pros and cons of rural living

[Bayrat]

I had read a great deal about this site by others on ctb. I decided to try it one day and Cutter was already in use so I picked another name many of us in the bay area are referred to as. Nice hearing from you.

 

[TerryinMD]

Beenthere,

Seen lots of them in the city... except you can't shoot and eat them legally. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Pro's - agree with everyone else.

Having great neighbors to depend upon.

Observing nature at her best and, of course, sometimes her worst.

Con's - agree with everyone else.

Having to find a part for your car or tractor when you most need it.

Insects - enough said!!

Terry

 

[bpence]

From my humble perspective, there are no cons to living in the country..........maybe occasional minor inconveniences, but that's just life. Rural living is all on the plus side of the column.

 

[Henry]

Well, I live most days in the suburbs, but we've also got our country place were we spend our summers and as much vacation time as possible. Our suburban life is in Ponte Vedra Beach Florida (home to the Player's Championship Golf Tournament), our country life is on 12 acres in Central Pennsylvania (Nittany Lion Country).

Here's my 2 cents on the pro's and con's:

Rural Pennsylvania Living - Pro's

- Peace & Quiet when you want it
- You can be as loud as you want and get away with it
- Peeing off the porch..... hmm, I'll have to see how it feels!
- I love my trees, fields, birds, deer, and turkey
- Perfect summer days, even better fall days /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
- Seat time on my JD790 (yea, yea) !!!!
- Sincere, honest friends
- Tend to want to stay out of the car
- Shoot my gun any time I want
- I can get dirty working (playing) and nobody cares
- Penn State Football
- Cows


Rural Pennsylvania Living - Con's

- No good jobs in paradise /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif
- Power Outages
- Lousy weather January thru April
- 9 miles to town
- Cows

Suburban Florida Living - Pro's

- My kids have tons of friends within walking distance
- High paying employment
- 5 Minutes to the grocery store
- Great winters (50 - 75 degrees)
- World Class Golf & Beaches (Florida only)
- DSL Internet Connections /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif


Suburban Florida Living - Con's

- Neighbors live 10 feet from were I park my van
- Lots of acquaintences, few true fiends
- Home owners associations telling you what color to you can paint your house
- Traffic rules your life (24 mile, 45 minute commute)
- Nasty summers
- When I get dirty, the neighbors think I'm a red-neck


Comparisons - Suburbs versus Country

Groceries - About the same cost
Hardware Store - Cheaper in the country
Electricity - Much cheaper in the country - we have REA power.
Gas - Cheaper (lots) in the country
Taxes - Cost per assessed value - cheaper in the burbs
Taxes Per Sq Foot of Land - I pay about 3x for a 100 x 150 foot lot + house in Florida versus 12 acres.
Schools - Better in the country. Can you believe it? Florida has awful schools...
Beautiful Women Factor - MUCH better site-seeing on the beach here in Florida! /w3tcompact/icons/love.gif
The Fact That I'm A Redneck - much easier to fit in the country !
Miles Driven Hauling Kids - Seems the same to my wife
Housing Costs - probably 2x per square foot higher in the suburbs

My Vote - The Country Wins every time!

 

[Wal]

Henry,

<font color=blue>- Lots of acquaintences, few true</font color=blue> <font color=red>fiends</font color=red>

Shouldn't that be a pro, not a con? /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[RichZ]

Henry, cows are cons???!!!! Hey!!!! A lot of us raise them (I'm planning on it!) C'mon, what's not to like about cows??/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Got milk???/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[RichZ]

I'm with you Bob!!!! After living the first 46 years of my life in suburbia, and the last two in the country, I can tell you, there are NO cons to country life!!!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

There are a few inconviences that are easy to overcome, and it's certainly worth it!!/w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

 

[Mosey]

Henry,

The lack of good jobs (or any jobs) in the country is a good point that I forgot to put down on my list. I've had that problem my whole life. About 10 years ago I found a software job in Buena Vista, CO (population 2000 in winter, 10 gazillion in summer due to tourists) and lived there for almost 2 years, but once I got laid off I had to leave or take some real crappy job. The reason I’m where I am now is because it’s the only place I could find a decent job in a small town. But, there’s not much to choose from. If I lost my job, I’d have a hard time finding another one without having to drive to Indy.

I don’t agree that “kids have tons of friends within walking distance” is really an advantage though. I don’t think it’s really safe for kids to be walking by themselves in the city, too many weirdoes out there waiting for an opportunity. And the more friends they have, the better their chances of getting involved with the wrong kids. I’ve always felt, and have been told by parents who have successfully raised good kids, that it’s very important to keep track of who your kids’ friends are and what they are up to. My kids are making plenty of friends via church, pre-school, and T-Ball. One of them lives next door, which is a half mile walk through a field, although at only 5 years old I still haven’t let them walk over by themselves.

 

[mikim]

Following the job market is why I'm now in the city. I lived in the country for 9 years raising 3 kids by myself and loved every minute of it. Then they closed the base (Bergstrom AFB)and I had to find another job. I had too many years with the federal guvmint to give up ... so I moved. I now work in the 4th largest city in the country and go home (I didn't sell when I moved) every chance I get. THIS WEEKEND! It's been almost 2 months and I'm real close to "going postal" on somebody if I don't get my country "fix". My kids didn't have a lot of friends when we lived out there - they had each other - which is another plus imho. My kids were ages 4,7,& 9 when we moved to the woods - the oldest continued to live there when I moved. He had graduated HS the spring before.
mike

 

[gerard]

Having grown up in NYC with a 10x10 piece of grass for lawn, then transitioning to suburbia development living, and now on 10 acres I can't imagine ever going back to suburbia. As I get older I just want more land! Only "con"s I can even mention is no city water (wife like to water the horse arena to keep the dust down which gives me minor bouts of angina 'cause I know what it would cost to redrill a 450 foot well!!) No cable tv ie no cable modem is also a negative!!!!!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif