Green Acres Is The Place To Be
by Pam Simpson
The Kudzu Vine
OK, maybe I'm showing my age here by making reference to the TV sitcom Green Acres, but I figure younger people are also familiar with it due to cable reruns.
Ever dream about waving goodbye to the fast lane of the city and mooooving out to the country? (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Well, here's a few things it may take a while to get used to if you are a new transplant to Hooterville.
Many rural areas across the U.S. are still heavy (or moderate) farming communities. Don't get bent out 
of shape if you get behind a tractor or some other piece of farming equipment on that 2-lane highway. Keep in mind that many family farmers have 'day' jobs also just to make ends meet so they have to do the farming activities before and after their other job.
Is Mary Jo going to see Sally in the hospital or Aunt Betty and Uncle Ed coming to visit newsworthy material? Yep - it is if you live in a rural community and you have volunteer writers for your weekly county newspaper. I'll never forget the first time my brother came to visit me and he picked up a copy of our local paper, The Democrat. He had a great time laughing about the Volunteer News section. The Democrat is a great community newspaper with unbiased reporting on state and local issues. The Volunteer section has been around since before I moved here (9 years ago) and can actually be a good way to find out if you have a neighbor in need.
Pay extra close attention during November, December and January to movement at the sides of the road. I know from personal experience that an up-close confrontation with a deer that is darting out on the highway is not fun (for either the driver or the deer).
Before I moved out to the country, I lived in a mid-size urban community with its own sounds and smells. I traded sirens, car chases, and gunfire for crickets, birds, and well...other kinds of gunfire. I live around a lot of hunters. The smells of smog and pollution have been traded for other smells (see cow photo above).
There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with wanting to live right smack in the middle of a big urban traffic jam - if that is what you want. I have worked with people who would not dream of moving out of the downtown district with all its traffic and limited parking. But, that makes them happy. On the other hand, I wouldn't move back for anything. I traded the concrete jungle for the kudzu jungle and I couldn't be happier.
If you are a new transplant to the country or if you are contemplating a move to a rural area, you simply
must do this! Go outside on a nice clear night and look up. That's it. Just look up and be amazed. I still love doing this. When you live among street lights and other city light sources, you have no idea what beauty the night sky has.
I consider myself very fortunate that my market area is partly suburban (Desoto County, MS) and partly rural (Tate County). I have the best of both worlds. I live in a secluded area but within easy driving distance to medical facilities, restaurants and any shopping that I could want. True - I had to give up the convenience of having everything 5 minutes away, but all I have to do is look up at that night sky and listen to the crickets to know I am where I belong.
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About the author:
Pam Simpson is an Assoc. Broker with Bob Leigh & Associates, LLC in Northwest Mississippi.
Copywright© 2009 by Pam Simpson. All rights reserved...***Green Acres Is The Place To Be***
Disclaimer: All information provided by this author may be based on information collected from several sources and is believed accurate but not guaranteed.
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