City versus country living.

[Anonymous]

A couple of anecdotes that help convey some difference.... Our first holiday season out of the DC bubble in rural VA we decided to take our young kids to the local Santa "meet and greet" before Christmas . Like good city transplants we left early to get good parking and avoid what we assumed would be long lines of kids. Of course, we were the first to arrive (beat Santa by 10 mins). I lost track of the fact that even if half the young kids in the county showed up that is only about a couple hundred kids.

The other adjustment in small towns is that drivers wave to pedestrians and even to other drivers as they pass. If you are walking along the road odds are someone will pull over, ask if everything is OK, and offer you a ride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First what do you define as "country living"? For example I grew up in far out, deep 20906, on an acre lot, larger home, lots of wildlife, neighbors too far away to actually get to know them, 3-4 miles to the closest grocery store, snow plows never used to show up - and now when they do show up that area is the last to be plowed.

OR do you mean on a farm, 20+ acres, 10 miles to your closest grocery store, very little vehicle traffic.

20906??? Lol.

And did you think Olney was farm country?

I mean, sure…I partied in fields in Olney/Brookeville/Derwood/Ashton, etc. when I was in high school back in the late 80s/early 90s, but even then I wouldn’t consider it the country. And ftr, I grew up in 20906.

[Anonymous]

I would not do country life with kids. They just don't have the same options especially if they are serious about sports.

[Anonymous]

Define country living, OP. Country living as in some rural place in Loudoun or Prince William doesn’t count as “country”. Country is being out in the middle of nowhere like West Virginia or central Virginia like outside of Culpeper where it takes you 30-40 mins just to drive to a basic grocery store. There’s a major difference between the two.

When someone tells me they live in the country and they say they live in Nokesville or Purcellville, I can’t help but laugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would add wineries, breweries, and distilleries to the list of pros of country living.

Anonymous wrote:You do this daily?

They don't call 'em "hics" for nothin'!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've lived in city, suburb and country, though at different times of my life.

It really depends on you and your interests. I'm an extrovert and have diverse interests and hobbies. If there's something specific that brings you joy, make sure it's near you.

Cities - diversity, culture, food, intellectualism, arts, transportation options, traffic, noise, transient, friction, concrete, public parks, individual expression, competition

Suburbs - safe, clean, car culture, conformity, families, private ownership, smaller minded, keeping up with the Joneses, competition

Country - relationships, families, car culture, nature, farming, limited options, self-reliance, smaller minded, less educated, community

Whoever said breweries - these are everywhere so don't worry about that!

In all these places, there are pros and cons. As an adult I could live most places. As a mom with young kids, my favorite place to live so far was the downtown main street of an exurb. But now I live in a rural area and love different aspects of it. I don't want to live in the city as a mom, but I have done it as a young mom.

I'm in my 40s now and the schools where we live are not very good compared to the suburban area we used to live. But the natural resources are world-class and with educated parents providing wider opportunities I think my kids will be ok. I like a slower pace of life and also the sense of community. I feel the need to give back and do.

Np great post. how would to define suburbs verses country? Also what's car culture?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First what do you define as "country living"? For example I grew up in far out, deep 20906, on an acre lot, larger home, lots of wildlife, neighbors too far away to actually get to know them, 3-4 miles to the closest grocery store, snow plows never used to show up - and now when they do show up that area is the last to be plowed.

OR do you mean on a farm, 20+ acres, 10 miles to your closest grocery store, very little vehicle traffic.

20906??? Lol.

And did you think Olney was farm country?

I mean, sure…I partied in fields in Olney/Brookeville/Derwood/Ashton, etc. when I was in high school back in the late 80s/early 90s, but even then I wouldn’t consider it the country. And ftr, I grew up in 20906.

"LOL"? what is wrong with you that you feel the need to come in with such an aggressive, in your face reply? 1) if you grew up in 20906 you would know its not Olney 2) I grew up in a part of 20906 in the late 70's, a section that apparently you don't know about. It was quite rural. 2) Did you take a moment to reread what I wrote in the first few sentences? I was careful to distinguish the difference between my old neighborhood and "real" country living which is why I asked OP to define what THEY meant by "country living".

Go take your daggers elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

I grew up first in the DC suburbs then the rural exurbs- on a small farm in a rural setting. Then as an adult, lived and raised my children inside the beltway, and then moved to a rural property when they were teens. As other posters have written, there are pros and cons.
Pros:
Nature abides- I see bear, bobcats, wild turkeys daily.
Quiet - I’m an introvert so I don’t mind
Schools - smaller than inner suburbs; kids are known and nurtured; well resourced (not so rural that there is no tax base)
Pace of life: slower, in sync with the seasons
$$ go further (or used to)

Cons:
Isolation: kids have to go work to make and keep friends / need to drive anywhere
Schools: yes, also a con - lack of diversity
Driving: I have to drive everywhere and it takes a lot of time to do anything
Hunting: I live in a gorgeous area that is adjacent to state parks, but during the best hiking weather it is also hunting season. Blaze orange is mandatory and someone still may shoot at you.

One of my kids thrived in this environment and one hasn’t. The latter would have been better served if we lived in the suburbs or city, but we’ve tried to keep them exposed to all environments and lifestyles.

