# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/161 "2021-01-06T14:43:33Z")
Yeah, I’m on a satellite. It’s quite workable for us, but the latency sucks. Starlink is suppose to fix that since they are in MUCH lower orbit. Still, I’ve been working from home fine though (even though I have to remote into my work computer, the latency gets me there). If you wanted to play any type of action games online against others, you wouldn’t have a prayer. But that’s not really my thing anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/162 "2021-01-06T19:07:41Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > So what I wanted to ask (as someone who’s lived almost entirely in urban or suburban places): What - if anything - is **good** about rural America? If you enjoy motorcycling, rural America is where the good roads are. Low traffic, few intersections, good scenery, and twistiness/elevation changes that you don’t typically see in urban/suburban areas. I live in the suburbs of Ann Arbor, the whole of which is close to being swallowed up by the greater Detroit metro area. But for the time being, it’s just a few minutes’ ride from my house to where I’m cruising past farm fields and forests with relatively few cars to contend with. I’d probably be less excited about motorcycling if I lived somewhere where I had to ride for half an hour just to get out of suburbia. The Smoky Mountains (western Carolinas, eastern TN, north GA) have the same features. So do southeastern Wisconsin and various other areas around the country. ---
**Author:** ![Dadtheinhaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dadtheinhaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dadtheinhaler)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/163 "2021-01-07T15:32:00Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > If you enjoy motorcycling, rural America is where the good roads are. Low traffic, few intersections, good scenery, and twistiness/elevation changes that you don’t typically see in urban/suburban areas. And bicycling. Most roads around our place are narrow and don’t even have lines. It’s pretty much a cyclist’s dream. The only thing with motorcycling is that a lot of the minor roads aren’t optimally engineered for any kind of speed (i.e. off-camber curves) so you still need to be careful or you can have a big problem. ---
**Author:** ![Dadtheinhaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dadtheinhaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dadtheinhaler)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/164 "2021-01-07T15:50:19Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Hopefully Starlink or other satellite based internet services will help you out with that. > > Don’t know about price, but the quality should be much better than your current offerings. I emailed Starlink and they just said they’ll let me know when service is available. I’m within their service band latitude-wise but also in the bottom of a hollow so the view to open sky is limited. It’s also around a $500 setup plus $99 a month which prices me out since we’re not currently up there all the time. It’s on my list for the future though. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/165 "2021-01-07T16:15:12Z")
> [@Dadtheinhaler](#): > > And bicycling. Most roads around our place are narrow and don’t even have lines. It’s pretty much a cyclist’s dream. We love the quiet highways around here for cycling except during harvest or logging times. Grain and log trucks don’t give a fuck about cyclists. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/166 "2021-01-07T16:24:30Z")
My favorite long rides were either up into the mountains or out of town in the wide open spaces. Great asphalt, utter quiet, nothing but the sound of the well-maintained drivetrain. But it’s also the only place I’ve ever had shit thrown at me from idiots in pick-up trucks. And not only once or twice. And as you cyclists know … they utterly can’t know who **you** are, so … it isn’t personal. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/167 "2021-01-07T17:00:55Z")
Lifted diesel pickups flying huge Trump, US and Gadsden flags are very normal around here. Coal rolling is a real thing. You have to be mentally prepared while out riding. The usual is slowing down and yelling something at you or passing at normal highway speeds without moving over much. Not sure why folks that drive vehicles like that hate cyclists so much. I’ve never had a bad experience with a Subaru. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/168 "2021-01-07T17:03:56Z")
Yep, yep, yep, annnd yep. OTOH, I have actually had a group of people pull over in their VW van, when I was a long ways from town/civilization, and offer me cold beers and a hit off the bong. Which just seems like the right thing to do. I was an inveterate (helmet-mounted) rear view mirror user, so I could usually get a bit of heads-up about what was coming, but there was only so much you could do to prepare – usually no ‘off-ramp’ other than a big ditch or a barbed wire fence. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/169 "2021-01-07T17:20:19Z")
I used to make fun of mirrors back when they were little and not as useful. Now I always ride with my gigantic articulating arm mirror. I gave up trying to be “cool” a long time ago and am now a complete Fred. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/170 "2021-01-07T17:22:02Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Now I always ride with my gigantic articulating arm mirror. I gave up trying to be “cool” a long time ago and am now a complete Fred. > [@wguy123](#): > > Not sure why folks that drive vehicles like that hate cyclists so much. Both of these statements cannot be true 😉 ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/171 "2021-01-07T20:50:37Z")
