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Why I appreciate my rural roots
By Meg | July 5, 2008
Over at Wise Bread, Linsey says that her “biggest money saving tip” is to Move far away from the Joneses. I couldn’t help but smile a bit when I read:
I have to admit that while many people in the U.S. talk about “Keeping up with the Joneses”, I spent the first 20 years of my life never knowing what that meant. My rural lifestyle kept me somewhat content with the things I had. I quickly learned, however, that being “well-off” has a lot to do with “location, location, location.”
I’m definitely a small town girl. The town I grew up in has one — that’s right ONE — traffic light, a lot of trailers, a few old farm homes (including my mom’s), and a good bit of farmland. There’s plenty to dislike about growing up in the middle of nowhere, but Linsey’s post reminded me of one of the benefits.
Yes, on the one hand, I’ve always been really frustrated by the large number of people who don’t seem to care enough about appearances — the people who use their front yards as garbage dumps and don’t wear shirts at the corner store. And don’t even get me started on the people who throw garbage out their truck window onto the road side or into their neighbors’ yards!
But on the other hand, it’s nice to not feel like I have to carry some ugly bag just because someone a thousand miles away says that it’s the IT bag of the season. And it’s nice to be able to play in the dirt and not care so much about ruining an overpriced manicure. I can shrug at so many of the things that many people take for granted and see as must-haves, from expensive hair cuts to fancy cars to a day at the spa. Sure, I can appreciate nice things, but I think that having grown up in a small, rural town has really kept me grounded.
While I don’t want to turn this into a political post, I will say that living both in a rural, conservative town and now in a larger, rather liberal city has helped me see both sides of the red state / blue state dilemma — even if the two places are only a half hour’s drive apart. For all the talk of “understanding” and “open-mindedness” among certain groups, it still really surprises me sometimes when lifelong city people just don’t understand (and don’t even try to understand) the values and problems of rural people — like why they can’t just carpool or take the bus when gas prices rise, or why a lot of country people like to keep guns, or even just why not everyone has the luxury of going to college. I might not agree with a lot of things that many people back home tend to say, but I at least know a bit about where they’re coming from and how they came to their conclusions. I appreciate that because it allows me to see that people can still have good hearts even if they aren’t politically correct.
Of course, all this is not to say that there aren’t rural Joneses. There’s still competition and jealousy, but it’s at a different level and works a bit differently. Maybe it helps that when everyone knows everyone else’s business you can more often see through the superficial stuff to see what’s really going on. In the end, we’ve all got our struggles.
Tags: Behavior & Etiquette, Home & Garden, Impressions, Saving Money
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July 7th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I’ve been thinking about this one very often. I’m contemplating moving out of the city. It’s a difficult decision. A part of me thinks I *need* to be in the city, but another part of me knows I can’t afford it.
It’s a sad, sad situation. I might just move. At least the move will help me save money. I’ll be too far away from decent DVD stores, coffee stores and bookstores (being far away from an overabundance of bookstores is actually my idea of hell), so I’ll save a ton of money. And rent will be cheaper.
Oy vey
July 8th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
I grew up in a smaller size town, not like yours, but I found KUWJ was worse than a big city. Because everyone knew everyone and CARE about what others think. My mom still hates it. She likes the anonymity of a larger city.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Tarah,
That is a tough decision! Housing is definitely cheaper in rural areas, but gas is awful when you do want to go shopping or if you commute to work. Being able to walk places is a city luxury that I do appreciate — as little walking as I do. But maybe you can take advantage of local libraries and other free activities?
Livingalmostlarge,
True, there is the anonymity of cities. After living at our house here for a few years, we finally know a couple neighbors’ names. And oddly enough, they happen to be into gardening and raising chickens and those sort of things, too. We may have we ended up with neighbors with interests closer to ours than our neighbors back home.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Like Livingalmostlarge, I’ve found that keeping up with the Joneses is actually worse here in this small town I live in now than in the larger city I moved from.
A large part of it, though, is the character of the small town itself. For the last 100-some years this town has marketed itself as a winter retreat for the wealthy. So you have an entire neighborhood of palatial mansions and all that goes with them in a way you don’t see in most small towns. Plus, unlike in the larger city, here the wealthy mingle more with the merely middle-class. It’s the perfect environment for breeding resentment and debt.
All this has only made me more determined to live what I deem a good life on my own terms. I want to be an example of someone who’s happy without carrying a $500 purse.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Very true, Susanna, regarding the “character” of the town! While the town I grew up in does have a a bit of a seasonal population, it’s not exactly a retreat town for the wealthy.