# Country living vs city living.....



## Ducky (Jan 25, 2014)

Currently I reside in the most densely populated suburb of Buffalo...  Called Amherst, NY.  Which is quickly turning into a city.

Just recently,  our marvelous town board has approved a bunch of 4+ story buildings to go up in the area, two went up really close to me,  one is a 6 story hotel, the other is another 6 story building not to far from me.

I grew up in this area,  lived here my whole life.  I inherited my homestead.

I have been approached by developers looking to buy my house,  for a substantial amount of money.

I want OUT!

Id like to live in the country...less people (I'm anti social) less traffic (my house sees 30,000 cars a day) no neighbors, no sidewalks.. Peace and quiet!

My question is,  what are the downsides/upsides for this?  I'm looking for other points of veiw.

Also, I can't move too far out as I own my own contracting business...  So I am handy...


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## webbie (Jan 25, 2014)

Each person has their own preferences. 

At this point, my preference is the best of both worlds. Up here in New England we have a pretty high population density BUT it's semi-rural. That means we have bear, deer, fox, turkeys, coyote and more right in the backyard - can hike, sled, snowshoe, etc....BUT, it takes me exactly 3 minutes to get to a supermarket (by car), and I have virtually everything within 10 minutes (and a lot within 5 min)....

I've lived way out in the boonies at various times - enjoyed it, but now I prefer to have some of each....convenience and privacy...

Also, in new england (and many other areas) people tend to leave you alone (the old Yankee mentality), while some other rural areas your neighbors can be nosy even if they are not close....

Lastly, moving to an area which is likely to be developed in a decade or two can be a problem. I'd choose an area already developed (but semi-rural), so you know it's not going to be ruined after you become attached to it.

As I said, lots of areas like this up in New England. Not as true back in NJ or SE Pa, since development tends to move quickly there. 

Are there any college towns close? They tend to have a nice mix of city and mellow....IMHO. NY State is beautiful and quite rural but my wife took it off our shopping list because, in her words "if we move out there the only food available is steak and pancakes"....we like our Trader Joes!


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## firefighterjake (Jan 25, 2014)

Probably depends on the area to a large degree, but . . .

Pro-

+ You can often purchase a place with more acreage for the same or less money for a similar type/size home in the city . . . and often lower taxes
+ More privacy -- you can pee outside without worrying about your neighbors calling 911 to report a pervert exposing themselves
+ Less people, less traffic . . . quieter

Con-

- Often less services (i.e. no town police, full time fire department, trash collection, etc.)
- Longer travel time to job site, hospital, movie theater
- Fewer choices for dining, local shopping, etc.


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## eclecticcottage (Jan 25, 2014)

We left "in town" for the lake 3 years ago.  Gotta drive further for work and shopping, but I'd NEVER move back.  We have neighbors, being on the lake, but just next to us-fields across the street and lake behind.  People are great and it's so much quieter (a lot more traffic in summer from people cruising-cars and bikes-but that's kind of expected).

You could probably move to Royalton, Akron, Hartland...and not be too far for work but still get space around you.  I lived in Eggertsville when I was younger and my aunt and uncle lived in Middleport, it wasn't too far of a ride.


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## homebrewz (Jan 25, 2014)

webbie said:


> NY State is beautiful and quite rural but my wife took it off our shopping list because, in her words "if we move out there the only food available is steak and pancakes"....we like our Trader Joes!



FWIW, Albany just got a Trader Joes 
and we have amazing farm stands just west of Albany. Some grow salad greens all year round in high tunnels. 

For the OP, depends on what you like. If you grew up in Amherst, you're probably use to a little bit of both worlds. Time to drive around to 
some of the area neighborhoods and see what things look like (I'd skip the Love Canal though).


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## eclecticcottage (Jan 25, 2014)

homebrewz said:


> (I'd skip the Love Canal though).



It's called Black Creek now...and it's been partly redeveloped, with new houses.


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## semipro (Jan 25, 2014)

Even in the country its not always quiet.  We live in a rural area on 5 acres with similar or larger properties all around.
Gun shots, yard blowers, and chain saws can be heard outside almost year round.

With acreage comes work.  The time required to clear downed trees, mow grass, and maintain the driveway and fences is not insignificant.

One important consideration: home insurance.  Some insurance companies won't insure if you're not within a certain distance of a fire station. 
If you heat with wood this could be important.


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## flyingcow (Jan 25, 2014)

Quite frankly if it's a dollar number you like to sell it at, then sell. I can't give any more advice than that. For most of my life I've lived 85 miles to the closest mall. i wouldn't have it any other way. But what do i know.

But my wife has a P/T job 40 miles away. She's there in less than 40 minutes. 

We own 50 acres. It's a hell of a fence

I am of no help in your question, other than if it's a good price sell.


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## johneh (Jan 25, 2014)

Moved to a 100 hector farm in 1979 after living in a large city 
most of my life . Best move I have ever made. drove 50 min to 
work on the outskirts of the city for 25 years now retired .
The only time it is quiet is at nite in the middle of winter the rest of 
the time it is very noisy birds bullfrogs crickets and the like .
15 minutes to the nearest big town 5000 people 
5min to the village 400 people. Beer store is 2 miles away Fishing 
is a 2 min walk could hunt deer from my back porch. Taxes are  1/4 
of a friend in the city We have garbage pick up mail delivery. We don't
have light pollution ,the stink of diesel busses and a paved road but I grow 
my own veg,fruit and walnuts. I have a very peaceful life . Around my place 
we do not lock your doors and I leave my key in the truck in case a neighbor needs it 
I would never move back to the City for any reason


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## Highbeam (Jan 25, 2014)

Obviously, you must sell. You wont be happy staying. 

I agree wi t h webbie's concept of close enough for convenience but far enough away for quiet and built out enough to stay that way.


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## Adios Pantalones (Jan 26, 2014)

Live NEAR, not IN, a college town. Population drops off quickly, so you can be two towns away with a population of 500, but have bars, coffee shops, restaurants, girl watching nearby.


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## Ehouse (Jan 26, 2014)

Adios Pantalones said:


> Live NEAR, not IN, a college town. Population drops off quickly, so you can be two towns away with a population of 500, but have bars, coffee shops, restaurants, girl watching nearby.




Girl watching, yum!


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## eclecticcottage (Jan 26, 2014)

webbie said:


> Are there any college towns close? They tend to have a nice mix of city and mellow....IMHO. NY State is beautiful and quite rural but my wife took it off our shopping list because, in her words "if we move out there the only food available is steak and pancakes"....we like our Trader Joes!



Most of the colleges here are in the bigger cities/towns, at least in this part of the state.  UB, Buff State, NU...NCCC is a community college in Sanborn, but it's not much of a college town.

There's a Trader Joes...in....Amherst.  lol.

One thing I forgot is farms.  We live near one that spreads and you will know about it.  It doesn't usually bother me too much, except it does seem to lead to a LOT of cluster flies.  Hate those.  I did have to make sure not to live near cabbage fields, I can't stand the smell from those.  On the upside, some neighbors have chickens and we have access to the best eggs ever.  "Farm fresh" eggs will make you question the living and feed conditions of the chickens supplying supermarket eggs!  We might get our own when we're done with the work we have to finish up here and have more time.


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## gzecc (Jan 26, 2014)

Figure out where your business market is and find an area that is convenient to it, in an area that is more rural. There is rural then there is rural. Some rural, has natural gas, city water, city sewer, some doesn't. Rural is relative.
BTW, congrats on a valuable piece of property in upstate NY.


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## Jags (Jan 26, 2014)

Be aware of mowing, snow removal and the like.  Rural life often increases the need for more or bigger maintenance equipment along with the time commitment to it.
Other than that, I can't really be objective.  I simply don't understand why anybody would live where you bump, bounce and trip over other people.


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## firebroad (Jan 26, 2014)

I was in much the same situation eight years ago.  My Baltimore County neighborhood was quickly becoming quite urban.  I moved north and west to a rural county, and have not regretted it; however, here are the pros and cons for me personally:
Pros
Peaceful, Cleaner, Safer, More private, Less hubub, and don't usually have to wait in long lines at the store.  Fresher meat is available(I have always grown my own vegetables and fruit), lower auto insurance rates.
Cons
No trash pickup, Well water maintenance more expensive than city water, More driving to work, stores, gas, etc.  Property taxes are higher here. Lousy phone reception.
All in all, I have never looked back, though it is more expensive for me to live in the country than it was in the Suburbs.  I would NEVER go back to Baltimore.  In fact, because of urban sprawl, I am considering moving  further out to the panhandle (Garrett County) once I retire.  I don't mind being alone, and I love snow.  I always keep 6 months or more supplies in case of emergency.  The only drawback I foresee is emergency services.


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## razerface (Jan 26, 2014)

No offense to all you " townies" ,,,but I have no idea how anyone could live in town.  I am thankful every day that townies exist, cause if you all realize how nice it is out here in the sticks, the sticks won't exist any more,,,,which is already happening.

As a child, we could not see our neighbors, and I was slightly discontented about the fact we were poor and the town kids seemed rich to us, with stuff to do all the time,,other then farm chores.

As I got older, I learned my life was much more fun then living in town. I rented a house in town once. It lasted almost 6 months. I'll never go back under my own power.

I live on 40 acres now, and 4 years ago, I could only see 2 houses from my front porch. Now I see 5 with more lots for sale.Farmers chopping up their land into road front building lots. I will never understand why someone would come to the country to build a house right beside someone else's house,,,,,that is town habits.

As others stated, it takes more equipment and tools to live out here.  Maybe you can buy property with woods on it so you can feed your stove and be responsible for maintaining a woods and keeping it healthy.

My pet peeve,,,,,,,,(lol,,one of them),,,, is people that move into farming communities,,,build around farms that have been there for generations,,,,,then whine about the manure smell, chicken smell, ect,ect.  We like it!


Watch out for allergies if you like the thought of living in farmland. I am allergic to concrete and asphalt myself.

My wife is a townie,,,,or was. She mentions town less and less over the years, as her chicken population grows. I think she has also realized if she ever moves back to town, it means she divorced me or I died.


You get your own water from a well, and pay for a new well if it goes dry. That reminds me, check the water quality where you want to go,,, it is important.

There is trash pickup in the country now, but I don't use them. Internet is limited in some places, as is tv services. More yard to mow, sustain your own septic system and drains. Hunters, mushroom pickers, atv riders, ect trespassing and littering. Cell phone doesn't work at my house,,,oh well.

Don't forget though, I can see the sun go down and come up,,I see stars at night, and sometimes it is so deathly quiet out here at night, I can listen to the coon dogs running a trail 2or 3 miles away. Nobody gives me tickets for parking my old truck in front of my house because it has no license plate on it, or tells me what weeds to cut, ect, ect. Where else can you park your dozer in the back yard? If we want to get drunk and drive the 4x4 down thru the muddy creek,,, that's what we do, hollering the whole time.

Life in the country is good.


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## JustWood (Jan 26, 2014)

I don't see any downside to country living other than maintaining a property and your commute .
Being close to things/stores/restaurants is irrelevant to me . You just learn to plan/stock up when you go into town. With Walmart ship to home I rarely see the store anymore. Ebay and amazon are also awesome for the country dweller. Country markets,butcher shops and farms all play the roll of the grocery store here.


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## Beer Belly (Jan 26, 2014)

johneh said:


> Moved to a 100 hector farm in 1979 after living in a large city
> most of my life . Best move I have ever made. drove 50 min to
> work on the outskirts of the city for 25 years now retired .
> The only time it is quiet is at nite in the middle of winter the rest of
> ...


 Sounds perfect


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## Backwoods Savage (Jan 26, 2014)

The only downside we can say is that we do have to travel a bit further for supplies but we do not mind. For example, starting a vehicle and going only  a short distance, that vehicle generally won't last as many miles as one that goes a bit further. Also, we do not mind the drive through the country but hate the drive that is in any city or village. We are pure country and love it. Any disadvantage has many more advantages to offset them. 

Good luck.


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## woodgeek (Jan 27, 2014)

Its the city life for me....




ok, actually my wife and I live in a nicely developed suburb, and each commute 30 mins in opposite directions.


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## eclecticcottage (Jan 27, 2014)

[quote="razerface, post: 1647705, member: 31598I will never understand why someone would come to the country to build a house right beside someone else's house,,,,,that is town habits.[/quote]

you an me both.  Makes NO sense.  Why drive further to reach places...and have less access to services...to live RIGHT on top of everyone else?  Now, as I said, we have neighbords right close, but only next door.  Trade off for lake front.  If we had found a house that wasn't lake front, it would have had to have acreage.  I don't prefer close neightbors even though we like our neighbors, but there isn't really another option if you want to be on the lake.  Even big money houses (like million dollar places) have pretty close neighbors (maybe 200' away instead of 50' or 100', but still, close).  It just is what it is.


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## bassJAM (Jan 27, 2014)

I grew up about an hour east of Cincinnati on a 36 acre mini farm.  The closest I've ever lived to the "city" was about 20 minutes east of Cinci in a true suburb for a year and I absolutely hated it.  That being said I do love the city, I work downtown 2 blocks from our city's "hippest" area and it's pretty cool to get off work and walk to some great places for happy hour.  The bad part is a cab ride home is like $70 if you need it.  I live now about 40 minutes from downtown (and work) on 3 acres surrounded by woods and fields and it's a good balance.  The closest large stores are 10-15 minutes away and the commute sometimes get's old, but I'm always completely relaxed when I'm at home.  I can fire up the dirt bike any time and not annoy anyone.  I can shoot guns and nobody complains.  Even my "yuppy" fiance who grew up within walking distance of a mall quickly decided that she like the "country" life better.  It took some time though, the first time she drove out to my house and saw corn fields she got worried I was a serial killer and was going to hide her body in a field.  She had somehow NEVER seen corn fields up close and associated them with fear.  Glad she got over that!


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## velvetfoot (Jan 27, 2014)

No natural gas or cable.  Hard to live without broadband nowadays.  We have cellular modem, but if I lived just a little distance away, hills would block that.  I guess there's satellite, but not sure how good that is.


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## bmblank (Jan 27, 2014)

Satellite sucks for internet. If you're in Michigan there's a chance you can get MiSpot. In very happy with mine. It's a 4g cellular connection, but it's dedicated and it's very quick. I'm on the fringe of their broadcast area and in the summer I often get 20meg download. With my old Verizon card. Which I get ok signal at my house, my fastest was about .7 to .8 Meg.


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## bsruther (Jan 27, 2014)

We live on the edge of what we consider country. We only have three acres, but have hundreds of acres of unbroken woods behind us. Turn right out of our driveway and it becomes rural almost instantly, turn left and after a few small towns, it populates pretty quickly. I can be in the middle of downtown Cincinnati in 12 minutes, but I can walk outside my door any time of day or night and shoot a gun. Life is noticeably different in the immediate area than in the more populated areas. Strangers wave to you regularly, people that you've never seen before say hi to you or at least smile. Drive 5 miles west and any of those things are a rarity. 

Originally, we wanted to move farther out in the country, in a much more rural setting, but in the end were very glad we didn't. The more we thought about it, isolation was appealing, but not necessarily in our best interest. Probably the main reason we didn't want to move farther out was vulnerability. There are bad people everywhere and I think sometimes you are at their mercy in isolated areas. We didn't want to become prisoners in our own home for fear that someone would steal everything that we'd worked for.


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## DevilsBrew (Jan 27, 2014)

It sucks being single in the country.  Couples, couples, couples...*puking*


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## razerface (Jan 27, 2014)

bassJAM said:


> the first time she drove out to my house and saw corn fields she got worried I was a serial killer and was going to hide her body in a field.  She had somehow NEVER seen corn fields up close and associated them with fear.


 "children of the corn"


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## bassJAM (Jan 27, 2014)

bsruther said:


> Originally, we wanted to move farther out in the country, in a much more rural setting, but in the end were very glad we didn't. The more we thought about it, isolation was appealing, but not necessarily in our best interest. Probably the main reason we didn't want to move farther out was vulnerability. There are bad people everywhere and I think sometimes you are at their mercy in isolated areas. We didn't want to become prisoners in our own home for fear that someone would steal everything that we'd worked for.



