Growing up, I didn’t particularly like living in a rural town. It was boring. It was predictable. There wasn’t much to do. As my family traveled across the U.S. and occasionally to other countries, I instantly fell in love with metropolises such as New York City, San Francisco, Taipei, and Tokyo. The activity, the people, the culture, and the promise of being lost in an exciting new place lured me in. When I graduated high school, my head was filled with fantasies of escaping my dreary hometown for a city that actually showed up on a map of the United States. Now I attend college in Houston, the fourth most populous city in the nation. As much as I’ve enjoyed the past two years of big city living, I’ve come to realize that small towns have their advantages too. Surprisingly, here are eight things I miss about rural life.
1. The quiet nights.
I remember my first time sleeping overnight in a busy city. I didn’t realize I’d been sleeping in silence all my life until it was gone, chased away by cars and rowdy people enjoying the nightlife. I remember my shock when a full-blown parade (a parade!) passed by on the street below at midnight on a Thursday. In contrast, rural towns pretty much sleep in complete dark and quiet.
2. The stars.
For most of my life, I took the night sky for granted. On a clear night in the country, plentiful stars appeared in the sky, and astronomical events such as meteor showers were easy to view. Stargazing was a breathtaking experience. In Houston, the light pollution doesn’t allow dimmer stars to appear, and the night sky just can’t compare.
3. Unobstructed sunsets and sunrises.
Don’t get me wrong — I’ve definitely witnessed beautiful sunsets and sunrises in Houston. However, nothing beats watching the sun set over a broad expanse of flat land or over the glittering sea instead of behind skyscrapers.
4. Short commute time.
Everything was so close in Port Lavaca, Texas. My high school was seven minutes away by car. The beach was five. Making last minute to plans to eat out with friends was a breeze since we didn’t have to worry about rush hour or driving more than 10 minutes to reach a restaurant. I reminisce about those times especially when I’m stuck in severe rush hour traffic coupled with construction on the Houston highway, moving one mile per 30 minutes.
5. Driving by fields.
This might seem like a strange thing, but I actually miss driving by vast fields of endless green. I miss seeing row after row of tall corn stalks waving in the summer wind and herds of cows grazing serenely. Port Lavaca means "Port of the Cow" after all.
6. Lower cost of living.
Everything from land to gas to movie tickets is generally cheaper. This is a good environment for the quintessential broke college student. Would you believe that you could see a movie for $5 in my hometown? I pay over double that price every time I walk into a Houston theater, and my heart (and wallet) cries just a little inside.
7. Living in a safe environment with low crime rates.
Rural areas tend to have lower crime rates than large cities. Parents feel safe letting their children play outside. Sometimes, reading the Houston news gives me a shock, and crime happening near campus rattles me.
8. The close-knit community and deep friendships that develop.
Was it a little crazy that every trip to Walmart brought me in contact with multiple people I knew, from my teachers to our family physician to the elderly couple across the street? Yes. Was it weird that there wasn’t a single person in my graduating class that I didn’t at least vaguely recognize? Yes. But the sense of community was still really nice, and the small population allowed me to develop friendships that budded in elementary school and have lasted over 15 years.
