Rural Living
© 01.10.07 By Elijah Williams
I have lived the better part of my life in small towns of the western United States, and worked in or visited numerous others many times. These burgs have populations ranging from eight hundred to three thousand. The life style in these little cities is much different from that found in heavily populated areas. The following is a topical rundown on some pros and cons surrounding various aspects of small town life.
Employment
Often employment is difficult to obtain: or at least jobs that provide adequate income. I know of numerous families that have difficulty supporting their household, yet remain in rural America for its other advantages. I know of more than one individual (or couple) who rely on a ‘patchwork economics' system of income. I actually utilized this method myself for a couple years.
Patchwork economics refers to multiple sources of income, throughout the seasonal year. A fellow I knew operated a landscaping business during the spring and summer, ran a meat cutting company during the fall and early winter when hunting seasons are in full swing, and worked at a nearby ski resort during the winter. His wife contracted a mail route as well.
There are some distinct advantages to this kind of conglomeration. For instance, one is not forced to rely on a single source of income; if one income source bombs out, all is not lost. Another is that you are (for all practical purposes), largely self employed.
However, patchwork economics requires an ability to diversify. This may not work for some people. It's not like having one job that you just show up at five days a week. It requires an ability to think on your feet - so to speak.
The reason this approach to work is fairly common in small town America is because there are a limited number of full time jobs available.
What is available normally consists of government work in the form of schools, forest service and county agencies (if the city is the county seat), as well as locally specific industries such as farming, ranching, or logging.
Shopping
Goods are often limited in the small town environment. A town numbering eight hundred people is rarely able to support more than two small grocery stores, a couple of bars, maybe two restaurants, and a few other miscellaneous thrift shops or hardware stores. In addition you will normally find an automotive towing and repair shop and an auto parts store.
Little else can be found in the way of shopping. Many residents (if not all), learn to plan shopping trips to nearby cities of larger size for commodities that cannot be found locally - or that can be had for better prices. If you cannot do without a daily jaunt to Home Depot, Staples or Wal Mart, forget living in rural area.
Fun and Games
Entertainment of the usual type is almost nonexistent as well. Often grocery stores offer a small selection of movies for rent, likewise the ever-present magazine rack. No ten screen movie theaters here.
I have found that entertainment takes on a little different light within these small communities. Community is actually the point; people spend more time with family and friends. Other entertainment opportunities can be had via the large tracts of public land often adjacent to small townships. Instead of an hour or two drive for wilderness recreation in the form of hiking, backpacking or snowmobiling, these activities can be accessed virtually out your back door.
Holidays are large productions - and a community effort as well; nearly everybody turns out for the Independence Day parade and celebration which runs all day long and into the night. Similarly, children of all ages participate in 4-H programs that constitute a wide range of opportunities including livestock, hobbies, and government study projects. These activities culminate in a county fair - another community effort. Usually there is little or no money involved; the volunteers organize and put it together because they like doing it.
This sense of community prevails throughout other areas such as the local rodeos and fund raisers, as well as more important needs such as the city and rural fire departments - normally made up exclusively of volunteers.
Housing
On the whole a small housing market is much like a large one except for size. However, there are other factors often unique to quiet villages in attractive settings.
If the local housing market was exclusive to area wages, demand, and lifestyle, all might retain comparative equilibrium. But out of town or even out of state buyers often take a liking to summer or otherwise part time houses where they can get away from their hectic lifestyle. They are willing to pay a sum higher than local demand would dictate. Even then the out-of-towner snags a good deal compared to what they are used to paying. This often results in unrealistic pricing for the area, eventually baring many locals from purchasing a house in their own hometown.
Property taxes are likewise affected by the influence of monied buyers. One instance I'm personally familiar with resulted in an unprecedented rise in property taxes when a multi million-dollar mountain resort was under construction an hour's drive away from a small community. The county assessors felt that with the potential influx of high dollar costumers for this establishment, local property had a greater market value. This was likely the case; that didn't ease the tax burden for residents who were already just scraping by. One would hope that if money was in fact being brought to a local economy, business and wages would reflect that, but unfortunately that is often long delayed if it happens at all.
