4 ms·

What kind of "small town" are we talking about? Most "small town"s I think of don't have universities. Maybe a community college for the whole county.

dragontamer 7y ago
Well, its all relative ain't it. Lets just say... Buies Creek, North Carolina. I've been to smaller towns, but I'd say population of 2,942 is small for most people. EDIT: Seems like prices may have gone up in recent years: I'm seeing $800 to $1000 on Rent.com, but there's still a listing or two for $600/month. Or maybe "word of mouth" is still king there. Buies Creek is still reasonably close to the Raleigh metropolitan area. So this is still "somewhat suburban". I've visited my cousins in Coulee City, WA (Population 562), so I know what "actually rural" looks like too.
- bradlys 7y ago
  Yeah - 30 miles outside Raleigh isn't really a small town, IMO. It seems more like a suburb.
  - TylerE 7y ago
    Nah, I'd say it counts. Population is under 5,000. It's very much NOT Raleigh.
    - dragontamer 7y ago
      There is a meaningful difference between Buies Creek, NC and Coulee City, WA. Its less about population size and more about distance from the urban center. Coulee City is a 2-hour drive from a major city (Spokane), while Buies Creek is maybe a 40-minute drive from a major city (Raleigh). ------- From MY perspective, both Buies Creek and Coulee City are rural. But from the perspective of someone who lives in Coulee City, they probably think Buies Creek is suburban (since it is commute-distance from a city).
      - bradlys 7y ago
        > From MY perspective, both Buies Creek and Coulee City are rural. Yeah - for a person who is adjusted to only living in big cities then sure. However, Buies Creek is 30 minutes away from the downtown of a city. It is not rural by almost anyone else's definition. It'd be like saying Atherton, CA is rural because it's a "smaller" town of 7k people. Ignoring that it's within a 8 million population metro and within 30-45 minutes of a 1 million population sprawling city (San Jose) and another 800k+ densely populated one (San Francisco).
        dragontamer 7y ago
        > Yeah - for a person who is adjusted to only living in big cities then sure I've never lived in any big city. Literally never. Not even close, always 20+ minutes away from the major city. The thing is: suburbia itself is a network of smaller cities. Buies Creek has no "smaller city" near it. Buies Creek IS the city. -------- To continue your Atherton example... Atherton is a suburb of ___Palo Alto___, not a suburb of San Fran. It is a brisk 4-mile bike-ride from Atherton to Palo Alto and back, you don't even need a car if you live in Atherton and commute to Palo Alto. There's NOTHING walking or biking distance to Buies Creek, NC. Rural is more about "distance from nearest metro". -------- Buies Creek NC is 40-minutes to Raleigh. This is rural by my experience. True, Buies Creek NC is "less Rural" for people who are used to 2-hour drives (Coulee City to Spokane), but a 40-minute drive away from a big city is Rural by most people's definition of Rural.
        bradlys 7y ago
        > Not even close, always 20+ minutes away from the major city. lol - this is so disconnected from how anyone who lives a truly rural lifestyle would think of it. 20 minutes is a joke! Living multiple hours away is considered more standard.
        TylerE 7y ago
        By whom? 99% of the rural population isn't Eastern Montana.
    - bradlys 7y ago
      Atherton is 7,000 people. It's also 30 miles outside of SF. Is that rural then?
      - dragontamer 7y ago
        No, because its 4-miles away from Palo Alto (city of 60k). Rural is mostly about being far away from urban centers. Buies Creek NC is 30+ miles from its nearest population center (10k+ citizens). While Atherton is 4-miles away from its nearest population center (60k+ citizens in Palo Alto).
        bradlys 7y ago
        It has a population center of 20k within 15 miles. That was only one that I looked at. I didn't even have to try for that. I know nothing about that region but at an eagle eye's glance, it's obviously a suburb. It's part of an incorporated metropolitan area. It is, therefore, a suburb. It is not rural. Atherton isn't a suburb of Palo Alto btw. Palo Alto is the suburb.
        TylerE 7y ago
        Can I say how much you've moved the goal posts here? The original post was about some place that wasn't a "big city", not an isolated rural farm.
- TylerE 7y ago
  Yeah, that's my point. $500 is going to be sketch. I'm actually pretty familiar with Buies...my mom's family all lives in Sanford and used to drive through there. I work for a company that does rental listings so I look at these numbers a lot.
- CapricornNoble 7y ago
  Jeeeez, rental prices in the States are INSANE. I live in a dense urban area of ~1 million, on a tropical island. My 550 sqft apartment is ~$520. Hardwood floors, natural gas range and hot water, structure is proof against typhoons up to Category 5 (already experienced several), as well as earthquakes. Gigabit fiber optic internet @$35/month Speedtests around 550MB. Daily flights to practically every major city in Asia. HOUSES, however, are insanely priced. The mortgage rates are low (1-3%, slightly less than 1% if you are a government employee) but the principal is stratospheric for the size of home and land you are buying.
  - NotSammyHagar 7y ago
    That's pretty impressive. I didn't think there were many cities with such good infrastructure and cheap housing prices.

