# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/241 "2022-03-01T15:11:21Z")
There are plenty of poor people in some parts of rural USA , particularly the South and Appalachia. There’s a hell of a lot of rural besides those areas, though. In many rural areas, there’s a wide mixture of wealthy (not necessarily ‘gentleman farmers’), doing okay, and poor. Just like cities, but more spread out. Poverty is a rural issue with challenges somewhat different than those of urban poverty. That doesn’t mean everyone in rural areas are either wealthy or poor. Okay? ---
**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:** [March 1, 2022, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/242 "2022-03-01T15:22:33Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Anyway, what I see people talking past eachother in this thread is largely predicated on classism. Point out that poverty is an issue in rural areas, and those living in those rural areas indignantly point out that _they_ aren’t poor, and neither are any of their friends or peers. I am poor, by USA standards; and so are some of my friends and peers. But it’s not a matter of living in > [@mordecaiB](#): > > a single room ramshackle cabin with an old potbelly stove that his family has to stand around all winter just to stay warm What we’ve got around here is old farmhouses sized to fit the largest family that ever lived in them, because people kept putting on additions over the last hundred years or two. Yes, some of those rooms get shut off for the winter, or run cold even if in use, to save on the fuel bills; but we have the option of being comfortable by the wood stove. City people who can’t afford the heating bill often don’t have that option; any heat they can get they have to pay for. And from what I read there are lots of poor people in the cities; most of whom don’t have the option to grow their own produce. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/243 "2022-03-01T15:24:23Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I live near a township of 65k. Not inside any city limit, but certainly not what I would call rural. And there are also different definitions of “city” - it can mean a very dense urban area, or it can mean an incorporated area that operates differently from a village or town and there are probably other definitions as well. I’m sure there are many villages that are rural , but the villages that border NYC ( such as [Lawrence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence,_Nassau_County,_New_York) and [Floral Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floral_Park,_New_York) ) are not at all rural. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/244 "2022-03-01T16:06:17Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Has propane jumped price like natural gas this winter? When I owned a rural house in Santa Clara county, propane was about 10x the price of natural gas, and the price tracked NG prices closely. NG goes up and so does propane. Heating the house was quite expensive, but luckily I wasn’t in a cold weather state. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/245 "2022-03-01T16:20:11Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > > [@msmith537](#): > > > > “Outside a city limit” is more or less the definition of “rural”. > > I live near a township of 65k. Not inside any city limit, but certainly not what I would call rural. > > Anyway, what I see people talking past eachother in this thread is largely predicated on classism. Point out that poverty is an issue in rural areas, and those living in those rural areas indignantly point out that _they_ aren’t poor, and neither are any of their friends or peers. > > Nice thing about having a whole lot of space means that you don’t have to see the things that you don’t want to see. > > In an urban area, no matter how wealthy you are, you _will_ see the people who live in poverty, at least occasionally. The OP kind of poisoned the well a bit with the way they asked the question. Then it sort of turned into a poor v rich rural vs true rural debate. It’s a tough question to answer because there are all sorts of versions of “rural” in the USA just as there are all sorts of definitions of “urban”. New York is different from Boston which is different from Las Vegas. Similarly rural Rust Belt is different from rural Kansas or rural Arizona. And no matter where you are, most places tend to be pretty nice when you have money and suck when you don’t ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/246 "2022-03-01T17:52:57Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > And from what I read there are lots of poor people in the cities; most of whom don’t have the option to grow their own produce. The ramshackle hut thing was hyperbole. I’d like to point out that there are a lot of poor rural people that don’t/can’t grow produce of any kind either. I had a paragraph or two that explained my reasoning in my first post but I cut it because of TLDR. I’ll try to cut it down here. I grew up rural poor. Nine kids and my parents, although my dad was away for long periods of time because he was a farm/ranch hand. If we had a car, he took it because my mom couldn’t drive. The biggest place we ever lived was 3 bedrooms, one bath. We even did the walk to school both ways thru the snow thing. But none of that is exclusively rural, it could apply to anyone, anywhere. What made us rural was planting our own crops, hunting for food,(even illegally sometimes), having chickens for eggs and a food source occasionally when the hunting didn’t work out. You don’t have to do all that to be rural, but I would expect you to do some of it. You can also be a teacher, priest, mechanic, bar owner or hardware store owner because you are part of the community. I don’t consider just having a house outside city limits to be living rural. I don’t suddenly switch from being a city dweller to a rural person when I go to my lake cabin. > [@squeegee](#): > > When I owned a rural house in Santa Clara county, propane was about 10x the price of natural gas, and the price tracked NG prices closely. NG goes up and so does propane. Heating the house was quite expensive, but luckily I wasn’t in a cold weather state. Holy crap! Really? I guess that explains why propane theft is such a big problem. And think of all those people that have those decorative patio propane heaters. I know a few city dwellers that heat with natural gas or electricity but have a propane tank for cooking. Don’t ask me why, it’s one of those foodie things I don’t understand. > [@msmith537](#): > > And no matter where you are, most places tend to be pretty nice when you have money and suck when you don’t Money may not solve all problems, but it’s a better consolation prize than poverty. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/247 "2022-03-01T18:14:23Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I had a paragraph or two that explained my reasoning in my first post but I cut it because of TLDR. I’ll try to cut it down here. OK; and I see what you’re saying. But in the context of your previous post was this: > [@mordecaiB](#): > > I know you always get pissed about these kinds of threads, and I understand, but you and your wife are not the kind of rural people that are being talked about. > > You both have office jobs, now work from home jobs. I don’t think you raise any crops and your cooking list shows you have access to a city of some size to shop in. Your house and land on top of a mountain are hardly typical. Your wife trains and runs in triathlons around the country, and you go with her. You have satellite internet and television. None of that stuff is part of a typical rural lifestyle. What you have is a exceptional rural life supported by a good city job. which reads as if the only reason to get pissed off at posts such as those with the thread title is if somebody’s not living in the fashion you describe as “rural”. Seems to me that the people who are “rural” by your definition are at least as likely to get pissed off at such posts; quite possibly more so. And yes, a lot of people who do meet your definition have internet access, these days. Not to mention that most of them have had television since maybe around 1960 if not earlier. And many have at least one family member who works, and may well shop, in a city. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/248 "2022-03-01T18:54:37Z")
You are right, I should have went with the TLDR post for a better explanation. The only reason I quoted **enipla** was because he is seemingly the one that always posts back against stuff that, IMHO, is not meant to be about him. I like him as a poster and think he lives a great life. He has a great wife, a job he loves and lives where he is happy. I was happy for him when he pushed to have his job switched to work from home so he didn’t have to drive to town five days a week in crappy weather. He just doesn’t fit my perception of a _typical_ rural dweller. @enipla , I’m sorry that my posts came across as insulting to you, I sincerely did not mean it that way. I’ve read your posts for so many years here and it’s obvious to me you are nothing like what some people are saying in this thread about rural people. Not even close. Again, my apologies. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/249 "2022-03-01T18:57:52Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > And yes, a lot of people who do meet your definition have internet access, these days. Not to mention that most of them have had television since maybe around 1960 if not earlier. And many have at least one family member who works, and may well shop, in a city. The [farmer we get our horses’ hay from](http://gearhardfarms.com/) works “in the city” four days a week in order to be able to afford to farm. His corn mazes are amazing. He has shown me drone footage of his mazes, which are cut using a computer design program. > The Gearhard farm, the oldest continuously worked farm in Westmoreland County, dates to the late 1760s, and marks its 250th anniversary this year. On April 3, 1769, Robert Hays paid 45 pounds, two shillings and sixpence for 339 and one-half acres in what would shortly become Franklin Township. > Hays and his son were once captured by Native Americans and held captive for three years. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/250 "2022-03-01T20:30:31Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > The only reason I quoted **enipla** was because he is seemingly the one that always posts back against stuff that, I do. Others in this thread have. Quite a few of them. > [@kayaker](#): > > The [farmer we get our horses’ hay from](http://gearhardfarms.com/) works “in the city” four days a week in order to be able to afford to farm. Yeah. There’s a lot of that. Some people do pull it off just farming. But a lot can’t. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/251 "2022-03-01T20:33:04Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I’m sorry that my posts came across as insulting to you, I sincerely did not mean it that way. I’ve read your posts for so many years here and it’s obvious to me you are nothing like what some people are saying in this thread about rural people. Not even close. Again, my apologies. Accepted. I used to live in real farm country when I was a kid. I know what kind of work and skills are needed to farm. It’s mostly reliance on oneself to get a job done (and mother nature can be a problem). That really should be applauded. The same applies to city living though. You need skills to navigate life in Manhattan, just as you need skills to navigate Kansas or mountain living. I try (it’s hard) to not pigeon hole folks. I’ve found brilliant people in all environments. Plenty of assholes too. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/252 "2022-03-01T22:53:57Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > [@mordecaiB](#): > > > > The only reason I quoted **enipla** was because he is seemingly the one that always posts back against stuff that, > > I do. > > Others in this thread have. Quite a few of them. Don’t edit my posts so you can reply to them out of context, please. The second half of the sentence explains why he was different from others posting. The reason I didn’t mention people like you is that you do live rural. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Some people do pull it off just farming. But a lot can’t. Sure, same as living in a city or a suburb. You can’t make a go with your main job, so you have a second one. Or run a business online selling gadgets. Again, that’s not just a rural thing. > [@enipla](#): > > Accepted Thank you, I really mean it. I’d hate to think you have bad thoughts about me as I quite enjoy your posts. While we may disagree on whether you live rural or not, that’s probably the only difference that I can see. To me, you are already living your dream life. You’re where you want to be with the ones you want to be with. What more can someone ask for? > [@enipla](#): > > I try (it’s hard) to not pigeon hole folks. I’ve found brilliant people in all environments. Plenty of assholes too. Me too. I’ll try to lessen my brush strokes in the future. Again, thanks for accepting my apology. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/253 "2022-03-02T01:43:29Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Point out that poverty is an issue in rural areas, and those living in those rural areas indignantly point out that _they_ aren’t poor, and neither are any of their friends or peers. There’s a tiny little “city” in Georgia called [White](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White,_Georgia), with a population of less than 700. IIRC, the closest real city is Cartersville, about ten miles away. Some of the people who work in White are poor (as in no POV) and live in Cartersville. They end up walking to and from work because there’s no public transportation system. Of couse the residents of White have their own vehicles and thus are not compelled to leave for their jobs three hours or more earlier than it starts, so, of course, they don’t see the pedestrian commuters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450.md?page=12)