Yeah, services and school consolidations are a major issue. Farm consolidation is also a major issue as agribusiness largely favors economies of scale. It doesn’t sound like I’m too far from your neck of the woods, FYI - west of you a ways.

Mom and pops have been mostly consumed by large chains and Amazon.

Yes, there would definitely be things you couldn’t get locally. My original comment was describing a world that mostly existed 40 years ago. It is much harder now to find a smaller town that still has a decent locally economy.

And the nearest town over 10k was an hour away.

My comments about cheap transportation mainly dealt with not having to spend a lot on gas, because everything is most likely pretty close. You’re right, though, a vehicle in this case would make your life much easier.

And regardless, if you want cultural events, you’re likely going to have to drive to reach them.

My perspective is growing up in a rural area where the nearest city of 1 million people is four hours away.

True, depending on your definition of small you’re not gonna have public transportation at all. But if the town is small enough, you can pretty much walk anywhere. It’s difficult to find a combination of a town that is large enough to have a grocery store but small enough to have dirt cheap housing.

The thing is that this type of thing was once reasonably possible because the cost of housing & transportation in small towns does tend to be much lower, but it is growing less and less so as the years and decades go by because good employment in those areas is hard to come by, post office or other.

It’s a true Badge of Honor, Jake - congratulations!

more ICE vs the clergy
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