Conscious Choice: Can You Move to the Country?

February 2000

Can You Move to the Country?

by Claudia M. Lenart

My first real experience with country living came as a student at Iowa State University in Ames. I was a Chicago girl who wouldn’t think of saying hello to a stranger and who had cultivated the wise habit of locking my doors both day and night.

Kim, one of my closest friends, lived on a farm outside Hampton, Iowa. We visited her parents one weekend and the culture shock began as we drove down the gravel road to her farm. The driver of each car or pickup truck waved as we passed. When we went out to a bonfire party that evening, Kim didn’t bring a house key. The doors of her home were never locked. I was disappointed the family didn’t have any horses, but I enjoyed frolicking with their two outdoors dogs.

The most memorable experience of that weekend was watching the sky turn to copper at sunset across endless cornfields, breathing in the fresh, crisp fall air, and seeing not another house in sight.

After that visit, I continued to love my lakefront city, but I saw it through different eyes, eyes that noticed the houses were too close together, there were too many cars and too much litter, and the air didn’t smell so good.

Many urban dwellers have an experience at some point that has them thinking wistfully of moving to the country. Often, they get the idea after enjoying a relaxing vacation in the North Woods or the mountains.

You see a small town in a picturesque setting and pick up some real estate books. The prices are astounding — $100,000 for a house on ten acres in northern Wisconsin. Then you wonder what people in this rural area do for a living and what you could do. Maybe you decide there isn’t a job market, so you go back to your suburb and deal with traffic congestion. Maybe you decide there is a way you can live and work in this rural Eden.

More and more people are deciding in favor of rural living. "For the first time in two hundred years, more people are moving to rural areas than urban," say Marilyn and Tom Ross in their book, Country Bound: Trade Your Business Suit Blues for Blue Jean Dreams. They left San Diego for Buena Vista, Colorado.

According to demographer Kenneth M. Johnson, Ph.D., of Loyola University, more than 1.6 million people moved to rural areas in the first five years of this decade. Reasons for moving to the country include less crime, less traffic, cheaper housing, better outdoor recreation opportunities, cleaner air, cleaner water, a relaxed lifestyle, a better place for child rearing, and a sense of belonging.

"Tired of trendiness and materialism, Americans are rediscovering the joys of home life, basic values, and roots. They’re rediscovering sentimental movies. Mixed-breed dogs. Pot roast. Family reunions. . . . They’re connecting with a Higher Power. They realize it’s time to enjoy the little things, for one day we may realize they were the big things," say Marilyn and Tom Ross.

But don’t pack the bags just yet. Weigh your options carefully. You probably couldn’t overdo the research when deciding on a new career or a new home. Even if you know which town you want to call home, it would still be wise to make some phone calls. Write to the chamber of commerce, talk to real estate brokers, interview the mayor, and subscribe to the local newspaper.

If you don’t have a destination in mind, there are many rating guides that use a variety of criteria — population diversity, recreation opportunities, access to health care, etc. But the town with the highest rating may not add up to being your personal paradise. Trust your intuition; consider the place that feels like home. And remember, there may also be lots of reasons for staying put. You may not miss your family, friends, or cultural and educational opportunities during a vacation. But are you willing to give up your everyday contact with them? After all, there’s merit in staying home and making your suburb or city neighborhood a better community.

If open space is what makes your heart flutter, remember that’s not what you’ll have if you and everyone around you moves onto a countrified "estate" on what used to be farmland. Be responsible and plan a move to small town America. But first, consider whether you would fit into small town life. Can you get along with people of different educational levels and different viewpoints? In an urban setting, people usually associate with others of like mind — with the same level of education and often in the same profession. In a small town, those barriers don’t exist. A shopkeeper who didn’t attend college, a farmer who married right out of high school, and the town doctor may all be in your social circle.

"Because there are less people to choose from, you’re more likely to get up close and personal with a greater range of individuals of varying ages, occupations, and levels of socioeconomic status than in the city," say Wanda Urbanska and Frank Levering, authors of Moving to a Small Town: A Guidebook for Moving from Urban to Rural America. They moved from Los Angeles to Mount Airy, North Carolina, in 1986.

