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No,sir!
Property theft is very bad in rural areas. So is family/acquaintance violence. The gun prevalence tends to make the second more lethal, and it doesn't stop the first, as thieves in the country are gun owners too.
There's always been plenty of crime in the countryside. The least populous counties are also the most prone to the crimes because there aren't enough police.
The average stolen car has multiple ways of finding it once stolen, but a $250,000 tractor can be driven off a field in the middle of the night with nothing needed except the knowledge of how to start and drive it.
Tractors and other implements are driven off in the middle of the night, loaded onto flatbed semis, and are in another state before the sun comes up.
Same goes with livestock. Rustlers are still at it using modern methods.
Robbing farmers is a good way to shorten one's life expectancy significantly.
I think lots of city people will move to already built-up suburbs that are within an hour or so of major cities. I don't think many will move to really RURAL areas.
Before the virus (B.V.?) I read a report that factories in small towns all across America were having trouble finding and retaining young employees. Those surveyed said they could double production if they had more people, but only about 40-50% of applicants could even pass a substance test, and most of the rest simply didn't want to stay long term.
It's hard farm labor, which needs to be done by young people, who are nowadays a lot more tech-savvy and tech focused. I'm not surprised it's hard to find people at the absolutely rock bottom wages offered for these jobs. Minimum wage doesn't cover rent or the cost of buying a home anywhere, even in really cheap rural areas. People always complain "We can't find americans to do this job" but that's BS, the real statement is "we're too cheap to pay a fair wage for americans to do this job"
It's hard farm labor, which needs to be done by young people, who are nowadays a lot more tech-savvy and tech focused. I'm not surprised it's hard to find people at the absolutely rock bottom wages offered for these jobs. Minimum wage doesn't cover rent or the cost of buying a home anywhere, even in really cheap rural areas. People always complain "We can't find americans to do this job" but that's BS, the real statement is "we're too cheap to pay a fair wage for americans to do this job"
gOOD old fashion physical work never did hurt anyone. These computers, screens, smartphones do a lot of damage to your eyes, back, neck, and posture.
The effect of the low fertility rate would deter me from moving to a rural area.
In Japan, due to their low 1.2 fertility rate, rural towns are closing down, and they're fleeing to Tokyo for better services, specifically medical services. It's also happening in Spain and France, rural towns becoming ghost towns.
You have to do extensive research as some rural areas have growing or stable populations, and others decline by 10% per decade. The latter are sub-investment grade unfortunately, they have far too many problems and generally have high out-migration and poverty rates. The retiree/recreation/resort rural counties tend to fare far better because they usually have dollars flowing in from wealthier metro areas to a certain extent.
I doubt it. Things have to get REALLY bad for any "meaningful" migration to rural areas. We're talking "the Plague"/Black Death levels where the death rate was 25%. They wonder why nobody's burying bodies?... well, the guy who usually does that just died. The nobility fled the cities for the country. Don't get me wrong, COVID-19 can definitely spiral out of control, overwhelm ICUs, and even 1% of 330 million Americans is still 3.3 million if that's the death rate (not even counting those who sustain permanent injuries)-.
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It's already mentioned that rural life is faar too different than city life. There are tradeoffs to both, but those who go from one to another definitely need to make major adjustments, and many decide not to make that leap. Plus, you only move if you need to, as it's often a huge risk (save for more local moves, like down the street).
Another member reminded me of something more rare.
When thieves are caught out in the country, they have been known to come back and burn the place down later to get rid of evidence.
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