'the' local community doesn't exist in true rural areas. It's a mesh of multiple communities that will welcome you if you are interested, regardless of your ori

'the' local community doesn't exist in true rural areas. It's a mesh of multiple communities that will welcome you if you are interested, regardless of your origins. I've been in west Virginia for a month, I guarantee that even amongst stereotypical 'rednecks', you'll have a hard time finding someone held back by skin color or origin. I get that I was mostly with hippies and probably in one of the most left-leaning community in the US, but beer, music festivals, farmer's market do not discriminate your political leaning. In fact, my personal experience say that small-ish towns are way, way more racist and bigoted than rural areas. I'd say the more hierarchical a place is, the more likely you are to find racism, and small towns are the poster child of social hierarchy. Once it's too big, it's too complex to understand who's above who. Rural areas self-organize. Small towns are the worst for 'strangers'.