Retiring to a rural setting or small town

[NW-Bound]

My home in the city is at the edge of a metropolis of 9,000 sq.mi., with 4 million people. Driving from edge to edge takes more than 1 hour, and a lot more during rush hour.

We usually have no need to venture more than 3 miles from home though. Within that radius, I have Walmart, Costco, 3 Home Depots, 2 Lowe's, all the large grocery chains, some with multiple stores. The local traffic on the surface roads around me, not the freeway, is nowhere as bad as in LA.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hermit Some people can't handle the altitude at all. For me, I notice it if I walk up a hill and we have lots of those. The other thing it affects is dehydration. You have to drink a lot of water up here.

+1

We're closer to 7500' and I am still adjusting according to my bloodwork. I'm feeling much better but I did have to go back on BP meds.

I need to be more careful about dehydration, I drink plenty of water, sometimes I drink too much caffeine and believe that's much to do with my BP.

I remember looking at a couple of homes around Fairplay, at 10k feet, I couldn't live there.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG +1 We're closer to 7500' and I am still adjusting according to my bloodwork. I'm feeling much better but I did have to go back on BP meds. I need to be more careful about dehydration, I drink plenty of water, sometimes I drink too much caffeine and believe that's much to do with my BP. I remember looking at a couple of homes around Fairplay, at 10k feet, I couldn't live there.

When I get to 8 or 9,000 feet or better I just pee a lot. Not an issue when I am running around the National Forest (pee where you like), but would be inconvenient around town.

[Huston55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nodak No alien abductions that I have heard of so far. A few years ago there was a meth drug bust when the lab exploded. It was miles out of town so no one was hurt. Crime is quite low with the occasional buglary of a store. They don't bother homes too much since at least 80% of homes have guns in them and people know how to use them. There is wildlife to be aware of. About 10 years ago a black bear wandered right through town following the river. We just stayed out of his way until he was out of town. There are also mountain lions, moose, elk, deer, coyotes, wolves and many others around.

Careful driving through town in the dark!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KhZF2_vF6Nk

[Huston55]

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Originally Posted by NW-Bound I had to look up sock hopping to learn what it is. A while back, someone email'ed me a video titled "Sack racing is for kids". Of course I had to watch it. It was some kind of a picnic (company or church organized?), when a rack race was held. A woman in her 50s, in the course of enthusiastic competition, had her, er, mammary glands popping out from her clothes. The scene was unfortunately captured by someone's camera, then circulated.

What did you expect from a race with this description?

[NW-Bound]

Oops, a perfect Freudian slip.

[Mr._Graybeard]

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Originally Posted by Nodak Our little Cooperative phone company (Polar Communications) sent out a survey in 1977 to ask if people would support going to fiber optic systems. People said yes and the conversion was finished about 4 years ago; I have 30Mbs upload and download speed with local and long distance service for less than $100 per month.

That's North Dakota. I believe it's the only state with a state-owned bank. The people thought they were getting ripped off by "East Coast bankers" (they were probably right) so they took action.

[folivier]

Two years ago we spent 2 months at 11000' in Colorado. Thought we could get used to the altitude. Nope, still huffing and puffing going up stairs. Found out that 7000-8000' was about all we could handle and hike, etc.

[Mr._Graybeard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound A while back, someone email'ed me a video titled "Sack racing is for kids". Of course I had to watch it. It was some kind of a picnic (company or church organized?), when a rack race was held. A woman in her 50s, in the course of enthusiastic competition, had her, er, mammary glands popping out from her clothes. The scene was unfortunately captured by someone's camera, then circulated.

That reminds of a photo that ran in the Stevens Point (Wis.) Journal many years ago. The city had a summer festival, with one of the events being a bed race. Remember those? A bunch of people push beds on casters down the street.

Running shorts were in vogue back then, and one of the bed race contestants was apparently wearing his commando-style. Well, the heat of the day, excitement of the race and the friction of fabric against flesh did the natural thing, and a second appendage emerged out of one of the legholes of his shorts. The Journal was there to capture the image on film, and they ran the photo, four columns wide, at the top of Page One.

[street]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr._Graybeard That's North Dakota. I believe it's the only state with a state-owned bank. The people thought they were getting ripped off by "East Coast bankers" (they were probably right) so they took action.

Interesting! That venture has been a prosperous and very successful business for the state. It has done and can do many things that has helped the state. I was once employed with the Bank of ND. A true success story.

[Nodak]

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Originally Posted by Huston55 Careful driving through town in the dark! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KhZF2_vF6Nk

I had forgotten about that clip. Would like to know who did it.

[Car-Guy]

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Originally Posted by street I would like your thoughts on living in small towns or rural setting. Does any one have to desire to live in rural America? You won't have the fancy things or all the great stores to go to at your finger tips. I'm talking 1 or 2 hour drive to big city shopping and good hospitals etc.. There is a lot of advantages for living in small towns. You become part of a small group, crime doesn't exist, can trust everyone and know everyone, you don't have to lock doors and so many outdoor activities to do. You can live so cheap but still so rich with the quality of life. I will say it is a very simple life with out any of the fancy things in life. Is it for you or not for you?

We're doing it and love it. It was our plan 30+ years before I retired. Started looking seriously for the right place about 5 years before I retired. Found it, bought it, built it up like we wanted, etc. We actually moved here a few years before I retired (Telecommuted for a few years) and have never looked back.

