I agree that rural can mean poorer, and that the average demographic might meet those conditions. Two things though. Thing #1. Definitions of 'poor' vary by

I agree that rural can mean poorer, and that the average demographic might meet those conditions. Two things though. Thing #1. Definitions of 'poor' vary by countries, and my understanding of 'poor' in the US is: * no safety net * low, or no minimum wage often * no/low quality health care Meanwhile, in Canada (for example) with minimum wage, paid for health care, and a strong safety net, poor is a different thing. I don't want to get into a big health care debate, but essentially taxes pay for health care here, and the less you make, the less tax you pay. And when you live in a rural area, you need significantly less pay to live to the same standard as a city dweller. Everything is more expensive in the city. This means that a rural person pays less income tax, for the same standard of living. And therefore, essentially, less for health care. When combined with housing costs which are immensely lower, the ability to reduce other costs (heating with wood, growing your own food, the ability and room to repair your own car, on and on...), there is more room for extras than one might expect. An example; waiters/waitresses are paid, by law, minimum wage. And in rural areas, this is much more advantageous than in the city. I guess what my point #1 is saying, is that rural poor are often better off than urban poor. And do have some discretionary spending, at least in some countries out there. Point #2.... Definitions of rural. There is a zone around smaller cities which is not 'suburbia', but is indeed rural. And these areas are often well within easy reach of cities. For example, the city I live close to has a tech businesses concentrated on its western side. This means that when buying a rural home, one need to be concerned with reaching the entire city quickly. Only the western side. In as such, drive time from rural -> city, as the region is ~ 1.5M, is not that bad. Less than 30 minutes even. In this rural zone, housing is far enough apart that on side/non-main roads, there is no high-speed internet access. To speak to that, I live on the very last side-road, before high-speed internet access becomes non-existent. This is no mistake, when I looked to buy, I found the zone where high-speed ended, then searched in that area for housing. To give you an idea? My house is worth ~ $200k. 10 minutes away? The same house? ~$400k, and I have a 1 acre lot, versus a 1/4 acre city lot. Anyhow, the above is a bit of rambling, but the point is ; there is 'very close to the city rural, with no high speed' and 'farther out rural'. Close-to rural enjoys city pay scales for higher end jobs, even without remote work. And if starlink comes? People might move further out.