One of the few drawbacks to rural living

[rgs03833]

Thankx for the thread, I learned a few things today.... I think everything has it ups and downs...

I'm in the City now, but planing to move to Rural when I make my Millions... 5 years from now? LOL.

One thing I will missed most is the conveniences, because I grew up in the City. But living in the City sucks most of the time. Noise, Polutions, can't do anything without people gawking at ya... Even using an Air Compressor to clean your Vacuum, LMFAO.

People in the City are TRASHY... Black, White, Asians.... All the same!!! Where common Courtesy is an Art form, rather than a requirement. Sometimes people blamed on Educations rather than themselves... You hear it all the time... " They are uneducated " How much does it cost to have Common Courtesy? NOTHING !!! Plus Schools and Colleges are everywhere... People live with Excuses rather and blame on themselves... I think people are going backward... They get stupider everyday... They are so STUPID, they don't even know what STUPID means...

I think everywhere you live have its ups & downs... But I rather live somewhere it's Peaceful and no Medicals. " Live Free or Die - The New Hampshire Way " at least you know dying Peacefully!

I think before you guys chose this Path, you must accept all of these Drawbacks before you made that big move / decisions !!!

 

[6sunset6]

Back to the sump pump. This is sure to raise discussion but I would not put a GFI on a sump pump. Put in a single dedicated outlet , put a label on it and don't use it for anything else.

 

[JamesHW]

I agree with 6sunset6 and would add an alarm of some sort (I installed a small 9 volt one on my mom's sump pit and it saved our bacon a couple of times).

But what is this "snow" you speak of? You say it covers stuff and the dogs like it?

 

[clemsonfor]

Sounds like a typical day in paradise.

just think, you could have been sitting in your condo all day channel surfing and wishing you had something to do.
Been there, done that. and I wouldn't go back for all the gold in Fort Knox.

I sometimes wonder what my friends do who either rent apts or houses or live in the less than 10 year old postage stamp size lot subdivison houses. There is so much stuff to do and maintain around my 60 year old house and between the "fleet" of vehicles equiptment maintence boats tractor gathering firewood i wonder how boared they must be. And i only live on a 3/4 acre lot, my farm is hours away and gets taken care of on a few weekends a year!!

 

[clemsonfor]

Living in rural areas really requires a special outlook on life, a certain set of do it yourself skills and a near fearless attitude. My wife and I live in a very rural area. This area, due to a low tax base, is 30 years behind the times on everything, including schools and emrgency services. The only firefighters are volunteer and usually the first medical aid on scene is a first responder. I am one of the firefighters, my wife is a first responder. We have some solid basic training to help each other if the need arises as it could be nearly 30 minutes before the ambulance arrives. The same rule applies to hiring outside help. I am a relatively handy person, can rebuild engines, weld, caprentry, do electrical work, plumbing, you get the idea. My MIL lives on our property as she is widowed and older and needs some basic assistance. Her Kenmore dryer stopped heating (stackable unit) and I metered a few accessable areas (switches, outlets, wire terminal) and found it to have the correct voltage. I narrowed it down to the thermal fuse or element. She called Sears and set an appointment, 3 weeks away. On the day they were supposed to come, they cancelled, treating her rudely and very unprofessionally. The only option now was for me to fix it. Having never disassembled one, I dove in, got the element out and replaced. She could not get anyone to come out. It is very hard to "survive" in this type of setting without the correct mindset. We occassionally get a family move in from the city. They usually last about 2 years and leave. The nearest grocery store is 16 miles away. The nearest hardware store and wal-mart is 30. The Co-Op is 12. Nothing is convenient and if convenience is a determination factor, you will be dissappointed.

I did not think i lived that far out but my distances are not that much different than yours. MY grocery and gas station are closer at 7 miles but walmart, lowes and restaurants are 23 miles away.

 

[Western]

When We got married, I was in LE and the wife was a nurse. So when we are home we have the security team and nursing staff on hand We are 18-24 miles from 3 hospitals, (ambulance service is closer, {satellite offices})

Basic or intermediate 1st aid would be a minimum in my mind for someone moving to the "sticks", but easily accomplished by reading or a class.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Back to the sump pump. This is sure to raise discussion but I would not put a GFI on a sump pump. Put in a single dedicated outlet , put a label on it and don't use it for anything else.

I would hard wire it and install a disconnect. No outlet at all.

 

[GregbkH]

Of course the old pump was two wires no ground, and everything these days is grounded. So I installed a GFCI outlet and ran nomex all the way back to the circuit breaker box.

Now you have your ground. Romex comes with a ground. Like others have said, run a dedicated outlet for the sump pump. A single receptacle. Definitely make sure it's grounded.

 

[forgeblast]

Medicine for the Outdoors is a great book to have on hand. I read though it and then keep rereading it.
I figure we are far enough out there that if something happened accident wise I better be able to do something until ems is able to make it to us.

 

[dusty3030]

Pack rat. I keep a wide variety of "stuff"
Faucet leaks, I already have the washer. I've had that washer kit for 15 years, but I've got it.
Lumber, I always have at least 2x4s and 2x6s stuck back somewhere.
Various plumbing items, outlets, switches etc. if I need one of something I usually buy two.
I'm in the same boat, the closest hardware store is 15 miles away and it closes at 5 during the week and noon on Saturday.