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Have you considered moving about 25 miles or so from the city?
I live in a VERY tiny (but mostly affluent) town about 60 miles from Green Bay, and so I hear hear what you're saying, but we make a monthly trip to Green Bay, and in between visits to the city, we get all our produce and dairy at our local market or at farm stands during the summer.
Btw, all our medical needs are met just about 15 miles from out home. (HORRIBLE -- meaning very inconvenient -- veterinary services here, though, which I have already posted about.)
Part of the problem for me is that I don't have a car and there is no transportation between here and any cities (or any other small towns for that matter). I knew that when I moved here; what I did not know was how few medical providers there are (I researched doctors before I came but didn't realize none were accepting new patients when I got here).
OTOH I don't have to worry about getting hijacked and/or shot when I do take the local bus to any destinations in town. I do wish it ran all day every day and not just a few hours on weekdays. And that when the bus company couldn't find a driver available they would alert us instead of the bus just never showing up.
BTW I was especially interested to read that you are not too far from Green Bay, as the Packers were the first NFL team I ever heard of, because my dad listened to their games on the radio when I was a kid.
I would also suggest becoming familiar with a magazine called, "Mother Earth News" too.
And then disregard 90% of what's in it.
Maybe 10-15 years ago my sister in law gave me a 2 year subscription for Christmas. There were some interesting articles, but in general the magazine seemed targeted towards the idealistic city folk/suburbanites who buy a pair of of Walmart jeans and a toyota truck and move to the country, then are surprised when no one takes them seriously.
Rural areas are hit/miss in terms of newcomers being accepted into the community. Small Town politics can get nasty. Alot of people want to be left alone which is why they are moving/have moved to said rural locale, others have lived there all their lives and have an inner circle of friends/relatives. I personally would "test the waters" socially before buying property in a small town or rural location. Saying this living in a rural locale, can't wait to leave.
That is spot on, when you move to a small town, you’ll be gossiped about and they’re going to test you to see how much of a mark you are. When we first moved here, a slick local decided that we needed to be fleeced out of a few thousand,so he claimed that the entire front of the house had rot, but he would fix it for 7k. I called the home inspector and it was just a little rot around the windows. Or the estimate for 3k to cut down a small tree. My longtime handyman Jose cut down the tree and did a lot more work around the farm for half the cost. Or the handyman who said he’d do the job first, then tell me how much it would be. After conversations like this, I felt like we were living in the Twilight Zone.
Testing the waters is a good idea, many small towers aren’t welcoming to strangers and it’s a guarantee you’ll be charged a lot more for the work than Mr Smith who has lived there for thirty years. Over time, you’ll find good people, but there is a lot of weeding to do first. Good luck with your move, when we move, I’ll miss our handyman and dog groomer the most. Wish I could take them, along with my hairdresser. As for the con artist who wanted the 7k, hope karma gives him a big bite where he can’t sit down.
That is spot on, when you move to a small town, you’ll be gossiped about and they’re going to test you to see how much of a mark you are. When we first moved here, a slick local decided that we needed to be fleeced out of a few thousand,so he claimed that the entire front of the house had rot, but he would fix it for 7k. I called the home inspector and it was just a little rot around the windows. Or the estimate for 3k to cut down a small tree. My longtime handyman Jose cut down the tree and did a lot more work around the farm for half the cost. Or the handyman who said he’d do the job first, then tell me how much it would be. After conversations like this, I felt like we were living in the Twilight Zone.
Testing the waters is a good idea, many small towers aren’t welcoming to strangers and it’s a guarantee you’ll be charged a lot more for the work than Mr Smith who has lived there for thirty years. Over time, you’ll find good people, but there is a lot of weeding to do first. Good luck with your move, when we move, I’ll miss our handyman and dog groomer the most. Wish I could take them, along with my hairdresser. As for the con artist who wanted the 7k, hope karma gives him a big bite where he can’t sit down.
Some of them will automatically pigeonhole you based on the overall politics of the place you just moved from, even if you only lived there a short time and never subscribed to those views anyway. Gouging, yes—and gouging in partnership with other contractors who support the gouger’s methods.
So yeah, we got gouged...for a while. Then did the rest of the work by hiring outside of the local good ol’ boy contractor jerk circle or doing the work ourselves. I guess they only care about a onetime bonanza and fail to consider that over the rest of the (former) customers’ residency, they are on the Do Not Use list. And all of us who got treated this way do share info with each other. And the GOB will have competition; they can’t control it forever.
I wonder, do people routinely say you can move to any big city or ANYWHERE and every resident there is equally warm, welcoming and honest? Is there ANY such place?
Is there some city or town somewhere where there is no need to be careful and check out contractors or get second bids?
