by Rachelle de Bretagne

Created on: August 17, 2008   Last Updated: August 28, 2008

Often people have an idyllic image of rural life. They see trees, fields, sunsets and sunrises, though of course these are only a small part of the reality of living in a rural environment. Getting to grasps with the change of environment from that of a town is half the battle of finding the gold at the end of the rainbow.

The journey is indeed a long one, with many stumbling blocks in the way, though as you will see as you journey through the maze with this article, the possibility of seeing the advantages of rural life is a real one that can be achieved if viewed through a realist's eyes. The considerations are numerous. Beyond the obvious advantages, looking on the bleak side to get a grasp of reality is essential. There may be many differences between rural and urban lifestyle, and they help you to discover the character within yourself which has perhaps lain dormant behind the apathy of urban lifestyle for far too long.

*Acceptance.
*Education.
*Jobs.
*Convenience.
*Tran sportation.
*Health care

Acceptance by the local people is something that town people worry about, though without the experience, what they fail to see is that in a rural lifestyle what you do in your day to day life gets noticed, and acceptance isn't a natural process. Country people are suspicious of outsiders and it takes a while to gain their trust. Compare this with a town where perhaps you may never meet your neighbor, and accept that earning trust is your job, because once you gain the trust of people in a small rural community, that trust is solid as a rock, and the loyalty you see in return worthy of the effort put in.

Rural people are not easily impressed by what you own, and prefer to use judgment on who you are which is a much more valuable assessment than the shallow acceptance of city slickers for those who have, rather than those who have not. Find acceptance in a rural community and the richness it gives to your life is such that people accept and support you through good times and bad, and take you as their equal.

Education.

One may think that small town schools offer less opportunity to their children. After all, who would work in a backwater town? You would actually have miscalculated. In a small town, the teachers have more time, are less stressed by life in general, and take that time to offer your children a better education and a solid foundation upon which to base their lives.

Jobs.

It's not easy to earn a living or to start a business in a small rural town, though if you find

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