Should City people stay in the City? Or will they help expand or ruin Rural areas?

[texdav]

That is a decison of teh individual to make;its a free country.

[CSD610]

People who have lived in the city all of their lives generally want to 'escape' the city life however, they don't want to give up their luxury homes, cars, or lifestyles. So a developer buys farm land, city dwellers decide they want to live 'in the country' and build huge homes, drive high dollar vehicles and think their neighbors are 'backward' since the neighbors still have well water, propane and gravel roads leading to the homes that have been in some families for generations. The homes are well maintained, and look nice but they were built many years before so these homes are generally smaller in size. There is no need for a home that is bigger than your barn or your shed in the country. Cookie cutter mini mansions look out of place in front of the neighbors corn field, who are these city folds trying to impress, the corn?

I will definitely take the country life with my well water, propane, older home, gravel drive and laundry lines over the big city life anytime. I do lock my doors, I do have internet access, I do have satellite television, I do have on phone line for the house phone and the other is a fax line. Some conveniences others necessities but still a very simple, quiet, tranquil home in the country and my neighbors are 1/2 mile up yonder not 1/2 a step across my drive thank goodness.

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by CSD610

People who have lived in the city all of their lives generally want to 'escape' the city life however, they don't want to give up their luxury homes, cars, or lifestyles. So a developer buys farm land, city dwellers decide they want to live 'in the country' and build huge homes, drive high dollar vehicles and think their neighbors are 'backward' since the neighbors still have well water, propane and gravel roads leading to the homes that have been in some families for generations. The homes are well maintained, and look nice but they were built many years before so these homes are generally smaller in size. There is no need for a home that is bigger than your barn or your shed in the country. Cookie cutter mini mansions look out of place in front of the neighbors corn field, who are these city folds trying to impress, the corn?

I will definitely take the country life with my well water, propane, older home, gravel drive and laundry lines over the big city life anytime. I do lock my doors, I do have internet access, I do have satellite television, I do have on phone line for the house phone and the other is a fax line. Some conveniences others necessities but still a very simple, quiet, tranquil home in the country and my neighbors are 1/2 mile up yonder not 1/2 a step across my drive thank goodness.

Take a step into the 21 century about water wells.

The new systems are run by computers.

Most of the people that we drill for are shocked at the water pressure.

City water just can not compare to them.

[DSOs]

Originally Posted by World Citizen

As someone who has moved from the city to the country and who bought a "fixer upper" in a country "subdivision", I find this thread interesting.

I thought country people would be friendly. How wrong I was. It's been a very interesting two years.

It's really unfortunate that the locals are so "leary of outsiders". In reality, around here they are downright rude. The first year I was here, I overheard two of my good neighbors talking about me while I was working outside. What they were saying wasn't very nice - standing there with their arms folded looking across the street. It's obvious that they don't want us "outsiders" to succeed here.

Another neighbor who lives directly across the street just stands out in his garage and stares over here -- almost every day. I've tried to be friendly to his wife and him but have given up. They have several dead trees on front side of his property and constantly has junk covered with tarps lining his driveway but they seem to feel that they need to tell ME how to take care of my yard. His son knocked down my mailbox and they didn't bother fixing it. One day, I looked out and saw both he and his wife in two cars stuck in my ditch. For some reason, this family has a hard time keeping their cars on the gravel road we live on.

Another good local neighbor feels that they should trespass on my property to do things for me like paint electrical boxes even once decided to weed eat around it. It's funny. I would NEVER go on his property to "FIX" something that needed doing. Apparently, rural people have different ways of seeing things.

The neighbors dogs have torn up the lattice under my deck a couple of times trying to get to a rabbit. The last time he pulled out a drain that I'd built that ran under the pavers I'd installed last year. They seem to feel it's "part of living in the country" and that I have nothing better to do than to repair things that their dogs tear up.

I've spent lots of time and money "fixing" the things that needed to be fixed on my house and working on landscaping my property over the past two years. I've started doing the work myself after hiring a couple of local men to do some work for me. They walked out on a Friday leaving me with no water and an unfinished job. My first lifetime trip to Small Claims Court with him let me know that I was an outsider in this community and that I was not going to be treated fairly here. What's really sad is that the neighbors knew who it was that was working for me but didn't bother to tell me. They told me that "after the fact". They also were "too busy" to go to court to testify on my behalf even though they wanted to see the damage that he'd left behind and they witnessed him leaving, driving his truck and trailer across the yard leaving deep impressions in the wet lawn.

I got to work with a few more local "contractors" after those two. It seems that being an outsider makes you easy prey for bad work .... one even came to my house drunk to look at some work.

It could be that the locals might be enriched by new people who come to live in their community -- people that mind their own business, take care of their property and who know what responsible dog ownership means.

But, in my rural community it seems that they are happy just living in the past, revelling in the failures of others and the way things have always been.

This city dweller who chose to move to the country no longer cares what the local people think about me....

At this point, all I'd like them to do for me is to mind their own business and stay off my property.

