Peace, serenity, freedom, these things and more can be yours when you choose a rural lifestyle. Family, community, and God are often the central themes in these remote areas. Rich in history, rural living has plenty to offer.

Take a glimpse of small town living and you will find a community woven together over generations with many stories to tell. Come on in to the local diner and have a seat next to the old man at the counter if you want to hear a few of them. He’s sure to know how last year’s basketball season played out, the outlook for this year’s crops, and who makes the best pies.

Family becomes a broad term when the rest of the world is hours away. Uncle Joe and Aunt Mary will show up for Christmas along with the widow down the street who lost her husband unexpectedly last spring in a farming accident. People take care of each other, and are bound by life’s celebrations and tragedies.

Children peddle their bikes through the streets, down to the creek, where they play for hours and then return home with their friends when it’s time to eat. Tents and tree houses dot the yards in the summer and snowmen with homemade scarves decorate them in the winter.

Life moves slower. It’s easier to breathe in a small town. Notes on the doors of business explaining the owner’s whereabouts and when they can be expected to return are commonplace. Gone fishing - will return when fish stop biting, is perfectly acceptable.

The whole town shows up for school events. There are approximately three hundred kids, from a forty mile radius, enrolled in a school that hosts children from their very first day until their last. But the school isn’t used for educational purposes only. It is also the alternate meeting place if the town picnic gets rained out. Funerals are held in the gymnasium if attendance is expected to surpass the church’s seating capacity. The gym also hosts spring, fall and winter dances, so when repairs are needed everyone chips in to help out. Some bring tools, others sandwiches and cake to sustain those who are laboring on behalf of the community.

Benefit breakfasts are held in the school cafeteria for families in need. Old pickle jars with pictures and stories, explaining why money is being collected, line business counters. Nobody even thinks of stealing them.

Kids, coaches, teachers, and parents can be found praying over everything from food to football games. Nobody thinks their rights are being violated, in fact, if prayer was skipped it would seem unnatural.

Small town living definitely has its benefits, but this quiet lifestyle also has a price tag. Jobs are limited. Most businesses have a staff ranging from one to five employees and it’s generally who you know, not what you know, that will get you a position.

Health care is also a concern. The veterinarian probably sees just as many people as the three-room clinic/hospital. Emergency medical care is hours away.

Variety is lacking. You must be content to have one diner, one school, one bank and one church. There is only one grocery store too. Shopping becomes the height of entertainment because it means a road trip and eating at a fast food restaurant. Movies, viewed at home on the couch, are the main source of entertainment during the winter. Fishing and other outdoor activities remain the summer’s most popular things to do. It doesn’t pay to walk for exercise because someone is sure to stop and see if you need a lift. There is no fitness center, no coffee shop, or bookstore. The school library is also the public library. All reading is limited to books that can also be checked out by children.

There is plenty to consider if ponding life in a small town. Limitations are obvious, but the benefits are equally compelling. A strong, safe community is always going to be a great place to raise a family and that beats access to the newest coffee shop any day.