URBAN RURAL INTERFACE
 

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 Location

• "I believed the relator when he said I don't need a home inspection. It turns out the deck is full of dry rot."

• “Not having your next door neighbor living next to you.”

• “Small towns roll up the sidewalks at dark. but you learn to adjust and slow down.”

• “For me, its been a physical challenge that I didn’t fully anticipate. The transition from working at a desk behind a computer, transitioning to the physical strain required on the farm…not to be underestimated.”

• “Not being able to just “run to the store”, whether for a missing ingredient or when a fix-it project hits a snag.”

• “No pizza delivery!”

• “Scheduling my meals so that I only have to make one trip to the groceries a week .

• " I wish I had taken the time to determine if my septic system was concrete or plastic and when it was established. Now I need to figure out if its age, needs pumping or if it's tree roots that is causing the problem."

• "I had no idea how difficult it was to receive building materials for our new house! It took months for us to receive what we ordered.....and then if it was wrong that created a whole new nightmare."

• "Living here was so much easier when I was in my 40's and 50's. Now all my friends are trying to buy a place in town.  We are getting too old to do all the maintenance that is required for country living, but I'm glad I did it!"

• "Not a day goes by that I am not grateful to live in nature.  Especially with Covid, I am so happy to live in a restorative and healthy environment!"

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 Economics

• "This move has beat up more than 1 vehicle. During ice/snow events we are stuck.”

• “No high speed DSL.”

• "It's fairly easy for me to find work here since everyone knows everyone."

• "Finding a competent plumber or a handyman is so difficult.  I actually don't want to share names with friends or the handyman won't have time to work for me!"

• "I'm surprised I can actually live on so much less money! I'm not buying the clothes I did when I worked in the city, or Starbucks or lunch out every day."

• "The county keeps changing the guidelines so I can no longer run my goat farm and sell the cheese."

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 Lifestyle

• “For me it’s the mice. Many more mice get in than in an urban area.”

• “Ways not having enough time to do all we want in the country, too many ideas and not enough time to do them all.”

• “We live in Maine, and I think one huge thing people underestimate is time…drive time if you need to pick up something at the store.”

• “Learning who we could trust. Rebuilding the reliable network of tradespeople who do the things we can’t.”

• “Trash is a problem. I was used to just taking it to the curb. Now I have to tote, burn and still have stuff I don’t know what to do with.”

• Making do with what you have…. when its 2 1/2 hours to get anything to fix something…”

• “How do I say this nicely…. people being all up in your business. Yeah, that’s been the biggest adjustment.”

• "I really felt the lack of choice in cafes at first.  Now I realize how much more enjoyable potlucks with friends can be on a Saturday night!"

• “10 yrs ago, the hardest thing for me to adjust was the mud room, literally covered with dirt and mud every day."

• “Not having much “take-out” as an option when I just don’t want to cook was a pretty hard adjustment, but it just made me plan meals better. I wouldn’t change the small-town atmosphere we love here for the concrete jungle we escaped years ago, no matter how many conveniences we would have there!”

• “Making new friends.”

• “Our lifestyle was such a huge transition for some of our friends that they are no longer our friends. It also takes time to be accepted into a new community and develop new friendships and that can sometimes be a lonely road for awhile until you start making connections.”

• "This slower pace of life has given me time to reflect on what gives me the most enjoyment.  I would have never pursued my jewelry making or painting without living here."

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 Climate and Safety

• “Keeping warm. Moved into this 80-year-old country house in the middle of nowhere just after Christmas. The geothermal heat/AC system is shot (knew when I bought but the price was right) and a new unit is $10,000 which I can’t afford until the city house is sold so electric baseboard heaters for now, plus there’s no heat at all in my bedroom or office. Attic insulation R50 but nothing in the crawl space. Just had that foamed and it makes a big difference.”

• “Living with the fact that when the power goes out… so does the water from the well. No big deal we can carry water from the spring, but it is huge inconvenience.”

• “Learning how to fix things. Trades people are few and far between out here and can pick and choose their jobs. Not many want to come out here in the boonies and if they do they charge you a premium. Learning how to fix things ourselves has been tough but incredibly rewarding.”

• “The very worst adjustment has been the lack of emergency services – it took a very long time (what seems like eternity) for the ambulance to get to our house when my son collapsed. He was eventually air lifted to the nearest big city. He passed away three days later.”

• "The constant anxiety during fire season (which keeps expanding) about successful evacuation and losing all possessions."

• "My neighbors dogs are always running loose, and are a nuance.  I worry they will be hit by a car".

• "People don't understand that bears and other wildlife were here first. With the shortage of water and food, and few natural predators, it's become problematic keeping pets and children safe."

• "I thought I would save money by not having to higher a landscaper. Huh! Now I have to pay for a tree climber and trimmer, guys with chainsaws and chippers.  It's turned out to be very expensive to stay safe from wildfires."

• "My spring is going dry because my neighbor further up the hill is tapping into my water."

• "We have such an increase of mountain lions and bear in our area that I have to constantly watch my kids and pets.  It's so scary now."

• "It's still fire season as it hasn't ranined yet.  But the temperatures are dropping which make it necessary to use the wood stove.  I didn't know that the chimney has to be serviced annually. "

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