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Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,473,841 times
Reputation: 12187
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I am in the process of buying rural land for a variety of reasons. Mainly I would like a weekend retreat where I could be surrounded by nature. I do think it's wise to have a place away from a city in case civilized society collapsed, be it from unrest, mass unemployment, natural disaster, pandemic, or fuel shortage. Throughout history most cities have experienced periodic mass depopulation. Cities by nature boom and bust in cycles, small towns and rural areas always remain the same.
The worst rural areas aren't going to see a rebound but rural areas within an hour of a decent size city and with their own amenities will grow from current events. Rural counties outside of cities saw huge growth during the last wave of unrest in the 1960s and there's no reason that wouldn't happen again.
I live in a town of 235 people, in less than half-hour drive we have a big city of 32,000 that offers all the big box stores, banking, international airport, and two hospitals. I am confident in saying that nobody here wants any 'growth'.
Growth brings higher taxes, crime, congestion and pollution.
Everyone here is armed and hunts each year.
Our population-density sits right at 10 people per square-mile. Nearly the entire state is forested [over 92% of it anyways]. We can forage our meals from the forest if we need to.
Hunting, trapping, fishing, foraging and gardening are the lifestyle here.
It takes very little money to support a family here. $500 a year can pay your taxes on 100 acres of land and your house. Everyone can keep their freezers filled with meat from hunting, trapping and fishing. Everyone who wants to can garden and produce over 90% of their family food, bartering surplus for the remaining 10% food stuffs that you do not grow.
When adult children are lured by the call of making money, they leave this area in quest for the big bucks that cities offer.
When they mature and get tired of the rat race, they return to the land of their ancestors.
People here do not want growth.
My town was organized for nearly a century. Then they realized that their property taxes were going to support a dozen town employees, and there was very little benefit to the tax payers. So they burned the town charter. Along with 39 other towns in this state.
With my tiny military pension, I can support us. We have no real need to garden or to 'farm'.
Sometimes that fella with a truck full of turnip greens has a life that is okay.
[Good Directions and Turnip Greens by Billy Currington]
Along with that sack of seeds.
[Wildwood Weed by Jim Stafford]
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,473,841 times
Reputation: 12187
Talking about 'repopulating' might be directed more to rural counties that have had major population loss. Some rural counties have had major population loss but others stable or growing populations. In my region rural population loss has been very bad along Mississippi River and in Appalachian coal fields. Between those areas most counties are stable, counties with a sizeable town have growth a lot.
I live in a suburban city in a metro area of 1.4 million. But I only shop or eat out on weekends. Only urban amenity I used daily are public parks. Living further out really wouldn't change my daily routine that much.
Lol. They also will eat babies and howl at the moon.
The last thing a city person wants is to move to BFE and twiddle their thumbs. For the most part rural areas do not offer anything a city person wants. Everything and anything is a drive. There is usually one maybe two gas station one maybe two mechanics, one supermarket maybe a couple of restaurants, a fast food joint/dairy queen and that’s about all she wrote.
I’ve worked in a lot of these small towns of anywhere from 600-25,000 people.most of them are ok if you got a county or state job. Otherwise you’re making peanuts working for the local shop in town or you’re driving 80 miles one way to work.
For retirement....it’s ok if you’re healthy. If you need medical care don’t move to a small town.
I agree. I lived rural and loved it. I could walk to the river and watch eagles fly over my house. Trips to "town" were a big deal. It was great until I had my heart attack two years ago. Now I live in a quiet neighborhood in town just minutes from the hospital where my life was saved. It works for me.
Talking about 'repopulating' might be directed more to rural counties that have had major population loss. Some rural counties have had major population loss but others stable or growing populations. In my region rural population loss has been very bad along Mississippi River and in Appalachian coal fields. Between those areas most counties are stable, counties with a sizeable town have growth a lot.
I live in a suburban city in a metro area of 1.4 million. But I only shop or eat out on weekends. Only urban amenity I used daily are public parks. Living further out really wouldn't change my daily routine that much.
Good point. In places where drastic population drops occurred fairly recently, the infrastructure still exists or can be more readily revived to absorb growth. Also, a lot of people will probably welcome new blood in those situations, not so much the case where extended clans or crony groups want to maintain economic and social control over how things are run.
An exception might be where a boom industry brought in freightloads of transient workers and then left a ghost town. Harder to revive those.
A TV person tonight hypothesized that many Americans will flee the cities and move to rural America. Personally, I doubt it. Americans love the suburban lifestyle. But it coyld happen considering the urban unrest, cries to defund police and CV19. Plus, I've noticed that houses have been selling very fast in our rural area. What say you?
Possibly short term in a few areas of more densely populated areas of the country but I doubt any general movements. Our rural area has no houses to buy and new construction can be extremely expensive. As well, small parcels of land like 15 to 20 acres are almost impossible to find.
Then too, the small city withing an hours drive of this farm is fairly conservative and stable.
Possibly short term in a few areas of more densely populated areas of the country but I doubt any general movements. Our rural area has no houses to buy and new construction can be extremely expensive. As well, small parcels of land like 15 to 20 acres are almost impossible to find.
Then too, the small city withing an hours drive of this farm is fairly conservative and stable.
A common theme of most remote rural Great Plains counties is very poor population retention no matter how low the unemployment rate is. This may change a bit, but is a common trend.
I am in the process of buying rural land for a variety of reasons. Mainly I would like a weekend retreat where I could be surrounded by nature. I do think it's wise to have a place away from a city in case civilized society collapsed, be it from unrest, mass unemployment, natural disaster, pandemic, or fuel shortage. Throughout history most cities have experienced periodic mass depopulation. Cities by nature boom and bust in cycles, small towns and rural areas always remain the same.
The worst rural areas aren't going to see a rebound but rural areas within an hour of a decent size city and with their own amenities will grow from current events. Rural counties outside of cities saw huge growth during the last wave of unrest in the 1960s and there's no reason that wouldn't happen again.
YesI am in agreement with you. The city life here has changed drastically.
Will history repeat itself?
Possibly short term in a few areas of more densely populated areas of the country but I doubt any general movements. Our rural area has no houses to buy and new construction can be extremely expensive. As well, small parcels of land like 15 to 20 acres are almost impossible to find.
Then too, the small city withing an hours drive of this farm is fairly conservative and stable.
My experience, too. Replacing my 15 acres with a 15 acre lot in another Micropolitan area with less snow is generally not doable. 1 acre Micropolitan city lots are rare to non-existent, and expensive when they are available. Anything less than 1 acre means the neighbors are just too close for comfort.
My experience, too. Replacing my 15 acres with a 15 acre lot in another Micropolitan area with less snow is generally not doable. 1 acre Micropolitan city lots are rare to non-existent, and expensive when they are available. Anything less than 1 acre means the neighbors are just too close for comfort.
I live in a Township in southern Indiana on under an acre, but almost all wooded. My house was built in the 1970's. The cost to build anything new here given labor, materials, is astronomical. I have township water and septic. However, many people don't like the fact that there is only electric and propane for heating if you don't use wood to supplement..
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