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I think you touched on a fundamental resource that a lot of small towns lack. I unfortunately haven't dealt with this first hand in recent years being a city dweller most of my life and the only times I've visited small towns were either to visit a National Park or some other tourist attraction or on a road trip, usually along a major thoroughfare like an interstate or major US highway. Most of these small towns will likely have better access to broadband (I've not had any problems getting 4G internet in those towns in the last couple of years.)
Unfortunately, even without remote workers, a lack of broadband will be a severe limitation for business activity. A person from the city who is looking to relocate to a small town to open, say, a coffee shop, will probably avoid one where they can't get broadband and be able to do all of the online activities most of us city folks take for granted like watch Youtube or Netflix. Ditto if someone wants to open a factory or something near a small town.
There is a key data metric point that the Census Bureau lists for all counties under the quickfacts census page. It lists the percentage of households with broadband internet subscription (2015-2019). Some fascinating data there.
There is a key data metric point that the Census Bureau lists for all counties under the quickfacts census page. It lists the percentage of households with broadband internet subscription (2015-2019). Some fascinating data there.
Out of all the counties I've lived in, Phelps in Missouri has the lowest broadband access at 80% which is still close to the national average. Yes, it's rural but it's got a university and is along Route 66 which helps.
Out of all the counties I've lived in, Phelps in Missouri has the lowest broadband access at 80% which is still close to the national average. Yes, it's rural but it's got a university and is along Route 66 which helps.
That is true, I don't consider Phelps County, MO rural, it falls under micropolitan if I recall.
The TV Series Hometown on HGTV in Laurel, MS has far lower broadband subscription rates, at a little over 50%. The county as a whole is under 60%.
I've heard that if you could drop the Delta portion of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, all 3 states would rise in statistical rankings a decent amount.
I don't think it's limited to just these states, but micro towns (less than 500 people) that aren't touristy and are a decent way from a larger town are usually the ones that are really in the dumps and dying. The US was settled by a surplus of farmers looking for land. They founded towns all over the place when as far as you could go was a horseride distance. Nowadays these just don't make sense, but for some reason people stick around there... I think it'd probably be good if there were some sort of move to the town next door program for these residents. It would kill the ones that are just too impractical and boost some of the bigger towns that are still losing people nearby.
To be fair, the BLM relocation was a ruse designed to a) make it easier for O&G companies to obtain leases on land that was once deemed too sensitive for energy developement and b) bolster the privatization of federal lands by making the agency dysfunctional enough to justify both its abolishment and the sale/transfer of lands that it oversees. There are people in the Republican Party (most notably former acting BLM director and all-around douchebag William Perry Pendley) who believe the Feds shouldn't hold any land.
Yes, getting rid of much of the staff was probably a feature, not a downside.
Not just oil and gas but also allowing overgrazing and other nefarious and antiscientific stuff.
We currently live in North Carolina, where the cost of living is still relative low compared to other states that have gained in popularity.
However, I am nearing retirement and will be living on a very low income, and am looking for a state with an even lower cost of living.
My research has shown that Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Mississippi all have lower costs of living ratios than where I am currently, but I traveled to those states over the past year, and they just seemed really dismal to me, unless you are able to live right near the Metro areas (such as Oklahoma City/Little Rock/Jackson etc.) where of course the cost of living jumps to the highest level in all of those states (similar to the Charlotte and Raleigh areas here in N.C.).
Why are the small towns in rural America so run down and depressing? I mean, I saw small towns all boarded up, homes with roofs falling in or tarps to stop the rain/leaks, they are just really bad. Some looked like tumble weeds could blow down the street at any minute. Our small rural small town here is much nicer, even though our tax base is still low.
Is it just the lack of jobs? What can be done to save these rural small towns?
Speaking for Oklahoma the towns are hit and miss but there are some nice towns here. Like others have pointed out some of our regional college towns are very nice and would be perfect for retirement on a low budget. Some of the "oil" towns are very nice due to their prosperous history. Also, some of the interstate towns have held up pretty well.
