Experiences with rural people?

[memphis]

Mine are extremely limited. I remember my 3rd grade teacher was from somewhere way out in the countryside. My mother taught high school forever in Fayette County, but I haven't spent a lot of time out there personally. So, in short, the country volk are a complete mystery to me. Is this true for others as well? Feel free to share non judgemental anecdotes.

[CatoMinor]

Well over half the people I know are rural/country folk and between them and my traveling I've come to notice they are generally friendlier and more laid back than city people.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Living out in the country myself, I can tell you that most country folk around here (certainly not all) are very cordial, conservative, and cemented (as in set in their ways).  They really do cling to their guns and religion.  Obama is one of those things that should never be mentioned in a positive way.  If you talk positive about Obama, Pelosi, or Reid, you run the risk of them using their guns and religion on you!  They'll shoot first in Jesus' name!  Of course all this is an exaggeration, but for the most part they are fine people!

[Torie]

Well I have some experience with the denizens of Madison County Iowa. They tend to be slow (to get anything done on a timely basis is a Herculean task), not particularly industrious, and not that well educated (I have never heard as much poor grammar since I was a kid). And everyone seems to go to Church except a few rebels, like my criminal defense attorney there, who while chatting with me about my little case at his home, drank his bourbon, while I smoked my weed, and then we headed off in his truck with his two dogs about 11:00 pm to a nearby lake, to throw sticks out on the water for his dogs to fetch and bring back. He was not typical at all. He also didn't want to get paid, despite giving excellent service. What he wanted was permission to hunt on our land, which I readily gave him (telling him to make sure he didn't accidentally off the tenant's cattle, and that I still wanted to pay him - he refused). (The lawyer who represented the buyer of the land mentioned below, also asked if he could hunt on the land; lawyers in Iowa seem to like to hunt. He also drove a pick up truck.)

Oh - and kind of racist. The guy who bought some of the family land, and maybe the richest man in the county, is unpopular locally primarily because he has about a 75 Hispanics working for him (probably representing a majority of the Hispanics in the County), in his seed business  (seeds for natural flora that are used to plant areas that are in the conservation program, which the government pays for, including the planting, and then pays you rent on top of that). It's a very profitable business when you sell a product, that a third party subsidizes.

[TNF]

...I am one.

[anvi]

They are each unique individuals, just like everyone else. 

[angus]

country volk are a complete mystery to me.

German much?

Before Pennsylvania, I'd had few experiences with them.  I've come to know a few since moving here.  Mostly they're old burn-outs that just want to be left alone.  Or they're social misfits--Oh, I don't mean the Ted Kazcinski types (or maybe I do?  but I just don't recognize it.  I'm not a psychologist) but generally just garden variety misfits--folks who like to shoot off their guns, hang out in their underwear, and smoke copious quantities of weed.  I'm coming off pretty judgmental, which is probably because I am a very judgmental prude, but not in a bad way.  It's not as if I have a problem with folks who sit around getting high, shooting guns, and not putting on clothes.  But yeah, it doesn't really fit in with our overindulged, overworked, overstressed, sensationalistic culture, so I think it's fair to call them social misfits in an objective way.  

The country still scares me a bit.  Once in a while we'll see a really great deal on a house.  $1000 for a 4-bedroom, 3-bath, modern house will lots of amenities, but then notice that it's out in the boonies.  That alone kills it.  I'm a chump, I suppose.  I'll end up paying twice that much for a smaller place, just to have nice sidewalks and streetlamps and neighbors, even though my neighbors piss me off.  Maybe I'm a closet misfit, after all.  One day, after the boy is grown and out of the house, I'll consider a place out in the Styx, where I can fire off a gun, smoke copious amounts of weed, and walk around in my underwear.  Until then, though, I'll think myself better than those people.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Mine are extremely limited. I remember my 3rd grade teacher was from somewhere way out in the countryside. My mother taught high school forever in Fayette County, but I haven't spent a lot of time out there personally. So, in short, the country volk are a complete mystery to me. Is this true for others as well? Feel free to share non judgemental anecdotes.

I've lived in a rural area for most of my life.  It's not as "mysterious" as you might think.  I just get to enjoy campfires and nature walks more often and have limited access to excellent shopping/dining/entertainment, which is a major drawback.

But a day trip to Fargo, Duluth, or the Twin Cities is a common thing and avails us of said shopping/dining/entertainment options.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

...I am one.

[Torie]

country volk are a complete mystery to me.

German much?

