Can you give me examples of societies in existence today that would be seen as primitive, but sound good to you?

The San, the Hadza, a few Inuit groups, the Mbuti, a handful of Cree groups that still live mostly by trapping, etc. etc.

I might have a more complete list and explanations when I come back from doing some work. :)

I lived near an Amish community when I was younger, and used to scoff at the Amish lifestyle; but now I see that they have a few things right. If I didn’t enjoy the occasional foray into debauchery so much, I’d probably think about joining them : P

I don’t know if it sounds good but the way of life of the people of Ness on the Island of Lewis is fascinating. The men there still follow an age old tradition of catching young gannet chicks for food from an uninhabited offshore island. I am reading a book on this subject just now. Of course they have electricity and Internet in Ness but in certain respects the way of life has not changed for centuries.

I totally respect the Amish. In general, I think they have the right idea on many levels.

There are plenty of aboriginal civilizations scattered around the globe (as @incendiary_dan said), and various religious communities whom shun modern technology (as @rOs said).

But I, for one, couldn’t stand to live without electricity, air conditioning, and being near a modern medical facility with a stock of antibiotics and general anesthesia on hand just in case.

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with living a simpler lifestyle. More power to you if that appeals to you. But it just doesn’t “sound good” to me. My idea of “roughing it” is to turn off the A/C and sleep with the windows open :-p

Eh, not really. I’d love to live in a Medieval setting, as shown by Hollywood. But in real life, that was probably pretty horrible.

Milkmaids in switzerland

@Symbeline – I share that sentiment exactly! :-)