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rural entertainment--------If one is interested in sports, going to high school sporting events is great and the cost is low.
I have found them all to be enjoyable-------football, volleyball, boys basketball, girls basketball, boys baseball, girls softball, track meets.
Last year I went to my first track meet since I was in high school ( nearly 50 years ago) Warm, spring day, it was a great experience !
School sports, school concerts, school plays--all of them should be attended by local people, whether they have children in school or not. They provide great, fulfilling experiences for both the audience and the young people.
Summarizing the discussion in the posts of this thread, I think the conclusion is this: Generally speaking, people with urban/metro/suburban backgrounds should stay where they are to remain happy. There are some rare exceptions who can be happy with rural or small-town life. But if you're thinking you'd like to move to the country or to a small town, chances are you are not one of those rare exceptions, so you should rethink your position and choose to remain in your city or suburb.
As someone who is bored with living in the country, let me offer another perspective. Now, I won't lie. Im pretty much a city girl. I lived in the "country" as a kid for a few years but I spent most of my childhood in KC.
My husband was transferred to a very small town in Arkansas.
...
me? I'll take your place in the city anyday!
Yours is a very sad story. It is always a bad deal when someone is forced to live where they don't like. I hope that your husband can find a different job in a city and take you back where you want to be. Or perhaps you could divorce him and move so you can find the happiness that you deserve.
Summarizing the discussion in the posts of this thread, I think the conclusion is this: Generally speaking, people with urban/metro/suburban backgrounds should stay where they are to remain happy. There are some rare exceptions who can be happy with rural or small-town life. But if you're thinking you'd like to move to the country or to a small town, chances are you are not one of those rare exceptions, so you should rethink your position and choose to remain in your city or suburb.
I think it's more a function of where one would like to be--especially if you've lived on 'both sides of the fence.' In my case, I've lived in a rural area, but I've been where I am right now for quite some time, and I'm sort of stuck here for the time being (hopefully that will change this summer). I basically hate every minute of 'city life'--more so with each passing month and year as more and more people flood into the area. Nothing redeeming for me in high-population areas. As long as I had an income, I'd ideally be as far from large cities as is possible. I really think it's not where you are physically that decides what type of environment you like--it's where your heart is.
Agree totally OP. I guess I just hate people in general(ha!) and feel they ruin most activities. Insofar as this is true, movies are better at home than the theater, sports are better watched on the flat screen than surrounded by douchebags at the stadium, and so fourth.
City's have corporately manufactured "entertainment" that, in my view, will ultimately lead to an fulfilling life.
Maybe that's arrogant and narrow-minded. In fact, I'm sure it is. Oh well.
Agree totally OP. I guess I just hate people in general(ha!) and feel they ruin most activities. Insofar as this is true, movies are better at home than the theater, sports are better watched on the flat screen than surrounded by douchebags at the stadium, and so fourth.
City's have corporately manufactured "entertainment" that, in my view, will ultimately lead to an fulfilling life.
Maybe that's arrogant and narrow-minded. In fact, I'm sure it is. Oh well.
This describes a good proportion of folks who hunker down in the country, thinking that everybody else is out to make their life miserable and complicated, strangers are scary and noisy. And that anyone who isn't just like them can "get the hell off my property!".
I don't know what it is about museums, plays, the symphony and ballet, sports, neighborhood and city celebrations, great restaurants and pubs that have the nerve to be open to the general public that frighten and anger some people, but it certainly causes a very negative reaction in more than a few rural folks.
Some of us can relish in the pulse of the city, and know that most of these folks around us are just fine, many whom would be great to meet and talk to where we might just learn something new. And also respect and enjoy rural areas but be mindful that there is likely a very different mindset to those who live there.
Having grown up in the country, worked on a farm, hunted and fished and thoroughly feel blessed to have done so, I still have a great love of people and cultures of all types and it is only in the city where I can get that thirst quenched.
Actually, because my house borders a huge park with canyons and wooded areas full of wildlife, and a close-nit village like neighborhood with tons of friends who are always welcome for drop-bys, yet I can still walk downtown or I can drive a couple of miles and be swimming with the dolphins and sharks, or 45 minutes away I'll be in the mountains- I have the best of both worlds. Quiet when I want it, excitement and fun out the front door.
This describes a good proportion of folks who hunker down in the country, thinking that everybody else is out to make their life miserable and complicated, strangers are scary and noisy. .
I disagree. It describes someone who is bitter toward humanity for whatever reason. There is no way 'a good portion' of people in rural areas feel that way. And there are certainly people in the city who are just as bitter. I have almost ALWAYS found rural or small town folks to be friendlier than those in the city, where you're just as likely to get the middle finger as you are a smile or wave.
