Consider the Tradeoffs Before Leaving the City

By Manning Becker, Edward Yeary, and A. Gene Nelson.

Noise, congestion, traffic, pollution, a lack of privacy, high crime rates, concrete, and other things about the city are finally beginning to get to you. Peace, quiet, clean air, solitude, growing plants, pets, fresh fruits, homegrown vegetables, and open space make country living mighty appealing.

But . . . neither city life nor country life is perfect. It's a matter of tradeoffs.

A move to the country for some is a new way of life in the making. The change may be beneficial, but before making the change, families should consider several things. For example, each family must be convinced that the values and the satisfactions anticipated from living and working in the country really outweigh the inconveniences or difficulties.

Making a permanent change from city to country living for a whole family can require a big adjustment. Families have made the move and have been quite happy about it. There also have been those who wish they hadn't, or who have given up and gone back to the city. Remember that children grow up and the family's values change over time.

Spending weekends or a summer vacation in the country with good friends or relatives may well be remembered as heaven on earth, but was it the change from the daily routine that made the experience so delightful, or was it truly the advantages of country living?

It was fun to care for the livestock in the spring, but livestock have to be cared for every day of the year. Getting out of bed on a warm spring day is far different from getting out of a cozy bed to go out in the wet and cold to care for the same animals.

You may never be happier than when you're working in your small garden in the backyard in town after a hard day in the office, and perhaps it would be nice to have a larger space so that more produce could be raised. But will it be that much fun after the longer drive home from work and with a much larger task facing you?

Sure, country living is great, but there's no denying that some people should never move out of the city. They need the things a city offers such as convenience, entertainment, shops, nearness to people, and medical care.

Before making a decision to move or stay, you might draw up some sort of a balance sheet listing the pros and cons of what your present life offers compared with what you feel a move to the country would offer.

Air pollution may be less or different in the country, but it is not eliminated. You may be trading industrial smoke and car exhaust fumes for animal waste odors, crop and weed pollens. Dust storms can be a problem in some areas.

As a rule, the country offers more opportunities for outdoor living than the city. Your house is seldom close enough to the next one to make screens necessary for privacy. Moreover, there is usually room for a good-sized lawn that is handy for recreation. But remember that a good -sized lawn is going to take more time and care than the small plot you have in the city, thus leaving less time for recreation.

Most places in the country are closer to hunting and fishing than are the cities. In fact, one young wife said that part of the rationale her husband had used to move was that he would no longer need to spend every weekend hunting and fishing. It never occurred to her that now he would want to hunt and fish every evening.

Distance to Neighbors

In the country, the neighbor next door may be a quarter of a mile away. After the husband has gone to work and the children have gone to school, it may be more difficult to get neighbors together for a cup of coffee. Distances may be too great to walk, and the family car is in town. Then too, there are chores around the place that need to be taken care of during the day.

Are you moving to the country to save energy? A Michigan study of energy use by urban and rural families found that while energy use in the home was about the same, rural families used 42% more gasoline than did urban families. This additional gasoline was required for food shopping and driving the children to libraries, movies, and school-related events.

The food you raise yourself may be better and less expensive than that available in the city, but it may not be. Don't expect all your fruits and vegetables to look exactly like the beautiful pictures in the catalog. The directions printed on seed packets are helpful but incomplete. They don't say what to do when you see little green bugs or when the leaves start turning brown.

On the other hand, you'll never purchase sweet corn in the city market that compares with that you've picked yourself at the peak of perfection, and have on the dinner table 20 minutes later.

You will want to set some tentative goals as to how large a garden you are going to have. If it gets to be too big, you will have to incur the cost of a small garden tractor and a complement of machinery. You probably won't be able to eat all the produce when it's at prime quality. If you don't plan to sell any, you'll want to can or freeze it.

Maybe you have always dreamed of having a little more space so you could have some animals. It's a great experience for children to learn to care for and love animals, but animals need care every day.

"My children have held death in their hands and they've held life in their hands, and they've grown very self-reliant," says a Massachusetts mother. "It's an education for them that school doesn't offer."

Chickens don't require much space, neither do sheep and goats, but horses and cows do. Raising part of the feed requires more acres and time, leaving less time to enjoy the animals. Buying all the feed gives more time for the animals but less money to spend for other purposes.

If you plan to raise some animals for meat, buy all the feed, slaughter the animals, and process the meat, it is unlikely that you'll end up saving much money. Some of the food you raise yourself may cost more than if you purchased it in the store. It's hard to compete with the commercial egg producer who has 100,000 birds, automatic equipment, and the management to cut cost and maintain quality.

Remember, too, that eating pork chops from the pet hog that grew up in the backyard can make an awkward situation for some at the dinner table.

Often the hobby gets a little expensive, so people decide to expand in an effort to supplement the family income. In some cases people with small plots have done quite well financially on a part-time basis, but they have some things going for them that newcomers will not have. Most have good farming backgrounds and experience. They really enjoy their work and are willing to put in several hours of work each day or week, and usually they concentrate on some highly specialized crop adapted to top quality soil and an ideal climate.

Some small-scale farmers have been encouraged to raise specialty crops by the promise of a good market. Too often and too late, they have not found that market adequate.

Starting a new venture on your own means that no one will train you, as in the case when you are working for someone else. True, much good information is available, but when you make a mistake, there's no one else to pay for it. You become the risk taker.

While money can be made in part-time farming, there is another side to the coin. Money can also be lost.

Conveniences

Living in the country, for all the peace and quiet, has drawbacks. You may find some difficult to live with, impossible to change, and you may miss the good things an urban area offers. Let's take a look at a few things taken for granted in urban life, but usually not available in the country. Or, if they are available, the cost will be higher, because of the distances between dwellings.

In the city a reliable supply of water flows from a faucet. Water usually flows from a faucet in the country, but the source of the water is more apt to be your own well and pump. When the pump fails, it is your responsibility to get it repaired. Repair services may not be readily available.

Most rural residents are served by septic tanks which generally work well if slope and soil conditions are right, but when things go wrong, it's your responsibility to solve the problem.

Garbage is picked up in the city on a regular schedule, but in the country you often must make your own arrangements for disposal.

Schools in rural areas may be a considerable distance from your residence. Children sometimes meet the school bus before daylight and get home after dark. They may not have the same opportunities for participating in extracurricular activities or selecting subjects offered for study.

It is often the responsibility of the parent to provide transportation to and from the school for students participating in after-school activities. This may require a second car for the family.

In the country, the neighborhood store may be located several miles from your residence. Shopping habits will have to be changed or you will put many miles on the car, much gas in the tank, and more time going to the store.

Driving in the city and finding a place to park may be somewhat frustrating. Main roads in the country are generally good, but gravel and dirt roads are sometimes rough on the family car and keep it dirty most of the time. Snow or mud can close roads for several days, which requires keeping adequate supplies of essentials on hand. There's also the possibility of not being able to get to the off-farm job during these periods.

A move to the country does not guarantee that theft and some other crimes associated with cities will be completely left behind.

The nearest fire department, ambulance station, police station or sheriff's office may be miles away. Long distances from places like these will be reflected in higher insurance rates. If roads are poor or the area is isolated, it will take a long time for emergency help to arrive.

Taxes may be lower in the country, but so is the quality of the services provided by these taxes.

Manning Becker and A. Gene Nelson are Extension Farm Management Specialists, Oregon State University, Corvallis. Edward Yeary is Farm Advisor-Statewide, University of California, Parlier.