People further out feel the same way about moving closer to the city!  I think criminals know that out in the country, home owners are much more likely to have a loaded gun nearby.


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## bsruther (Jan 27, 2014)

bassJAM said:


> People further out feel the same way about moving closer to the city!  I think criminals know that out in the country, home owners are much more likely to have a loaded gun nearby.


 In every room even.


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## jebatty (Jan 28, 2014)

Made the move from a 1st ring suburb of Mpls-St.Paul in 1997 and never regretted it. IMO the key thing you need to balance is travel time/expense between where you live and where you work. Being a contractor, your money is your time and your time is your money, only so much available and no one makes more time.

As to rural living, my wife and I choose not to mow grass, landscape, or try to turn country into the city we left. The country is beautiful because it is country. Fishing, swimming and water/ice sports are out our front door; firewood, lots of woods, deer and critters are out the back door. Can't even see the nearest neighbor through the trees, but neighbors all are friendly and helpful when needed, and don't bother anyone if not needed or wanted. Shopping trips once every week or two, build the list and stock up; and internet and UPS provides 2nd day delivery at better prices on almost everything.

It's -26F outside (real temp, not windchill) as I write this, wood stove in the living room is blazing and house is toasty, pitch black dark outside except for the stars, not a sound except a ticking clock, I think one car came down our road yesterday (darn traffic jam!), dog is sleeping on the sofa, and solar electric produced 29 kwh yesterday - power company paid me instead of me paying the power company. Life is good.


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## velvetfoot (Jan 28, 2014)

So, what do you do for broadband?


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## jebatty (Jan 28, 2014)

Phone land line DSL, about 9Mbps.


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## velvetfoot (Jan 28, 2014)

We can't even get DSL.  As said earlier, 3G, good for 1 Mbps, and hoping for 4G.  Plus, we're the lucky ones.  Rural broadband access is an issue.


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## firefighterjake (Jan 28, 2014)

I was going to mention the lower crime rates in the country . . . but I honestly am not sure if the rates are lower . . . or if they're just lower per capita since you have to figure in the lower number of people in the country.


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## firefighterjake (Jan 28, 2014)

I lucked out in terms of the internet . . . we're in the country, but only a mile outside of town so we get pretty decent internet with DSL.


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## firebroad (Jan 28, 2014)

firefighterjake said:


> I was going to mention the lower crime rates in the country . . . but I honestly am not sure if the rates are lower . . . or if they're just lower per capita since you have to figure in the lower number of people in the country.


Just try leaving your car unlocked outside in the city.
Of course, there are always crooks, and the crooks tend to go where opportunity is.


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## johneh (Jan 28, 2014)

firebroad said:


> Just try leaving your car unlocked outside in the city.
> Of course, there are always crooks, and the crooks tend to go where opportunity is.




Depends where you are . My place is on a dead end road and a very long lane and don't forget the 2 dogs
bark there heads off and lick you to death
but of coarse I live in the Country
Also close enough to town to get DSL
Fiber optics next summer


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## semipro (Jan 28, 2014)

johneh said:


> Depends where you are . My place is on a dead end road and a very long lane and don't forget the 2 dogs
> bark there heads off and lick you to death


Its hard to sneak up on a house with a gravel driveway and dogs.  Its what we call our "hillbilly alarm system".


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## bassJAM (Jan 28, 2014)

semipro said:


> Its hard to sneak up on a house with a gravel driveway and dogs.  Its what we call our "hillbilly alarm system".



My parents have geese out in the pasture with their sheep and goats, those things make WAY more noise when disturbed than even their dogs do.  They're meaner too.


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## firebroad (Jan 28, 2014)

Say hello to my little friends...


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## Jags (Jan 28, 2014)

Are those pelts worth anything these days?

<ducks and runs>

I am sure it was an innocent post by Sue, but as a reminder, lets leave the guns to the many gun sites out there.


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## firebroad (Jan 28, 2014)

Jags said:


> Are those pelts worth anything these days?
> 
> <ducks and runs>
> 
> I am sure it was an innocent post by Sue, but as a reminder, lets leave the guns to the many gun sites out there.



Hadn't Looked at it that way.


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## eclecticcottage (Jan 28, 2014)

bassJAM said:


> My parents have geese out in the pasture with their sheep and goats, those things make WAY more noise when disturbed than even their dogs do.  They're meaner too.



If we had more land, I'd have me some guard geese.


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## razerface (Jan 28, 2014)

I have Guineas, which make a racket when anyone shows up. Then they run at the visitor acting all mean. It is funny to watch adults back up from them.


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## eclecticcottage (Jan 28, 2014)

I don't know if I could stand the noise they make.  Bug removal would be nice though!!


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## firebroad (Jan 29, 2014)

Any way you look at it, living in the country is safer that living in the city.  I won't deny that there is crime, but I moved here so I wouldn't have to live in a fortress.  Some of my neighbors come here with the same fears they had in town, but that is just habit.  Of course it is judicious to take precautions, but I definitely feel safer here, and don't have to worry about prowlers around every corner.


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## woodgeek (Jan 29, 2014)

firebroad said:


> Any way you look at it, living in the country is safer that living in the city.



http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/...afer-than-country/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

While violent crime is higher, the increased risk of car accidents makes rural areas less safe on average.


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## firebroad (Jan 29, 2014)

woodgeek said:


> http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/...afer-than-country/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
> 
> While violent crime is higher, the increased risk of car accidents makes rural areas less safe on average.


Hmm, interesting.  Of course I don't travel except when I need to.
Don't tell my auto insurance company; my rate was cut in half when I moved up here.


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## razerface (Jan 29, 2014)

woodgeek said:


> http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/...afer-than-country/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
> 
> While violent crime is higher, the increased risk of car accidents makes rural areas less safe on average.



you really believe that? I live in the country, and hear of every death and crime in my county. There is no way that there is more death or violent crime in rural areas.

I promise, you walk around in the rural areas for 10 hours,,,you pick the area,,,then go to any major citiy,,,you pick the city,,,and walk around in a populated area for the same 10 hours and see where something happens.

LOL,,, anything can be proved with fuzzy math


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## semipro (Jan 29, 2014)

razerface said:


> LOL,,, anything can be proved with fuzzy math


The statistics seem pretty straightforward on this.  The real difference is population density.  Though the injury/death rates are higher per person there are just so fewer people in the country.


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## firebroad (Jan 29, 2014)

This article kind of puts it in persepective...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/23/us-usa-safety-idUSBRE96M0PJ20130723


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## Adios Pantalones (Jan 29, 2014)

Stats that I have read show that crime, violent crime, and murder rates are HIGHER in cities, but your chance of dieing of an accident of some sort is so much higher in a rural town that your chance of untimely death is much higher in the country.


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## firefighterjake (Jan 29, 2014)

Adios Pantalones said:


> Stats that I have read show that crime, violent crime, and murder rates are HIGHER in cities, but your chance of dieing of an accident of some sort is so much higher in a rural town that your chance of untimely death is much higher in the country.


 

Makes sense to me . . . if there is a bad accident in my town (car crash, tree fallilng on a person, etc.) it will take the volunteer ambulance squad 15-25 minutes usually to get a crew to the station and then out to the scene . . . and then from there it is a minimum 30 minute drive . . . that uses up a lot of time in the crucial "Golden Hour."


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## Adios Pantalones (Jan 29, 2014)

firefighterjake said:


> Makes sense to me . . . if there is a bad accident in my town (car crash, tree fallilng on a person, etc.) it will take the volunteer ambulance squad 15-25 minutes usually to get a crew to the station and then out to the scene . . . and then from there it is a minimum 30 minute drive . . . that uses up a lot of time in the crucial "Golden Hour."


In the city- you might get bit by a rat or an "urban outdoorsman", but in the country- you might get kicked by a mule or plowed under or something.


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## firebroad (Jan 29, 2014)

Adios Pantalones said:


> In the city- you might get bit by a rat or an "urban outdoorsman", but in the country- you might get kicked by a mule or plowed under or something.


I believe you hit the nail on the head--or the axe on the foot...


