City life can be disillusioning. The noisy car hooting, loud music from your neighbors, and seemingly endless air pollution can quickly get to your nerves. That explains why most people residing in urban areas desire a permanent move to the rural areas.
But as they think about the prospect of relocating to rural areas, some clichés keep holding them back from doing so. Let's have a look at some of these clichés and demystify them.
#1: Rural area residence only suits an aging population
The norm has always been that young people migrate from rural areas to bigger cities, searching for a better life as they leave the elderly behind. Even though that has been true for quite a long time, the assumption has quickly become a cliché as things have changed.
Gone are the days when rural areas were meant just for the elderly. Today, young people are increasingly developing a preference for smaller towns in rural areas rather than bigger cities. There is a good reason for this change of heart. The daily city grind has gotten more challenging for most people to keep up with. Commuting in most of these cities tends to be fatiguing, even for the most seasoned residents. Rural towns provide some relief from the frightening and ruthless life.
Besides, increasing government investment in rural areas has opened a host of opportunities that the young are eager to capitalize on. Starting new ventures in these regions is more straightforward than in bigger cities. Young people are beginning to recognize that rural areas have some benefits to their startups like less market saturation, cheaper real estate, and tax relaxation.
#2: Residents in rural areas do not keep up with trends
It is a misguided assumption that rural areas have little interest in what is going on worldwide. The assumption comes from the belief that rural areas are backward in everything.
That is untrue.
Contrary to this assumption, rural areas keep up with trends just as their urban peers do. You will be shocked to learn that rural areas' residents may know about the latest events much better than someone in the city.
Increased Internet connectivity in rural areas championed by ISPs such as Nomad Internet has played a significant role in this shift. Just as you access social media from the city to see what your favorite celebs are up to, you can do so from rural areas. The fact that one has more free time here further plays to your advantage.
#3: People just idle in rural areas the whole day
A significant marketing point for relocating to rural areas is getting to live a more relaxed life. Some people misconstrue this to mean you can wake up when you feel like, idle under the tree the whole day and get back to bed without any worries.
That is far from the truth. Rural residents have needs to cater for, just as those in urban areas. A recent study published in the Science Daily found that rural communities still prefer waking up early to complete most of their daily chores. You are in for a big shock if your reason for relocating to the rural area is to sleep late into the day.
#4: Women are marginalized in rural areas
Gender inequality has always been a significant issue facing not only rural areas but also urban centers. A quick look at studies that date back a few decades ago paints a clear picture of how bad the situation has always been. Notably, in rural areas, women have faced discrimination for a long time. But things are far much better today, thanks to the realization of the importance of the female gender in modern society
When climate change has become a global issue, rural women play a crucial role in environmental management and development. Furthermore, the female gender in the rural area helps ensure food security through agricultural development. These are essential roles that may have been considered marginalization a few decades ago, but now form the backbone of sustaining the community.
Today, the woman in rural areas is respected, just like the one in urban areas.
#5: Only Farmers Can Settle in Rural Areas
When most people hear the term rural area, what they mostly think about is farming. However, there are a lot more economic activities taking place amongst rural communities besides agriculture. When rural residents are connected to fast-speed Internet, many are eager to explore online working opportunities. The beauty of working online is that it does not matter where you are as long as you have an Internet connection.
Demystifying these clichés can help with a smooth transition from urban to rural areas. The Internet has made the world a global village. Thus, we should not let ourselves be held back by the same beliefs that have existed for decades.
All five cliches are smashed to smithereens in this article. It is interesting to note that many of the stereotypes about rural areas have begun to break down thanks to the penetration of the Internet. This is especially true for the second and fourth points. Although the influence of the Internet manifested itself in all points. I would like to see an analysis of other, less obvious clichés.
It was funny for me to imagine the thinking of people from the outside, because I was born and raised in rural areas and I don’t remember ever sleeping late, on the contrary, in rural areas they get up much earlier than in the city, because before lunch they already need to have time to feed all the cattle, clean up after them and water all the plants, this is done early in the morning. And only in the evening you can afford to go online and watch news and TV shows.
No one understood me and my husband either when we told everyone we knew that we were leaving the city and going to the countryside to grow healthy food on our land and work via the Internet. We were showered with all the misconceptions listed in this article. But time passed, our friends came to visit us more than once and did not want to return to the city. Now some are even considering moving to the countryside. I hope this article will help many to look at everything differently.
Wow, it turns out I’ve always been thinking with clichés! I’m still not sure it’s true for all rural areas but it’s good to know that they aren’t like ghost cities with no service. In the 4th paragraph you mention marginalization. I actually had no idea it could possibly have a place in 21st century. I mean, yes, I was born and bred in a big city but never even heard that it could exist somewhere. So it’s good that women aren’t mistreated there. Overall, the article helps better understand the culture of rural areas and make them look more attractive.
I currently have this type of internet service thru Innovative Communications. Service is great but customer service is very poor. My internet went down the day after i paid my monthly bill and it’s been down for over 2 weeks now. They sent me a new SIM card that didn’t help, then said the modem i bought from them 4 months ago must be bad. That’s the last I have heard from despite my over 20 times trying to get a response from someone. They told me this is not a hotspot plan . Just a wireless internet plan. Could you please send more of an explanation of this and more details on the equipment. Thank you
How does ur service work? Dsl, satellite?
I’m stuck with Verizon DSL, useless!
Not understanding how u can provide a better service.