Education
Since the area surrounding small cities are often populated by nearly the same numbers as the town itself (though more spread out), public schools can usually count on the numbers they need to pull in state and federal funding and are thus able to stay in operation.
When it comes to the quality of education in small schools, I have seen nothing that suggests superiority over big city schools. In fact, the schools of one small town I resided in for seven years had the lowest rating in the whole state; it remained near the bottom as long as I was living in the area.
Of course the lack of funding often comes up as a reason for mediocrity, but one would be hard pressed to find a foundering government school of any size that doesn't try to place the blame on lack of money.
The fact remains that regardless of size, a state school is a state school. They all teach the same curriculum, they all require the same credentials of their teachers and they all want more funding.
Crime
While the amount of criminal activity reflects the population in size, it certainly doesn't go away. My first hand knowledge of such includes vandalism, theft, traffic infractions, drug trafficking, and even attempted bank robbery. A brief word on drug activity in rural areas. Since there are often large areas of land, private and public, covered by comparatively few law officials, drug offenders find opportunity for manufacture, shipment and distribution of illegal substances. Many will cultivate hidden patches of marijuana in the back country, or operate meth labs on secluded or abandoned property.
Hence crime is still a problem even though some aspects of the big city crime scene - such as gangs - are rarely a factor.
Travel
Where? Well, if you are going to travel, it will be out of the area. It only takes about ten minutes to traverse the width of many of these small towns. Oh, that's when you're walking, by the way.
However, as previously mentioned, travel outside of town is an important part of life for many. Shopping, visiting relatives, or sometimes employment are all common reasons for traveling long range. I know of people who commuted to work some seventy miles one way each day. While this is often the norm in larger areas, it is not common in rural areas.
As mentioned, many goods or services that cannot be had locally require traveling some distance to obtain. For instance, a hospital capable of MRI's, Chemo Therapy, or major operations is often more than a hundred miles away, if not further.
Tourism
Since most original thoroughfares were built through the main part of town, such as Highway 95 in Idaho, travelers have an opportunity to patronize local businesses. During the summer months when travel is at its peak, these costumers constitute an important part of the local economy.
Often the state will propose and implement a highway bypass around these towns, thus in effect dealing the final blow to the local economy. One such town told the state to take a hike when they tried to move the interstate traffic out of town. Another accepted the proposal after receiving a grant for city water and sewer upgrades; many locals felt it was a bad choice.
The Future of the Rural Lifestyle
I have witnessed the economies of several small towns go from good to worse, or bad to better, or remain static.
Many of these towns enjoyed populations and economies far greater than what they have today - back when their founding industries where in full swing. Numerous sawmills, logging operations, or ranchers have gone out of business in rural America leaving big holes in their respective townships. The national economy directly affects these businesses, small by comparison, yet crucial to their local economies.
Yet while some communities have died completely, many others have lingered through the love of the area that its residents share. In some cases other industry has arrived from outside to boost the local economy, but this seems rare.
Actually, I have witnessed animosities toward outsiders who seek to invest money in business ventures in or nearby the community. One reason is that the people who live there choose to do so because of the lifestyle the rural realm offers. They fear that the arrival of those foreign to such a lifestyle will change the face of the community. This fear is not without foundation.
There will always be a rural culture I suppose. Yet, in this day and age of technology, advanced communication, and ease of travel, there is no complete seclusion, unless one specifically chooses such. Thus, everyone is confronted with current thought, views and ideologies.
Nevertheless, there is still a particular variety of life found in rural areas. And while the forms of employment that were once the foundations of these small communities have largely disappeared, there will always be a certain amount of demand for forest and agricultural products.
And I would submit that there will always be a certain breed of people who cherish the mode of life unique to these little places.
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