Retiring to a rural setting or small town

[jjquantz]

That's the biggest worry about smaller town/village/rural living is the need for conformity. Everybody needs to be the same within a small allowable range of divergence - the same race, religion, sports team, beer, politics, hobby, clothing, vehicle - with some of those allowed to vary a small amount but not too many of them and not too much. I have thought about smaller locations for finally settling down into but those would have to be large enough to have variety. Possibly a university nearby to bump that diversity a little more.

This is consistent with my upbringing in a small community and 5 years teaching in a town of 5600. Even the fact that we took our kids to an art museum multiple times a year was looked upon as a bit "odd". Add to that our pipe organ, the harpsichord, the observatory in the backyard, etc. I played golf with some folks and we attended church, but our social life was very limited, mostly involving other people who had moved into town from outside. The only people we stay in touch with from that time are a couple of fellow "outsiders", none of whom remained in the town very long.

I may have mentioned this before, it turns out that there was a town betting pool on how long we would stay. We did stay longer than the latest wagered date, but it wasn't for lack of trying. So much for the community being welcoming when they bet on how fast they can drive people out.

 

[W2R]

A number of years back a family from the above mentioned metropolis bought a five acre piece of land built a house and moved here. They showed up with their kids with several face piercings (it looked like they fell into a tackle box), multi colored hair and strange clothes. Quite honestly they were weird. When we would meet on the road and chat for a moment the guy would often bring up how he felt out of place here. I really didn't have the heart to say it would be best to lose the round blue sunglasses and the trench coat so people don't think you are strange then they might talk to you.

That's the biggest worry about smaller town/village/rural living is the need for conformity. Everybody needs to be the same within a small allowable range of divergence - the same race, religion, sports team, beer, politics, hobby, clothing, vehicle - with some of those allowed to vary a small amount but not too many of them and not too much. I have thought about smaller locations for finally settling down into but those would have to be large enough to have variety. Possibly a university nearby to bump that diversity a little more.

It's possible that most people might feel a little out of place wearing well worn bib overalls in the downtown area of a big city, too. I imagine that we city people don't think of that because to us, wearing bib overalls would be unthinkable while the round blue sunglasses might seem fairly normal.

Overall, it's probably less work to retire to someplace where we feel like we already fit in, more or less.

 

[MRG]

We spent 10 years outside a town of 243 people. There were way more cows then people. It was very nice and folks were friendly but it was interesting.

The people were mostly from several families and many were related in some way. It struck me odd at first, many people went by their initials. We met CB, CL, and CD the first week. I guess their last names didn't identify them too much, many were named for a great-great ancestor, their initials were as unique as they could get.

 

[jjquantz]

...

Overall, it's probably less work to retire to someplace where we feel like we already fit in, more or less.

+1

For some people this can be harder than for others! I just want to live someplace that has:

No traffic
great opera
cheap golf
dark skies for astronomy
Fantastic 18th century music performances
Art Museums
Inexpensive housing
Easy to walk
Access to nature
A high quality university library
Warm winters
quiet neighbors

So maybe I spend summers in a town of 3000 and winter in a large European city? It's more likely that I wouldn't fit in either place rather than fit in both.

 

[kcowan]

As is the walkability factor. Fortunately, our location offers many close by "wilderness" opportunities with ocean, mountain, and desert settings all very close by.

We live in a town of 45000. Across the road is Starbucks and Home Depot but if we head north we are into mountains and streams. We only live there 5 months each year but it is special.

In the winter, we live in a community of 250,000 but most of it is walkable. Although we have two cars, we often walk and then take a taxi home. Our home is 25 meters up. We get the views and the breezes.

 

[W2R]

+1

For some people this can be harder than for others! I just want to live someplace that has:

No traffic
great opera
cheap golf
dark skies for astronomy
Fantastic 18th century music performances
Art Museums
Inexpensive housing
Easy to walk
Access to nature
A high quality university library
Warm winters
quiet neighbors

So maybe I spend summers in a town of 3000 and winter in a large European city? It's more likely that I wouldn't fit in either place rather than fit in both.

Most places might meet some, but not all, of your criteria. For example, I color coded the above for New Orleans: (Green means yes, at least in some neighborhoods, and red means nope).

Basically we have opera and music performances, but this is not Vienna. So, it depends on exactly how great and fantastic they need to be, and how frequent. Some people listen to CD's most of the time, or enjoy lesser live performances, and then fly to Europe if and when they feel they need to hear the best of the best in person.

