Living in more rural areas

[floridaorange]

We have lived in the city most of our lives. We are considering a bigger property closer to the coast but away from people and on a lake.

What are the pros and cons of living on a big property "out in the sticks" vs in a town with neighbors you know/like and you can walk to restaurants, the bank, the gym etc?

I have plenty of assumptions, but would like to hear from those who have already made the move. I have family who lives on farms so I'm not completely new to the lifestyle. But I know actually living in a rural area on a big property still comes with factors I am not yet aware of.

[M_Six]

We live out in a "township." It's an unincorporated area outside a town. We pay lower property taxes, but we don't have a dedicated police or fire department. We have the county sheriff and a volunteer fire district. But we're close enough to the main utilities that we have natural gas and supplied water, plus cable TV/Internet. Just down the road from us is a creek where the underground utilities end. Houses past that point have well water, propane tanks, satellite TV, and DSL (if they're lucky). Their electricity is supplied via overhead power lines, which are susceptible to wind damage. Ours is underground.

So taxes, utilities, and services are probably the big three things to consider when you go rural. We live close enough to town where shopping, dining, etc is not an issue. Five minute drive into town.

The other thing to consider when going rural is the lack of ordinances. Where we live there are virtually no ordinances at all. You can burn anything at any time. You can play loud music at all hours or blast fireworks all night long or even have a pistol range in your backyard. For the most part folks are considerate. But there are often times when we get sick of hearing gunfire a few houses away or one of our neighbors decides late Saturday night is the perfect time to tune up his Harley. That sort of thing. I have a nephew who lives on the border between city land and rural land in Florida. He's within the city limits, but his backyard fence abuts rural property. He also has issues with neighbors shooting guns all the time or blasting fireworks. So if you're accustomed to relative civility in an urban environment, you may find rural life takes some getting used to.

[vreihen16]

Pro:
No visits by Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, or door-to-door sales people!
Longer drive in your BMW to get anything
Doordash et. al. don't deliver, and forget about Uber
Snakes and bears provide 24/7 security

Con:
Well water
Septic
No gigabit Internet
Poor/no cellular coverage
Must plan more ahead for store trips

[overcoil]

something to think about.
My GF used to live outside the beltway in a country setting.
Insurance for the property required the bridge part of the driveway over the stream to be able to accommodate a fire truck. I think the requirement was !00,000 pounds. And the cost of such a bridge was $150,000+.
Now we live in a condo inside the beltway. Wholefoods is 2.5 miles away and late evening or early morning runs are safer than being on rural roads.

[Car-Addicted]

First thing to consider is the lake part. My last three houses have been arround or on lakes. Not by choice. You will get a lot of two legged and multi winged visitors you may not want. Also if the lake is big enough you will get a lot of power boat noise. Starting early and ending late.

Things to check into:
Broadband
Local taxes and School taxes
Have a quality home inspection with attention to water and electrical
Get a water test for both hardness and nitrates. Gallon per hour is not a bad thing to know.
Determine the local septic laws. Best to have septic check by professional. If everything checks out there is nothing to fear from living with a septic system. Pumping ever couple years is generally under 200.00. Ditch the garbage disposal and get a composter. A proper septic system and well will cost you WAY less than your previous water and sewage bill.
Test for Radon (lot of rural areas used BOCA code and may not have any radon mitigation built into foundation.
You will have to understand you share your land with critters. From deer, mice, raccoons, skunks and bears. Bird feeder are fair game, deer love the same plants you do but for different reasons. Garbage cans require protection.
Misc:
A pantry will be your best friend.
If you are going to have 2 acres of more you will need a real tractor, I have 2.5 acres and use a kubota sub-compact tractor for mowing, landscaping and snow removal.

Personally I grew up on a farm so my transition was living in cities. Living out in the country gives me peace you can't find in the city.

[bagekko]

It's not for everybody, but personally less people/neighbors/HOA easily outweighs all the negatives people may mention here easily. People suck and I want to be close to as few as possible.

My wife finally understands and is completely on board with next place being more rural. We lived in a great neighborhood before with 30 houses, now in that same space is 300+ houses. There was 2-3 neighbors maybe you didn't like or some sort of issue, now it's 10 fold plus. In rural areas people tend to keep to themselves more and are there for the privacy and freedom, I feel the giant communities tend to attract more people who on one hand don't care/respect the neighbors and yet will also be the pot calling the kettle black.

