger, want, and weariness, yet O we loved it so! As on we tramped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-service/alas-the-road-to-anywhere-is-pitfalled-with-disaster-there-s-hunger/) [Robert W. Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-w-service/) > [Years ago I had a house in Sussex, it was like Arcadia, with an old Victorian bridge, a pond and the Downs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-roeg/years-ago-i-had-a-house-in-sussex-it-was-like-arcadia-with-an-old/) [Nicolas Roeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-roeg/) > [Performing on stage is my first love - it's why I wanted to be an actor in the first place - and 'Arcadia' is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-riley/performing-on-stage-is-my-first-love-it-s-why-i-wanted-to-be-an-actor/) [Tom Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-riley/) > [“I regard an illegal non-disclosure termination agreement as an admission of guilt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-regard-an-illegal-non-disclosure-termination-agreement-as-an/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“… the countryside and the village are symbols of stability and security, of order. Yet they are also, as I have noted, liminal spaces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-w-wemyss/the-countryside-and-the-village-are-symbols-of-stability-and-security/) [G.M.W. Wemyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-w-wemyss/) [Browse all 40 Arcadia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arcadia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was the people, the interconnection, everyone relying on everyone else, the closeness. The villages are all dying now, small-town America is dying, and the only place where the same feeling exists now is here, in the city, millions of people all breathing the same air. This, here, now, is more utopia than utopia, more than your pretty little house out in the middle of the forest with only woodchucks for neighbors. Can't you see? All of we kids are here, almost all of the kids from Arcadia, are here in the city. We've gone urban because we're all looking for what we lost. 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