I was raised in a rural area and have to confess that cities continue to intimidate me. My husband has been having issues with his health for many years now and though I’d like to live out the rest of my life in the peace and quiet of the country I find myself thinking of moving closer to the city.
It seems these days that no matter where you live you have to travel for health services, unless you live in a big city. It takes a minimum of four hours for us to travel to the city for specialized health care, and that is if we do not stop for any reason. So, we lose a good part of each day that we travel back and forth. In addition there is usually a fair bit of stress involved from highway construction projects to getting off on the wrong exit, although investing in a GPS unit has helped considerably. More recently I have also mastered Google maps on my cell phone, which is also a boon.
New technology aside, in a society with an aging population I worry we will all be lodged in cities, surrounded by a concrete jungle where high rise buildings block the moon and the stars. Now don’t get me wrong, there is much to offer in urban areas: theatre, concerts, museums, a wider selection of dining experiences and much more. But for me personally I think I would die a thousand little deaths every day that I am unable to view the wide open countryside. Birdsong is very important to me – in the city it’s a strain to hear it above the sounds of traffic. Quiet and solitude are as important to me as the air that I breathe. Both of which are a rare commodity in the city. Somehow we must strike a balance between the physical needs of health care and the profound spiritual needs of the soul. We must!
chopkins2x3 
Indeed! I’m a country girl hooked on golf–just to hear birds at sunrise and to see the deer come out at sunset. Can you tell that I’m the early-morning/late evening kind of golfer? I leave the mid-day times to the city folks. Those are fieldwork times, in my mind 😉 It takes a special kind of mindset to be one with nature!
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My husband loves golf. I don’t play myself – But that sounds awesome to me. I am actually living in Fort McMurray, which is a city but not a huge one and it has lots of green spaces where I can enjoy nature – balm for my soul! Both my grandfathers were farmers and I grew up by the sea in Newfoundland, very rural area- it is very beautiful there. But I have found beauty everywhere I have lived in Canada – however, I have never lived in a big city for long. I just naturally gravitate to the country – bred in my bones I guess. Happy to know another country girl – thanks for your comment.
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Canada sounds amazing. Maybe I’ll choose Canada for my next life. 😉 We’ve been in Kansas City for over a decade. I white-knuckled the freeways here for at least my entire first year. The culture has grown on me, and many of my closest friends were originally country girls. We always seem to find each other! (Maybe golf does it: “balm for our souls, indeed”!)
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You sound very much like me – white knuckles are a phenomena I am very familiar with – a wise woman once told me “feel the fear and do it anyway”. I try to follow her advice. Canada is amazing – so much wilderness, but enough settled areas that you can have the best of both worlds. The U.S.A. is similar in many ways to Canada but we do not have the Florida Keyes (or alligators) or the magic of Disney….well Canada has not been around as long so we have a lot to catch up on hahaha. My husband used to drive tractor trailor trucks through Kansas. He tells me stories of his forays from Toronto to Mexico and many stops in between. There are interesting and beautiful places all over North America.
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You also don’t have what we left behind…a place some others have visited and becomes the face of America’s heartland. As always the case, one doesn’t appreciated until one does without: Cedar Falls, Iowa. 😉 Honestly, I don’t know Kansas very well, but I may have explored nearly every state park in Iowa!
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It’s been said “you can never go back home” but I say why not? But at his point in time I am enjoying Alberta, the people are friendly and there is a lot more work than in my native province of Newfoundland & Labrador. I have visited a lot of places ‘back home” and I am ready to get to know my new province better. Life is all about exploring, growing and learning….I am looking forward to doing more of that. Maybe one day I will see Iowa and Kansas.
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“Why not?” indeed. Especially if food is involved. And maybe some fishing and golf. I think rural areas tend to be friendlier. (We’re just so happy to see ANYbody!😉…yes?)
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