[bucketfoot]

How is everybody's health?

My cousin's husband died of a very survivable heart attack due to their distance from sufficient medical facilities.

[M2siast]

Originally Posted by bucketfoot

How is everybody's health?

My cousin's husband died of a very survivable heart attack due to their distance from sufficient medical facilities.

Got cousin’s insta?

[dreamingat30fps]

It also depends on what you mean by rural. Like I consider our house in NC to be rural, however town is 5ish miles away and we are also close enough to the "city" to get city water, broadband internet, garbage pickup, but still on septic and only really see the neighbors on one side of me.

Then there's middle of fuck all rural where the closest town is an hour away and you eat what you kill.

[2000cs]

I lived in a small coastal town in FL before moving to a rural area of TN, on a lake. And I’ve lived in plenty of cities.

I like the rural people, once they get to know you enough to trust you, they are true friends. Of course there are too many druggies etc these days, but that’s a city problem too.

Rural folk tend to be more religious (Christian), and around here they don’t drink enough for my taste (If you take a Baptist preacher out fishing, he’ll drink all of your beer; if you take two they won’t touch a drop).

Most of my neighbors are armed, many carry. They can “process” deer and other varmints if needed to survive. Hopefully that will never be an issue, but real life skills still exist in rural America. Because they are armed, we don’t really need the police much. Crime here is petty theft; get into the towns and it gets more violent crime (rural places see their share of murders, but it seems to be more isolated and less random).

You’d better like your neighbors because there aren’t many of them, and you might need to rely on them (or help them) at times. Rural is really nice if you’re a loner or introvert, but hard on those with a high need to socialize.

Prop taxes are low; sales tax the same as anywhere else in the area.

We don’t have garbage pickup. It is common to burn, and there is a “convenience center” (couple of compactor-dumpsters) where we can drop off trash, recycle cardboard, etc. Some rural areas do have garbage pick up.

We have 500Mb Internet and 1,000 is available. Priced like in the city, very reliable here. We have electricity too! Served by a cooperative which is nice. We have town water and it tests good; some areas have wells and people use bottled water to drink but every property is different.

I’m sitting in my living room looking out at the lake as I type this. Can’t hear anything except the dog snoring. Light boat traffic, no road noise. Very peaceful.

If we want to go out to dinner, the closest place is 15 min; the closest with alcohol is about 25 min. Fewer top-end choices (none) but some good, local “home” cooking. However the drive time means even when alcohol is available, we stay to one or no drinks. The last 5 miles home is narrow, has some steep fall-offs, and of course night critters to be wary of when driving.

There are subscription life-flight type services you can purchase here (and in the rural area around Lexington KY where I used to live) if you’re worried about getting to medical care quickly. But if you’re really worried about that, you should live closer to a hospital with the competencies you need.

Our “test” for houses was proximity to pizza delivery. This seems to be a good proxy for other services like clinics, eat-in restaurants, basic shopping, etc. So for example on Zillow if we found a nice house, we’d check one of the navigation apps to see how far any pizza place was and look at their websites to see if they deliver to our home. I suppose you could look for Uber/Lyft service with the same idea.

Land takes maintenance. I hate mowing (really tough on allergies) and have it done - $100/week for a bit over an acre, steep and bumpy, mowed and edged. In Lex that might have been closer to $500/week.

Mice and other pests are rural problems. Cutting the lawn short helps (predators can see them) and there are several other steps to take. Learn to identify and love snakes.

I could go on and on. [edit: I guess I did, sorry!]

[tranquility]

Nice topic. I have this (irrational?) concern about the possibility of getting 'Clockwork Oranged' lol so I don't think I'd ever consider living in the boonies...and I'm kinda amazed ppl just don't care as much, have houses w large windows, don't draw their curtains, etc.

I was born a city-boy and love amenities but I also don't wanna be smack-dab downtown, so somewhere in the middle.

[2000cs]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Nice topic. I have this (irrational?) concern about the possibility of getting 'Clockwork Oranged' lol so I don't think I'd ever consider living in the boonies...and I'm kinda amazed ppl just don't care as much, have houses w large windows, don't draw their curtains, etc.

I was born a city-boy and love amenities but I also don't wanna be smack-dab downtown, so somewhere in the middle.