Before Pennsylvania, I'd had few experiences with them.  I've come to know a few since moving here.  Mostly they're old burn-outs that just want to be left alone.  Or they're social misfits--Oh, I don't mean the Ted Kazcinski types (or maybe I do?  but I just don't recognize it.  I'm not a psychologist) but generally just garden variety misfits--folks who like to shoot off their guns, hang out in their underwear, and smoke copious quantities of weed.  I'm coming off pretty judgmental, which is probably because I am a very judgmental prude, but not in a bad way.  It's not as if I have a problem with folks who sit around getting high, shooting guns, and not putting on clothes.  But yeah, it doesn't really fit in with our overindulged, overworked, overstressed, sensationalistic culture, so I think it's fair to call them social misfits in an objective way.  

The country still scares me a bit.  Once in a while we'll see a really great deal on a house.  $1000 for a 4-bedroom, 3-bath, modern house will lots of amenities, but then notice that it's out in the boonies.  That alone kills it.  I'm a chump, I suppose.  I'll end up paying twice that much for a smaller place, just to have nice sidewalks and streetlamps and neighbors, even though my neighbors piss me off.  Maybe I'm a closet misfit, after all.  One day, after the boy is grown and out of the house, I'll consider a place out in the Styx, where I can fire off a gun, smoke copious amounts of weed, and walk around in my underwear.  Until then, though, I'll think myself better than those people.

You live in Lancaster County, that has about 500,00 people, and is rather densely populated, right Angus?  I guess there is rural, and then there is rural. The thing that stuck me about Lancaster County was all the fats, and then the gal in charge of a restaurant that I ate at there, watching all the fats wolf down their bread and potatoes, and large helpings of meat, told me that Lancaster had the highest obesity rate in the nation (she was a biology major in college, and up on those sorts of things).

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

...I am one.

[Spamage]

...I am one.

[angus]

country volk are a complete mystery to me.

German much?

Before Pennsylvania, I'd had few experiences with them.  I've come to know a few since moving here.  Mostly they're old burn-outs that just want to be left alone.  Or they're social misfits--Oh, I don't mean the Ted Kazcinski types (or maybe I do?  but I just don't recognize it.  I'm not a psychologist) but generally just garden variety misfits--folks who like to shoot off their guns, hang out in their underwear, and smoke copious quantities of weed.  I'm coming off pretty judgmental, which is probably because I am a very judgmental prude, but not in a bad way.  It's not as if I have a problem with folks who sit around getting high, shooting guns, and not putting on clothes.  But yeah, it doesn't really fit in with our overindulged, overworked, overstressed, sensationalistic culture, so I think it's fair to call them social misfits in an objective way.  

The country still scares me a bit.  Once in a while we'll see a really great deal on a house.  $1000 for a 4-bedroom, 3-bath, modern house will lots of amenities, but then notice that it's out in the boonies.  That alone kills it.  I'm a chump, I suppose.  I'll end up paying twice that much for a smaller place, just to have nice sidewalks and streetlamps and neighbors, even though my neighbors piss me off.  Maybe I'm a closet misfit, after all.  One day, after the boy is grown and out of the house, I'll consider a place out in the Styx, where I can fire off a gun, smoke copious amounts of weed, and walk around in my underwear.  Until then, though, I'll think myself better than those people.

You live in Lancaster County, that has about 500,00 people, and is rather densely populated, right Angus?  I guess there is rural, and then there is rural.

Lancaster County, PA has about 4 times as many people as Black Hawk County, IA, and is about 1.8 times the area, so I guess you could call it more densely populated than where I moved here from.  FWIW, the county I lived in for many years before moving to Black Hawk was Alameda County, CA, which has over a million people and is rather large in area as well.  I hadn't really thought about all that when I posted.  Moreover, I'm not sure what the percentage urban versus rural is in Lancaster, Alameda, or Black Hawk, nor am I certain any of those statistics has anything to do with why or why not I have only recently come into close contact with country folk.  Whatever the reason, I have only recently been dealing much with rural types, and I've found them generally to be what I'd call socially misfit.  As I said, I don't mean to pass judgment subjectively.  I'm just saying that the folks I've met who live in the country are generally the sorts who are probably happier there.  They do all sorts of weird stuff that would probably get them in trouble with the police if they lived in suburban or urban environs.  I'm certainly not saying that it makes them "bad" people.

[JerryArkansas]

...I am one.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I know some up in Indian River County who are very nice and laid back. I feel intimidated around them-they hunt and fish all year round, while I rarely fish and hunt maybe once a year or so.

