One of the biggest upsides is that the neighborhood is always friendly. Your neighbors wave to you when they pass you, they invite you to their random midweek bbqs, they offer to help fix a broken window, and every other midwestern stereotype you’ve heard. I’ve moved around a lot and I’ve lived in the city and the country and my neighbors are always nicer in rural areas. It’s quieter, the air is better, and you can usually see a lot more stars at night. Rural towns tend to be a lot safer too.

However, it can be a little bit of a hassle to have to travel to do anything. If you’re someone who needs to fly for work, or someone that goes to the grocery story every day, or someone who always eats fast food, you’re not going to like rural living very much. But honestly, if you can put up with missing out on those little things, you would love living in a small town.

My biggest piece of advice is to meet your neighbors. The first day or two after moving into your new house, make up 4 or 5 little gift baskets or make a pan of brownies or cookies for your surrounding neighbors. Tell them it’s your first time living out of the city. After that, whenever you need something (or even just someone to talk to) you can ask your neighbors for just about anything.