What "Leave the Cities" really means
What to expect when moving to the country
“Leave the cities” has become a regular response on Twitter. I’m guilty of this on an almost daily basis. When I put it out there, I’m not joking. City life has no appeal or value to me. Nor does life in the suburbs. Rural, country living is the only path for me. With the ease of wifi money, I get the best of everything.
Whenever there is a massive snow storm, like the one that hit the mountains around LA, and the residents become trapped and are unprepared, city people are always quick to drop comments about how dangerous the rural life is. With warnings to the effect of “you need several months of provisions” they show their ignorance of rural life. Inadvertently, they get close to the real point. Rural life does require you to think ahead. City people do not understand rural living. They are the ones in for the worst shock when they attempt to leave the city.
The definition of rural varies in reality, and is rather subjective. Small town can be anything from five hundred people to fifty thousand people. Likewise, depending on where in the country you are, a town of five hundred might be twenty minutes from a large city. The eastern U.S. has ‘small towns’ conveniently located a stone throw from cities. If you live in a small town but are within commuting distance to an urban center, or within thirty minutes of a Costco, you have the best of both worlds.
Density Matters
The population density matters as well. When you have a town that's two miles by two miles, with a population of 2000, things are normal. It’s when you get to the one person per square mile density that you get one of two things. You either have the lovely Hallmark small town farms or you have the straight out the stereotype goonie-goo goo sasquatch shit.
While the Eastern U.S. has its fair share of small, rural towns, the Western States are where we will focus the rest of this article, since this is where you will still find the most truly isolated towns.
Towns of fifty thousand people are basically cities, minus the high rises. You’ll have full access to medical specialists, your favorite chain stores and the beloved Costco. Most cities that size have a regional, airport making travel easy.
If your idea of “Leave the city” is moving to a town of fifty thousand or more, you can stop reading here. You don’t need to make any real changes or preparations. Other than a lack of public transportation, there won’t be much shell shock.
The Walmart Factor
At twenty thousand people you have Walmart, the popular chain stores and a variety of restaurants. You probably won’t have an airport, but likely are within one hour drive of the bigger urban centers.
Below twenty thousand people it's a crap shoot as to what you get. This is where the Walmart Factor enters the equation. The driving distance to the nearest Walmart, and all stores/restaurants you find in that size of a town, is the dividing line for most city people. When Walmart is more than an hour away most will feel that the town is to isolated.
If You’re Still Not Scared, Read On
Generally two thousand people is the dividing line for when rural starts to meet the stereotypes. For the rest of this article we’ll focus on towns of two thousand people and less.
Under two thousand people is where the real shell shock comes in. This is where the gas station is also the hardware store, grocery store, and post office. By grocery store I mean there’s a head of lettuce, some carrots and frozen hamburgers available. This is where you will learn to shop in bulk whenever you head to “the city”. The city being the nearest town with a Walmart in it. For some this is too much, too isolated. Others just adapt to going to the doctor, grocery store and hardware store all on the same trip.
Amazon delivers everywhere
Amazon delivers to rural areas, just not overnight. If same day or next day delivery is a life altering event then rural living is not for you. In the extremely less densely populated areas, the one person per square mile area, Amazon might not deliver to your home, but rather use the Postal Service. In these cases you may have to drive to the post office to get your deliveries. This is annoying, but you adapt.
You don’t need to worry about the internet either. Starlink works everywhere.
The real challenge is whether or not you have family nearby. Women are more affected by the loneliness of a rural area than men. Men tend to occupy themselves with hunting, fishing, and camping all year long. If you’re not living near your family, women will have to find someplace to socialize. Church groups are the most likely place to find potential friends.
You don’t NEED several months of provisions. What you do need is an understanding of your local area and what, if any, preparations you might need. Let's dispel some of the myths and set realistic expectations for country living.
So what do you really need to do?
“If you leave the city, you need to have a month/six month/year of food and medicine!” I see this warning on twitter quite a lot from the fear mongers. Having provisions is always a good idea, regardless of where you live. How much you need in rural America is dependent on the weather or potential natural disasters in your area. In northern states prone to severe blizzards you want at least a week's worth of supplies. It’s rare, but these blizzards do happen. The exception of course being Alaska and towns on the Canadian border, where locals stock food and booze in large quantities.
FEMA recommends you have three days’ worth of food because it typically takes them three days to get mobilized and effectively help an area. Any amount of food you have beyond 3 days just means you don’t have to deal with the chaos. If you have a week or even a months’ worth of food you can just wait out the emergency and restock when everything goes back to normal.
Power outages of more than twenty four hours are exceedingly rare, but with the right natural disasters are still possible. The real vulnerability isn’t with the rural power supply, but the fact that most rural areas are the end user of the power supply. The power plant might be located several hundred miles away. This makes it vulnerable to natural disasters across the entire route back to the power plant. The simple solution to this is to own a generator.
It’s worth noting here that 2012s Hurricane Sandy left parts of NJ and the New England states without power for seven days. Those were densely populated areas. The infrastructure of that area is an antiquated nightmare and far more fragile than most anything in the western U.S.
Note: The max size generator you would need is 10KW. Typically on sale for $1000. This is enough to power anything in your house, including freezers, air conditioners and electric heaters. Dual fuel, meaning it runs on gasoline and propane, is preferred. Propane doesn’t go bad, so you can store some long term. Most rural homes don’t have natural gas, but have large (100-500 gallon) propane tanks at the home already, making a ready supply always available.
For reference, I’ve owned backup generators for nearly ten years and have never had to use one. There will be a follow up article on realistic, basic emergency prep.
There’s nothing to do! Or is there?
With towns above two thousand there is a fair amount of community activity. Rodeos, drag racing (cars, not men in dresses), demolition derbies, local parades and fairs, traveling circus’s. If you have good community organizers then the town tries to stay busy.
Under two thousand people and nothing is happening. Ever. Take up outdoor hobbies like hunting, camping, horseback riding or lose your mind.
What about Dating?
If you’re single, there is no dating scene. Most people move to the country already married. The few that are single are single for a reason. The night life will be relegated to a few bars with the same people in them every night.
You either move there with a spouse, marry your high school sweetheart, or leave to find a spouse, then move back. The only exception to this is traveling medical personnel, Doctors, Nurses and Physical Therapists. They rotate through the small towns for a month at a time and eventually find their Hallmark movie ending. If you try for the Hallmark ending, you will have to go through a lot of small towns. Success is not guaranteed.
You will not escape the Social Media insanity
The internet is everywhere, and small town living is not immune to the problems it creates. Pink haired gender benders that crap in litter boxes have found their ways into rural areas. Leaving the city does not absolve you of your responsibilities as a parent.
It’s not hard, but it’s not for everyone
That’s it really. Living in rural America is not that hard. The critics are city people, who, as usual, have no clue what they are talking about. Rural life is great for raising a family and being around extended family. Just be prepared for the minor inconveniences of fewer stores and restaurants and a couple extra days of shipping. If those things are crucial to your life, then please, stay in the cities.