Rural real estate is popular. But, think about the future and don’t open up; culture shock; An Unnecessary Evil, by moving to a rural area. Anyone CAN prevent some of the Culture Shock that can occur when moving to a rural neighborhood!
Before you move to a rural property, get to know the people there and try to learn the culture of the area, the existing culture, NOT the culture you are used to or want to convert to.
Our company recently sold one of the most perfect Homestead properties I have ever seen, at a rock-bottom price! Why? Because the new owner became so obnoxious in his new surroundings and alienated the neighbors so terribly that they eventually made him unbearably uncomfortable. Therefore, he no longer wanted to live there.
He is a rude environmentalist and decided to move from the city to a rural community where many of the families go back 400 years on the same land. He was a city boy with a degree in forestry, biology, and ecology, and he didn’t have a shred of common sense. His applied religion was based on watching Walt Disney movies; where trees speak and man is bad and animals and plants are perfect.
He didn’t want his new neighbors hunting deer, tilling the fields early in the morning, using agricultural chemicals or artificial fertilizers on the crops. He didn’t like the planes that sprayed assassin bugs early in the morning. He also didn’t like the smell of chicken and pig manure scattered across the fields. He talked constantly, loudly and aggressively. He made enemies of almost all of his neighbors. He is gone and I hope that the new buyer, also from the city, does not repeat his social mistakes.
Most of the people who live here are great and realize they are in a new place and looking to become part of and work within our cultural, social and economic structures. Most of our newcomers are wonderful and we have many as the population here in southern Delaware doubles every 6 years!
There are a small number of rowdy people, just a few, who come and hate it here. However, they left where they should have come from to have a better life in this area. We see it all the time. The locals call them environmental wackos, tree huggers, bug kissers, and much worse. These are the people who have learned all about nature from Walt Disney, the Nature Channel, the Discovery Channel, and Sierra magazine. And yes, they often have college degrees. They are not aware that reality is different from their movies, readings, classes and dreams. Therefore, many of them flee the city and then seek to impose their ignorance and rudeness on those in the community they have joined. They try to intimidate others and try to make them agree with the rules, regulations, concepts and philosophy that they left behind in the city. It is NOT a good plan if you want to have a nice place to live. Many of these people think they know more about nature, trees, plants, animals, the earth and everything else; than those whose families have lived in harmony with the ways of life of the land for decades or even centuries here. Hopefully my previous strong language has impressed you to read and learn here, instead of the heavy hands of a rural community if you don’t pay attention to what’s here.
It is advisable to visit the area you plan to live in several times before moving there. Join the church, support the Volunteer Fire Department, buy gas at the nearest gas station, buy your beer or wine at the local liquor store, familiarize yourself with each public area, and visit the community centers and philanthropic groups in the area. Above all, talk to people and tell them that you are considering moving to the area and ask their advice. Visit the Lions Club, Sertoma, Elks, Rotary, Red Men, etc., and seek to learn rather than teach. Listen instead of talking. Ask, don’t tell.
There is little, if anything, that the newcomer can teach the locals about local things. If he should try to teach something to the locals; if you try to teach them about your background where you came from, what you were paid in the past, about the job and the area you fled from (if you can find someone who cares) you are on the wrong track and you will go to the shore shipwreck.
Obviously, if you’re one of those people who left all that urban stuff behind, you don’t find it all that valuable either. Otherwise you should have stayed there. And you can bet that’s exactly what your neighbors will think if you move to a rural area and pick up a know-it-all and I’m a lot smarter because I come from the city. attitude. They may be quiet, or even polite in your presence for a while, but that kind of attitude will only cause animosity in those around you. And, they will talk about you, briefly to each other and your bad attitude will precede you and be almost impossible to correct later on.
Find out what the community needs and wants from new or potential members like you; really find out, don’t guess or assume and leave prejudgment out of the picture. We’ve had numerous people move here to be marketing experts or public relations experts or graphic design experts. None of the several dozen I have met over the last 30 years is still in
business and none of them are still here as far as I know. The service they expected to charge a lot of money for was not wanted at any price, not even free.