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## Jags (Jan 29, 2014)

_"Note to self: steer clear of mules and plows"_


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## woodgeek (Jan 29, 2014)

Different strokes.  I would love to live in a rural and more natural area, but its not an option with my job.  But I think the whole 'cities are unsafe' thing is a load perpetrated by the local news.  Disclosure: I never watch the local news.


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## Adios Pantalones (Jan 29, 2014)

woodgeek said:


> Different strokes.  I would love to live in a rural and more natural area, but its not an option with my job.  But I think the whole 'cities are unsafe' thing is a load perpetrated by the local news.  Disclosure: I never watch the local news.


Stats show that cities are safer overall, but more crimey.

crimey: characterized by getting crimed.


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## firebroad (Jan 29, 2014)

I commute to Baltimore City every day.  I have to say, I DO NOT feel safe.  There are shootings, robberies and muggings every day here.  One of the latest "crazes" here is to approach a stranger and knock them unconscious for no reason; it is some sort a gang ritual. 
I have seen more police here on one block than Carroll County employs as a whole.  I hear filthy language yelled out by children.  Public transportation can be a nightmare, but the consolation is there seems to be safety in numbers.  People are warned by MTA to not let anyone see their electronic equipment due to thievery.  
I breath a sigh of relief when I get home, even if I have to do that last 20 miles on the highways with lots of others in a big hurry.


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## bassJAM (Jan 29, 2014)

My office is pretty much on the line of what is considered "safe" downtown Cincinnati.  Last summer we had a stabbing and a shooting take place on the sidewalk of our building.  In neither case was an employee involved, but it makes you think that our retired age security guards aren't quite enough and makes me wish I could conceal-carry at work.  And I don't dare honk my horn at somebody who decides to cross the street in front of me when my light is green, I've seen some folks go crazy punching and kicking cars when they do that.

But out where I live in the country, you never hear of violent deaths or injuries, but you do hear about somebody's barn or outbuilding getting robbed and small tools (chainsaws, leaf blowers, cordless drills) getting stolen.  I've put up motion lights everywhere, and make sure my shed is always padlocked, but I've never felt unsafe.


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## Jags (Jan 29, 2014)

I don't lock anything.  Including the house.


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## firebroad (Jan 29, 2014)

Jags said:


> I don't lock anything.  Including the house.


Where do you live?
<ducks and runs>


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## Jags (Jan 29, 2014)

firebroad said:


> Where do you live?


Carrol County, MD.


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## bassJAM (Jan 29, 2014)

Jags said:


> I don't lock anything.  Including the house.



I started locking everything as soon as I started driving.  While in church one day somebody got into my truck and stole a crappy portable CD player and a few CDs.  Luckily they didn't care for the $250 in fishing equipment.  And my friends had a nasty habit of pranking each other's cars too, but I guess I started it by pouring fox urine into a buddy's heater vents but I never dared leave my truck unlocked after that!

I did have a bad habit of forgetting to shut my garage door in the mornings.  I'd get a cal from my neighbor (they're retired) asking if I meant to leave it open while I was at work and they'd offer to go shut it for me.  I've only got that one neighbor within viewing distance of my house, but it is nice that we can easily keep an eye on each other's place.


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## gzecc (Jan 29, 2014)

Its really very relative. My father who was born in Harlem NY in 1912 wouldn't even consider living in a rural area. My wife who is from a rural area, likes a suburban country environment, close enough to retailers but far enough away from the city, I like a little more rural than suburban country but if I am too far away I don't like it either.
You have to realize there is also different kinds of cities, NYC boroughs are all different, Philly, and areas within are very different.


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## bsruther (Jan 29, 2014)

bassJAM said:


> I started locking everything as soon as I started driving.  While in church one day somebody got into my truck and stole a crappy portable CD player and a few CDs.  Luckily they didn't care for the $250 in fishing equipment.  And my friends had a nasty habit of pranking each other's cars too, but I guess I started it by pouring fox urine into a buddy's heater vents but I never dared leave my truck unlocked after that!
> 
> I did have a bad habit of forgetting to shut my garage door in the mornings.  I'd get a cal from my neighbor (they're retired) asking if I meant to leave it open while I was at work and they'd offer to go shut it for me.  I've only got that one neighbor within viewing distance of my house, but it is nice that we can easily keep an eye on each other's place.



In this region, it seems that a lot of small towns have become cesspools of drug addicts which seems to heavily affect the surrounding areas. I think Brown and Clermont counties are good examples. There are some nice, safe places over there to live, but there are just as many, if not more places where crime (mostly theft and drugs) is high.
Felicity, Ohio is one place that comes to mind, but there are many more.

Over here, we have towns like Falmouth. The surrounding countryside is absolutely beautiful, with well kept sprawling farms and pasture land, but drive down into town and the riff-raff is everywhere.

The area I live in is a mixture of everything from lower to upper middle class, and for the most part the crime rate is low, but about a mile down the road from me, there's a small river town that gives the area a seedy underbelly. I think as long as a person is aware of their surroundings, a home will be as safe as they want to make it.
We have an alarm system that covers the house and detached garage and it gets turned on every night and whenever we leave the house. We also have driveway motion sensors that set off a beeper alarm if anyone comes up the driveway or gets close to the house. We always lock the house if we are up in the woods for any reason, even though we have 2 barky dogs.

On the other hand, I have a friend about a mile down the road, he's lived here all of his life and doesn't even have a lock on his back door or own a gun.

In the end, the old saying is right: location, location, location.


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## bassJAM (Jan 29, 2014)

I agree, I've lived in Clermont County my entire life, and you quickly learn where the meth labs are!  Fortunately (or unfortunately), I'm friends with friends of a lot of the riff raff around, and have run into them at various bon fires or parties.  There's like an unspoken code that they typically leave you alone if they like you.

I used to ride sport bikes through northern KY, I know what you are saying about the beautiful countryside.  When we'd stop in at the Shell gas station in Falmouth for a break though, it made for some great people watching!  You'd have your good ol' boys rolling in with farm trucks, and then the meth heads crammed 5 into a Cavelier who need to borrow $5 for gas so they can get home to their sick aunts.


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## briansol (Jan 30, 2014)

I currently live in suburbs...  60,000 people in my small city. 

I've been wanting out for a while.

Being used to services, I've narrowed it down to finding a place that is not so much rural as it is hidden.

There are many places where you can find 50-100 acres of land with sightline to only 1 or 2 other properties of similar stature, just off of a state highway (read: plowed) and within 10 min of a town center (for some local stuff, markets, etc) and within 30 min of a city for real services.

The areas just west and east of Concord NH are calling me.


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## jharkin (Jan 30, 2014)

Where we live I wouldn't call rural, but its certainly not city either, and not quite a suburb in postwar sense.  We live in a real old New England town, kind of a village.  13,000 people on 19 square miles.  Where my house is is right in the old village center that has been here since the late 1600s. I can _walk_ to a drugstore, hardware, auto parts, a real general store, food market, gas stations, a pub, 2 pizza houses, 3 coffee houses, 2 barbers, a bank, 3 liquor stores, 2 churches, a number of farmstands, and so on... Pretty much anything.  I have piped natural gas and city water.  We get Verizon fiber optic service for TV and 50mbps internet.   I can drive to the city... Boston... in 40 minutes on the weekend. My drive to work is 25 minutes, 35 on a bad traffic day.  Both the police stations and the fire house are walking distance in an emergency. 1/4 mile from my house there used to be a train station where you could get on a train to Boston and from there to anywhere.

In spite of all that I have what would be a decently sized yard (1/2 acre) compared to a modern cookie cutter planned suburb, and there are even trees between me and my neighbors   But they are close enough I know them all well. I also dont have to deal with HOAs and other annoying city/suburb life crap.

Tradeoff is its not nearly as quiet as living in the country, and we dont much land.  My wife and I both dream of buying a farm some day and retiring to the country, but at this stage of our life in our peak career and childraising years where we are makes more sense. She was even asking me if we had room to put a chicken coop in the backyard last week.