Come on over and we’ll re-enact Deliverance!

[OtoPA]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

I lived in a small coastal town in FL before moving to a rural area of TN, on a lake. And I’ve lived in plenty of cities.

I like the rural people, once they get to know you enough to trust you, they are true friends. Of course there are too many druggies etc these days, but that’s a city problem too.

Rural folk tend to be more religious (Christian), and around here they don’t drink enough for my taste (If you take a Baptist preacher out fishing, he’ll drink all of your beer; if you take two they won’t touch a drop).

Most of my neighbors are armed, many carry. They can “process” deer and other varmints if needed to survive. Hopefully that will never be an issue, but real life skills still exist in rural America. Because they are armed, we don’t really need the police much. Crime here is petty theft; get into the towns and it gets more violent crime (rural places see their share of murders, but it seems to be more isolated and less random).

You’d better like your neighbors because there aren’t many of them, and you might need to rely on them (or help them) at times. Rural is really nice if you’re a loner or introvert, but hard on those with a high need to socialize.

Prop taxes are low; sales tax the same as anywhere else in the area.

We don’t have garbage pickup. It is common to burn, and there is a “convenience center” (couple of compactor-dumpsters) where we can drop off trash, recycle cardboard, etc. Some rural areas do have garbage pick up.

We have 500Mb Internet and 1,000 is available. Priced like in the city, very reliable here. We have electricity too! Served by a cooperative which is nice. We have town water and it tests good; some areas have wells and people use bottled water to drink but every property is different.

I’m sitting in my living room looking out at the lake as I type this. Can’t hear anything except the dog snoring. Light boat traffic, no road noise. Very peaceful.

If we want to go out to dinner, the closest place is 15 min; the closest with alcohol is about 25 min. Fewer top-end choices (none) but some good, local “home” cooking. However the drive time means even when alcohol is available, we stay to one or no drinks. The last 5 miles home is narrow, has some steep fall-offs, and of course night critters to be wary of when driving.

There are subscription life-flight type services you can purchase here (and in the rural area around Lexington KY where I used to live) if you’re worried about getting to medical care quickly. But if you’re really worried about that, you should live closer to a hospital with the competencies you need.

Our “test” for houses was proximity to pizza delivery. This seems to be a good proxy for other services like clinics, eat-in restaurants, basic shopping, etc. So for example on Zillow if we found a nice house, we’d check one of the navigation apps to see how far any pizza place was and look at their websites to see if they deliver to our home. I suppose you could look for Uber/Lyft service with the same idea.

Land takes maintenance. I hate mowing (really tough on allergies) and have it done - $100/week for a bit over an acre, steep and bumpy, mowed and edged. In Lex that might have been closer to $500/week.

Mice and other pests are rural problems. Cutting the lawn short helps (predators can see them) and there are several other steps to take. Learn to identify and love snakes.

I could go on and on. [edit: I guess I did, sorry!]

Agree with your comments on people and rural crime..we moved from Resortville, AZ (lots of amenities) to rural OK upon retirement. from 1/3 ac to 55 ac. 1.5 ac pond, stocked. Closest neighbor, 500yds as crow flies. nearest town, 2mi, but effectively only a Dollar store and a Hiway gas station. Nearest secondary town, 14mi, w/ PCP, Walmart, Tractor Supply, pharmacy. Closest metro 24mi with ALL health/shopping needs.
Well, Septic, Rural Co-op electric, whole house 44Kw generator on 500gal propane (if needed), and for heat. woodburners x2. County Sheriff..(by time here, problem will be resolved), subscription rural fire protection, trash pickup on hi way, fiber cable (5 yrs later..), cell only. Dish.
necessary: Tractor, zero-turn, Gator, chainsaw, log splitter, usual collection of power tools. Guns..skunks, armadillos and..snakes.
We don't have pizza delivery, but USPS, FedEx, Amazon, UPS all good. 5yrs in, happy to be out of city. 30min on turnpike by X3, or F150, 20 by M4Comp.

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

Come on over and we’ll re-enact Deliverance!

Dude...

[OtoPA]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Nice topic. I have this (irrational?) concern about the possibility of getting 'Clockwork Oranged' lol so I don't think I'd ever consider living in the boonies...and I'm kinda amazed ppl just don't care as much, have houses w large windows, don't draw their curtains, etc.