Quote:
Originally Posted by T. Damon
I don't know what it is about museums, plays, the symphony and ballet, sports, neighborhood and city celebrations, great restaurants and pubs that have the nerve to be open to the general public that frighten and anger some people, but it certainly causes a very negative reaction in more than a few rural folks.
In my case, they don't frighten or anger me in the least. I'm just not interested. Other than museums, that sort of thing bores me to tears. I'd rather have my teeth pulled than sit and watch a bunch of people throwing a ball back and forth or listening to folks jabber in a restaurant while I'm trying to eat. I have nothing against them personally, but it's just not my thing. Contrary to your statement, it's not a negative reaction--it's all fine. Just not for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by T. Damon
Some of us can relish in the pulse of the city,
And some of us can't. To each his/her own. Their is no point of lashing out one way or the other, because we're not talking about deficient or flawed people--only people with different desires and temperaments.
Quote:
Originally Posted by T. Damon
Having grown up in the country, worked on a farm, hunted and fished and thoroughly feel blessed to have done so,
If you grew up in a typical rural area, I have a hard time accepting the opening statement in your post. If you lived there, you would know that rural folks are typically very friendly. Granted, you may have been in an area where they still hunt witches and shoot anyone from outside the county. I've just never been to an area like that. I'll tell you what though, I have accidentally found myself on the bad side of the city, where they do mug or beat the hell out of anyone from outside the 'hood. And you bet that was scary. I think I'd rather meet up with Cleatis and his shotgun out in the sticks, if he does exist somewhere. I've never been to a rural area where I've been frightened for my life... well, okay, other than the time I thought a moose was going to charge me during a hike--but that was in the mountains, not the farmlands.
People who have never been out of the city for any length of time sometimes think that country people are like the freaks in the movie Deliverance. And posting that they are all bitter does nothing to discourage that stereotype. It's simply not true. Rural dwellers are no more like the crazy people in that movie than are all city folks are like Burt Reynolds and the two clowns that were with him.
Lashing out? Hardly. Unlike you I'm not using sweeping generalizations. Some rural folks are exactly as that poster described himself.
Most are not. Just as most city folks are neither as dangerous or unfriendly as some rural folks think.
Its this whole Rural vs. City, Us against them, mentality that it ridiculous. I've been in NYC in the streets at night and never been mugged, and I have met some mighty unfriendly people in the sticks but that doesn't describe everyone or every situation in either place.
I understand that some folks don't like crowds and cultural activities as much as others. Some just like to hunt and fish or quilt or read on their own, so do I once in a while. But to ascribe all city folks as unfriendly and dangerous or all rural folks as the same is just not the case, as I clearly did.
I just happen to like both the city and the country, as long as I'm dealing with friendly folks.
Lashing out? Hardly. Unlike you I'm not using sweeping generalizations. Some rural folks are exactly as that poster described himself.
Most are not. Just as most city folks are neither as dangerous or unfriendly as some rural folks think.
Its this whole Rural vs. City, Us against them, mentality that it ridiculous. I've been in NYC in the streets at night and never been mugged, and I have met some mighty unfriendly people in the sticks but that doesn't describe everyone or every situation in either place.
I understand that some folks don't like crowds and cultural activities as much as others. Some just like to hunt and fish or quilt or read on their own, so do I once in a while. But to ascribe all city folks as unfriendly and dangerous or all rural folks as the same is just not the case, as I clearly did.
I just happen to like both the city and the country, as long as I'm dealing with friendly folks.
I didn't say you were lashing out. That was another one of those general statements that you are accusing me of... except that specific one suited your response better if you took it as being directed toward you personally. It wasn't. So, if I'm generalizing, let's have all my words generalized...
Anyway, I don't think anyone is ascribing all city folks as unfriendly and dangerous. There are unfriendly and dangerous people everywhere. As I think we can agree, it's a matter of what suits each individual. I'm not sure where you're getting the us vs them thing. Having a preference is not being contentious. It's okay to have a preference. We can be friendly and not like the city or not like the country. When I say I hate the city, I'm certainly not saying that I hate the people in the city--I'm just saying I hate the lifestyle and the atmosphere. Again, that's okay. I'm certainly not going to try to export or mandate my preferences, because we are all different. I'm just saying that our differing preferences are both valid and there is no point to 'fighting against' either of them. While one person may well die of bordom in the country, another will thrive and find true peace and happiness within his/her life... and... visa versa for the city as well.
This describes a good proportion of folks who hunker down in the country, ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by T. Damon
...Unlike you I'm not using sweeping generalizations. ...
So, are you generalizing or not????
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