Ask Lemmy

I live in a small tourist town (Ashland, OR), so I'm kinda in a mix where everything is compact and in one place, and services are common and very handy, whilst also having a lot of that beauty that living rural comes with, my only real issue here being the expense of everything.

My father lives in a "country roads" kind of environment as of recently, and I can personally confirm that I prefer being in a population of people in general, it's beautiful there, but I definitely felt "isolated" of sorts.

I used to live in a rural part of the UK and I hated it. It's so boring. I like having things to do.

I did for 8 years. The land in the area was beautiful. Lots of wonderful hiking and mountain biking trails. People were nice. It was hard seeing family, since it was an eight hour drive. Real estate prices were lower. I'm really into music, and I went without seeing bands play for most of the time we lived there. I'm back in a city and happy. See concerts multiple times a month now. Living in a rural area was a nice experience, but I don't think I'd want to do it again.

I tried for 2 years, but with long work hours I didn't have much time to meet new people and since I'd just moved there for work, I didn't know anybody. Cost of living was great and I loved the friendly people and pace of life. I just couldn't handle the loneliness and isolation. I would do it again, but with a better work life balance and a stronger intention to meet people and make new friends.

I live in southern California, but we're looking for a place to move to for retirement. Because the cost (and value) of housing where we are is so stupidly high, we could pretty easily go anywhere except Hawaii.

I love rural to the extent that equates to "surrounded by nature," and wouldn't say I'd never live in a rural place. On the other hand, we also really like diverse restaurants, and my wife has health issues that require us to go to specialists regularly.

What we're looking for is someplace on the outskirts of a city that's surrounded by wilderness, buying in that transition zone.

I do. It means peace and quiet. It means a reasonable price for housing. It means learning some skills to maintain your place yourself. It means being more self-sufficient. It means you have to plan ahead because shopping is a 1x a week event, not a daily thing.

It also means people visit less and either are amazed at how much you have "out here," or are astounded you can live "out here."

I moved away from a rural area and I would really prefer to go back.

I don't really want to, but the cost of things is going to eventually drive me out there. I don't like being away from great dining choices, decent coffee roasters, good transit options, and most importantly, nearby hospitals for emergencies. I also really hate the red / right political bent of the rural areas.

I grew up rural and I'm glad to be a city boy now. I don't want to move back. Maybe if I get older and can't stand the bustling city life anymore?

Yes, less assholes around.

Yeah, I used to, then moved to the city... Kinda miss it now, despite all the urban services

I went from living in a small city to a very big city and the change was so drastic. Restaurants downstairs. Grocery store in the same building I'm in. I can walk from my door to a subway station in less than 3 minutes. My doctor's office is 10 minutes walk. I can't imagine needing to use a car to just do regular things like going to a mall.