I feel for you & I believe you. I’m very sensitive to being ostracized myself--it‘s barbaric! According to your post you don’t deserve the treatment. However, about 10yrs ago an episode of Judge Mathis put me in my place. A retiring Baby Boomer bought a home next to a tribe of hardcore, proud hillbillies. He was having trouble coping with the antagonizing children/punks running around his property; obviously instigated by their parents‘. The BB apparently called the TOWN about the shabbiness of the property & other things. To my astonishment, Judge Mathis started harping on the BB--I couldn’t believe it! This is what he said (paraphrasing):

What right do you (BB) have moving into an area with rural rules; they were there 1st! You’re a stupid/inconsiderate person if you expect them to revolve around your new, bias ways!

I was floored; I couldn’t believe how I misjudged the situation.

Broadly speaking, rural folk, justifiably, are prejudice toward city folk & vise-versa! I’ll finish by saying that I just hope that today’s World financial situation can purge the USA’s rabbit, spendthrift, materialistic mentality so we can get on with establishing a quality/orderly life for both rural & city folk.

[World Citizen]

Originally Posted by DSOs

I feel for you & I believe you. I’m very sensitive to being ostracized myself--it‘s barbaric! According to your post you don’t deserve the treatment. However, about 10yrs ago an episode of Judge Mathis put me in my place. A retiring Baby Boomer bought a home next to a tribe of hardcore, proud hillbillies. He was having trouble coping with the antagonizing children/punks running around his property; obviously instigated by their parents‘. The BB apparently called the TOWN about the shabbiness of the property & other things. To my astonishment, Judge Mathis started harping on the BB--I couldn’t believe it! This is what he said (paraphrasing):

What right do you (BB) have moving into an area with rural rules; they were there 1st! You’re a stupid/inconsiderate person if you expect them to revolve around your new, bias ways!

I was floored; I couldn’t believe how I misjudged the situation.

Broadly speaking, rural folk, justifiably, are prejudice toward city folk & vise-versa! I’ll finish by saying that I just hope that today’s World financial situation can purge the USA’s rabbit, spendthrift, materialistic mentality so we can get on with establishing a quality/orderly life for both rural & city folk.

You're right. I don't deserve the treatment that I've gotten here.

I moved here to get away from all of the city ordinances but never in my wildest dreams did I think that it meant that rural people would not have respect for other people's property... I didn't realize that I should be expect to be ripped off for thousands of dollars by good old boy contractors. I didn't realize that it meant that that the neighbor dogs running loose would be able to destroy my property without anyone being responsible for the damage that they did.

I don't expect my neighbors to keep up their property to "my expectations". What I would like from them is to mind their own business... and maybe that they should spend some of the time they spend looking across the street with their arms folded looking at my house cleaning up the messes they have on their own property.

It's about respect for others and it's about boundaries...

[momobear71]

City people should stay in the city.

I agree with the judge. You say this BB called the town on their neighbors. What did they think would happen? You want your neighbors to mind their own business but the BB that called the town officials on "their shabbiness and other things" was ok? Let me give you a tip....don't **** off your neighbors in a small town, even if they are terrible. Be diplomatic and choose you battles.

People from urban/suburban places think they can go to a small town and throw their weight around. You are annoyed by your neighbor's folded hands. They are probably annoyed with your kind walking around with their hands in their pockets looking at everyone like they stink and are so far beneath them.

You know exactly what I am talking about. You go to town wearing your little prole uniforms consisting of khaki pants and crisp cotton shirts (no offense to the color khaki or cotton) , and your "smart" loafers. And because no urban outfit is complete without that perfect accessory known as the disapproving half scowl you make sure to flash it all over town everywhere you go. It's those little learned affectations of people who think "this is how to behave to show the locals you are important" that one finds so endearing. After all, you probably have a degree in business administration or maybe you majored in psychology and are a retired "consultant" or something equally as glamourous.

Which by the way, this kind of artificial behavior designed to impress is very annoying to people who are from really big cities. I was born in one of the largest cities on the planet and I now live in a very small town but I do not treat others like morons I can just dismiss at any time.

As far as being "ripped off" goes, country people do not own the patent on that flaw, you can be ripped off anywhere.

No patent held on trespassing either. There are plenty of city people who vacation that trespass, speed up and down dirt roads with their atv's and tear up people's property and leave their messes behind after a holiday weekend. We had to remove a picnic table on the water front because there were always vacationers sitting there even though we had plenty of no trespassing signs posted.

You said "I don't expect my neighbors to keep up their property to "my expectations". Oh, but you do. You are annoyed by their "messes" which I am assuming were there when you moved next to them.

About the dog thing I do feel for you. People who love their dogs do not leave them to roam free and if they do should not be too upset if their dog does not come home one day.

[texdav]

Bascailly one has to remember that most inthe cities came from realitive that moved form rural areas. In fact many moved form rural areas to seek empoyment as agriuculture became larger to earn a living. The poor moved i droves to the cites becauswe they offer more support. Even now 80% of poverty is in two areas of the country both rural. Many small towns that were slowly dying have actually been saved by people moving back and retirees moving there.