Frank drives about an hour south of town with his telescopes to find relatively dark skies on the shores of Lake Borgne.

Traffic here is much lighter than Houston traffic, but it can be a mess if anything is going on. Like, say, Mardi Gras.

Personally? I think possibly you'd be better off finding a place that genuinely feels like home, and then figuring out "workarounds" for whatever it lacks. No place is perfect, as you have pointed out.

 

[grasshopper]

This is consistent with my upbringing in a small community and 5 years teaching in a town of 5600. Even the fact that we took our kids to an art museum multiple times a year was looked upon as a bit "odd". Add to that our pipe organ, the harpsichord, the observatory in the backyard, etc. I played golf with some folks and we attended church, but our social life was very limited, mostly involving other people who had moved into town from outside. The only people we stay in touch with from that time are a couple of fellow "outsiders", none of whom remained in the town very long.

I may have mentioned this before, it turns out that there was a town betting pool on how long we would stay. We did stay longer than the latest wagered date, but it wasn't for lack of trying. So much for the community being welcoming when they bet on how fast they can drive people out.

Gee, I thought everyone had an observatory in the backyard.

 

[jjquantz]

Most places might meet some, but not all, of your criteria. For example, I color coded the above for New Orleans: (Green means yes, at least in some neighborhoods, and red means nope).

Basically we have opera and music performances, but this is not Vienna. So, it depends on exactly how great and fantastic they need to be, and how frequent. Some people listen to CD's most of the time, or enjoy lesser live performances, and then fly to Europe if and when they feel they need to hear the best of the best in person.

Frank drives about an hour south of town with his telescopes to find relatively dark skies on the shores of Lake Borgne.

Traffic here is much lighter than Houston traffic, but it can be a mess if anything is going on. Like, say, Mardi Gras.

Personally? I think possibly you'd be better off finding a place that genuinely feels like home, and then figuring out "workarounds" for whatever it lacks. No place is perfect, as you have pointed out.

This is it! How do you find a place that feels like home? I think that I'll start a new thread.

I think that we had a few days during our five years in New Orleans where it began to feel like home.

 

[Dreamer]

I was born and lived most of my childhood in Waynesburg PA. I have lived in Morgantown WV for going on 31 years. They are 27 miles from each other. PA does not tax any type of retirement income or retirement accounts. WV does tax just about all retirement. It gives you a break on a portion of your SS and $2000.00 off of a Civil Service pension. I keep thinking it would be smart to move back to PA, but just can't do it yet. Waynesburg has a population of approx 4000 and Morgantown has a population of approx 30,700. I really have no desire to live in that small of a place again.

 

[calico1597]

I grew up in a small farming community in Illinois. No matter what you did it was a good 20 miles. I would never go back to that scenario. I'm not a big city gal, but I want to be within a couple miles of going to a grocery store, mall, and movies. As far as raising farm animals and a garden for food, no thanks. Been there, done that, never again.

 

[jjquantz]

Gee, I thought everyone had an observatory in the backyard.

View attachment 25492

Only the cool kids.

 

[Hermit]

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.

Sorry, I just have to straighten this out...
According to Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma,_Colorado Alma, CO is the highest incorporated "town". Leadville is the highest incorporated "city".

I went through Alam today and saw the sign. Looks like there is room for "highest" at multiple locations.

 

[Huston55]

Wow, what an interesting little town. It's similar to my little home town in Northern Texas. But, we're not as cold and don't have to worry about alien abductions.

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.

Again, similar to my home town, where the county population density is ~4 people/square mile. The adjacent county has a population density of 1/square mile. But, they have lots of cattle.

 

[NW-Bound]

Sorry, I just have to straighten this out...
According to Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma,_Colorado Alma, CO is the highest incorporated "town". Leadville is the highest incorporated "city".

I went through Alam today and saw the sign. Looks like there is room for "highest" at multiple locations.

Thanks for pointing out the distinction between a "city" and a "township". I am going to look up the formal definitions to learn more.

To the eyes of this urban dweller, calling Leadville (pop. 2600) a city is a great exaggeration. And from the Web, Alma (not Alam, pop. 267) looks more like a hamlet.

PS. Between a city and a township, the scale is a relative one. For a state that has a total population of 5 million relative to 10 million of Los Angeles County, a town does not have to be very populated. Yet, Colorado is crowded compared to North Dakota with a population of 700,000. Alaska's population is also around 700,000, but look how large it is. Of course, much of it is not traversable, or has seen a human foot print, so it is hard to compare.

