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There's a ghost town not too far from me that had 350 residents, mostly sheep herders or cattle "cow punchers" 100 years ago. The earliest census record is in 1870. The last postmaster was appointed in 1952. The town survived the depression, dust bowl, and two world wars but faded away by 1960 or so. Most people here were born to families who were in the state in the 1600s and still spoke Spanish. The census shows that there was a sheep camp nearby run by a Scottish foreman with a few English and American herders and a Mexican cook. There was a blacksmith in town and a little general store. The place had a makeshift dance hall and a rowdy reputation if you believe the stories. Its buildings are all adobe and are slowly melting away over the decades. The site is now on the edge of a designated desert wilderness area. The country around that old town is gorgeous but time really forgot about this place.
I moved to Maine to find that small slower paced town. I found it but outsiders weren't welcome. I find that seems to be the same all over the country. Some one here said "people are friendly but won't be friends" good way of putting it. I made friends but their friends and family kept me at a distance and continually reminded you "you aren't a Mainah".
Interesting, I have heard that it was one of the more prosperous small towns in Kansas that is entirely rural, not close to a larger metro area. Do you live in Nemaha County as well? I know they have a few larger employers and manufacturers there and recruit potential workers from Nebraska and adjacent newer Amish settlements in Pawnee County across the state line. I think this area will still struggle to retain any younger people, because most can move to a larger metro area like KC and earn a much greater income with only smaller increases in cost of living. I've seen that play out many times as I understand demographics on the Great Plains.
I do live in the area and you would be shocked at the younger population. I would estimate 30%+ of my high school class lives in this or surrounding counties. Many of us have moved back after living in Kansas City or another area for a while to raise our families here. I personally work remotely from home by an employer in a large city and just fly out every other month or as needed. My husband and I did collectively take a pay cut coming here but it's worth it to us and many of our friends to live in this type of environment and community. There are jobs galore, and local employers do have to get creative to fill positions but they continue to reinvest here, which tells me it's not as big of a problem as you might think.
I do live in the area and you would be shocked at the younger population. I would estimate 30%+ of my high school class lives in this or surrounding counties. Many of us have moved back after living in Kansas City or another area for a while to raise our families here. I personally work remotely from home by an employer in a large city and just fly out every other month or as needed. My husband and I did collectively take a pay cut coming here but it's worth it to us and many of our friends to live in this type of environment and community. There are jobs galore, and local employers do have to get creative to fill positions but they continue to reinvest here, which tells me it's not as big of a problem as you might think.
That may be a good choice for some people, but the vast majority of people would likely pick moving to a larger city with more options as a town of less than 2,000 people can be a limiting factor for a chunk of people, especially towns in very rural locations.
Sounds like the place I grew up in Blanco, Tx. Now it has about 2,000 people or so. They put in their second stop light several years ago. It was a terrific place to grow up - in the Texas hill country. It’s about 40 or 50 miles north of San Antonio, so good hospitals are terribly far away. My family still owns a 400 acre ranch there about 10 miles outside of town. The town still looks very much like it did when I was little. Going to the art galleries, the little school, the bowling alley. Swimming in the Blanco rivers. I wish I could still live there, and maybe one day I will. https://youtu.be/mM1q4LqufDU
Mt. Airy NC is the town Mayberry was modeled after. It's a cute place, pretty country.
Check it out. Maybe it's your Eden.
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