My ideal would be to have my main house in the country and keep a pied a terre in the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First what do you define as "country living"? For example I grew up in far out, deep 20906, on an acre lot, larger home, lots of wildlife, neighbors too far away to actually get to know them, 3-4 miles to the closest grocery store, snow plows never used to show up - and now when they do show up that area is the last to be plowed.

OR do you mean on a farm, 20+ acres, 10 miles to your closest grocery store, very little vehicle traffic.

20906??? Lol.

And did you think Olney was farm country?

I mean, sure…I partied in fields in Olney/Brookeville/Derwood/Ashton, etc. when I was in high school back in the late 80s/early 90s, but even then I wouldn’t consider it the country. And ftr, I grew up in 20906.

"LOL"? what is wrong with you that you feel the need to come in with such an aggressive, in your face reply? 1) if you grew up in 20906 you would know its not Olney 2) I grew up in a part of 20906 in the late 70's, a section that apparently you don't know about. It was quite rural. 2) Did you take a moment to reread what I wrote in the first few sentences? I was careful to distinguish the difference between my old neighborhood and "real" country living which is why I asked OP to define what THEY meant by "country living".

Go take your daggers elsewhere.

Did you live off of Layhill Road?

I asked if you thought Olney was the country as well. I obviously know it’s not 20906…it’s actually further out and still had legit farms in the early 1970s (as did Derwood/Brookeville/Ashton, etc).

The reality is *no place* in the suburbs can be defined as the country. I’m struggling to define where the country actually begins in 2024 given places like Hagerstown and Kent Island are (over) developed now.

[Anonymous]

Depends on what you mean by “country”. We live in Delaplane near Upperville on about 40 acres. Moved permanently from DC after initially planning to have 2 houses.

The distances is the biggest downside. And the rather insular cliquey social circles. You pretty much have to ride horses, have kids, and go to church to know many people.

We have any amenity we need close by. High household incomes support nice shops, nice wineries and restaurants. There’s a lot to do, especially in the spring-fall. But you have to be willing to drive a lot.

I wouldn’t want to live somewhere more rural. For example, the Shenandoah valley or western PA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've lived in city, suburb and country, though at different times of my life.

It really depends on you and your interests. I'm an extrovert and have diverse interests and hobbies. If there's something specific that brings you joy, make sure it's near you.

Cities - diversity, culture, food, intellectualism, arts, transportation options, traffic, noise, transient, friction, concrete, public parks, individual expression, competition

Suburbs - safe, clean, car culture, conformity, families, private ownership, smaller minded, keeping up with the Joneses, competition

Country - relationships, families, car culture, nature, farming, limited options, self-reliance, smaller minded, less educated, community

Whoever said breweries - these are everywhere so don't worry about that!

In all these places, there are pros and cons. As an adult I could live most places. As a mom with young kids, my favorite place to live so far was the downtown main street of an exurb. But now I live in a rural area and love different aspects of it. I don't want to live in the city as a mom, but I have done it as a young mom.

I'm in my 40s now and the schools where we live are not very good compared to the suburban area we used to live. But the natural resources are world-class and with educated parents providing wider opportunities I think my kids will be ok. I like a slower pace of life and also the sense of community. I feel the need to give back and do.

Do you mind if I ask where you are now? (County/State?) We're thinking of making the switch from an urban area to either a rural or suburban area in the DMV. We also have young kids, so would love to hear what area you found that is working for your family.

[Anonymous]

I like the summary above.

Would add that IME the further out you go, you get more of the following: friendliness, privacy in terms of physical space, inconvenience, connection with nature (great outdoors as well as bugs and critters in and around your house)

There’s also poor-city and rich-city, as well as poor-country and rich-country, and all of those are very different flavors.

[Anonymous]

Laytonsville is country.

[Anonymous]

I've done both. I overall, am a city person. I can deal with being in the country for like, two weeks, knowing there's an end date, knowing there's a reason for doing it. But I dislike the lifestyle so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have had both a second home a very rural part of VA and a house inside the beltway for 20 years.
Country living has relative PROS and CONS:

PROS:
- no traffic
- low taxes
- lots of interesting wildlife
- very quiet and peaceful
- no crime
- great hiking, biking, fishing, boating.
- local, family-owned businesses (few chain stores)

CONS
- few good choices for household services (electric, plumbing, landscape, etc.)
- long drives for most shopping
- frequent power outages
- well water
- poor supermarket options
- few restaurant choices
- limited local medical care
- limited cultural scene
- weak schools

This is interesting because I live in Alexandria and we have power outages all the time yet everyone I know who lives in the Midwest or pa say they never have power outages most say it's been 15 or 20 years. Is this a Virginia/DMV thing?

Pp why do you think you have so many outages there?

How far are the stores from you?

Yes, I grew up a nice suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the 80's and 90's. That part of the USA is very cold (much colder than the DMV). We literally never had power outages during my entire childhood. I think that part of the reason is that the power companies there have made the proper investments in infrastructure, such as by burying the power lines. It would be 30 degrees below zero with strong winds, and we never lost power. (Here, the infrastructure seems cheap by comparison, with old above-ground power lines.)