Got to love developments in rural areas

[mapper]

Around the PNW property prices went ridiculous to insane in the last few years, partly driven by the pandemic and people working remotely. Lots of folks in modest homes in the city moved to tract houses in the suburbs. The home in the city selling north of a million and the burbs for 1.5 million. And we're not talking big and fancy just tract homes that probably sold for around 100k a few years ago! Rural prices have gotten pretty stupid as well.
Our local town has put a moratorium on several large developments do to not having enough water rights to provide the new homes. That has also driven up the prices on homes in town.

 

[Diggin It]

I guess that depends on how you define quick....

We have called 911 twice. Once when I tried to die from cardiac arrest and the other when someone was pounding on our back door at 9:30 at night in the winter (pitch black outside). both times it took emergency response over 10 minutes to arrive. That feels like an eternity and could have been fatal for me in the first instance and fatal for the "bad guy" in the second instance.

I feel for the folks that are going to respond that in their community response time would have been 30 minutes or more.

Try being on the other end of the phone. We have five deputies. Total. Day shift had one on duty, afternoons usually two. They staggered shifts all week. Most nights, no deputy between midnight and 8AM. Usually no troopers either. I'd get that call at 3AM of somebody beating on a door, or an accident with injuries, or a fight, a couple of times a shooting.

I'd have to call a deputy at home, wake them up, give them the info by phone, wait for them to get dressed, in the car and on the way. THEN there was the drive time which could easily be 45 minutes or more even at high speed, lights and siren. If for whatever reason, I didn't have a deputy on call, I'd have to call state, relay it all to them and THEY would often have to call a trooper at home. On fights, domestics, etc., EMS would roll and stage down the road from the scene, but would not approach until a deputy or trooper arrived.

230AM, phone rings, guy screaming his house is on fire and his kids are trapped inside. I hit the tones, make the announcement and wait. Wait. Wait .... did the tones go out? Did anybody hear the page ....? Do I need to re-page? Aha ... finally, somebody keys up and says page received, on the way. Then the whole get dressed, get the vehicle started, drive to the station, get the trucks started ...

There I sit twiddling my thumbs ....

Up on Long Island, our fire department's motto was; We never lost a foundation.

We called 'em 'Foundation Fire Departments'.

 

[Jstpssng]

We called 'em 'Foundation Fire Departments'.

We called them "Cellar savers". But hey, that's one of the things to understand if you want to live rural; sacrifices have to be made. Otherwise you're just another outsider moving in and trying to make the town just like what you moved to get away from.

 

[Oaktree]

Otherwise you're just another outsider moving in and trying to make the town just like what you moved to get away from.

Yeah, we have enough of them already.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I find it humorous that some of you write how you don't want anyone moving in changing the town (sometimes for the better) as it's where you live and want to keep it that way. Then, when you need more services as you age, you want change...
What about the other "locals" that still don't want change? Sheesh...

 

[rScotty]

We've lived rurally most of our lives. I was brought up that way. We have a lot of respect for emergency services - but they simply cannot be on hand in time to make any difference. Around here we will certainly call 911 as necessary, but it is the last thing that we do.
First thing is to take care of the emergency, then tend to any injuries and first aid, and then call 911 when things settle down.
rScotty

 

[rScotty]

It's interesting in that as we're just hitting our 60's, we're thinking of now moving out further, to our property towards North Liberty, or, perhaps a lake house somewhere. My in-laws live west of town towards Crumstown. Always have had good emergency response over there. 3 miles past Mayflower.

SNIP

We moved to town and away from the rural life about 15 years ago. We were getting older - 50 & 60 something - so we bought 15 acres on the outskirts of a small town (pop. 190) and spent our evenings after work building a nice house to retire in.

When the house was finished and the final inspections made, we found we didn't really want to move to town. So the house just sat there for a year.... but finally we moved in and it turns out we really like it. There are still animals around, and the town is a mile away - so not too intrusive.
In fact it is interesting to be part of a community.

Yes, just as someone said there are people who move to the area from the city and immediately set about trying to remake everythin. So far without success.
rScotty

 

[Jstpssng]

Mtsoxfan said:
I find it humorous that some of you write how you don't want anyone moving in changing the town (sometimes for the better) as it's where you live and want to keep it that way. Then, when you need more services as you age, you want change...
What about the other "locals" that still don't want change? Sheesh...

Actually, when I get to that point I won't be living here anymore. Hopefully that will be a long ways in the future but I do try to be realistic.

you don't want anyone moving in changing the town (sometimes for the better)

I agree that sometimes change is good. The town I live in is dying and we really need some younger people to move in. When I moved here in 2003 there were two stores in town, I could drive my tractor to get diesel. Yet before trying to make things the way that they were where you came from, make sure that the change is necessary. There's an old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

 

[Mtsoxfan]

Actually, when I get to that point I won't be living here anymore. Hopefully that will be a long ways in the future but I do try to be realistic.


I agree that sometimes change is good. The town I live in is dying and we really need some younger people to move in. When I moved here in 2003 there were two stores in town, I could drive my tractor to get diesel. Yet before trying to make things the way that they were where you came from, make sure that the change is necessary. There's an old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

And that is a great way to look at it, make sure it's necesary.

But that poses another issue, who decides what is necesary, only people who lived their whole lives there, or do you allow "new" people a chance to speak up?
Do you allow a spouse who may have come from another county or state a voice?
Do you allow the younger generation of long timers, who may want the change, a voice?

The good old days as we know it are going away, at a pace determined by our needs and wants. (We want shopping closer, health care etc. technology) Conveniences come at a price.

 

[deezler]

My situation is a bit weird. We snagged 19 acres very (very) close to town, that had been proposed for a slew of condos. The township rejected it for various reasons, developer got foreclosed on, and we lucked out with the timing of our lowball offer to the bank who now reluctantly owned it.

Fully forested, nice creek running through the back half, backs up to 500 more acres of undeveloped land. But only 1 mile from the city. We hear several emergency sirens every day. Soon warm weather will mean I hear all the car-stereo subwoofers blasting again, the motorcycles racing, and those honda goldwing guys with the SUPER loud stereos playing.

But last night, I covered the evening farm chores for my nieghbors who are on vacation. We had to get the ducks and chickens into their coops, make sure the goats and rabbits had feed and water, and let their australian shepherd out to pee. As the Amtrak train came through town honking, it riled up the local coyote pack (often 15-20+ dogs) who all sang back at it - couldn't have been more than 500 or 600 feet away back in the deeper forest. More deer than you can count. My wife went exploring through the brush with my son and they spooked a flock of 40+ turkeys.

It's like living in the city and the country all at once. The night sky is rarely clear enough for many stars (generally has to be quite cold and dry). But we have a major hospital 4 miles away (and 3 more not much further), dozens of restaurants, shops, etc... Good and bad.