One of my clients from about twenty-five years ago, moved from San Francisco to a “small (pop. 800) unspoiled, rural, quaint, quaint town, populated with salt of the earth and down to earth.” friends” as I was talking about them at first. The couple I’m talking about had castrated their son, actually they had a fool do it, so his voice wouldn’t change with age, all so he could sing in a famous choir world.
They wanted to start training the locals to build a “Children’s Choir”. They were furious that the local school district would not support a boys’ choir that they were sure could be the envy of the world, if they could just show everyone how to do everything. A year later they were talking about “the filthy little town full of stupid, pissed off ignorant, shanties, shanties, old trucks, fat toothless, red necks, gossips, uneducated rubes and inbred villagers whose idea of culture was a beer and hamburger in a van. The San Franciscans are now gone as well. His name rarely comes up, and when it does, it’s not in a good mood or in a good mood.
I am dedicated to the sale of rustic land, forests and homes. I love the people who already live in the various areas where I work. I love the clients I do business with. MOST of the time, newcomers fit in well with the existing community. Some, very few, of my clients move in and pamper the area for themselves and for a while, for those who are already here. The only reason is that they haven’t learned the REALITY of rural life in the particular community before buying there.
Often, in fact, it is not normally possible to rent before you buy in a particular area; so it’s very, very wise to take a good look before you jump into a rural community if you didn’t grow up there. Even if you grew up in a rural area and then haven’t kept in touch with family and friends there since then, you may not fit in anymore. But you can relearn those customs you left behind, if you really want to “go back to your roots.” And if you have never lived in the area, you can learn the ethnicity, the customs and learn to be a good neighbor.
IF you are looking to fit in and contribute to the community, according to what is really needed and wanted in that particular community, you may find yourself enjoying a kind of heaven on earth in your new home.
A guy who came, loved and was well loved comes to mind. He was a military radio expert who had traveled the world, made tons of money, lived in DC and Northern Virginia for decades. He attended the finest, fastest and most expensive functions in the area and, after retiring, he decided to move to our rural area. He moved here at the height of the CB craze, when almost everyone in rural areas had a CB and either wanted it to work better or needed one properly installed in their home or car. He did it all for free to anyone who asked. After all, he was retired. Every time he visited he loaded my Wagoneer with eggs, fruits and vegetables from the farms, orchards and gardens of those he had helped. I helped him make the contacts he wanted to make and get permits for private “fishing holes” away from it all. He was a catch and release fisherman and he would always clean up all the trash around the fishing hole even before he started fishing there.
A neighbor kept this gentleman’s lawn mowed and told him that he would get a good curse if he bought a lawn mower with no money. Another neighbor wouldn’t take a dime to change the brakes on his car. Another neighbor fixed his roof for free. Several of the ladies in the neighborhood would cook an extra dinner for him, two or three times a week, and bring it to him. He was invited to dinner somewhere in the surrounding community almost every night. And they asked for stories of his travels around the world and the fancy parties he attended. He was fit and, in fact, he was quite wealthy, as he lived simply, had been paid well, and had invested well during his working years.
She could have afforded an expensive house, but she chose to live simply and within her means. His car broke down, he was about 8 years old, one time he stopped, got out and planned to walk a couple of miles to get help. He told me that three cars stopped to give him a ride in the space of a few minutes and one of them, in a pickup truck, hitched up his car and towed it to another friend’s house where they fixed it for free.
He later sold the car at a very reasonable price to a neighborhood lady who really needed help. He sold it to her for $1,000, about what her dealer would have given him and a couple thousand less than one of hers would have cost. He paid cash for another three year old car. He could have bought a new Mercedes, if she had wanted one. He constantly told me how nice his neighbors were. Why? Because he was a good neighbor to everyone else!
He passed away, we don’t know why, and there were hundreds at his funeral, more than most natives would have had and none of them were relatives…. He left a nice inheritance to the local volunteer fire department, for new equipment and asked that in place of flowers, people plant a tree. We use him as an example of a GREAT newcomer and he set a high standard for all of us as neighbors!
Copyright ©2004 Jody Hudson www.JodyHudson.com www.RuralSpecialist.com [http://www.RuralSpecialist.com] and www.Kate-Jody.com
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