MovieChat Forums > Ozark (2017) Discussion > Why is Ruth still living in a trailer?

Why is Ruth still living in a trailer?


Presumably she gets a nice paycheck managing the casino. I understand not everyone wants to live in a plush house even if they can afford it. But continuing to live in a trailer? Not believable to me.

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Because that is who she is

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Right, cause she’s a Langmores and that’s how they roll. Wyatt is smart for leaving that place for Mrs. Snell place upgrade.

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In season 2 Cade said that there aren't going to be any picket fences for her because of who the Langmores are, and I think she took it to heart.

Although yeah, after his death I think she could have moved on already instead of internalizing that belief. We'll see. So far it seems to me that her life trajectory is going down rather than up. With the Byrdes at least she had a chance of escaping that white trash existence - she is not going to have that with Darlene.

What's sadder to me is that I don't think she can tell the difference. You choose who you associate with, and she chose that.


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I'd love to live there!
A trailer with a lake view , a couple more trailers for family , enough land to park a few a few cars and play outside!
paradise!

Theres a lake in the UK where theres a spot where people have hoiliday homes (trailers like thjose) . They they pay an absolute fortune for. Theres a decades long waiting list to get a spot

Funny how in the US poor people live out in the woods , in the UK you have to be a millionaire to do that.

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I was wondering about that in the last season, actually (never paid attention to the location before) - where the Langmores live is really prime real estate! How is it that "trailer trash" are on it, and no one has taken over the land for some big development yet?

So no, it's not likely in the US either, especially since I find it hard to believe the Langmores actually own the land they are on.

It's like they just happened to place their trailers there, and apparently they don't even have any neighbors, as if no one else wants to live in that location.

Although I suppose historically no one has wanted to live next to the Langmores. 😄


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If you look at the site where the Langmores live everything is set high off the ground, including the trailers, which suggests the site is prone to flooding. This also makes it likely that the ground is marshy with lots of insects. I expect that's why it's offered at low rent, or possibly the Langmores bought it way back in the past.

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Because she makes bad decisions. If she were smart, she'd leave a single trailer out there on the property and bring in a custom home builder to construct a lakefront home with a pier extending into the water. Live in the trailer during construction, keep an eye on things. She could probably get financing from Marty or a local lender. Maybe even subdivide a portion of the land and sell it off to raise money for construction costs or pay for a yacht.

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In one episode in series two Ruth goes to look at a bungalow but just before she goes in she sees a respectable couple coming out with the estate agent (realtor) and she realises she can't live up to that level of respectability. Also, her daddy threatens her about moving into a house, because he doesn't want her improving herself. For some reason (possibly abuse/incest, which is hinted at in series one) Ruth is in thrall to her daddy and finds it hard to stand up to him.

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I think there are a lot of reasons for that... (Spoilers ahead; I'll try to keep them small, though.)

First, it's the Langmore "estate". She's got a lot of history there, and I think she wants to keep certain memories alive. After a certain point, leaving might be too "disrespectful" or might feel like she's getting rid of memories.

Along those lines... there are strong land-family historical ties in that area. "This is the land we've always lived on" kinda stuff. That's, like, 80% of Darlene's life philosophy.

Why not build? Well, she's keeping a low profile. I'm sure Marty is justifying paying her a tidy sum for her work running the casino, but he's kinda shrewd/cheap with the cash flow and she might not be getting as much as she's worth. (One of my frustrations with Marty - a character I mostly really like - is that he almost never treats Ruth with the respect and love she deserves, even when he clearly wants to, paradoxically enough). Anyway, maybe there's a tax evasion/ money laundering reason not to start buying up houses and building new homes where once stood trailers. And maybe that reason is the IRS and/or the FBI.

It also might be because she's maintaining a baseline of "normal" for Three...? Not the strongest reason...

I think it's mostly number one up there. I think she's got a lot of regrets with rifts and conflict in her family and she's clutching family to her chest by not changing the trailers or leaving for green pastures.

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She bought a nice truck, and she's just too lazy to move and doesn't care.

Moving sucks.

Once she "retires" she'll buy something nice and be the white trash in neighborhood!

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