# What (if anything) is good about rural America? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 7, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450 "2020-10-07T21:56:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/181 "2021-01-12T19:22:31Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > It just makes them smell like skunked tomato juice. It also turns white fur pink. We found that a vinegar/water solution, followed by a bath with lots of pet shampoo, works pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/182 "2021-01-12T20:10:33Z")
Nature’s Miracle skunk descenter actually works. And the bath’s not even necessary; a great advantage when one’s about to be late somewhere and needs to put the dog in the house before leaving. Caveat: said story’s from a number of years ago. I don’t know whether they’ve changed the formula; though I don’t know any good reason why they would have, the stuff was amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/183 "2021-01-12T20:38:39Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > My dog enjoys chasing critters and gets sprayed by skunks once or twice a year. He’s pretty good about being dragged into the shower and after several shampoos (for oily hair) the smell is greatly reduced and is gone a day later Best recipe - 1 qt. hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 tbsp Dawn dish soap. Do not store in a closed container. Wash dog, let mixture stand in their coat 10 minutes, & rinse. Very effective, I’ve used it many times. Double recipe for larger dogs. ---
**Author:** ![phxjcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phxjcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phxjcc)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/184 "2021-01-16T21:26:38Z")
My observation is that there is a HUGE difference between rural–but close to a large MSA and rural–but isolated from large MSA’s. You can be 2-3 hours out of LA and be in a very rural environment; if you define “rural” as “low density”. Ditto, any major metro MSA. Some of these are “gentlemen’s ranches”. Some are very, very high priced and modern luxuries are very close. Think Santa Ynez valley above Santa Barbara, yah know–where M Jackson’s “ranch” was. Also: Think Jackson, WY–at one time the second priciest ZIP code in the US. You want to live in the Rockies above Boulder? Yup, that’s rural. Beautiful, good infrastructure, ART & “culcha” very close. However, that is a completely different situation than a rural (e.g.) West Virginia, which may be four hours away from a medium sized MSA (Charlotte, NC–ranking 22 in size). Nearly inescapable poverty, no infrastructure. Horrible. And much bigger problems than Trump advocacy, guns and religion. You are looking at 3-4 generations of rural poor that have NO HOPE. I find many of these value judgements of people that have commented here enlightening–and emblematic of the problems that we face as a nation. People complaining about “nothing to do”, no “art or music”, no “Indian food”, “not easy to travel”, “nothing but chain restaurants”–I am literally disgusted. And you call yourselves “liberals”. Do you have any–ANY–idea what it is like to live there? Wow. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/185 "2021-01-16T21:36:11Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I love it when the train I am riding on through Montana or North Dakota takes out a skunk and the smell tags along for 300 miles. A skunk once died on the roof of a three story building I worked in (two floors plus basement). All the ventilation ducts were on the roof. They sent us home for the day. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/186 "2021-01-16T22:06:36Z")
Having worked in many places, ones more distant from cities and with few amenities might be called “remote” instead of rural. In Northern Canada, the price of simple food in such places can be astronomical. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/187 "2021-01-18T18:31:29Z")
> [@phxjcc](#): > > Do you have any–ANY–idea what it is like to live there? Yes. Well, not in WV but in rural Nebraska. Also I was going to argue that Pittburgh, Baltimore and DC are closer to WV than Charlotte but I suppose it depends which part of WV you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Ziberian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/919ad9/32.png) [@Ziberian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ziberian)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/188 "2021-01-31T02:05:26Z")
No, those cities are closer to every part of WV than Charlotte. I have lived in WV and found it much more liveable than you’d think from phxjcc’s description and I’m a raging liberal. I’m also a hardcore outdoors person and it’s hard to beat WV on that score with uncrowded hiking, world class trout streams, rock climbing, rivers to raft/kayak, cross-country skiing, etc. Online access to movies, news, information and shopping are equalizers for rural vs urban. Lots of problems and limitations, absolutely, but it’s not like those are exclusive to rural areas – it’s just harder to ignore them in small places. ---
**Author:** ![billy-jack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@billy-jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billy-jack)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/189 "2022-02-18T23:12:32Z")
In my community, traffic is usually pretty minimal. We have one highway that may get a vehicle an hour on a busy day. There is a six mile stretch between two houses in which there is not a single house or road to a house from the highway. When it snows, about the only traffic it will get is someone going out to check their cattle. A few years ago during a snow storm, the local sheriff’s department called my younger brother and said that there was a report of some flashing lights on that highway and asked if he would mind going out and checking it for them. So he did. He found a small car on stuck in the snow on the side of the road. In it was a young couple who said they had been there for about six hours. He turned around and pulled it out of the snow and then jump started the car since the battery had gone down. As he was leaving, he told the driver that the next time he needs to take a leak, to stop in the middle of the highway instead of pulling off to the side. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/190 "2022-02-23T18:16:29Z")