Yes, the fashion police would be entirely justified in arresting me nearly every day. 😆 ---
**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:** [January 8, 2021, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/172 "2021-01-08T03:13:05Z")
I heard the trick, at least in some areas, is to take a flag, clamp the pole horizontally, and replace the flag with a shiny metal object (such as, even, a bit of foil). No one wants their paint scratched. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/173 "2021-01-08T03:19:30Z")
“Rural” America is as different from place to place as “Urban” or “suburban” America is. Making general statements about any of them usually involves biases that are not based on reality. I can go to any of the 3 categories in my state and see vast differences within the category. The biggest difference I could make with some consistency is the cost of living. when I look at real estate it’s more expensive to live in urban areas. Traditionally an urban lifestyle provides more choices of activities and restaurants. In a city of 100,000 there will be dozens of restaurants in any category. In a small down of 5000 out in the country there won’t be a dozen restaurants of any kind. The same goes for entertainment. More theaters and the like in rural areas. But that metric is changing with the internet and home entertainment systems. Large screen TV’s and quality sound systems can now bring people closer to the stage for much less money. I’m personally finding it more enjoyable to watch movies at home than movie theaters. For the price of a blu ray i can watch a movie over and over again. I can adjust the sound the way I like it and pause the movie for any reason I choose. I’m also watching it from a fully reclining seat surrounded by food and drink that won’t destroy my entertainment budget. I’ve never liked going to the theater to watch plays because it cost too much to see it from the seats that give me the “theater experience”. If I’m sitting in the back I might as well watch it at home. The same goes for concerts. Rarely does a band do as well as their studio work. I hate driving to a venue, waiting in line for the privilege of a $7 beer and long lines to the bathroom and then a massive traffic jam after it’s over. I bring this up to point out that the metric of entertainment options have changed and will continue to do so with 5G and ever increasing TV sizes. That still leaves restaurants and museums as entertainment advantages for Urban areas. In rural areas the cost advantage is often applied to dwelling space. $250K buys a nice house in the country. That also gives rise to hobbies such as swimming, boating, hot-rods, motorcycles, 4 wheelers, aviation, RV travel etc… ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/174 "2021-01-08T19:07:39Z")
I agree wholeheartedly about movies and concerts. It’s nice to have the sound and conditions as you want tit, and the ability to pause. If I want to see a band in a concert, I find it annoying that if I just want to sit and enjoy the show, I can’t. Everybody else is standing and yelling, and so I too must stand or I can’t see anything. Oh, and the yelling. I’ll concede that in most cases live performances are hurried and sloppy, but sometimes the live versions really are better than studio. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/175 "2021-01-11T21:30:54Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I see at least half of those, and I live in Los Angeles! Squirrels, possums, raccoons, and coyotes. There are foxes around, and my neighbors have seen them, but I have only see the pictures they took. No armadillos here at all. And no deer in the city…although not that far outside. Me too, though I’m not in LA proper and I have seen deer around here. And skunks, too, who singlehandedly make the wildlife a negative instead of a positive, given my dogs. ---
**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 11, 2021, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/176 "2021-01-11T22:07:31Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > And skunks, too, who singlehandedly make the wildlife a negative instead of a positive, given my dogs. I smell skunks occasionally, but never run into any, thank dog. My dog would love to chase them, and it would not be pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/177 "2021-01-11T23:19:06Z")
I’ve lived all over the US, in both downtown areas and out in the sticks. I vastly prefer living out in the country- I like not having neighbors right next to me. The only downside is you have to drive a lot farther for… well, everything. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2021, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/178 "2021-01-12T05:45:48Z")
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. ---
**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 12, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/179 "2021-01-12T19:09:57Z")
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. Never tried tomato juice or see why that smell is much of an improvement, since I’m not crazy about that smell either. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450/180 "2021-01-12T19:11:09Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Never tried tomato juice or see why that smell is much of an improvement, since I’m not crazy about that smell either. It just makes them smell like skunked tomato juice. From one who knows . . . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-good-about-rural-america/922450.md?page=10)