I grew up in southern Appalachia, and the 90s my grandma would take me with her sometimes to check in on this elderly woman who lived alone in a house without running water. She had a well in her front yard and hauled all her water by hand. She lived into her 90s there taking care of herself. She did have electricity, but not AC.

Now for clarity this was EXTREMELY unusual which was why my grandma would check in on her a fair amount, along with other members of the community. But it’s definitely not that far in the past in some areas, for some families.