Moving to the Country, Changing Place and Space

If you are considering a move to the country or a rural area be prepared for culture shock. If you are unfamiliar with the ways of those living away from the beaten path, don't naively assume that rural residents are either backward or rednecks. Many professional people take refuge in the country, not that your background matters very much. Many country dwellers are pretty much self contained and don't venture outside of their domain too often. Some of the entrenched "old timers" can be quite cantankerous and may seem or actually be unfriendly, but they are the exception and most folks are ready to be neighborly and offer advice or even a helping hand to the newcomers. Some of the old time natives in our area were a real treasure of history and practical information. One of them told me of a local old time post office visited by the outlaw Frank James after he had robbed a Butterfield stage coach in nearby Hot Springs.

If your contemplated move revolves around love of nature and simpler things then you won't be disappointed, remembering of course that simpler doesn't necessarily mean easier. The beauty and serenity of nature is ample reason to head for the hills and stake out your own piece of the American rural pie. Sitting on our front porch and watching the fall sulphur colored butterflies wobble past, or the cattle egrets form a vee over the stream below our ridge top home is a real joy.

First of all there is the work question. Will you continue working in your present occupation and commuting, or try to find employment locally or perhaps work from home? For nearly twenty years I worked as an industrial consultant and designer from our rural farmstead, via the electronic miracle of the internet, telephone and the fax machine. Other occupations can supplement your income and many of them are directly linked to living in a rural place. Raising livestock, producing eggs, chickens, honey and raising herbs and vegetables are all potential dollar raisers. Crafts and other home made articles are also viable enterprises.

Options for saving money by living in the country are plentiful. Some of these are by choice and some a necessity. You will most likely be responsible for maintaining several systems on your country kingdom. We used water from wells drilled on our place after moving from the city. I didn't know anything then about installing or maintaining a water system but I did before very long. Nothing struck fear in my heart that to hear my wife say "honey, we don't have any water"! As a result of maintaining water well systems I have become grizzled veteran well fighter of the first order. Normally these systems operate for long periods of time with little or no trouble. What will be or make up the water supply system? A well or a water system from some township or municipality? Check it out carefully since water - or the lack of it - is a really big deal.

Heating costs can be reduced or nearly eliminated by using wood heat. If you have a ready supply of hardwood then it's a real possibility to totally or partially heat your home with wood. For years we heated with wood then eventually changed over to LP gas for fuel. With the rises in energy costs the last few years we reverted to wood heat. We had forgotten how wonderful that heat is, not to mention the savings. We now heat one hundred percent with wood and in so doing, pocket about fifteen hundred dollars in saving each winter.

Schools and access to them require in depth investigation if you have or intend to have children. We chose to home school ours for a number of years before enrolling them in a public school some seventeen miles distant. In case you think home schooling is not a viable means of learning, our daughter is a college senior with a four point gpa. When our children began to attend public schools a two way bus trip forty five minutes each was required. Inclement winter weather sometimes made for longer commute times, both for the kids and for working parents. Bus service by the school district should be looked into. Your prospective neighbors with children should have good information.

Country life is great for families, and interests in subjects that are not practical for city dwellers are entirely possible when surrounded by the myriad of prospects offered by living next door to Mother Nature. Wildlife and scenic photography, fishing hunting, gardening, small animal husbandry, bee keeping, pioneer crafting, tree identification, canoeing, boating and a host of other learning opportunities are as near as the front door.

In many people, male or female, I believe that there resides a desire to pioneer a place of their own somewhere out in the wilds of the forests, fields and mountains. If this desire is part of your chemistry then by all means go for it. My bride and I did nearly forty years ago and we have never regretted it or looked back.