I think it would have been a lot of fun to grow up out in the country.
Open spaces, fresh air, all the stars visible at night.
But, alas, I grew up in bland suburbia.
Don’t get me wrong, it was fun, but I always thought the rural upbringing would have been fun.
Let’s check out what AskReddit users had to say about growing up in the country.
1. Good tip.
“Leave gates how you find them.
They are open or closed for a reason.”
2. I can see that.
“Being in the country has more privacy but far less anonymity.
It’s true.”
3. Loud noises.
“How much noise there is from bugs after dark.
I lived in the country for a few years and I enjoyed the sounds of thousands of insects at night.
It made me feel like I was somewhere with a relatively healthy ecosystem, which I was.”
4. The darkness.
“Country darkness.
This really bothered a city friend who grew up in big apartment towers. His first couple of nights in my remote rural / farming area really bothered him.
He thought ‘the nearest people are a mile away, so who is going to know if the criminals break in?’.
In reality there’s no criminals, and no people in that darkness. Just crickets, possums and coyotes. Way more peaceful and reassuring than a huge apartment building with 5,000 strangers under one roof.”
5. Don’t do it.
“If you start a fight with someone in a small town bar you actually just started a fight with the entire bar.”
6. FYI.
“Don’t walk behind a horse, don’t touch random metal fences unless you want to get a shock, and everyone you meet either cares too much or couldn’t give a s**t about you.
Oh also, no matter how kind a middle aged Midwestern woman seems, remember that shes 100% gossiping about you to the other aunts and asking people to pray for you.”
7. Night and day.
“If your car breaks down (in the daytime) and someone (not a cop) pulls up behind you, that person is about to volunteer to do minor mechanical work or even flat tow your car for free.
If its nighttime, probably lock your doors. It ain’t all sweet out here.”
8. Animal info.
“Don’t feed any of the animals, except maybe birds.
Squirrels have sharp teeth people, they will f**k your hands up.
Do not fist fight the bears, they are very good fighters.
All those sounds at night are normal. Be alarmed if there are no sounds, that’s when s**t is about to get wild.”
9. Sad.
“Don’t dump your unwanted dogs out here.
9 times out of 10, if they aren’t used to cattle or horses and chases them- your dog will be shot. Stop telling yourself some kindly farmer will give it a good home.
We already have 15 from other people dumping them off on our property, we can’t feed them all.”
10. Vice versa.
“In the city you ignore sirens and worry about gunshots.
In the country you ignore gunshots and worry about sirens.”
11. They know.
“Chances are that everyone in the local grocery store already knows all about you even if you’ve never spoken directly to them.
They also probably already know what you drive and where you live. This is all true for a smallish town, at least.”
12. Poverty.
“Poverty looks different in the country.
Most poor people in the country have a garden, deer to hunt, maybe chickens, so food insecurity especially in summer is not as much of a problem.
But access to healthcare, safe drinking water, safe sewage disposal, and safe housing and educational opportunities are severely limited.”
What do you think about this?
Let us know in the comments.
Thanks in advance!
