From City to Country

Due to the insanity, numerous individuals are now fleeing the big cities for their own little piece of heaven, but all the newbies are causing some flare ups in the boonies. I’ve compiled a wee list to help you adjust yourself to moving from the city to the country. Trust me when I say this is just the tip of the iceberg. Personally, I left the big city for my kids to have the opportunity to run around outside and just be kids while having more freedom.

• Just because someone owns a truck, doesn’t mean they want to help you move any of your belongings nor will they just let you borrow their truck to go get something.
• If your neighbors gate is closed, you don’t have the right to open it and walk onto their property. You are expected to stay outside the fence, once your horn to get their attention and unless they are outside within about 3-5 minutes, go ahead and move on.
• Just because your neighbor is nice and smiles at you, that doesn’t make you best friends. Don’t assume that niceness equals an invitation to come on over.
• If you have dogs, you must have a sturdy fence. Nothing sets up a bad first impression like your dog attacking a neighbor’s chickens or their small child.
• You are financially responsible for your kids actions, whether they throw a baseball through a window or trespass on someone’s property. If they cause damage, you are expected to pay for it.
• No one is your nanny here. You are 100% responsible for you and yours.
• However, if there is a natural disaster, feel free to go around to your neighbor’s house and check on their condition or assist in the removal of downed trees blocking the roadways.
• Keep a ready-made meal or dessert on hand in your freezer. Taking this action will actually strengthen the community and build trust during difficult times of loss or celebrating new life.
• Don’t blare your music at all hours of the day and night. People moved away from the city to get distance from noise pollution. Don’t be that guy!
• Keep your ATV’s on your property and off the county roads. Many areas, including rural have laws that prevent you from driving you 4-wheeler, dirt bike or go-cart on a government owned road.
• Don’t ask your neighbor to borrow anything, even a cup of sugar. You are being watched to see how self-sufficient you are, and foolishness isn’t tolerated.
• Just because the movie you saw showed all the neighbors showering their new neighbor with cookies and breads, doesn’t mean your neighbors are likely too. Most rural folks like in the country but drive into the large communities and you are not high on their priority list.
• Have a basic first aid and food supply stocked in your home. It takes longer for emergency services to get to you during outages.
• If you have previous military or medical training, consider joining the volunteer fire department or community search & rescue. This action will allow you to not only be visible as a “good guy” in the community, but allow you to meet numerous individuals.
• Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. Learn about your community without opening your mouth and sharing your personal political views. The chances are fairly high that you left the area you came from because it wasn’t ideal, you might want to think about that before chatting with your neighbors about how much better it was there.
• Be the gray man. Learn that there is a wardrove with country living. Take note of how others dress and only save the fancier attire for church or special gatherings.
• Just because you garden in a Back to Eden or Permaculture style, doesn’t mean that other individuals who are living out in the rural communities will do the same. Be aware that certain comments can isolate you from the people in your neighborhood and close down potential agricultural conversations.
• Don’t make fun of how the people in rural communities speak or correct their pronunciation of a word. Nothing will frustrate a neighbor like having someone play the role of grammar nazi.
• While it’s absolutely your right to have a dog, you have a responsibility to keep your dog from being a barking nuisance. No one likes a neighbor who lets their dog out only to listen to it for a full-on hour bark at leaves being blown across the lawn by a strong breeze.
• In many rural communities there are laws that prevent you from allowing your cats to roam around the neighborhood. Nothing annoys a neighbor more than getting ready to leave for work and discovering paw prints on their wind shield or finding cat poop in their kid’s sand box.

We recently moved to the country ourselves, so as I learn things the hard way, I’ll be sure to add to this list so check back occasionally. Happy Homesteading!