Ask TheSurvivalMom: Urban vs. rural
I love getting questions from my readers because it challenges me to think really, really hard. As a SAHM (stay at home mom), I rarely get to do that! Yesterday, my reader, Amy asked:
Our family will be moving, and I think it would be best for us to move to a more rural area rather than urban. What do you think is best where safety and preparedness are concerned?
Amy is one smart cookie, and she answers her question within her own question. Talk about a mom’s intuition! Bottom line, rural beats urban hands down when it comes to safety, preparedness, and raising kids.
No one can predict what might happen in the future or in any part of the country, but let me share with you the reasons I would prefer a rural area.
- Less crime. Crime happens everywhere, but not so much in smaller towns and rural areas. There are fewer people, and neighbors tend to know who belongs in the area and who doesn’t.
- Like-minded people. If you are thinking along the lines of preparedness, you’re more likely to find like-minded people in smaller towns and in the country. For many, it’s always been a way of life and for others, they’ve moved there specifically to become more self-sufficient with goals similar to yours’.
- Self-sufficiency. A key to preparedness is self-sufficiency. In a city, all your basic needs are met. Becoming self-sufficient isn’t an issue, or so it may seem. However, in a major crisis, city-dwellers could lose electricity, water, and even police protection. Think Hurricane Katrina. In a smaller town and/or rural area, there’s a better opportunity to have your own well, alternative power sources, and homegrown food. For security you can post that sign, “Keep Out! Violators will be shot!” Voila! Your own security system!
- Nature. I want my children to grow up comfortable being outdoors. A recent study showed that more and more Americans are actually afraid of the outdoors! Imagine that! We prefer the “security” of asphalt and skyscrapers to blue sky and wilderness. That’s not the life I want for my children, and I’m willing to leave the city behind for that reason alone.
- Cleaner air, water and land. The combo of pollution and city life go way back to the days of the Black Death. If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather breathe clean air, have access to pure water, and grow my own food without worrying about unknown chemicals and genetically altered produce.
There are drawbacks to rural life, of course, and the one that causes me to think twice about relocating is extended family. Choosing between the advantages of country life and having relatives close at hand in the city is a difficult one. Another drawback is the learning curve. I don’t want to romanticize rural life so much that I overlook the fact that I’ve never lived on a farm or raised chickens. Know what I mean? Rural life will have its’ own challenges, setbacks, and frustrations.
To learn more about any specific area you’re considering, be sure to spend time there and talk with the residents. It will be interesting and insightful to hear their opinions and observations. You might even form friendships and a local support system before your move.
Finally, one more consideration. How will you continue to earn money in a rural area? Thank God for the invention of telecommuting, but that doesn’t work for all types of careers. Commuting into a city can be expensive and wearisome, and small towns rarely offer much in the way of career opportunities. However, creative people have always found ways to earn money!
James Wesley, Rawles over on SurvivalBlog just wrote on this same topic, and you can read his thoughts here.
Let me know what you decide to do, Amy. I’m sure my readers would be interested to hear your thought process and how you arrive at your decision. Best of luck to you and your family.
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The main drawback seems to be its benefit, too: isolation. If you're the only one in a valley or field, you stick out very well – so you have to hope your house won't draw attention for that same reason. Also, isolation means you'll need a vehicle, which means you'll need gas – that can cost a lot of money. I'd want to be somewhere where you could still bike into the city, perhaps.
MoneyEnergy makes a good point about isolation — some level of community is protective. I'm just grateful to SurvivalMom for answering my question here and am eager to learn more from all of you — but rural is really the way we're moving…but not totally isolated. From the prospective home, I can see two houses across the pastures…..
My choice would be similar to yours, Amy. Rural enough to be out in the country yet near enough a small town or city to provide career and cultural opportunities. The best of both worlds, if you can find it. Pastures, meadows…sounds heavenly!
Lisa
Having transferred our family to a rural situation 3 1/2 years ago there are a few items to expand on.
