I was born and raised in a large midwestern US city. A few years ago, I moved out to the country. Like, 30 minutes away from any services. I made the move in part because I sold myself on a vision of Hobbiton. Living in and around nature. Away from the lights and cars and problems of the city and instead forging a life of pastoral relaxtion, gazing on sunsets while smoking my pipe.

But it was a mistake, and I hate it out here.

A caveat to start off... when someone mentions how they hate country living, there are typically two kinds of responses. One is from people who were raised in the country and love it. I think this describes a very small fraction of the population, though. If you’re in this category, good for you. I’m glad this all works for you but you’re not my audience here. The other type of response is from city dwellers, who when someone mentions rural living, are all like “awww that sounds like heaven to me :)”. People who, like me, think if they just had some land and a homestead they’d be living like BIlbo Baggins. Well it’s not that.

A big thing you don’t realize is just how important it is to get to simple services like groceries or just a haircut. Did you start making a recipe but halfway through realize you don’t have any cumin? In a city you can run out and be back in a few minutes but out here you’re gonna be gone at least 70 minutes. And getting a haircut literally involves planning a “haircut night” once a month because it can take up nearly a whole evening. If you need a taxi and it ends up costing a small fortune and had to be scheduled ahead of time. The distance from services really is death by a thousand cuts and it can really start to grind you down.

If you don’t have a place to run or have the space and money for some home equipment, forget working out. And btw rural areas are incredibly hostile to running, unless of course you own a ton of land and make your own paths. Running or biking on the roads is incredibly dangerous.

I have not had any medical emergencies (alhamdulillah), but I am very cognizant of the fact that for any urgent medical issue, I’ve already lost like an hour of time before I can get treated; which could make a huge difference in outcomes for my family.

You are on Mother Nature’s home court here. And she does not want you here. I’m currently just accepting all the ants and pincher bugs that are all over my house. Using a sonic system to keep out the mice but it’s not really working. Can’t let the kids play in the grass because of rattlesnakes. You just have to be comfortable with all sorts of creatures around. Dealing with the elements is just more challenging out here.

I know people feel (and are) isolated and alienated from their fellow humans in cities, especially under capitalism. But my friends, you really cannot understand just how isolated and disconnected you feel when you physically live distant from another human. It warps you as a human and turns you inwards. It fosters a clannish, blood-relations-only mentality. Marx totally had the peasantry pegged in The Eighteenth Brumaire, potatoes in a sack who only watch out for themselves.

And it’s not like the people you do have around you are all that great to be around, let’s be real here. In the US at least, rural areas are home to some of the most reactionary, anti-social people in the whole country. Because there’s no few people around here anyway (not to mention the chud nature of the people who are here), organizing is basically impossible. Closest DSA chapter is at least a couple hours away, never mind PSL. There’s just... not really much here to organize.

But honestly the worst and real heart-breaking one is... as a parent, I am hoping to god that I can move us to city before my kids get to old. Because I dearly hope when they’re adults they choose to live reasonably close to me. But when you live in the middle of nowhere, there’s just no way they can live nearby, there are no jobs. So the rural life breaks up extended families. Yeah sure even if I lived in a big city my kids might want to move away, but at least there, there’s opportunities to stay around.

And maybe I’m just mad at myself for not realizing how good I had it back in my big city hometown. And for practical purposes I am 100% stuck here. And for those reasons maybe I get unreasonably annoyed and people who idealize country living. At the very least, before you think about moving you should be aware of the downsides.

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[–] 7 points 2 days ago*

Similar to what Came Apart at K-Mart said, this is all extremely context dependent, I think. Though I do feel for you considering yours, it sounds like a nightmare and I hope that somehow you can make it more manageable. Or hell, maybe you could rent it out as a rustic vacation getaway and that income can get you back to the city lol. I figure you've considered that but I know for myself I take every opportunity I can to go to cabins out in the woods for every vacation I have.

I really loved living on a farm out of town, but I think that my situation was quite different from yours. I moved into a place where a pretty good friend group was established amongst more liberal folks. Wasn't a commune per se, but a lot of social interaction. It was also in a beautiful area, and I had a job on the property that was secured; it was unpredictable and kinda meager but enough for someone like me to get by on. I miss the quiet and nature and sound of the coyotes at night and chasing the chickens around when they got out. But I was barely there a year so my outlook may be completely different had I stayed for a couple years or something. I could see it getting monotonous.

However, I would never recommend a city person move to the country unless they spend some time out there, and I don't mean a weekend. I think you're right to be annoyed by people who idealize the life, even if I enjoyed it. There are things you'd never think you'd miss, or things that you must learn or have on hand that I don't think even the most researched person would really think about.

For my own self satisfaction/I love making lists I'm just gonna put some things here that I think are essentials to know for other people reading this who are considering rural living. If this doesn't appeal to you don't do it. A lot of this has already been said but:

  • research research research and visit the places you're considering. What is the history? What industries are there, demographics, has industry died out?
  • General Stores in my experience are the places where people hang out and socialize. Go in the mornings and sit outside with your cup of coffee and eventually you'll end up talking to someone. I wouldn't try to live somewhere that doesn't have any kind of hub like that, or a restaurant/bar/grange hall within a 10 minute drive. There are pockets of rural areas that are more liberal/community minded than others but you really gotta look for it and of course it's not going to be exclusively liberal. If you can't stomach being apolitical in the company of other locals, or being around reactionaries, don't do it. In my experience it was pretty easy to avoid political talk but ymmv.
  • You need a truck, or a vehicle with decent clearance that can tow a small trailer. I would never move out to the country without one or the other, and whether a truck is optional is dependent on how rugged the area is.
  • You need a 22 rifle at least and know how to use it.
  • You need a generator, probably a big expensive one in case you get snowed in for a couple weeks or power goes out otherwise.
  • Speaking of getting snowed in, you need to stock up on non-perishables that will last you a couple weeks if you can.
  • You need to make sure that your home has defensible space if you live in wildfire country. No trees 10 feet away from the house, clear dry brush or get some goats lol.
  • Get your well water tested
  • You gotta be okay getting dirty, rolling around in the mud and getting smelly. No one is gonna fix shit for you, you gotta do it yourself
  • UNLESS you make friends with the curmudgeonly old dude with a heart of gold at the general store who you can trade favors with.
  • If you aren't willing to shovel gravel in 80+ degree weather or chop a cord of wood or lug hog panel around or pound T-posts in the ground or clear brush and invasives out for half the summer, it's probably not for you. You'll get real tan and buff and feel real masculine and sexy though (regardless of gender). This can substitute for structured workouts, and it's all functional movement too which is important.
  • Get a pocket knife, it'll come in handy and you'll feel real cool with it.
  • Gotta learn to garden and preserve your own food.
  • Wild animals will eat your garden.
  • When you grocery shop you need to plan for two weeks to a month of food to avoid constant trips.
  • You MUST be comfortable with improvising and doing without. When it comes to cooking, building/repairing shit, whatever. If you NEED convenience, you will not get it. Just don't.

I'd love to hear from other folks what they would add to this, too

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