"Rural Folks, What Are The Things City Folks Won't Understand?" (50 Answers)

The sound of spring peepers can be deafening. Also, I miss it with all my heart. .

A lot of fake country folk overhype the woods. Any time someone mentions a skin walker that's your red flag. I live in the woods. Yes the woods can be scary but it's far from paranormal. The woods are a fine place to explore and gain an appreciation for real tangible nature. Don't let the boogeyman scare you away from the biodiversity native to your area. Buy a field guide so you can get out and learn something.

Grew up rural AF, chose to live in the city after becoming an adult.

I'd say the sheer level of how on your own you really are.

A lot of rural folks romanticize it. And it is nice... Unless you are one of the people forgotten or excluded by society. Develop a d**g/alcohol addiction? Have problems getting food? Old age has slowed you down so much that you can't leave the house? S****y parents that taught you nothing and kicked you out at 18? Cool, that's all on you. There's basically no help around, and everyone is so obsessed with this "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality that unless you find the right group, you're just going to be shamed if you try and get help. Rural cruelty has a whole different depth to it in my experience.

Cities are more densely packed, and that means that charities and nonprofits tend to focus more there in order to reach more people. It's much easier to get help, and find people who knows someone who can help.

That cute lil’ foxes 🦊sound like screaming banshees at night.

The little wave you give when passing a vehicle going the opposite direction on a country road. Bonus points if you're cool enough to just raise your first two fingers off the steering wheel.

Also, saying hello to a stranger on a hiking trail, or at least giving a little nod and smile. I can always tell someone isn't from here when I say "hello" on a hike and they look at me like I'm an alien.

The abso-f*****g-lute peace there is. No sirens, no, "personal soundtracks" blaring, no traffic noise, cleaner air, darker nights (less street lights), more wildlife & nature.

I've lived in NYC before and wouldn't trade this for the best apartment back there.

I'm reminded of my time at the University of Iowa. A fellow I knew, grad student age, but he wasn't actively attending, walked with a cane because of a gimpy leg. He'd broke it when he was a child, but he'd tell anyone who asked that he was mauled by a sow.

He said the city people would just laugh it off as a joke. The country people would look at him in horror and say, "And you're *still alive?!?!"*.

As a lifetime NYC'er, I just wanna say to any rural folks here on this thread that most of us city folk do not stick our noses up at people that live in your area, despite what you might hear. And speaking for myself, I respect your livelihoods and sometimes envy living in your open spaces. I honestly want us all as Americans to simply appreciate our differences and just get along. Live and let live. And I would love to go to a country hootenanny! thanks.

You're probably on well water, which means that if the power goes out, you no longer have water. That also means that you get one, maybe two flushes of the toilet, and I bet you're not top priority for the electric company.

Choose wisely.

Or get a generator.

See that driveway, someone has to plow it.

You manage your own water, sewage and waste. No, that doesn't go down the drain. Yes the water is treated and drinkable.

You have a generator because when power goes down it stays down for days at a time.

You have a pantry because running out of rice or salt is an hour or more drive says.

You fix your own s**t because getting an electrician plumber or carpenter is hard as hell.

You drive a vehicle with enough clearance because you need it.

That guy cutting hay on the vast majority of the land has been cutting it since before you were born. He chooses when and what time. That time is 6am.

Your mall truck is a joke out here.

There is no animal control out where I live, and no shelters within 100 miles that will take strays. If you dump your cat or dog, they will be eaten by a predator, starve to death, or be shot.

If you don’t make dinner you don’t eat. No uber eats or grub hub, no delivery pizza or takeout, unless you want gas station food. 

Most places nearby close by 5:00PM on weekdays and have extremely limited hours or are closed entirely on weekends. 

It can be pretty damn peaceful. .

Rural australia liver here:

bore water. the sky is inexplicably Bigger. don’t drive at night if you can help it because you WILL hit a kangaroo. stars like nothing you’ve ever seen. leave town and you have no reception. what’s a traffic light? cook your own dinner or you aren’t eating. everyone and their mother owns a beatshit ute. the nearest hospital is four hours away and the local airport is a literal shed in the bush.

You can’t buy up a rural property on the cheap and then have big city expectations about the state of your neighbours properties or their behaviour. Welcome to redneckville, sometimes old washers live in the front yard and people park their 18 wheeler rigs in front of their house (and noisily warm them up every morning at 4am).

I know, I’m buried…

You can never fully explain what it’s like on quiet nights when there’s no insects chirping, like in winter. I live on the outskirts of a small town, a mile from the railroad tracks. Even though there was snow on the ground and in the trees, plus dozens of houses between me and the tracks, it sounded like I was standing next to the train at 3am. Loud, loud, loud.

Alternatively, you also never prepare someone for how soothing it feels on a summer night, sitting on the porch, hearing the wind move softly through the trees, insects harmonizing their sweet tones, lightning bugs flittering about, blinking in a chaotic fashion. You just close your eyes, sip your drink, and experience almost total relaxation.

Im the city girl that moved to the country. Everybody from here sees deer as a nuisance or as dinner. Six years in, my dumb a*s still think they're magical.

Just how safe it is.

For 13 years I didn't lock my car up. Hell, half the time I left the keys in the ignition.

Plenty of spring and autumn nights I went to sleep with my front and back doors open. Windows were open 24/7 during those times, even if I were gone.

Also, how easy it is to accrue pets. At one point I had 12 cats, just because strays would show up and never leave.

The difference of saying that you're "going to town" vs "going to the city".

Stores not being convenient. The importance of keeping a *good* amount of gas in your vehicles. Lack of street lights. Waiting 45+ mins for an ambulance. No public transport, no cabs, no Uber or Lyft. No food delivery.

Quiet, except for the critters outside. Space. Cleaner air. Neighbours are far. Ticks everywhere! Wood roaches and spiders the size of your hand. Snakes. So. Many. Trees. Catching yourself baby talking possums and raccoons.

I leave my doors unlocked when I'm away so the neighbors can get in if they need something.

I have a sleeping porch and I use it often.

We walk through each other's property without rebuke.

Nobody can hear me if I scream.