[anvi]

Have I missed something?  Like at the point when "rural people" became a video game and the folks in question were just reduced to ghosts with eye-slits in their featureless sheets who are gobbled up by Pac-Man so long as he has enough energy?  My parents both grow up in big families on North Dakota farms, and I grew up with lots of friends who came from similar farms.  Some of them were provincial conservatives and some were flaming FDR liberals.  Some beat the crap out of their children or locked them in basements and some of them wouldn't lay a finger on a misbehaving child.  Some of them didn't know of or about anything that could be found beyond their own field, and some had kids that were incredibly gifted at math and art.  Some of them were mean and short-tempered and some were friendly and hospitable.  Some couldn't read past 6th grade level and some, once it was available, logged onto the internet every night to check worldwide commodities prices.  Some were Biblical literalists and some believed that people were no different from cows, and once both kinds of animals died, that was it.  Some were die-hard drunks and some drank nothing but Coke during all-night poker games.  Some like to hunt and fish, and some of them only like to fish.   They're individuals.  Sort of like, you know, their presumptuous counterparts that live in cities.

I know the citified people around here are making good laughs.  But, you know what?--people actually are different from one another no matter where they're from.  Imagine that.  

[WalterMitty]

being born and raised a rural person, i can tell you first hand that their 'values' are exaggerated.

even as a youngster i could see through their clean country living facade.   crime was rampant.  drugs and alcoholism everywhere.  teen pregnancy rates through the roof.  but everyone wrapped themselves in an american flag and toted a bible...so all was good, i suppose.

i was lucky enough to go to a high school that included students from a nearby college town.  so i didnt have to totally hang out with my fellow rural dwellers...who were just an absolute terror.  they annoyed everyone they deemed different from them.

anyway,  i wont be moving back.  i prefer urban areas.

[Torie]

Anvi the question was not about characterizing rural folks as some sort of social science enterprise (a foolish exercise indeed, particularly inasmuch as rural areas themselves can vary drastically from each other), but your personal experiences with them, or lack thereof.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Thread needs more Raymond Williams.

[Torie]

Thread needs more Raymond Williams.

You're the perfect man to fill in as his proxy, kind sir.

[angus]

Anvi the question was not about characterizing rural folks as some sort of social science enterprise (a foolish exercise indeed, particularly inasmuch as rural areas themselves can vary drastically from each other), but your personal experiences with them, or lack thereof.

agreed, but then again you were the first to start going off into statistics, weren't you?

you can take the lawyer out of the library, but you can't take the library out of the lawyer, I guess.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Great folks.

[Torie]

Anvi the question was not about characterizing rural folks as some sort of social science enterprise (a foolish exercise indeed, particularly inasmuch as rural areas themselves can vary drastically from each other), but your personal experiences with them, or lack thereof.

agreed, but then again you were the first to start going off into statistics, weren't you?

you can take the lawyer out of the library, but you can't take the library out of the lawyer, I guess.

Well in my defense, that was more about definitions of rurality, rather than characterizing the rural mindset itself (something that on a global basis, I think is a most problematic exercise, and certainly, unlike perhaps say our resident Welsh intellectual, I would be unfit and unqualified to do in all events, because I am butt ignorant on the topic). Lawyers do tend to fixate on definitions I admit.

[anvi]

Anvi the question was not about characterizing rural folks as some sort of social science enterprise (a foolish exercise indeed, particularly inasmuch as rural areas themselves can vary drastically from each other), but your personal experiences with them, or lack thereof.

I came off as a social scientist in the above?  My descriptions were all about people I know, following the thread prompt.  I am just a little surprised that people on the thread seem to have experienced, predominantly anyway, only certain rather stereotypical sorts of people from rural areas.

[angus]

Anvi the question was not about characterizing rural folks as some sort of social science enterprise (a foolish exercise indeed, particularly inasmuch as rural areas themselves can vary drastically from each other), but your personal experiences with them, or lack thereof.

agreed, but then again you were the first to start going off into statistics, weren't you?

you can take the lawyer out of the library, but you can't take the library out of the lawyer, I guess.

Well in my defense, that was more about definitions of rurality, rather than characterizing the rural mindset itself. Lawyers do tend to fixate on definitions I admit.

funny thing, I actually thought about that on my first visit to China.  My wife mentioned "country people" once when were clearly in a place with a population density that would, in Alameda County or Lancaster County or Black Hawk County be considered at least suburban, if not urban.  

It's all relative.  The city my wife was born in is a very large city.  Any American would consider it a very, very large and densely populated city.  We stayed for a month on the 42nd floor of our building and looking out the window I could see many buildings much taller than the one we were in.  In fact, if it were in the United States, would be the second most populous, being more populous than Los Angeles and less than New York.  In China?  Not even in the top twenty biggest cities.

Lancaster County?  We're all county folks by the standards of the most densely populated regions of the earth, so don't get too hung up on your definitions.