Maybe the problem is that people for some reason hold rural folks and small towns to some a higher expectation that when you move in, neighbors will come over with a pie and the town will hold a parade? Is that because of TV? Do people think we're all supposed to be Mayberry? Is that really a fair expectation?
I'm really curious about this.
On edit... in case my point is lost because I'm not writing clearly... I think I know the answer: no one expects people to be all welcoming, nonjudgmental and nice in the city. Yet they for some reason expect this of country people. Is that fair? Are you holding yourselves to the same standard?
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 07-21-2022 at 12:48 PM..
I wonder, do people routinely say you can move to any big city or ANYWHERE and every resident there is equally warm, welcoming and honest? Is there ANY such place?
Is there some city or town somewhere where there is no need to be careful and check out contractors or get second bids?
Maybe the problem is that people for some reason hold rural folks and small towns to some a higher expectation that when you move in, neighbors will come over with a pie and the town will hold a parade? Is that because of TV? Do people think we're all supposed to be Mayberry? Is that really a fair expectation?
I'm really curious about this.
On edit... in case my point is lost because I'm not writing clearly... I think I know the answer: no one expects people to be all welcoming, nonjudgmental and nice in the city. Yet they for some reason expect this of country people. Is that fair? Are you holding yourselves to the same standard?
It’s not holding these local contractors to a higher expectation, it’s holding them to the expectation to show up in less than a months time and to do the job they promised and to quote a fair price. The thing about small, insulated towns is just that. You’re cut off from a lot of handyman, because it’s far out in the country. These guys think they’re the only game in town and many times, they’re right. They use that to full advantage and the quotes are way more than you’d expect for a simple job.
I don’t care if they’re abrupt or downright rude, like some have been. I’ve met all kinds of handymen with all kinds of personalities and all I care about is for them to show up and work and not flake off. In Phoenix, I’d have three or four guys stopping by to quote for a job, then I could line one up for the following Monday. Here, you call and call and if they answer, hope they show up in two or three weeks. When they come by, you hope the quote is reasonable. Then you wait another week or two for them to do the work. Sometimes they show up and sometimes not. Sometimes they come over once, then disappear. I’ve lived in several states and have never seen anything like this. I was talking to a couple of handymen and they say this is common around here. Also reading comments from others, they have had the exact same experience.
I don’t care if the locals don’t want to bake me a pie, all I expect from country or city folk is to do what they say they’re going to do. Flakes and price gougers don’t get a free pass just because they live in the country. They didn’t get one in the city either.
Fair enough on challenge of finding contractors - I do think there is a shortage of skilled contractors here, and of those in *town* perhaps not all want to come out to the country for a small job… it’s a lot of gas when gas is expensive. From what I’ve been reading in the news though I think that’s a nationwide problem that has gotten worse in the last few years.
on edit:
A practical shortage is a different problem than the point I was trying to make in my question.
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 07-21-2022 at 06:21 PM..
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Submariner
Some of us really enjoy rural living.
Where I live there are roughly 6 people living within a mile of my house.
Some neighbors are good people, some are otherwise.
I think that my luck is better to have good neighbors seeing that there are only 6 of them within a mile of my house, as compared to anyone with 10,000 neighbors living within a mile of their city home.
Submariner my old online friend, I'd didn't mean to suck you into my joke.
I live pretty almost rural, right on the town limit with wildlands behind us. Besides we were watching some youtube videos about Maine and how it's the safest place in a war since there's nothing there worth nuking, kinda like here. And the climate people say it'll be the last place to become a desert, which since we are in the desert now, sounds good to me. And I like to fish and crab. So we might just pack up now that our house is worth an insane amount of money thanks to the Cali folks moving here. Keep your eyes out for a place down the street from you! But I need space for at least a 200 yd range.
Fair enough on challenge of finding contractors - I do think there is a shortage of skilled contractors here, and of those in *town* perhaps not all want to come out to the country for a small job… it’s a lot of gas when gas is expensive. From what I’ve been reading in the news though I think that’s a nationwide problem that has gotten worse in the last few years.
on edit:
A practical shortage is a different problem than the point I was trying to make in my question.
In answering your previous question, people who move to rural areas thinking they are going to live in Mayberry don't last long.
You won't just find "attitude" with skilled tradesman...it's also with your kids teachers, cosmetologists, the local merchants. I have great gossip with my dental hygienist about all sorts of people. You might decide not to do business with them and they can decide the same about you. The difference is in a small town you will run into that pesky person who you had a bad dealing with in the grocery store, at church, etc whereas in the city much less of a chance.
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Over time, you’ll find good people, but there is a lot of weeding to do first. Good luck with your move, when we move, I’ll miss our handyman and dog groomer the most. Wish I could take them, along with my hairdresser. As for the con artist who wanted the 7k, hope karma gives him a big bite where he can’t sit down.
