Rural Life

We live in a rural environment. There is a gas station convenience store a mile away and a Dollar General at about 1.5 miles. Not far from the Dollar General is a little family owned burger shop that makes fried pies that are delicious. It's about 8 miles to the nearest franchise fast-food place, larger restaurant, supermarket, or other shops, stores, medical service, etc.
Compared to our friends that live in Ozark, Nixa, or Springfield we live out in the sticks.

Not so out here in the southeast part of Missouri. We past quite a few homes (rurally speaking) on our way from the camp to the nearest gas station and town with a hardware store yesterday -- almost 20 miles away! (That's 32km to the rest of the world.)

I know how crappy and expensive satellite internet can be (ask me how I know) and I also know that the majority of these people vote for politicians that are opposed to an infrastructure plan that would address that. 
Even though I enjoy many aspects of living out and away from people, I do enjoy a nice dinner out, shopping for groceries without needing to pack a lunch, and having nearby doctors and other services.

This area is about 2 hours drive from St. Louis and about 4 hours from Memphis. The homes we passed ranged from small, rundown cabins to large homes with large fenced and well cared for lawns. It's a hard life for many, and others seem to be doing quite well. I suppose it's not much different than anywhere else. In some ways it's almost foreign. In other ways, it's like any community of people--just more spread out.

It is a beautiful area of Missouri. Living in this rural area wouldn't be so bad for a retired guy. I don't know that I'd want to raise a family out here. I feel like there is much that my kids would be missing.
Being retired makes rural living a lot easier. I don't have the daily commute that some of my working neighbors have. I also can plan my trips to town around times when most people are working and avoid the peak times when stores and services are crowded.   

It seems a little counter productive to pack up our recycling items and then drive 15 miles to a collection site. I have to plan that around another necessary drive. We live. We adapt.
We have lived in small towns and big cities. We are currently in the most rural setting we've ever been. There is still some adaptation that is necessary, but change is necessary for growth.

Sixty-one and still growing (up).
John