I was born a city-boy and love amenities but I also don't wanna be smack-dab downtown, so somewhere in the middle.

Daytime, it's nice to have large windows...take advantage of view. At night we have shutters and drapes in bedroom so the crack of dawn isn't so annoying. driveway doorbell and multiple webcams linked to cell lets me know when visitors, delivery or animals come down 100yd driveway or around house when home or away. Appropriate caliber presentation available anytime there's a question.

[Suds]

I have a ranch in the Texas hill country, there is a county road through my place.
Neighbors were trying to figure out who had parked a Porsche on the road, it was my car and my property. So neighbors look out for each other.

Unless there are a bunch of Meth Heads in the area, then it is a crapshoot.

We did have a 19 year olds body dumped in our creek on the property back 12 years ago, because county road. The story.

https://www.ksat.com/news/2011/11/23...r-sons-murder/

[unluky]

I live about 8 miles from a small town. I am the last house on a dead end road with 2 cattle farms on the back 2 sides of me. I have deer, turkey, owls, etc in my yard daily. I would not trade it for the world. When I moved there the closest house was about 300 yards away, but behind trees so I could barely see it and the guy that lives there is like me - hates people. We watch each others stuff, keep each other posted, but rare see each other. As we both prefer. I do live on 1/2 mile of private gravel road, so I do battle car dust a little, but 1,000% worth it.

But I don't give 2 craps about walking to dinner, seeing shows or anything else that would put me about people, so results may vary. To me the privacy is worth it and you could not dig me out of here.

[David70]

No right or wrong. I prefer being close to the city (we are 4 miles outside of downtown but still very urban) for all the city has to offer (restaurants, bars, shopping, season ticket holder to MLS and can be in our seats in 15 minutes, concerts, other events). Lots of friends live near us & if we want to stop by for 20 minutes we can. Live 20 minutes away & would never happen for a short visit, has to be an event, so it rarely happens. Going downtown and drinking, we can take a cheap Uber, not much more than parking costs so often do it.

I am amazed at my friends that live out of the city, how little they care about driving 20-30 minutes to go to a pretty simple dinner or shopping. I would never consider it unless one of these friends wanted to meet somewhere.

I don't want a big yard because of the hassles that come with it. We know all our neighbors & see them regularly, large property does a good job of separating you from them if that is what you want. Lots of people out walking/running/biking in our area, with a Rails to Trails line maybe 6 blocks away. Living in a house built in 1908 it's interesting that they all had front porches (my wife and I often sit there), as time went on people stopped making/using porches and all moved to the back of the house. I guess the majority want to be separated from everyone.

[CTinline-six]

I live in a "smaller town" ~13,000 population. With that said, I am 20 minutes from the local University, and about 20-30 minutes in other directions to major cities. This is the best of all worlds. I like the country, but would hate having to drive an hour to the grocery store. Smaller towns are where it's at, people treat you better. I know all of my neighbors, they keep watch over each others' houses when on vacation and help each other out.

[Watching The World Burn]

Originally Posted by OtoPA

Daytime, it's nice to have large windows...take advantage of view. At night we have shutters and drapes in bedroom so the crack of dawn isn't so annoying. driveway doorbell and multiple webcams linked to cell lets me know when visitors, delivery or animals come down 100yd driveway or around house when home or away. Appropriate caliber presentation available anytime there's a question.

"Appropriate caliber presentation available anytime there's a question."


'Murica!

Ah, sometimes I think I'd like to live there, but then mostly not. Can't figure out if it is the snakes, or the two legged animals that I worry about most. Guess it sometimes depends on the news cycle.

[Car-Addicted]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

Come on over and we’ll re-enact Deliverance!

Now that's funny, I don't care who you are!

[OtoPA]

Originally Posted by Watching The World Burn

"Appropriate caliber presentation available anytime there's a question."


'Murica!

Ah, sometimes I think I'd like to live there, but then mostly not. Can't figure out if it is the snakes, or the two legged animals that I worry about most. Guess it sometimes depends on the news cycle.

Even among snakes, there's a differentiation. Black snakes, welcome in the barn..copperheads..nope. I'm more bothered by ticks than snakes out in the woods. as to caliber, I've found .22 used more frequently than 5.56. Everything is a relative risk, no matter where you live. Horrible traffic and crowds in the city, balanced by the availability of amenities. Done both, prefer space and property.