One of the few drawbacks to rural living

[boxygen]

Ugh! I took this afternoon off to replace a failed 50 year old sump pump in the basement before spring thaw floods it. 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. Needed a 15A breaker so went to the hardware store. They didn't have any. WTF? So I went to the other hardware store. They only had the el cheapo slimline breakers - nothing I could use. WTF?!?

Okay, so I'll check the stores in Waterbury at work tomorrow as this is rural VT and everything is closed at 5pm. Except the bars catering to the skiers coming off the mountain. Holy cow what an aggressive bunch of drivers! 55 in a 35 zone, each one riding the bumper of the car in front, no quarter given to anyone trying to make a turn. Jeezum I'll be glad when the snow is gone!

So back home and down in the basement. I remove the old completely rusted out pump and the PVC line up to the main drain. Plug the opening to the main drain so sewer gas doesn't kill us all overnight. Spend the next hour removing debris and the remnants of the rotted wooden box the pump used to be housed in. The dirt sides started collapsing, so I scooped out a larger sump, then lined it with bricks. The bottom was grit which does not play well with pump impellers, so out into the meadow to kick around in the snow looking for that pile of slate I left there last summer. The dogs thought it was great fun digging in the snow with Dad.

Find the pile. Rummage thru it till I find a nicely sized slab. Trudge back to the house and level the slate in the bottom of the sump. Put the pump on top. It fits nicely. Reach for the check valve and find it's the wrong size for the pump. Crap! Hardware stores closed. Something else to pick up tomorrow.

Time for a beer.

Boonedox, You may want to reconsider the GFCI outlet for the sump pump. I believe there is an exception in the electrical code that allows a non GFCI outlet as long as it is a single yolk plug, not a duplex. I had an issue on a project where the GFCI kept tripping because it was so damp in the basement. We swapped out the outlet to make sure it wasnt a faulty unit. My electrician said that this was acceptable solution. You are correct in installing a GFCI because it is safer, however you can imagine your frustration if you found out the GFCI tripped and your basement flooded after all your diligent planning. THe key is not installing the duplex plug and giving someone a convenient place to plug in a tool and get zapped.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Many years ago I had a house within a stones throw from a river along with a damp basement and a sump pump. I had read an article in either Popular Mechanics or Popular Science that said a "hospital" rated GFCI would be less prone to kicking out.

I had to order one, 25 bucks back around the late seventies, early eighties. My local hardware guy who always gave me a break kind of looked over his glasses at me and shrugged but ordered it in as requested.

It worked! Not sure why but it worked.

But back to the topic of being off the beaten path. I pretty much have never been more than 45 minutes away from shopping but even at that, I want to have what I need when I need it.

Unless it is some really obscure bolt or screw, I buy a box of 50 or 100 or whatever. I buy hardware at flea markets if it even looks like I may use it. That comes with a price. Last move I had a full pup trailer with just my hardware, tools, etc.

At my last place, I had a guy close by that did HVAC/Electrical/Plumbing with his own little store that his wife and other relatives watched over. Rather than gouging like you might find, he always offerred up a good price. I even ended up working with him for awhile. It does not get much better than that for someone that likes to do all their own work.

 

[dmccarty]

...
My biggest concern is one may not get emergency medical attention in time...

We had some snow, the only snow so far this winter, last Sunday night. I bought a hand held radio scanner almost 20 years ago when we lived in the city. What amazes me is that the battery is a nicad, I charge the radio every couple of years, and I have never drained the battery. I really don't understand how the battery lasts that long. For years I have just used it as a weather radio and not very often but our other rechargeable batteries drain much quicker.

I got the idea to program the Sheriff, local town PD, and EMS frequencies into the radio to see what was going on in the snow storm. I was listening to the scanner and an elderly women was having heart problems. I looked up her address and she was out there. It took EMS a good 15 minutes to get to her which was not a bad response time given the distance but it ain't a good response time if you are having heart problems.

From her location there were some hospitals within I would guess 15 minutes, not trauma center quality but at least an ER. She was transported to Duke which had to have been a 45-60 minutes trip. I would guess she was not having a heart attack to take her that far since they would pass right by UNC Hospital. Both UNC and Duke have copters to fly people in if needed which is kinda scary at UNC since the landing pad is on TOP of the hospital Kinda freaky seeing the copter land up there. If it ever crashes seems like it might take out the ER....

Later,
Dan

 

[deerefan]

Yep, rural life does require more planning and stocking up on some items. That, and the fact that you may not be able to get what you want when you want it.
I'm fine with that part of the trade off...

My biggest concern is one may not get emergency medical attention in time...[/quote]


Our current residence is about 10 - 15 minutes to whatever we need. Grocery, Pharmacy, Hospital, etc.
Our planned new residence is in the middle of nowhere, nearest town 30-45 minutes away. My wife and i both have health problems and it worries us that medical attention is so far away.

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.

 

[LarryD]

My biggest concern is one may not get emergency medical attention in time...

Sort of a unique situation here, I'm 10 min from Oak Harbor with a population of 22k but the closest hospital is in Coupeville with a population of 2k. That is a 45 min drive.

There was a small ER clinic in Oak Harbor but a few years back but it was owned by another hospital group and was forced to close because it cut into Island Counties' turf. So now the most populated city has no ER room.

Now I do have the option of going to the Naval Hospital but they too have eliminated ER services. Urgent care is open 24/7 so I would just go there and probably be Life-Flighted to Harbor View in Seattle. 15 min. to doctor with a full hospital and helo services, I can live with that (I hope).

 

[turnkey4099]

Re: medical aid in country.

Most rural areas are covered by volunteer fire departments. Means when you call they have to gather a crew before any unit rolls = time. Then travel time to your location = more time.

Dispatchers will tell you to wait for the responders and not drive yourself. Doesn't really make much sense.

I live a measured 4 miles from town. Approx 4.6 miles from the fire house. I can figure a minimum of 20 minutes. I have had 3 occasions to call them. 1 medical emergency, one 'ambulance transport needed' (both my wife) and one fire call. 20 minutes seems hours long.

Harry K

 

[NorTracNY]

If your biggest concern about living in rural areas is time to get medical attention, I'd suggest 2 things.
1) Make your peace
2) Live in peace (for me that's country living)
because we are all guarentteed to RIP.

 

[Pete Judd]

I worry about the medical issues as well. We have been flooded in a few times in the last 25 years, and now that we have my in-laws living on our property, in their late 70's with health problems, we have found that the fire dept can take an easy 20 minutes to respond. If we were flooded in, would require a chopper.

I also am starting to be concerned about the same for us, as we seem to be getting a little "longer in the tooth".

On the bright side, raising our kids here, did not have to take them to McDonalds, as the closest one is 30 miles away.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

As I see it, there are some things worse than being dead.

One would be living in city chaos just so I could concentrate on all my ailments and run to the Dr.'s office to address every ache and pain.

 

[sandman2234]

There are no set numbers for how old we will live to, but just picture a number in your mind. Then think about reaching it after sitting on the couch for years watching tv, and then picture it getting out in the sunshine working, doing SOMETHING. Hmmm, bet you live to reach that number, so if the ambulance doesn't make it to you in time, what have you lost?
Isn't that a strange way to look at it?
David from jax