dragontamer 7y ago

Well, its all relative ain't it. Lets just say... Buies Creek, North Carolina. I've been to smaller towns, but I'd say population of 2,942 is small for most people. EDIT: Seems like prices may have gone up in recent years: I'm seeing $800 to $1000 on Rent.com, but there's still a listing or two for $600/month. Or maybe "word of mouth" is still king there. Buies Creek is still reasonably close to the Raleigh metropolitan area. So this is still "somewhat suburban". I've visited my cousins in Coulee City, WA (Population 562), so I know what "actually rural" looks like too.

bradlys 7y ago
Yeah - 30 miles outside Raleigh isn't really a small town, IMO. It seems more like a suburb.
- TylerE 7y ago
  Nah, I'd say it counts. Population is under 5,000. It's very much NOT Raleigh.
  - dragontamer 7y ago
    There is a meaningful difference between Buies Creek, NC and Coulee City, WA. Its less about population size and more about distance from the urban center. Coulee City is a 2-hour drive from a major city (Spokane), while Buies Creek is maybe a 40-minute drive from a major city (Raleigh). ------- From MY perspective, both Buies Creek and Coulee City are rural. But from the perspective of someone who lives in Coulee City, they probably think Buies Creek is suburban (since it is commute-distance from a city).
    - bradlys 7y ago
      > From MY perspective, both Buies Creek and Coulee City are rural. Yeah - for a person who is adjusted to only living in big cities then sure. However, Buies Creek is 30 minutes away from the downtown of a city. It is not rural by almost anyone else's definition. It'd be like saying Atherton, CA is rural because it's a "smaller" town of 7k people. Ignoring that it's within a 8 million population metro and within 30-45 minutes of a 1 million population sprawling city (San Jose) and another 800k+ densely populated one (San Francisco).
      - dragontamer 7y ago
        > Yeah - for a person who is adjusted to only living in big cities then sure I've never lived in any big city. Literally never. Not even close, always 20+ minutes away from the major city. The thing is: suburbia itself is a network of smaller cities. Buies Creek has no "smaller city" near it. Buies Creek IS the city. -------- To continue your Atherton example... Atherton is a suburb of ___Palo Alto___, not a suburb of San Fran. It is a brisk 4-mile bike-ride from Atherton to Palo Alto and back, you don't even need a car if you live in Atherton and commute to Palo Alto. There's NOTHING walking or biking distance to Buies Creek, NC. Rural is more about "distance from nearest metro". -------- Buies Creek NC is 40-minutes to Raleigh. This is rural by my experience. True, Buies Creek NC is "less Rural" for people who are used to 2-hour drives (Coulee City to Spokane), but a 40-minute drive away from a big city is Rural by most people's definition of Rural.
        bradlys 7y ago
        > Not even close, always 20+ minutes away from the major city. lol - this is so disconnected from how anyone who lives a truly rural lifestyle would think of it. 20 minutes is a joke! Living multiple hours away is considered more standard.
        TylerE 7y ago
        By whom? 99% of the rural population isn't Eastern Montana.
  - bradlys 7y ago
    Atherton is 7,000 people. It's also 30 miles outside of SF. Is that rural then?
    - dragontamer 7y ago
      No, because its 4-miles away from Palo Alto (city of 60k). Rural is mostly about being far away from urban centers. Buies Creek NC is 30+ miles from its nearest population center (10k+ citizens). While Atherton is 4-miles away from its nearest population center (60k+ citizens in Palo Alto).
      - bradlys 7y ago
        It has a population center of 20k within 15 miles. That was only one that I looked at. I didn't even have to try for that. I know nothing about that region but at an eagle eye's glance, it's obviously a suburb. It's part of an incorporated metropolitan area. It is, therefore, a suburb. It is not rural. Atherton isn't a suburb of Palo Alto btw. Palo Alto is the suburb.
        TylerE 7y ago
        Can I say how much you've moved the goal posts here? The original post was about some place that wasn't a "big city", not an isolated rural farm.
TylerE 7y ago
Yeah, that's my point. $500 is going to be sketch. I'm actually pretty familiar with Buies...my mom's family all lives in Sanford and used to drive through there. I work for a company that does rental listings so I look at these numbers a lot.
CapricornNoble 7y ago
Jeeeez, rental prices in the States are INSANE. I live in a dense urban area of ~1 million, on a tropical island. My 550 sqft apartment is ~$520. Hardwood floors, natural gas range and hot water, structure is proof against typhoons up to Category 5 (already experienced several), as well as earthquakes. Gigabit fiber optic internet @$35/month Speedtests around 550MB. Daily flights to practically every major city in Asia. HOUSES, however, are insanely priced. The mortgage rates are low (1-3%, slightly less than 1% if you are a government employee) but the principal is stratospheric for the size of home and land you are buying.
- NotSammyHagar 7y ago
  That's pretty impressive. I didn't think there were many cities with such good infrastructure and cheap housing prices.