> [@phxjcc](#): > > My observation is that there is a HUGE difference between rural–but close to a large MSA and rural–but isolated from large MSA’s. > > You can be 2-3 hours out of LA and be in a very rural environment; if you define “rural” as “low density”. > Ditto, any major metro MSA. > Some of these are “gentlemen’s ranches”. > Some are very, very high priced and modern luxuries are very close. > Think Santa Ynez valley above Santa Barbara, yah know–where M Jackson’s “ranch” was. > Also: Think Jackson, WY–at one time the second priciest ZIP code in the US. > You want to live in the Rockies above Boulder? Yup, that’s rural. > Beautiful, good infrastructure, ART & “culcha” very close. > > However, that is a completely different situation than a rural (e.g.) West Virginia, which may be four hours away from a medium sized MSA (Charlotte, NC–ranking 22 in size). Nearly inescapable poverty, no infrastructure. Horrible. And much bigger problems than Trump advocacy, guns and religion. You are looking at 3-4 generations of rural poor that have NO HOPE. > > I find many of these value judgements of people that have commented here enlightening–and emblematic of the problems that we face as a nation. > > People complaining about “nothing to do”, no “art or music”, no “Indian food”, “not easy to travel”, “nothing but chain restaurants”–I am literally disgusted. > > And you call yourselves “liberals”. > > Do you have any–ANY–idea what it is like to live there? > > Wow. Sure Lone Star Steak House isn’t Peter Luger, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say "literally (or even figuratively) disgusted ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/191 "2022-02-24T03:30:21Z")
There are Indian restaurants in West Virginia - Huntington, Charleston, Morgantown, Martinsburg and even Moundsville have them. There’s not much flat land in WV, but at least you won’t die of curry withdrawal. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/192 "2022-02-24T22:21:25Z")
Are Charleston and Morgantown what you would call rural? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/193 "2022-02-24T23:35:53Z")
No, but if you’re into Indian cuisine they’re accessible from the backcountry.\* \*Just try to get a good tikka masala in Nitro or Matewan. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/194 "2022-02-25T01:15:51Z")
For 30 yeas I’ve lived mountain rural. By choice. The title of this thread still sort of pisses me off. We can cook anything we want right in our own kitchen! Tonight is pierogis, kielbasa, onion and sauerkraut. I call it our ‘Eastern Block Dinner’. Made a teriyaki stir fry the other night. I can actually cook! What is good? I can sit on my deck without seeing another house anywhere, and play guitar or chess with my wife. If a car goes down the ‘road’ it’s my part time neighbor that lives 1/4 mile away. While walking my dogs today, I ran into my neighbor walking his. I invited him (and his dogs) over and we shared a few beers. My neighbor manages active directory accounts for a VERY large multi national company. I’m a GIS programmer. We can chew the fat. We are not a bunch of country bumkins. Currently listening to Pink Floyd over the satellite dish. I should go practice guitar, but have things on the stove. When my wife gets home in about 20 minutes, we will eat, and I suspect play chess. Rural living is great. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/195 "2022-02-25T01:29:41Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > No, but if you’re into Indian cuisine they’re accessible from the backcountry.\* > > \*Just try to get a good tikka masala in Nitro or Matewan. ☹ We found a very pleasing Himalayan restaurant in Durango CO. I mean, the town definitely has a non-_rural_ vibe to it, but if you want Indian food (Himalayan has many of the same dishes, though I found that place’s vindaloo to be less than wonderful) and back country, there you go. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/196 "2022-02-25T11:53:31Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Rural living is great. I’m with you. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/197 "2022-02-25T12:32:54Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > The title of this thread still sort of pisses me off. I live in the burbs, but the title bugs me, too. I love visiting rural areas. Rural America has space. And interesting people. I like cities, too. But duh, there’s lots to like about rural America. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/198 "2022-02-25T12:33:35Z")
Same. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/199 "2022-02-25T16:19:41Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > The title of this thread still sort of pisses me off. Yup. Pretty sure I commented some the first time this thread came around. – yeah, post #61, and several others after that. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/200 "2022-02-25T16:28:45Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > The title of this thread still sort of pisses me off. Me too. I’ve lived in a rural part of west-central Ohio for over 20 years. A log house in the middle of 15 wooded acres. Can’t see the house from the road, and can’t see any neighbors from the house. There are challenges to living like this. The work is endless; there is always something that needs to be done, or needs to be fixed. (It doesn’t mean I am always working, however.) But I wouldn’t trade it for city-living, or living in a suburb. Because I love the physical freedom it gives me. It’s almost like living on an island, where I do whatever the hell I want. I can’t go back to living with less freedom. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450.md?page=11)