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## firebroad (Jan 30, 2014)

jharkin said:


> Where we live I wouldn't call rural, but its certainly not city either, and not quite a suburb in postwar sense.  We live in a real old New England town, kind of a village.  13,000 people on 19 square miles.  Where my house is is right in the old village center that has been here since the late 1600s. I can _walk_ to a drugstore, hardware, auto parts, a real general store, food market, gas stations, a pub, 2 pizza houses, 3 coffee houses, 2 barbers, a bank, 3 liquor stores, 2 churches, a number of farmstands, and so on... Pretty much anything.  I have piped natural gas and city water.  We get Verizon fiber optic service for TV and 50mbps internet.   I can drive to the city... Boston... in 40 minutes on the weekend. My drive to work is 25 minutes, 35 on a bad traffic day.  Both the police stations and the fire house are walking distance in an emergency. 1/4 mile from my house there used to be a train station where you could get on a train to Boston and from there to anywhere.
> 
> In spite of all that I have what would be a decently sized yard (1/2 acre) compared to a modern cookie cutter planned suburb, and there are even trees between me and my neighbors   But they are close enough I know them all well. I also dont have to deal with HOAs and other annoying city/suburb life crap.
> 
> Tradeoff is its not nearly as quiet as living in the country, and we dont much land.  My wife and I both dream of buying a farm some day and retiring to the country, but at this stage of our life in our peak career and childraising years where we are makes more sense. She was even asking me if we had room to put a chicken coop in the backyard last week.


Wow, I think you are very lucky.  
I wonder if when the kids are grown up and moved out, and you are ready to retire, would you really want anything more?


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## jharkin (Jan 30, 2014)

firebroad said:


> Wow, I think you are very lucky.
> I wonder if when the kids are grown up and moved out, and you are ready to retire, would you really want anything more?



Oh I didnt mention the ridiculous property taxes (over $18 per 1k), complete lack of closets, single bathroom, and the very noisy street out front with truck traffic.  Its not perfect   But we are happy so far.


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## Retired Guy (Jan 30, 2014)

Adios Pantalones said:


> Live NEAR, not IN, a college town. Population drops off quickly, so you can be two towns away with a population of 500, but have bars, coffee shops, restaurants, girl watching nearby.


One problem living in a college town is that local politics is skewed by the under 21 crowd.


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## eclecticcottage (Jan 30, 2014)

jharkin said:


> Oh I didnt mention the ridiculous property taxes (over $18 per 1k), complete lack of closets, single bathroom, and the very noisy street out front with truck traffic.  Its not perfect   But we are happy so far.



BAAHAHAHAHA....our taxes are over $35 per 1k (school, town and county).  Yours are cheap.  And we don't have a general store either   Or closets.  And we also have one bathroom.  But our house isn't nearly as old or large as yours!


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## bsruther (Jan 30, 2014)

jharkin said:


> She was even asking me if we had room to put a chicken coop in the backyard last week.




Chickens are very simple to keep, if you do it right. We've had them for three years and they are very low maintenance. All I do in the winter is fill their 5 gallon bucket with water once every three weeks or so and fill their food thing once every other week. They will eat anything that you eat, even chicken.
Get her the chickens, you'll enjoy it and make her happy with little effort.

But whatever you do, if you get a rooster, kill the rooster, or drop him off someplace, just get rid of him. Besides being a royal pita, he will turn the other chickens against you if you let him stay too long.


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## briansol (Jan 31, 2014)

Retired Guy said:


> One problem living in a college town is that local politics is skewed by the under 21 crowd.


 yup.  surviving college without becoming ridiculously liberal is becoming less and less possible.


eclecticcottage said:


> BAAHAHAHAHA....our taxes are over $35 per 1k (school, town and county).  Yours are cheap.  And we don't have a general store either   Or closets.  And we also have one bathroom.  But our house isn't nearly as old or large as yours!


 yeah, $33 here.   18 is DIRT cheap


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## shoot-straight (Jan 31, 2014)

i live in the least populated county in MD. we love it. i grew up in the suburbs, it had its merits as well. especially if you have kids. we do not. 

perhaps best thing is that when the zombiepocolypse happens, we will be fine. everyone has guns here, and we arent afraid to use them. and given our low population density, there really shouldnt be many running around anyway.


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## jharkin (Jan 31, 2014)

Wow I feel for you guys property taxes.  Here in MA average towns are more like 10-12.  My 18 is close to a state high.  "Taxachusetts" yet another myth.....

I'll resist the opening to touch the college = liberal comment, rather not 'can this one.


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## woodgeek (Jan 31, 2014)

jharkin said:


> Wow I feel for you guys property taxes.  Here in MA average towns are more like 10-12.  My 18 is close to a state high.  "Taxachusetts" yet another myth.....
> 
> I'll resist the opening to touch the college = liberal comment, rather not 'can this one.



There is still state income tax to consider.....


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## jharkin (Jan 31, 2014)

woodgeek said:


> There is still state income tax to consider.....



5.2%  not the lowest out there, but on the lower side of average.   No local income taxes.

Sales tax got a big bump from 5 to 6.25% lst year.  Again not the lowest but far from the highest as well.


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## bassJAM (Jan 31, 2014)

bsruther said:


> But whatever you do, if you get a rooster, kill the rooster, or drop him off someplace, just get rid of him. Besides being a royal pita, he will turn the other chickens against you if you let him stay too long.




Mmmmm, I miss back when I lived at my parent's and they had chickens.  They started off with about 6 roosters, and one of those was always the "top dog" and would attack anyone who walked in the pen, my Mom has scars on her ankle to prove it.  So we'd eat him, and then the next rooster would step into that position, and we'd eat him too.  Fresh chicken is WAY better than anything you get in the store.  Eventually when we got to the last rooster, I think he figured out what was going on because he became as docile as any of the hens!


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## Swedishchef (Feb 1, 2014)

Personally I find people who have kids and isolate themselves (no neighbors, etc etc) kind of a bummer. What do you do at Halloween? Kids playing together on evenings or weekends? If the kids involved in extra curricular activities at school are you ready to drive to and from regularly? I see people where I live say "my kids don't play sports, play musical instruments or go to town with friends: it's just too far to bother". Yet they are the ones who decided to live where they chose to live; don't blame your kids.

Personally I think like webbie: I live in the country and within 15 minutes I have my services.

Andrew


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## bmblank (Feb 2, 2014)

I lived in the country and Halloween was far better out there than here. We used to hitch up the three axle trailer to the tractor and head out. We'd stop at the first house get some candy then we'd all get back on.  Repeat until we've been all over the neighborhood. Adults enjoyed adult beverages and kids enjoyed candy.


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## Swedishchef (Feb 2, 2014)

I guess it all comes down to what you're used to (how you grew up) and what you want in life. Pros and Cons either way. My memories of Halloween have nothing to do with getting on a three axle trailer. however, it sounds damn fun! I live in the country in a fairly isolated area and miss having services (better hardware stores, kids clothing stores, etc) closer to me.


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## bassJAM (Feb 3, 2014)

I never played sports until I was old enough to drive myself to practice.  And halloween was often for us going to a friend's house who lived next to a neighborhood or my parents would just buy some candy for us.  And often going to a friends house to play meant I'd stay the entire weekend.  But that also meant when I'd have friends over, we could camp out out of eyesight (and earshot) of the house.  We could spend the whole weekend swimming or fishing in the river that bordered the property.  We could build forts in the woods or bridges over creeks.  We could have bon-fires as large as we wanted.  Even 20 years later my friends brag about the camp-outs they went to at my house through jr and high school.  One of the last campouts I remember was when we were 16-17 and we set up a race track around the bottom field (about a 3/4 mile loop) and ran our cars all night.  3 cars got totaled (I hit a tree, another broke his suspension, and a third didn't have an air filter and sucked too much stuff into the engine).  Our parents where MAD and we all got grounded, but we learned our lessons.  All of the cars were worth about $500 each, and we were forced to fix them or replace them ourselves.  Luckily all the farmers needed kids to bale hay and straw, so there was always summer work for anyone who didn't mind sweating.

I'll take growing up like over being able to walk to the mall and hang out or walk to a buddy's house to play Nintendo.


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## Swedishchef (Feb 3, 2014)

See, it's all a matter of perspective and your own experiences. I have no doubt your childhood was fun. As was mine (I live out in the country). But once I was involved in competitive sports, working in public areas, etc it became more tiresome. I enjoyed going into the city for ethnic foods, diversity and culture. I didn't grow up on a nintendo or in a mall. In fact I remember telling my father I wanted to go and I wasn't allowed to go to the mall unless there was a purpose (something needed to be bought).

