Urbanism in Rural America
The issues look a bit different outside the big cities. Some things I will mention:
* Small towns don't have the sprawl problem of bigger towns and cities. They have mostly reasonable grids and maybe a few squiggle suburbs tacked on the edges. If they have a Ponzi problem, it is typically one or two roads, not all of them. This will become extremely attractive at whatever point the nearby cities run out of ways to extend the problem and are forced to levy fees, raise taxes, cut services, or all of the above. When all the cities start billing homeowners thousands of dollars for basic infrastructure repairs -- that people can't afford to pay -- they will necessarily have to move somewhere less expensive.
* Because they are mostly old, and by definition small, these towns score pretty well on walkability and bikeability. They do lose points for things like brick roads, cracked sidewalks, or no sidewalks; but the grid structure helps a lot. You can find whatever is there to find. Regrettably, they have little or no public transportation, which is a problem for some folks.
* While they don't have a lot of businesses, they have real estate out the wazoo. Houses are cheap. You can often afford not only the bedrooms you need but an extra to serve as a home office. You can find a small retail space too. Hell, you can still find a retail space with an apartment upstairs. This is another thing that will become more and more attractive as cities continue to price themselves out of the market on rent.
* For anyone working at home, this is a fantastic setup. It's cheap, it's quiet, you can have a yard and a garden. More people will work at home as jobs become more portable thanks to the internet. Check for connectivity, and if it's there, you're good to go.
* Most small towns have more neighborly connections and community spirit compared to big cities where nobody knows each other. This is useful to consider when loneliness is a growing problem and just as lethal as smoking or obesity.
* If you need more services than small towns can supply, look for 'satellite' towns around a bigger town or small city. Make sure they're far enough away to avoid getting swallowed by sprawl. Most county seats are worthwhile local hubs, and some of them have the same advantages as smaller towns scattered around them.
* Small towns don't have the sprawl problem of bigger towns and cities. They have mostly reasonable grids and maybe a few squiggle suburbs tacked on the edges. If they have a Ponzi problem, it is typically one or two roads, not all of them. This will become extremely attractive at whatever point the nearby cities run out of ways to extend the problem and are forced to levy fees, raise taxes, cut services, or all of the above. When all the cities start billing homeowners thousands of dollars for basic infrastructure repairs -- that people can't afford to pay -- they will necessarily have to move somewhere less expensive.
* Because they are mostly old, and by definition small, these towns score pretty well on walkability and bikeability. They do lose points for things like brick roads, cracked sidewalks, or no sidewalks; but the grid structure helps a lot. You can find whatever is there to find. Regrettably, they have little or no public transportation, which is a problem for some folks.
* While they don't have a lot of businesses, they have real estate out the wazoo. Houses are cheap. You can often afford not only the bedrooms you need but an extra to serve as a home office. You can find a small retail space too. Hell, you can still find a retail space with an apartment upstairs. This is another thing that will become more and more attractive as cities continue to price themselves out of the market on rent.
* For anyone working at home, this is a fantastic setup. It's cheap, it's quiet, you can have a yard and a garden. More people will work at home as jobs become more portable thanks to the internet. Check for connectivity, and if it's there, you're good to go.
* Most small towns have more neighborly connections and community spirit compared to big cities where nobody knows each other. This is useful to consider when loneliness is a growing problem and just as lethal as smoking or obesity.
* If you need more services than small towns can supply, look for 'satellite' towns around a bigger town or small city. Make sure they're far enough away to avoid getting swallowed by sprawl. Most county seats are worthwhile local hubs, and some of them have the same advantages as smaller towns scattered around them.