by Nancy Douglass

Created on: August 15, 2008   Last Updated: August 26, 2008

When you ask my children where milk comes from, they don't say, "From the store." Rural life has several other advantages , such as:

1. Fewer entertainment choices. How can this be an advantage? Well, if the nearest movie theatre is 20 miles away, the nearest bowling alley is nearly as far, and the nearest shopping mall seems like a half day trip, you tend to stay home more. Families in rural communities spend more time together connecting at home and have more conversation-something that most households today could certainly use more of!

2. Fewer fast-food restaurants. With everyone home more, there is more time to prepare meals at home. This means meals that are lower in fat and calories. This also adds up to a savings in the family budget and provides opportunities for cooking together. Whether it's Mom teaching the kids how to bake a peach pie (with peaches picked fresh from a neighbor's orchard, no doubt) or Dad putting out all of the fixings for tacos, it becomes a family event that would have been missed if there was a Micky D's with a drive-thru a block away.

3. Better sex education. Yes, you read that correctly! Living in a rural community provides many opportunities (other than HBO shows) for children to learn good sex education. There are farms to visit, or live on, where mating livestock and the inevitable outcome of birth is daily part of life. In addition, rural communities have very strong 4-H and other programs for children to participate in where they may learn how to raise anything from prize-winning sunflowers to rabbits to jalepeo peppers. Studies have shown that the more exposure pre-teens have to sexually-charged media images, the more likely they are to engage in sex at a young age-something that everyone agrees would be better if delayed. Rural life provides sex education without the drama and titillation (assuming they aren't also watching the HBO shows!)

4. A sense of roots. Families in rural communities tend to relocate less frequently. That means that children will go to high school with many of the same children they entered kindergarten with. They also tend to stay within visiting distance of their grandparents and other extended family, which provides a sense of security and belonging. Is this possible in urban communities? Yes, but it's more commonly experienced in rural communities where mobility is reduced and family life is highly valued.

5. Cleaner air. In addition to air that isn't polluted by thousands of vehicles or rows of

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