You would be sick of the big city if you knew what you were missing in “Ruraltown, Anywhere”. While the big city offers glitz, glamour, and Gucci, it cannot compete with the many things that society has forgotten over time. Living in a rural area can remind someone of the simple things that might have faded away unnoticed. Here are advantages to life in a rural setting.

Relationships-

Do you remember those? With fewer people comes a deeper knowledge of neighbors and townspeople. Knowing them as people, both the bad and the good, allows for genuineness in everyone, being aware that all of the secrets about us are out in the open as well. There are few if any pretenses in smaller communities because it doesn’t take long for people to discover the real person inside of all of us. Therefore people are more genuine and care about others in ways that matter more in the long term. Fashion, funds, and Phony give way to forever friendships.

Down Time-

Always being “connected” or “online” might give us a sense of informational power, but provides us with very little necessary down time. Putting down the cell phone, getting off the internet, or avoiding the 200 channels of cable or satellite “techno-tainment” can cause people to actually have conversations face to face, take long walks, start a garden, read novels, or just plain think about things. This down time has been proven to be healthy, lowering blood pressure and relieving stress. The fast pace of the big city goes against this concept in its very nature.

Trust-

Just try explaining to the big city grocery store that you forgot your debit card. They have no way of knowing if they’ll ever see you again. In rural life, there is a bond, a trust that is developed because everyone shares a deliberate lifestyle. Creating the deeper relationships also means a level of trust that you will not find in urban sprawled areas. This is also true of business deals, hiring practices, and agreements. A handshake can still seal the deal in some places. People trust each other because they know that a reputation in a rural town is more valuable than any amount of money that one might gain through dishonesty. People know that they have to live in and face the people of the rural community. They know that there might be a time when they need help, and the only people they will be able to turn to are those with whom they share a trustworthy bond.

Nature-

Rural towns offer more natural surroundings, and less man made materials. Dirt, grass and trees replace, asphalt, steel, and traffic. Getting back to nature can be rewarding on a physical, mental and even spiritual level, all simultaneously. Nature helps to keep us “centered” and gives a perspective as to the relevance of humanity in the universe.

Given all of these benefits, why would anyone deliberately choose to call the big city home. It might be a nice place to visit, but people in “Ruraltown” would never want to live there.