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New to forum officially, but loooong time lurker. I am in the process of finally getting my home ready to sell and check off my most important bucket list goal: living a rural/farm life. I ain't getting any younger I have been doing a ton of research online, but have one troubling concern. It seems like no matter what rural area you look into, there's a meth problem. It concerns me because of crime. I currently live in a large city on the east (Philadelphia) and although there's a lot of crime, it's not near me. Am I being too paranoid? Any advice. I am looking at western KY and WV due to COL/property taxes etc as well as climate. Thank you
It's very regional, so hopefully you'll get some feedback from someone in the area you plan to settle. There's been some meth activity in my rural area of Southeast Iowa, but I've never stumbled upon a meth lab in my wanderings despite the fact that the area I generally hang out is pretty remote. A lot of it has to do with the neighborhood; even if occupied homes are few and far between, having folks who are known to patrol the area and report suspicious activity to the authorities is a significant detriment to meth makers.
It seems like no matter what rural area you look into, there's a meth problem. It concerns me because of crime. I currently live in a large city on the east (Philadelphia) and although there's a lot of crime, it's not near me.
I think you're in the realm of stereotypes. I live in a rural area and never heard of a meth lab around here. If there is one, they're keeping it quiet. If people in the area found out about it, they surely wouldn't accept it and a police raid would ensue.
Speaking of stereotypes, people in rural areas have guns and dogs. Someone on meth even knows that (when they're not high) and if they can keep their wits around them when they are stoned, they know that they could end up dead by trying to break into a house.
One of the major reasons that meth labs are associated with rural areas is that the cookers need ingredients like anhydrous ammonia, Ammonia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia to make their poison.
As it is used in agriculture for fertilizer, it can be found in large quantities on farms, and at one time it was easy to steal.
I ran into a couple of meth labs when I was on a fire department, both were in city limits, but in rural areas. We had to have a lot of specialized training because of the chemicals used and their volatility, such as ether and red phosporus, so we received a lot of information on the subject.
Lots of illegal activities happen in rural areas, for instance growing marijuana. Those grows are usually far more dangerous to stumble on as they will have booby traps, sometimes dogs, usually it's not a place you want to find.
Those are far more dangerous than meth labs as meth is cooked and the cookers move on. Illegal grows can exist for months or even years as it takes time to grow the plants.
Normally, those are in forested areas to avoid detection from the air, so if you are worried about that sort of thing, find an area with limited agriculture, (ranching is fine as it doesn't use large quantities of fertilizer), and away from remote wooded temperate areas.
Meth can be made just about anywhere, but usually where there are supplies, power, water and is made in a disposable place they won't return to like a rental house or motel room. Once made, the cookers sell their stuff to a pusher and leave for the next place.
Rural crime is usually less than more populated areas simply because there are fewer people there.
If that is your only worry, I wouldn't put that risk any higher than living in areas where there are tornadoes or moonshine stills. Unless you are involved in the trade or in it's path, you probably don't have anything to worry about.
You can't live in fear of what might happen, you make your choice, live your life, know what the dangers are for any given area, and enjoy your dream.
Personally, I can't stand crowds, but that doesn't stop me from attending a gun show or county fair.
One of the major reasons that meth labs are associated with rural areas is
purportedly cooking meth makes a terrible stink. If you had people surrounding you i.e. urban environment, everybody and their brother would know what you were doing and where.
in the country, you can hike out to the "back 40" or even be in a house that is relatively isolated and nobody is going to smell it, or if they are, they aren't going to care enough to call the police. It will take the sherrif 45 minutes to get there anyway, by then, you'll probably be long gone.
I used to live in socal, and the area of Riverside I lived in was full of meth heads. They were barely noticed. So long as they went somewhere else to use, just wandering drugged out was an annoyance. My apartment lost most of its housing clients after it failed an inspection, and the empties got filled in by 'night only' residents and thefts grew common.
So then I move to this small town/city of about 9k, maybe five in town. Its said there is a big meth problem. But there's an occasional empty house raided and you don't see drugged out users wandering about. I think meth is everywhere, and its likely a far more visible problem in larger cities. All is relative.
I have a dog who is big and loud, but not mean. But if your a culpret you probably assume mean and move on to some other house. A good dog will keep a lot of people out of your house and yard and send them to easier possibilites.
In my humble opinion the key to rural crime prevention is to make your home a "hard target". I am not suggesting fortifications or booby traps, just simple stuff.
1) Do not allow access to any part of your property. This means fencing the entire property and a farm gate at the road. The longer the walk to your house from the road the less desirable your home is. Imagine carrying a big screen TV 500 yards. A lot of risk for a criminal if you came home while they were halfway down the driveway, especially in a state with high gun ownership.
2) Inner fence. I put up an inner fence about an acre around my house. The dogs hang out in this area and when I leave to go anywhere the gates are locked.
3) Connect with the good neighbors. It takes some time but if you befriend the neighbors they will keep an eye out and expect the same from you.
I noticed "Meth" mentioned. There are meth heads and meth labs in my area but I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. If you don't associate with the Meth crowd you barely know they are doing it other than seeing the occasional meth head at a store.
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I have been doing a ton of research online, but have one troubling concern. It seems like no matter what rural area you look into, there's a meth problem. It concerns me because of crime. I currently live in a large city on the east (Philadelphia) and although there's a lot of crime, it's not near me. Am I being too paranoid?
Any advice. I am looking at western KY and WV due to COL/property taxes etc as well as climate. Thank you 
Someone on meth even knows that (when they're not high) and if they can keep their wits around them when they are stoned, they know that they could end up dead by trying to break into a house.