Do you want anonymity, or do you crave attention? If you like attention you’ll love a small town. When you first move to a small town, you’ll be a celebrity. And even after that, you won’t make many moves unnoticed. In a small town, you can’t get drawn into an introspective mood that keeps you from chatting with other townspeople. Your moodiness may be mistaken for unfriendliness and you’ll get a reputation.

Do you really want to be a part of a community? There’s more to being part of a community than just living there. Small communities rely on volunteerism and there are lots of opportunities for joiners, from philanthropic organizations like Rotary to the local school board or town council. While mayors and trustees usually get some compensation, it’s generally so low that the work may as well be volunteer.

How important are cultural opportunities? If you regularly go to concerts, art galleries, and restaurants, you may miss urban life. Some small towns have galleries, theater groups, or summer music festivals, but the opportunities are limited. I’ve always thought it would be great to live in, or near, a university town, so you don’t have to give up all access to interesting restaurants and entertainment. Shopping opportunities will be limited as well, though you can always go on-line.

So if rural life still appeals to you, consider the economics. Can you afford the move? What will you do for a living? If you own property in metropolitan Chicago, chances are you’re equity rich and would be able to own a similar size home on more land for less money. The cost of living is generally lower in small towns, and, since there are fewer shopping and entertainment opportunities, you’ll probably spend less.

One of the best career opportunities, and one of the reasons for the rural renaissance, is telecommuting. People aren’t tied to a place anymore; more people are working at home in their pajamas. According to the Center for the New West, the top ten telecommuting professions are: accountants, lawyers, stockbrokers, marketing/ public relations, business-management consultants, environmental consultants, political consultants, freelance writers, researchers/information specialists, and software developers.

If you currently work for a corporation, it may be possible to do that work at home. According to JALA Associates, a corporate consulting firm, 20 to 30 percent of corporate workers could work at home.

Entrepreneurial types may consider starting a small business or buying into one. Whatever your talents or interests, there’s a small business for you. Bed and breakfasts are a top choice for many former urbanites. If you move to a tourism Mecca, you could run your own outfitting business. The opportunities are only limited by your imagination and the market.

Maybe your idea of moving to the country is living on a working farm. Be ready for hard work and very long hours. Conventional farms are huge operations that rely on economies of scale, but you might make a go of specialty produce — organic fruit and vegetables, raspberries, goat’s milk, or ostrich. Urbanska and Levering recommend combining several businesses. They run an apple, peach, and cherry orchard, and a small publishing business.

Of course, you don’t have to be an entrepreneur or a telecommuter to live in a small town. Small towns do have their own economies and many large companies are located in small towns. If you don’t find the right job before moving, you can do temporary work, take a job for which you’re overqualified, or substitute teach, suggests John Clayton, author of Small Town Bound. He claims it may be easier to find the better job once you’ve established residency.

When you do move, remember why you came to this special place. Embrace the small-town calibrations, the personalized attention, and the limited, but important, cultural opportunities. Don’t try to change your new home to better resemble the city you left behind.

Clayton tells of how new and old residents of Jackson, Wyoming, became polarized when the new residents started clamoring for paved roads, expanded jet service, and increased cultural opportunities.

"The newcomers came to Jackson because they liked the society the old-timers had created. It thus doesn’t make sense for them to immediately start tearing down the culture by insisting on the amenities of the places from which they came," says Clayton.

Remember, life is full of tradeoffs. So take a look at what you’ve got in your hand, then decide whether to augment it with vacations or trade it for a country life.

Claudia M. Lenart is a freelance writer living in ex-urban Antioch, Illinois.

Resources

Country Bound: Trade Your Business Suit Blues for Blue Jean Dreams, by Marilyn and Tom Ross

Small Town Bound, by John Clayton

Moving to Small Town America: How to Find and Fund the Home of Your Dreams, by William Seavey

Moving to a Small Town: A Guidebook for Moving from Urban to Rural America, by Wanda Urbanska and Frank Levering

Discover the Good Life in Rural America, by Bob Bone

The 100 Best Small Towns in America, by Norman Crampton

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