Finally, there are some exurban towns that are still bargains and are reasonably nice. Places like Purcell south of OKC and Mannford or Skiatook around Tulsa.
Finally there are some "lake" towns that are pretty good.
As for making them better? It's tough because most of them have to reinvent themselves because they aren't going to have new industry just suddenly show up. For instance, the Pioneer Woman lady has turned Pawhuska, OK into a tourist town.
We currently live in North Carolina, where the cost of living is still relative low compared to other states that have gained in popularity.
However, I am nearing retirement and will be living on a very low income, and am looking for a state with an even lower cost of living.
My research has shown that Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Mississippi all have lower costs of living ratios than where I am currently, but I traveled to those states over the past year, and they just seemed really dismal to me, unless you are able to live right near the Metro areas (such as Oklahoma City/Little Rock/Jackson etc.) where of course the cost of living jumps to the highest level in all of those states (similar to the Charlotte and Raleigh areas here in N.C.).
Why are the small towns in rural America so run down and depressing? I mean, I saw small towns all boarded up, homes with roofs falling in or tarps to stop the rain/leaks, they are just really bad. Some looked like tumble weeds could blow down the street at any minute. Our small rural small town here is much nicer, even though our tax base is still low.
Is it just the lack of jobs? What can be done to save these rural small towns?
In Stillwater, OK there are no run down neighborhoods. A few houses will look awfully run down but they can't stay that way indefinitely, because the city will eventually demand owners either repair or level them. It may be a long process. Stillwater will also get after you if you let your grass grow too high or try to keep old abandoned cars in the front yard. You may even get a notice that you got poison ivy growing in your front yard complete with a photo of it.
For another town, Bartlesville is great as an old oil town that manages to be stable and not growing much. It's one of Oklahoma's most unusual towns from having Frank Lloyd Wright's only skyscraper that was built. The town's cost of living index is lower than Stillwater's, 80 vs 85.5. That is probably Stillwater's biggest downside. Perhaps making up for higher COL, Stillwater has daily flight service to DFW with free parking at the airport. And OSU's new McKnight Center For the Performing Arts books class acts that draw older people, many retired, rather than college students: https://www.ocolly.com/news/mcknight...6ca111d7e.html Unfortunately, tickets aren't cheap.
If you need a smaller town, Durant might be it. It's about Oklahoma's only booming small town. It is the headquarters of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. It has a large casino-hotel and does great business from being around an hour and a half from DFW. Winters will be a bit milder. Cost of living is also lower than Stillwater.
Arkansas has nice possibilities, especially Jonesboro. It's a college town (home of surprisingly impressive Arkansas State University) with a thriving downtown and has a cost of living score of just 80. Arkansas State also has a collaboration with the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine which trains Osteopathic MDs in Rural Medicine on it's Jonesboro campus, a perk for local health care. https://www.nyit.edu/arkansas
Not sure which parts of Mississippi you've checked out, but it has plenty of desirable small towns.
The coastal region has Ocean Springs and Bay St. Louis. Someone already mentioned Oxford in the northern part of the state. Corinth in NE Mississippi is a best-kept secret type of town. I've never personally visited the Golden Triangle (Starkville/West Point/Columbia), but I've heard it's nice as well.
I've heard that if you could drop the Delta portion of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, all 3 states would rise in statistical rankings a decent amount.
I don't think it's limited to just these states, but micro towns (less than 500 people) that aren't touristy and are a decent way from a larger town are usually the ones that are really in the dumps and dying. The US was settled by a surplus of farmers looking for land. They founded towns all over the place when as far as you could go was a horseride distance. Nowadays these just don't make sense, but for some reason people stick around there... I think it'd probably be good if there were some sort of move to the town next door program for these residents. It would kill the ones that are just too impractical and boost some of the bigger towns that are still losing people nearby.
Mississippians often regurgitate that statement online and i have yet to see any statistical analysis of it. Every state have a rural region but the geographic distribution of population differs. For the magnolia state about 51% or less still resides in the rural areas.
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