I currently live in one of the most isolated places I have seen in my life. I don't mind it but miss the services of a bigger population: it's what I am used to.


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## ChipTam (Feb 3, 2014)

Swedishchef said:


> I guess it all comes down to what you're used to (how you grew up) and what you want in life. Pros and Cons either way. My memories of Halloween have nothing to do with getting on a three axle trailer. however, it sounds damn fun! I live in the country in a fairly isolated area and miss having services (better hardware stores, kids clothing stores, etc) closer to me.



I guess it does come down to what you're used to.  I've lived in three cities most of my life.  All were right around 100,000.  Seems to me that size is still manageable and has most of the conveniences we take for granted these days.

More recently, I now spend about 6 months a year in a very rural area of Canada.  About 50 folks live in the village in the summer and only a few hundred in the entire county.  I love my neighbors.  They're warm, friendly folks and right there if you have a problem.  The scenery is just spectacular and the pace of life suits a 68 year-old retiree.  However, there are some down sides.  Employment opportunities are limited.  The all-grade school graduated seven students last June and has a total enrollment of about 70.  If that school closes, students could spend 2-3 hours on buses each day.  The nearest hospital is 1 hour away in the summer (make that 3 hours in the winter with black ice).  For all of these reasons, a  number of my neighbors have moved away in the last few years.  It's sad but probably inevitable.

ChipTam


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## Swedishchef (Feb 3, 2014)

ChipTam said:


> I guess it does come down to what you're used to.  I've lived in three cities most of my life.  All were right around 100,000.  Seems to me that size is still manageable and has most of the conveniences we take for granted these days.
> 
> More recently, I now spend about 6 months a year in a very rural area of Canada.  About 50 folks live in the village in the summer and only a few hundred in the entire county.  I love my neighbors.  They're warm, friendly folks and right there if you have a problem.  The scenery is just spectacular and the pace of life suits a 68 year-old retiree.  However, there are some down sides.  Employment opportunities are limited.  The all-grade school graduated seven students last June and has a total enrollment of about 70.  If that school closes, students could spend 2-3 hours on buses each day.  The nearest hospital is 1 hour away in the summer (make that 3 hours in the winter with black ice).  For all of these reasons, a  number of my neighbors have moved away in the last few years.  It's sad but probably inevitable.
> 
> ChipTam


 
Newfoundland is a great spot Chip. NIcest people in the world. But as you said, it's what you're used to. I haven't been in a town with more than 8000 people in over 10 years. And the nearest urban area is over 5 hours away. With no clothing stores for kids it makes it tough. I can't by a stroller and try it out first, etc etc. When you have 2 young kids those services become nice when available....

Regarding your comment about health services: we have a small hospital. It's basic...and I can tell you from experience it is not pleasant when a loved one gets sent via Jet to a urban hospital in an emergency while you have to drive 550 miles to get there...


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## bassJAM (Feb 3, 2014)

Swedishchef said:


> And the nearest urban area is over 5 hours away. With no clothing stores for kids it makes it tough. I can't by a stroller and try it out first, etc etc. When you have 2 young kids those services become nice when available....



I do tend to forget everyone's situation is different.  I consider where I grew up pretty rural, we lived on 36 acres of farmland, and most of the neighbors had well over 100 acres or more.  A lot of my closest friends were farmers who raised crops or had cattle farms.  But I could also get into downtown Cincinnati (300,000 strong) in an hour, or the closest decent town with just about any store you could imagine in 30 minutes.  So I guess some areas are more rural than others


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## Swedishchef (Feb 3, 2014)

Pffft...you live in the suburbs! My nearest city of 30 000 people is 5 hours away. The next step up is 7.5 hours away.

Canada is rural...LOL. Imagine: the US has about the same surface area as Canada (we have a little bit more) and we have 1/10th the population. 

A


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## eclecticcottage (Feb 3, 2014)

I HATED living in the burbs/cities as a kid.  I had family members who were rural and summers at their places were the BEST.  My aunt and uncle lived out in the country, and my uncles sister (I'm not sure what I'd call her, he was uncle by marriage, my aunt is my moms' sister) owned the farm next door.  I used to hang out down there in the barns, chase the geese, feed the chickens.  During the winter we'd sled on the back hill, my uncle would tow me back up with his snowmobile.  My cousins and I would raide around in the back of his truck when he drove around in the fields (my gram would get sooo mad)...my grandparents had friends with a farm, so when I was down there I'd hang out with them and the horses.  Both my grandparents and aunt and uncle had great woods to go exploring in, trees to climb.  I learned to ride my bike at my grandparents riding down their little hill.  I used to collect monarch caterpillers and raise them on the milkweed that grew at my grandparents house.  The burbs were so crowded and noisy and people were so uppity.  I was sooo mad when I found out my great grandparents used to own a farm up near Millers Mills, NY.  I would SO have wanted to be there all the time. (actually, they had a dairy and my great grandpa's brother grew popcorn.  how cool is that?)  I wanted to do 4H but there wasn't any way, living where i did.

We aren't really "rural" here.  Big cities like Rochester, Niagara Falls and Buffalo are all close enough (too close, imo).  Suburbia and the cookie cutter developments are inching closer.  I love our cottage and where we live, but, I would also have loved acreage (not that we probably could have afforded the taxes, lol). 

Kids out here grow up riding dirt bikes, atvs and snowmobiles.  They can drive tractors and know where food actually comes from.

I think it's more than situation, it's personality.  My BIL *HATES* where we live.  We're backwards bumpkins to him.  It's all city, all the time.  ICK.


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## Swedishchef (Feb 3, 2014)

I guess it's once again, all relative. In the country you likely won't see the Nutcracker or any other broadway plays. Nor will you get a chance to see a display of Picasso's paintings, eat multicultural food within a block, etc.

I grew up on a dirtbike, riding in the back of a pickup truck, etc. All I am saying is you can be 45 minutes from town and do that. you don't need to isolate yourself from humanity


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## eclecticcottage (Feb 3, 2014)

Swedishchef said:


> I guess it's once again, all relative. In the country you likely won't see the Nutcracker or any other broadway plays. Nor will you get a chance to see a display of Picasso's paintings, eat multicultural food within a block, etc.
> 
> I grew up on a dirtbike, riding in the back of a pickup truck, etc. All I am saying is you can be 45 minutes from town and do that. you don't need to isolate yourself from humanity


 

I'd be ok with never seeing/eating any of that.  The multicultural food I eat is Italian and sometimes orange chicken (Chinese).  I have absolutely NO interest in trying Indian, Greek, etc.  Museums bore me.  I'd rather see nature in person than in a painting.

I don't think there's anywhere in NY state that could truly be considered that rural.  Even the "rural" areas in the southtowns here aren't that far from "cities" (Even if it's Olean or Hornell).  Even the the Adirondacks, you can get to Saranac or Tupper or even Lake Placid for some shopping.  My aunt and uncles place wasn't too far from Utica.


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## Jags (Feb 3, 2014)

As I tell my Chicago location manager after he calls me a country boy:
The country can live without the city but the city can't live without the country.

To each their own.  If everybody thought the same way this big blue marble would be one boring place.


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## FanMan (Feb 3, 2014)

I grew up in the NYC suburbs, my wife in a larger town near Newark, NJ.  We now live out in the woods (2 acre lots) on the edge of a smallish town (13,000 people on 19 square miles).  It's a 5 minute drive or a 30 minute walk (through the woods) to the neighborhood grocery store, package store, pizza, or haircut, 10 minute drive to the hardware store, supermarket, or center of town.  My wife would prefer having "town" be around the block like where she grew up, I'd be happy farther out in the stix, so this is the compromise.  But we don't lock our doors at night or when we go away, and we never worried when our young daughters wandered around the neighborhood.  Yeah, the kids ride their dirt bikes and party in the woods out back, but that's normal adolescent behavior as far as I'm concerned.  Most of our neighbors have guns, and and I can go out my back door to go hunting or plinking.  When we hear something go "bump" in the night we know it's a critter of the four legged, not two legged, kind.