 

[braumeister]

I think you're still a bit confused, NW.
A town is not the same thing as a township.

 

[NW-Bound]

Of course I am confused. But I know now I have to be careful with terminology.

 

[MichaelB]

Where I've lived, townships are a way to delineate or subdivide a county to allocate some public service, such as a school district or public utility. It has important tax considerations.

 

[Ronstar]

I think you're still a bit confused, NW.

A town is not the same thing as a township.

That is correct. A township is generally 6 miles square. Part of the public land survey system set up by the government as a basis to plat and sell land. A township is 36 plss sections(sq mi)

"A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city."-Wikipedia

 

[Breedlove]

After living the last 36 years in the suburbs of Houston we welcome the country . We will retire to a country home that is located not near any town . It is nice to see the stars at night , hear the coyotes and see the wildlife around . We have a spa in our backyard and early morning at sunrise we watch the critters it is like a live movie . We are approx. 20 min. from Huntsville Texas which is nice but. Or we can go south approx. 20min to Conroe / Woodlands . Note everyone here talks not in miles but time it takes to get there . Everyone seems to drive the rural roads faster. We have a couple convenient stores , a dollar store. Several rural restaurant / grills with good food . One even has entertainment every Saturday night. Only real problem is medical help . We do have a heliport about 10 mins away for lifeflight. We enjoy getting out on our motorcycles exploring all the roads and visiting the biker bars. My realestate taxes run 450.00 year , my land is considered AG exemption . No zoning , I can shoot my gun let my dog run . I have Houston 65 miles away . Biggest complaint people have there is they are going to put a fast train through . I think the train will be fine

 

[Fermion]

Having traveled through a lot of rural areas the past 10 months on our first 11,000 mile RV trip I have yet to find a place as nice as we have it right now here in Sequim, WA. Blue skies nearly every day while the rest of Washington is drenched or snowed in.

Unfortunately it is not super cheap to buy a home here. They do have a Costco!

 

[NW-Bound]

A long time ago, I read that Sequim is in the rain shadow of Mount Olympus and it was too dry for farming until there was irrigation. We like the area. Would not be a bad place to live. I did not check out housing prices though.

PS. Wikipedia says the population is 6,000 and land area is about 6 sq.mi. That's fairly small. I mistook adjacent areas as inside Sequim itself.

PPS. After visiting a couple of lavender farms, and walking the main drag of Sequim, we drove around, saw this house in nearby Blyn. Just perfect for an RV'er.

 

[Fermion]

The rain shadow is for reals.

We have been walking around in the sunshine and you can see the rain in the mountains in the distance....incredible really. Everything is still really green though.

It isn't just Sequim, the area extends from Port Angeles to Port Townsend and a bit beyond, also out into the Sound and to the southern part of Friday Harbor Island. Sequim is the driest though at about 15 to 16 inches of rain a year. Walk 10 miles down the road and the rainfall doubles...10 more miles and it quadruples.

Lot of old people here though so I think someone let the cat out of the bag so to speak.

 

[Winemaker]

I was born and lived most of my childhood in Waynesburg PA. I have lived in Morgantown WV for going on 31 years. They are 27 miles from each other. PA does not tax any type of retirement income or retirement accounts. WV does tax just about all retirement. It gives you a break on a portion of your SS and $2000.00 off of a Civil Service pension. I keep thinking it would be smart to move back to PA, but just can't do it yet. Waynesburg has a population of approx 4000 and Morgantown has a population of approx 30,700. I really have no desire to live in that small of a place again.

There's always Washington, PA. Not too far from Morgantown or the Burgh!

 

[Huston55]

That is correct. A township is generally 6 miles square. Part of the public land survey system set up by the government as a basis to plat and sell land. A township is 36 plss sections(sq mi)

"A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city."-Wikipedia

About the same as a decent sized ranch in Texas.

 

[street]

Interesting responses and opinions on small town or rural areas. I was born and raised in a town/village of less then 800 people. It was a great place to grow up and wasn't socially deprived but learned that life maybe harder living in a rural area because you didn't have what the more privileged had.

Now I live in a town of low 5 digit with small hospital and all we need. I do believe that life here or any rural/small town isn't for every one. If you have lived in the hustle bustle of life and lived in large cities you may never be able to slow to this kind of pace and not having the excitement of the big city. It is for the small town person that has grown up in that setting that may retreat back to the rural life.

I know of one person that came from CA from the mega city and tried the slow life and just couldn't adjust. Life was to slow not enough to do and she moved back to CA.