Let's talk about Country Living

Sawmilling did a great job of summarizing rural life. The higher cost of goods and services, added transportation costs, and self sufficiency are all concerns. I have decided to live in the country since college, but my present situation is in a metropolitan area. I feel comfortable in both environments and find advantages in both. Saws insight will be more valuable than my thoughts given your situation, but I wanted to share an extreme.

My wife and I own a cabin in the mountains of Wyoming 30 miles from the closest community of 1,500 people. The closest city is 90 miles away. This is new information to this forum. We also own a ranch in eastern South Dakota five miles from the closest paved road and 20 miles from the closest community of 1,300 people. The closest city of 50,000 is 120 miles away. This information is important only because of the next statements.



Although Saw has problems with his neighbors, survival in our areas requires cooperation among neighbors. No matter how self sufficient you are, pieces of equipment or tools you have, you will need help or information sooner or later that will make your life better or easier. If you have heard about a barn building party in the old days, they still exist. We still do not take our keys out of our vehicles for two reasons, one we do not want to loose our keys and two if the neighbor needs it they can use it. If their tractor or truck breaks down in the field, they might be several miles from home. Cell phones do not always work and during the winter a hike like that could kill someone. Unwritten law, if I have it and you need it, return it in as good if not better condition as soon as you can. This may sound corny, but that is the way we live at both places. We do not lock our doors on the house for the same reasons. If I am not home and someone needs to use the phone, they have access. I will not tell you I have not been burned, but the benefits out weigh the price.

The other social etiquette that is required in these situations is honesty, willingness to help others, and living up to your word. In rural areas, everyone knows everything that goes on. You might think you have more privacy in such a situation, but that is not true. If you earn a bad reputation, life is tough.

A couple of stories to reinforce these statements. At 5:30 one morning I buried my pickup in a snow drift after a blizzard. The closest neighbor was still at least a mile up the road. I was digging out the truck and trying to put on chains when I saw a tractor coming up the road. The neighbor saw my headlights and knew I would be the only one dumb enough to be trying to get to the paved road in the dark, so he came to help me out. This same neighbor's son broke down this summer close to my place (we live five miles from each other.) They knew I was out of town and his son took one of my trucks home to get help.

Long story short, our homes offer more freedom but less privacy. Take it for what it is worth.