6 ms·

I’ll be honest I don’t really get why rural life appeals to those in the city. I think there’s a very romantic idea people have of rural life, which both does a

I’ll be honest I don’t really get why rural life appeals to those in the city. I think there’s a very romantic idea people have of rural life, which both does and doesn’t exist depending on location. I’ve done rural living my entire life and I’d much rather live in a city if it were a viable option. Even very basic things are far easier in the city and the city has things like emergency rooms that are open 24/7. I can’t assume my local hospital will be open if I hurt myself and the next is a ~100km drive away. Most rural areas are less hostile to your face, but the local rumour mill can be incredibly cruel and harmful behind one’s back should you not conform or if someone takes issue with you. A gay couple moved to my area and at least initially suffered greatly for it. I guess the grass isn’t necessarily greener in either direction, the challenges and issues are just different.

vladvasiliu 4y ago
> I guess the grass isn’t necessarily greener in either direction, the challenges and issues are just different. This nails it. > I’ll be honest I don’t really get why rural life appeals to those in the city. There may be multiple reasons, to each their own. As a city-dweller since I was kid, the biggest issue, and the one that has me contemplate rural(-er) living, is the constant noise. The housing market being what it is, it's very hard to find well-insulated apartments. In France, there have been new construction regulations for noise insulation, but most of the apartments in Paris were built before that. You can more or less easily get an apartment that doesn't face a major road (or any road at all). But you can never get an apartment with no neighbors (unless you're extremely rich, which isn't my, nor most people's case).
- pard68 4y ago
  Agreed, like with virtually everything it is a tradeoff. I did not like the loud, fast cars five feet from our door, the drugs, the shootings (only twice but it was enough for me to move), and the hectic pace, lots of strangers. I still love the city we lived in and if I had to be in a city that's the one. I was willing to trade city problems for the rural problems. Living rurally on over a 100 acres, I am free to do a not that was not even possible on our 1/4 acre not in the city. I fix up old tractors and trucks in my free time with my sons. This summer I plan to get a sawmill and try my hand at building historical structures (log cabins, old style pole barns, etc.).
hattmall 4y ago
I feel like there's rural, and then there's extreme rural which is what you described. There are rural cities. I'm in a rural area, classified as such by the USDA. There is ample space of farming, hunting and undeveloped wilderness. There's a fully navigable river, lakes, many fishable streams. There aren't neighborhoods, there are some stretches of houses not a great distance apart on a single road. Then there is the city. It's not a huge city, but it's an urban environment. Again, classified by the government as such. The city is loud, active, and dense. There's no suburban area though. That's the difference. There's just rural farmland and wooded areas, no meandering neighborhoods with a random shopping center over and over. You go from rural to urban immediately. The first thing I come to is from a massive orchard to a dense violent apartment complex and a strip of 24hr stores.

vladvasiliu 4y ago

> I guess the grass isn’t necessarily greener in either direction, the challenges and issues are just different. This nails it. > I’ll be honest I don’t really get why rural life appeals to those in the city. There may be multiple reasons, to each their own. As a city-dweller since I was kid, the biggest issue, and the one that has me contemplate rural(-er) living, is the constant noise. The housing market being what it is, it's very hard to find well-insulated apartments. In France, there have been new construction regulations for noise insulation, but most of the apartments in Paris were built before that. You can more or less easily get an apartment that doesn't face a major road (or any road at all). But you can never get an apartment with no neighbors (unless you're extremely rich, which isn't my, nor most people's case).

pard68 4y ago
Agreed, like with virtually everything it is a tradeoff. I did not like the loud, fast cars five feet from our door, the drugs, the shootings (only twice but it was enough for me to move), and the hectic pace, lots of strangers. I still love the city we lived in and if I had to be in a city that's the one. I was willing to trade city problems for the rural problems. Living rurally on over a 100 acres, I am free to do a not that was not even possible on our 1/4 acre not in the city. I fix up old tractors and trucks in my free time with my sons. This summer I plan to get a sawmill and try my hand at building historical structures (log cabins, old style pole barns, etc.).

hattmall 4y ago

I feel like there's rural, and then there's extreme rural which is what you described. There are rural cities. I'm in a rural area, classified as such by the USDA. There is ample space of farming, hunting and undeveloped wilderness. There's a fully navigable river, lakes, many fishable streams. There aren't neighborhoods, there are some stretches of houses not a great distance apart on a single road. Then there is the city. It's not a huge city, but it's an urban environment. Again, classified by the government as such. The city is loud, active, and dense. There's no suburban area though. That's the difference. There's just rural farmland and wooded areas, no meandering neighborhoods with a random shopping center over and over. You go from rural to urban immediately. The first thing I come to is from a massive orchard to a dense violent apartment complex and a strip of 24hr stores.