Maybe he's thinking more of the city dweller with the 4x4, military surplus gear, a year worth of MREs
stashed in the closet, and a heap of gizmos advertised in American Survival Guide or some other crazy doomsday nut magazine.
Kind of your Dale Gribble type. Sometimes you can get the weekend hiker type that goes over the edge a little, or the hunter with a few dozen too many guns just for blasting the odd squirrel or deer.
I think it comes down to people in general just liking gadgets. If you can burn $200 at big lots or harbor freight in one shot without being there for a specific item, you're not a survivalist, your a pack rat.
If you have separate bomb and tornado shelters, then you are probably a survivalist, a nut, and have too
much time and money to waste.
In my case, I lived in a mud pit on the outskirts of nowhere for too long. So I totally need my lattes to stay sane, and some place to burn money on my downtime. Sure the place is a first strike target for north koreans, is earthquake prone, and surrounded by volcanoes. But being perfectly honest with myself, I know that even though I could get by living like a wildman on the unstylish side of the cascades, it would really really suck. Sure it would be safe, hardly anyone lives there, and the leaking radioactive waste from the Hanford reservation keeps the yuppies from infesting. But I dunno.
A survivalist would live there anyway, because they enjoy pain, and probably being a crazed recluse.
Living a rural lifestyle, having all the toys, a bare minimum of neighbors, and some means of not being totally bored to death would be the best of all worlds. Assuming that pace of life works for you.
But if your kids run off to Boston for a career in investment banking when they grow up , and become a Washington DC lawyer, don't be surprised. The rural life appeals only to some people.
As for Wyoming, well it sure is out there. People live there, but if you need that mega mall or downtown big city shopping spree every other weekend, it could get ugly fast.
Need that urge for a pizza, thai food, or italian filled in under 30 minutes ? Maybe not so easy out there, unless you can cook real fast.
Not too many people in ninja suits living in holes in the ground there I suspect, or stashing bunkers with enough ammo and weapons to fight the next supposedly impending civil war. Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky are probably different stories though.