Nearest town, (less than 1000 people) is ~15 miles away. Same with the nearest gas station, restaurants, grocery store, etc. But at highway speeds+, and almost no traffic, that's about 10 to 12 mins driving time. Decent hospital (that I would consider) is about an hour away. Good shopping about 25 to 30 mins away. Big cities are about two hours away.

We don't worry about crime too much but we still lock doors and post various not welcome signs at all gates. Never had any problems in the area but we have good neighbors and all are well armed and "like minded".

With satellite TV, DSL, land line phone, (cell service is poor at best) power and good water, we have everything we need. We have ambulance, fire and police, if needed and is only a call away. I can work in my workshop at 3am (when I feel like it) and hammer and bang away and not disturb anyone (except maybe the dogs and horses)

Probably the biggest downside (PIA) we have found is commercial power reliability. But with a few UPS's and backup generators we have mitigated that.

[Nodak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr._Graybeard That's North Dakota. I believe it's the only state with a state-owned bank. The people thought they were getting ripped off by "East Coast bankers" (they were probably right) so they took action.

Yes, we are the only state with a state owned bank. The banking laws were written so that any bank in the state must have officeers that live in the state. The only major banking operation I have ever seen here is Wells Fargo. No Bank of America or other major operations. I assume Wells Fargo was probably grandfathered in. My bank is small, locally owned, and still operating under their territorial charter from 1886.

[Nodak]

Phone service is not a problem here. Along with the excellent Co-op there is a Verizon tower 1 mile east of town.

If you like fast food this is not the place to be. The nearest McDonalds or Burger King is in Canada. The nearest US versions are in Grand Forks about 75 miles away. Grand Forks is also the nearest Walmart or any other major chain store; it is a city of about 45,000. The general population density of the state is about 9 persons per square mile. Cavalier is about 20 miles from Minnesota and 20 from Canada.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by folivier Two years ago we spent 2 months at 11000' in Colorado. Thought we could get used to the altitude. Nope, still huffing and puffing going up stairs. Found out that 7000-8000' was about all we could handle and hike, etc.

I think it takes longer. I had my bloodwork done after 4 months at 7500'.
My red blood cell count was above normal and the size of the red cells was larger than normal. Doc said while not normal, it was for someone still adjusting to altitude.

I am less bothered by the altitude now. I won't say I'd like 11k to live at though.

[NW-Bound]

On an RV trek, we made a day trip to Leadville, CO, and spent 1/2 day there at the museum and the fish hatchery. Leadville has the claim of being the highest incorporated town in the US, at 10,200 ft (3109 m). We did not feel any effect, but were not doing anything strenuous like hiking either.

[Danmar]

Apologies to those who have already heard this story. We have multiple homes. One is a downtown condo in Toronto that gives an urban "vibe". A "cottage" by a lake, 20 minutes from the nearest town. A house in a small town (16,000) in the Canadian Rockies at about 5,000ft. And finally a house in a upscale "suburban" area of Phoenix. Pretty well got every envireonment covered. Would be hard pressed to downsize to one location but I understand that eventually we will have to do this. Not sure which one I would pick at this point, probably not the small town.

[daylatedollarshort]

We will likely stay in a large metro area with good public transportation where we can age in place, even if we could no longer drive eventually. Currently we're minutes from a hospital, several senior centers, a commuter rail station, library, bike and hiking trails, parks and gardens, and a restaurant / theater center. Plus we can take the rail system into San Francisco for the theater, museums and nightlife there or to get to an airport. Looking ahead, the senior centers have a lot of trips and outings, plus door to door bus service for when we can no longer get around on our own as easily, so I think we will stay put or downsize to a similar kind of location.

[KCGeezer]

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Originally Posted by COcheesehead I heard an author on NPR who wrote a book about small town living. I wish I could remember the name of the book, but his hypothesis was that the most bizarre people and behaviors come from folks in small towns who are isolated from the molding, scrubbing effects of a bigger society. Not saying it's true, but food for thought. When I first moved to Colorado our dream was to live in the mountains, so we did. We ran across a brand of Colorado hillbilly that were some of the most unsocial people on the planet. So sung to the theme from Green Acres " darling I love you, but give me Park Avenue". Your results may vary.

Roger Welsch came to mind when I saw cheesehead's post. I believe he was a contributor to CBS Sunday Morning when Charles Kuralt was hosting. May not be the one you were thinking of but he had some great small town stories.

One I especially liked was about making up ludicrous return addresses when he submitted articles to different publications. "Warehouse 51 Pier 1" got a big laugh out of Bill the mailman who knew everybody by name, not address.


http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/pro...It,672328.aspx

[rodi]

I'll admit I have no desire to move to small town or rural settings. I love to visit, but not to live. We've been doing some "long range" planning and looking at moving to a more urban setting than our suburban neighborhood within a big city. We're looking at downtown condo's or the neighborhoods of North Park, South Park, Hillcrest, and Mission Hills... neighborhoods with older houses mixed with new condos, lots of independent shops and restaurants (vs chains) all walkable. Once the kids are launched we'll be moving. The appeal of no outdoor yard work and the ability to "lock and go" when we travel is very appealing. As is the walkability factor. Fortunately, our location offers many close by "wilderness" opportunities with ocean, mountain, and desert settings all very close by.