I seriously doubt the risk of car accidents is higher in rural areas.  If that was so, insurance rates would be higher, and insurance companies _know_.

P.S. to whoever mentioned it:  Our daughters got through college without becoming liberals.  I guess we brought 'em up right; my younger daughter got a shotgun for her 12th birthday.


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## Wooderson (Feb 3, 2014)

Live literally on the edge of a town of 10,000.  Have 10 acres of woods just to the east for the kids to play in.  2 minute commute for wife and I. Creature comforts within 5 minute drive.  Traffic jams consist of 4 cars at a stoplight". In-laws have 160 acres 6 miles out, but the last three miles are caliche road.  Wouldn't have it any other way.  

Both kids (11 boy,7 girl) can shoot and drive. Love the farm garden of a full acre and run their own farm stand in the summer months.  Plant, pick, and weed.  Haul wood. Love the farm and woods.  Hope they grow to love the places we have like we do...


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## Swedishchef (Feb 4, 2014)

I guess I am simply too isolated from a larger area. A city of 10 000 is 3.5 hours away. No place to get a pizza after 7PM where I live (in the winter time..). Sigh.


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## eclecticcottage (Feb 4, 2014)

Swedishchef said:


> I guess I am simply too isolated from a larger area. A city of 10 000 is 3.5 hours away. No place to get a pizza after 7PM where I live (in the winter time..). Sigh.


 

I can't imagine what that would be like.  I don't know if I would like it or not. 

We can get pizza, wings or go to a bar.  I do wish at least ONE of the ice cream places would be open during the winter though.  There are ice cream flavors that are ice cream shop only and I miss them during the winter, lol.  Maybe we'll make some ice cream this weekend now that I'm thinking about it...still not the same, but good in it's own way!

One good thing about being so far from an urban center, is the criminal element from those places won't drive out to you, it's too far.  That's a problem here.  There have been numerous home break ins (mostly vacant, several were for sale with photos showing they were obviously vacant-those were for copper, one was "lived in" but not really, and that was for guns, and some were cottages) and a pharmacy break in over the past few years that were attributed to urban criminals driving out to the "country" where people are less used to dealing with that.  Not to say there aren't problems in the country, but with "easy" access from the city as well, it can add a different element.  It's probably a bit more pronounced where I am specifically because of the number of cottages which aren't full time homes.  However, that is becoming less common, with more being replaced by year round homes or folks like us converting exisiting cottages, so it's not as "easy" of pickings as it used to be.


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## woodsman23 (Feb 4, 2014)

come on down to franklinville and live country and live quiet... i can't even imagine what taxes you pay in amherst  ny


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## mass_burner (Feb 4, 2014)

webbie said:


> Also, in new england (and many other areas) people tend to leave you alone (the old Yankee mentality), while some other rural areas your neighbors can be nosy even if they are not close....


 

Amen! A polite wave, some chit-chat now and again...if you want.


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## Swedishchef (Feb 4, 2014)

eclecticcottage said:


> I can't imagine what that would be like. I don't know if I would like it or not.


 
I can promise you it sucks. After a sports tournament, long day at work, etc "Hey, let's get some pizza" "sorry, everything's closed...even if it is only 7:03 PM".


lol. I expect nothing less from a forum of wood burners! I doubt many condo owners visit the site! Most of us live in rural areas, hence why we burn wood. I presume most have access to wood on their land, etc etc.

I love the country and I love the city (by city I meant a population of more than 25 000 people but less than 100 000). But something I learned years ago: too much of anything is no good. It's all about balance (for me).


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## peakbagger (Feb 4, 2014)

A friend of mine in a small rural town near me had a couple of smart kids, one of the kids hears about a private college with a good rep, Drew, that gives out a full boat merit only 4 year scholarship with a room and board. The kid tells one of their friends about it. They figured what the heck maybe one of us will get it. Turns out both get it out of 20 given worldwide. Total number of high school age kids in the town are probably 10. When the parents were asked what the reason was the answer is; one TV station, no cable and no internet. Their other kid doesn't work one summer but precuts all the beams for a 40 by 60 timber frame barn that he and his father designed and made up cutting templates the winter before. When we assemble the barn that fall (no crane all blocks and pulley) there was only one wrong joint. That kid is now a astrophysicist that works with the Hubble telescope.

Somehow I don't think my friends kids missed on growing up in the city.


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## Retired Guy (Feb 4, 2014)

Swedishchef said:


> I guess it's once again, all relative. In the country you likely won't see the Nutcracker or any other broadway plays. Nor will you get a chance to see a display of Picasso's paintings, eat multicultural food within a block, etc.
> 
> I grew up on a dirtbike, riding in the back of a pickup truck, etc. All I am saying is you can be 45 minutes from town and do that. you don't need to isolate yourself from humanity


If the Southern Adirondacks are rural enough for you the Hyde Museum in Glens Falls has an excellent art collection. http://www.hydecollection.org/


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## Swedishchef (Feb 4, 2014)

Is there not a single person here who enjoys somewhat of a city life?

NO doubt smart people come from rural and urban settings.


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## bsruther (Feb 4, 2014)

Swedishchef said:


> Is there not a single person here who enjoys somewhat of a city life?
> 
> NO doubt smart people come from rural and urabn settings.


Define smart.


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## Swedishchef (Feb 4, 2014)

bsruther said:


> Define smart.





peakbagger said:


> When we assemble the barn that fall (no crane all blocks and pulley) there was only one wrong joint. *That kid is now a astrophysicist that works with the Hubble telescope*.


 
I also believe that smart is not synonymous with academia. Often they are hand in hand but that isn't always the case.


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## ChipTam (Feb 5, 2014)

Swedishchef said:


> I also believe that smart is not synonymous with academia. Often they are hand in hand but that isn't always the case.



Hey Andrew,

A 90 year-old friend in Newfoundland put it best, "education don't help if you've got chit for brains!"  And, she is actually a great believer in education.  Both of her children became teachers and she has always lamented the fact that there was no money for her to continue her education when she was young.

ChipTam


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## bassJAM (Feb 6, 2014)

Swedishchef said:


> Is there not a single person here who enjoys somewhat of a city life?
> 
> NO doubt smart people come from rural and urban settings.



Honestly I do enjoy the city.  I like meeting up with friends after work at the bars that have 20 different micro brews on tap.  Out in the country your choices are Bud light or Miller lite, and if you're lucky there might be Sam Adams in a bottle.  I like that I can take my girlfriend to the museum, walk to a park by the Ohio River and watch the boats, and then have 50 different choices within walking distance to go eat or grab a drink.  And if you drink too much or just want to have a "night out on the town" there's cheap hotels around.  I like that I've got several Fortune 500 companies within driving distance I can work for, as well as all the smaller businesses that support them.  And I'm not much for sports, but we've got 2 pro-teams in the city if you care to go see a game.

I could never live in the city, but it's nice that it's a reasonable driving distance away.


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## Seasoned Oak (Feb 6, 2014)

Go for some acreage on the outskirts of town. Thats what im planning. If its big enough you wont get developed out of space again.
Im thinking 10+ acres. I need space for wood piles. Friend of mine has a place right on the edge of town, 26 acres,2 acre lake full of fish & nice stream ,fruit orchard,picnic area. He built it all up from an abandoned coal breaker site for cheap. Its like heaven. He gettin pretty old and talks about downsizing so im savin up my downpayment just in case.


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## bsruther (Feb 6, 2014)

bassJAM said:


> Honestly I do enjoy the city.  I like meeting up with friends after work at the bars that have 20 different micro brews on tap.  Out in the country your choices are Bud light or Miller lite, and if you're lucky there might be Sam Adams in a bottle.  I like that I can take my girlfriend to the museum, walk to a park by the Ohio River and watch the boats, and then have 50 different choices within walking distance to go eat or grab a drink.  And if you drink too much or just want to have a "night out on the town" there's cheap hotels around.  I like that I've got several Fortune 500 companies within driving distance I can work for, as well as all the smaller businesses that support them.  And I'm not much for sports, but we've got 2 pro-teams in the city if you care to go see a game.
> 
> I could never live in the city, but it's nice that it's a reasonable driving distance away.