For a quick background we did just under 2 years renting in 2 different small towns within 45 miles of Austin TX and for the last 1 1/2 years we have lived on our own property 60 miles from Dallas proper.
#1 – In some cases the crime can actually be worse, especially the small crimes due to the higher incidence of drug usage. As eluded to elsewhere though if you have the right neighbors it can add huge dividends.
Be sure to stay humble and ask lots of questions.
#2 – People in the country do not usually look at themselves as prep minded but instead just country folks that happen to have a few extras. It is really just semantics but having prep conversations with a survivalist tone will probably give you strange looks however asking about extended power outages will soon have great conversations about how people have a generator and extra gas, gardens, etc. One last thing is hit the ground running being known for someone that helps out their neighbors and others to establish yourself quickly. Do not over commit and exceed what you said you would do, because people are slow to accept people in some cases but if you work hard it can happen quicker. We found out are neighbors were pretty well connected and down to earth so after they helped us out with a few small things we committed to feeding them breakfast every Saturday morning. They come over and we have breakfast and talk for a couple of hours. The amount of good will this has bought us plus learning a lot about our community has been worth every extra penny we spent feeding them. Plus they bring coffee
#3 – As touched on in #2 people in the country pride themselves on being self sufficient.
#4 – This has been a huge culture shock for our family but one they are becoming accustomed to, we have bulked up the animal inventory and had an abysmal first year of gardening but we are learning and failing instead of just planning and reading. Reading a book about gardening does not make you a gardener so if you a city person on a small lot grade a couple of plastic buckets and get started, now….read up what fall crops you can plant in your climate or do a cold frame garden…again NOW!
#5 – This is one of the most important. Being in the country does not have any guarantees for cleaner or healthier environment. Make absolutely sure you do not get smack in the middle of farmers that spray to destroy all living things on their crops. The amount of cancer we are seeing in adults out here is much higher than I ever witnessed in the city. Had a long conversation with an extremely health minded Chiropractor and he said these farmers have no idea how badly their hurting themselves and their families with the crap they are spraying. Go to youtube and watch The World According to Monsanto. We are blessed to be in an area which everyone around us just has natural crops and the few that use hybrid seeds do no extra prep but till and plant.
We would do it again in a heartbeat almost exactly the same keeping in mind #5 especially. The only thing we would change is doing it cheaper and go hog wild on our debt and preps. Do not hesitate to ask if you have questions. I am far from an expert but I will help where I can.
Thanks for your input! It's always good to hear from people in different parts of the country. There are so many variables depending upon where one lives. Regarding crime in rural areas, my friend Ryan over at Total Survivalist Libertarian Rantfest wrote about some of the types of people often found in rural settings, and they're definitely not all the Mayberry types! Anyone thinking of moving to a particular rural community would do well to spend time there, observe, talk with locals, and not be in a hurry to move. Of course one would do the same moving anywhere, right?
Interesting comment re: pesticides used on farms. That's a good heads-up to anyone considering moving to a rural farming area.
Thanks again for your comments! I love the way we can all learn from each other. BTW, we have family all over the great state of Texas and talk of moving there someday.
)
Lisa
My extended family (parents and siblings and us) bought some land (just short of 200 acres) in a good 'retreat area' which is just far enough from major cities to be relatively safe according to Rawles' guidelines. Over the last couple years as we have prepared the land for building and used it recreationally we've met many of the neighbors. Thankfully they are all great people and have accepted us into the community with open arms. I personally think they're happy to see a group of folks with viable and broad skills joining the community with the intent of integrating ourselves. I think it would be different if we were coming in and trying to change everything. From conversations I've had with our new neighbors, that's a key component: Don't try to come in and change everything. Assimilate!
My siblings and I grew up on 20 acres in the woods, and I desperately want that kind of upbringing for my children. Every day I spend in the city I feel worse about it. Thankfully we're hoping to move out to our land within the next two years!