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As the Hummer is to the Suburban is to the Escape, so is rural sprawl to the "exurbs" to the inner-ring suburbs.
The Duluth - Superior area has a particularly large amount of this. Small-time developers subdivide land into five-acre (about 20,000 m^2) plots and build small, usually gravel-surfaced roads off the county highway grid:
These homes and the land they are on do not sell for much more than an equivalent home in the city, while still being somewhat convenient to city amenities (about a 20-30 minute drive from shopping and businesses). They usually are off the city's water and gas grids, and therefore require wells, septic tanks, and diesel furnaces.
Residents of such "developments" often have pole buildings on their land in addition to their home and garage, where they store four-wheelers, snowmobiles, boats, jet-skis, and lawnmowers in, or have hobby workshops:
30x36x12 DIY Pole Barn (http://www.flickr.com/photos/diypolebarns/4400315248/ - broken link) by DIY Pole Barns (http://www.flickr.com/people/diypolebarns/ - broken link), on Flickr
Residents rely on private vehicles for all needs, often commuting several miles to the nearest gas station / convenience store. 4 x 4 Trucks and SUVs are useful for when the access roads or even the highways are snowed in or icy. As these are extremely low-density, small developments, many of the roads are simply gravel strips, sometimes in disrepair.
How common are such developments on the outskirts of YOUR city? Do people like to live this way where you live, or would it be too expensive due to pre-existing farmland (most of my area is forested)? Many people love this way of life around here and wouldn't trade it for anything. They sometimes tend to find even one-acre lots "cramped".
Good topic! People seem to forget rural areas can be sprawl, too.
Out here, it seems like people live either in or very close to old somewhat dense areas or rather rural areas far from any any amenities. There are few if any jobs in the rural areas, or much of any services. Some have no more than a "General Store", and are at least 10 miles from the nearest supermarket. Some people like the quiet and peace and don't mind the isolation. Popular among middle-aged people, and even heard some mention "it's a great place to raise a family". In many rural areas I've seen in other parts of the country, they seem noticeably poor. Not so much in most of Massachusetts, at least not too far from urban areas. Up in the hills, the farmland lies abandoned, and the land has little economic value, so the residents are locals who want to live far away from every thing. Many live on unpaved roads. Few locals are descended from farmers, anyway; they are mostly descended from millworkers. If you look up the stats, Massachusetts was slightly more urban in 1900 (88%) than today; its early urbanization might explain some of why it's different from much of the rest of the country.
But in upstate NY, I've noticed the pattern. Few people are still farmers, and jobs are 20-30 miles away, so most people who live rural areas are commuting somewhere else.
Hopefully, the sprawl is halting and open space is being preserved. 3 miles outside of an old town center, I saw townhouse being built at the edge of rural land rather than single family homes. Not in a walkable neighborhood, but I won't mind living here just for the view.
I have an acquaintance that spent 20 years working his butt off in corporate-land in an urban center, climbing the ladder and burning himself out. He then took a buy-out from his company and moved his family to a super rural area to ride ATVs, fish, and open a tiny business mainly to teach his kids how to run a business. The business is basically break-even, but he runs it for the experience for his family and as a social center for the population in the general area. It's an interesting path in life, and one I wouldn't take, but he is so happy now.
I think this lifestyle offers a lot of freedom to pursue activities that make them happy. I love being out in the middle of nowhere...for about a week, then I want to be back in the middle of fast paced life.
I have an acquaintance that spent 20 years working his butt off in corporate-land in an urban center, climbing the ladder and burning himself out. He then took a buy-out from his company and moved his family to a super rural area to ride ATVs, fish, and open a tiny business mainly to teach his kids how to run a business. The business is basically break-even, but he runs it for the experience for his family and as a social center for the population in the general area. It's an interesting path in life, and one I wouldn't take, but he is so happy now.
I think this lifestyle offers a lot of freedom to pursue activities that make them happy. I love being out in the middle of nowhere...for about a week, then I want to be back in the middle of fast paced life.
Well he had to go make his money elsewhere to enjoy it. It creates a disconnect with the people who are actually from there. See: Vermont.
It's between two small towns, but other than a couple of factories, there's no real major job centers. It's also pretty far from any interstate highway.
We have areas here in Middle TN where people drive 45 minutes or more for major amenities. 30 minutes is considered short when you include 8 counties in your metro area.
most of the towns in northern Minnesota are like that too. A town of ten thousand up here (Grand Rapids) is as spread out as Saint Cloud Minnesota, which has 60,000 people. It takes the same amount of time to drive from one end of each of these towns to the other.
We have areas here in Middle TN where people drive 45 minutes or more for major amenities. 30 minutes is considered short when you include 8 counties in your metro area.
I used to live in Murfreesboro and out in the countryside surrounding the town this sort of property was very common. I think the quiet would be pleasant, but to me it's not worth it to have to drive so far just to get groceries. Not to mention the fact that I wouldn't want to have to take care of five+ acres. But obviously a lot of people prefer it.
I used to live in Murfreesboro and out in the countryside surrounding the town this sort of property was very common. I think the quiet would be pleasant, but to me it's not worth it to have to drive so far just to get groceries. Not to mention the fact that I wouldn't want to have to take care of five+ acres. But obviously a lot of people prefer it.
It's the distance from everything that gets to a lot of people. When you figure out having to pay for gas to go to town, and the time wasted, the cost of living isn't much different between city and country.
The lack of opportunities is a big turn off of rural areas also.
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