I'm in what I consider to be a unique area. It's like a wedge of country that stabs right into the heart of the metro area. I think a lot of people overlook this area for some reason, whether it's the close proximity to the river or the trains that go with it, I don't know, but we sure as hell took advantage of it. 
We are isolated from urban/residential life, yet can be at Newport on the Levee or Hoffbrau Haus in about 12 minutes.


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## Jags (Feb 6, 2014)

All the city that I care to have can be had in less than 20 minutes (pop. 150,000).  World class city? 90 minutes (Chicago).   I don't want to be so far out that a grocery store or hardware store needs to be planned, but I don't want to live any closer, either.
I can be to work in the morning with less travel time than some of the folks that live there.


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## Delta-T (Feb 6, 2014)

I'm near enough to the "urban epicenters of NH" (Nashua and Manchester...affectionately referred to as Manchvegas) to enjoy their good points of concert venues, restaurants, shopping megaplex, and sports arenas...and just far enough away to be somewhat removed from their negatives....hot dog vendor, taxi cab hooligan, streetcorner horsehair hustler, ect.


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## jebatty (Feb 8, 2014)

> I don't want to be so far out that a grocery store or hardware store needs to be planned, but I don't want to live any closer, either.


This does not need to be an obstacle and can be an advantage. I think the primary considerations are 1) if you have kids, locate within a good school system and make it work, their education is priceless; 2) if you need to drive to a work location, travel time is a major consideration, and reduce as much as possible, the time you recover cannot be gained in any other way; 3) planning for shopping cuts expenses for us, make lists, buy enough in quantity when shopping to eliminate need for frequent shopping runs, get along without and find another way (almost always possible), shop on-line and let the delivery guys save you time and travel expenses, plus on-line shopping often is faster than travel to a store and finding out the store doesn't have exactly what you want and often less expensive in purchase price too. Plus, at least for my wife and I, staying out of stores saves us money. Even in my shop I keep a whiteboard shopping list so that the next time I head to town I get what I need. Often things I put on the list I erase later because they are not really needed.

And 4) travel to a larger city for cultural, restaurant, city-type recreational opportunities can become special days, maybe overnight on occasion, and they become very attractive and more enjoyable when planned, or even spontaneous. Minneapolis-St. Paul is a 3 hour drive away, but larger rural cities 1-2 hours away have some very good cultural offerings also, and our trips for these kinds of things have become extra enjoyable.

As to on-line shopping, a recent example: kickspace heater in the bathroom quit working, I pulled it out and after a little testing on the electrical determined that there was no quick, easy, and inexpensive fix; went on-line and within a couple of minutes found an exact replacement, ordered on a Sunday evening and delivered by FedEx on Wed afternoon. If a major hardware/home store would have had the item, the trip would have been 90 miles round trip (I figure auto travel cost is $0.50 mile) and at least 3 hours of time, and the cost ???


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## Ehouse (Feb 8, 2014)

jebatty said:


> This does not need to be an obstacle and can be an advantage. I think the primary considerations are 1) if you have kids, locate within a good school system and make it work, their education is priceless; 2) if you need to drive to a work location, travel time is a major consideration, and reduce as much as possible, the time you recover cannot be gained in any other way; 3) planning for shopping cuts expenses for us, make lists, buy enough in quantity when shopping to eliminate need for frequent shopping runs, get along without and find another way (almost always possible), shop on-line and let the delivery guys save you time and travel expenses, plus on-line shopping often is faster than travel to a store and finding out the store doesn't have exactly what you want and often less expensive in purchase price too. Plus, at least for my wife and I, staying out of stores saves us money. Even in my shop I keep a whiteboard shopping list so that the next time I head to town I get what I need. Often things I put on the list I erase later because they are not really needed.
> 
> And 4) travel to a larger city for cultural, restaurant, city-type recreational opportunities can become special days, maybe overnight on occasion, and they become very attractive and more enjoyable when planned, or even spontaneous. Minneapolis-St. Paul is a 3 hour drive away, but larger rural cities 1-2 hours away have some very good cultural offerings also, and our trips for these kinds of things have become extra enjoyable.
> 
> As to on-line shopping, a recent example: kickspace heater in the bathroom quit working, I pulled it out and after a little testing on the electrical determined that there was no quick, easy, and inexpensive fix; went on-line and within a couple of minutes found an exact replacement, ordered on a Sunday evening and delivered by FedEx on Wed afternoon. If a major hardware/home store would have had the item, the trip would have been 90 miles round trip (I figure auto travel cost is $0.50 mile) and at least 3 hours of time, and the cost ???




All good Ideas.  I would add buy local produce rather than getting everything at the super.  By living rural, I can buy dairy, veggies and fruits, maple products, honey etc. all at much better price and quality.  Even local grass fed meats are now to be had at competitive prices.  I can now buy beautiful strip steaks custom cut from any of several sources for $5-6 /lb. keeps us away from processed food as well.  For tipplers there are even small distilleries being licensed.  One's doing Apple Jack and bourbon, another shows up at local mkts with licensed Absinthe!


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## blazincajun (Feb 11, 2014)

I miss living in the country. Found a three acre piece in the city and live a modified country life. Love it.


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## Hills Hoard (Feb 11, 2014)

I grew up in a country town in the hills surrounding melbourne, moved closer to the city for 4 years and couldn't get back to the hills fast enough!!  If you are lucky enough to find a place that is an hour or less from the city and still rural, i'd jump on it...

Pros  

Its quiet and peaceful
friendlier people
more space.  you dont have neighbors looking over your fence!
you can light big bon fires
if you forget to lock your front door, or in my wifes case, forget to close the front door, no one will walk in and rob you.
pets love the extra space (my dog is so much happier!)
Sense of community
more wood to scrounge
less issues with crime and hard drugs...(plenty of harmless dope smokers where I live though..)
The country side is beautiful!
the wildlife
the stars are brighter!
You can walk into a shop, get friendly service and not have to wait in line for ages.
you can play drums and make as much noise as you want!!
fresh air
Cons

Travel to work can take longer (if you generally work closer to the city like me)
You need to plan your shopping a little better because you cant always walk down to the shops for milk or bread
petrol can be more expensive.
Less range of products in shops. (hardware stores etc)
TV and phone reception can drop out
people always assume you are a red neck or a  hippy.


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## semipro (Feb 11, 2014)

Hills Hoard said:


> people always assume you are a red neck or a hippy.


or maybe a bit of both.


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## jebatty (Feb 12, 2014)

And then there is the perception for some of us, whether true or not, of just being a little more self-sufficient and less reliant on paying others to take care of every need, whim or want. Instead, get along with less, make do, use what you have longer, consume less, get out of the culture of the biggest, best, and most expensive. It's a lot easier keeping up with deer and rabbits than the Jones' -- but what does the fox say?


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## Adios Pantalones (Feb 12, 2014)

Delta-T said:


> I'm near enough to the "urban epicenters of NH" (Nashua and Manchester...affectionately referred to as Manchvegas) to enjoy their good points of concert venues, restaurants, shopping megaplex, and sports arenas...and just far enough away to be somewhat removed from their negatives....hot dog vendor, taxi cab hooligan, streetcorner horsehair hustler, ect.


Manch has a surprising number of good restaurants. Plus the cupcake place.


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## Ehouse (Feb 12, 2014)

jebatty said:


> And then there is the perception for some of us, whether true or not, of just being a little more self-sufficient and less reliant on paying others to take care of every need, whim or want. Instead, get along with less, make do, use what you have longer, consume less, get out of the culture of the biggest, best, and most expensive. It's a lot easier keeping up with deer and rabbits than the Jones' -- but what does the fox say?




That's a great video, but the one I saw this morning (-12*) was just mutterin' to himself as he slunk down over the bank!


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## valley ranch (Feb 15, 2014)

The question was what are the up sides/down sides of living here or not living in there? Let's see. I have to get back to you on that.

A lady who doesn't get out much asked the girls: "What kind of dog is that?"


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## Jags (Feb 15, 2014)

I am sure it has a very unique bark.


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## JustWood (Feb 16, 2014)

Jags said:


> I am sure it has a very unique bark.


 What does the ass say ?


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