Why You Should Become A Country Mouse

Generally speaking, the downtown area of a major up and coming city is usually bustling with people, featuring great restaurants, hot night clubs and the best shopping in the industry. With so much to offer, an urban lifestyle can be oh so appealing to anyone looking for the benefits and advantages of living close to everything major that's going on.

I'm here to tell you otherwise. Sure, the cities have their definite ups, but do you really want to live in the middle of all the dirty air, overcrowded streets and crime-ridden neighborhoods? Here's why the rural areas of America are becoming the new hotspots, the new "urban," the new place to be!

Instead of waking up every morning to a busy, bustling street packed with cars whizzing by and honking as they make their way through the maze of traffic to get to work, picture waking up to a beautiful sunrise over a picturesque field and endless miles of perfect views.

Sounds nice, right? That's the first of many advantages to living in a more rural area - peace and quiet. The sounds of people shouting on the streets are replaced by those of birds chirping and leaves bustling as the wind blows by. Living rurally is one of the most peaceful things you can do, and in fact, you may often feel that you and your family are the only people in the world if you live remotely enough.

Nowhere in the suburbs and more rural areas will you find smog or bright lights that block out the day or night sky. Instead, you'll see endless views of starry night skies and be able to breathe the fresh air of the great outdoors.

Your view isn't obstructed by large buildings or construction equipment, and the scenery is so picturesque and serene that it is sure to relax any stressed out soul.

Do you have kids that have nowhere to run around while you're living in the city aside from the neighborhood playground that's blocks away? That disadvantage disappears in the open country - kids have tons of endless space to run around, play tag, catch fireflies at night and build tents and forts and learn how to live in the outdoors.

You'll appreciate this because your kids will be so exhausted after every day of playing outside that they'll come home at night and crash right after dinner. Then they sleep like babies. Ahh, even more silence.

Better yet, you'll have room to give your pets plenty of space to let our their energy, as well. Tired kids and tired pets equals one very restful night of sleep for you!

One of the biggest advantages of living in a rural community is having all of that free space - space where you can very well grow your own garden of vegetables, herbs or flowers. By growing your own, you'll save tons of money at the grocery store every week and you'll have the freshest possible vegetables you can possibly get your hands on.

Ever better still, you can sell the veggies or herbs that you grow at a local farmer's market. You'd be amazed at how many people would rather buy locally grown products than shop at the grocery store, and business could be booming within a matter of weeks, assuming you grow your products correctly.

Cattle is another possible option for people living in rural communities. Don't discount it immediately - all you really have to do is put in some effort for researching how to purchase, raise and breed cattle and you could start your own dairy farm (and probably invest in some proper ear tags to keep track of your animals). You can have fresh milk and homemade cheeses every day for the rest of your life.

Or consider raising chickens (with proper identification also - poultry leg bands, this time) if you want fresh eggs. Again, you can sell any of your products at a local farmer's market or trade with neighbors for something they produce. It's a much cheaper, more fresh alternative to things you can find at the store.

The possibilities are endless in terms of the animals you can raise and use for business, just make sure you know ahead of time how to properly take care of, handle and keep track of all of them.

Extending the garden and animals ideas, why not start your own wheat or corn field? Chances are, in a rural community you're living with plenty of space to do as you please with.

If your acreage allows it, start planting the seeds to grow your own wheat or corn. Again, it's all a matter of knowing how to do it properly and being willing to take care of and maintain your crops. These crops can be great money makers and just think about the idea of never having to worry about having fresh ingredients ever again.

With all of this room to do pretty much anything you want with, you have to think about the level of privacy you'll get to enjoy. When living in a city, you constantly have to worry about if your neighbors can see in your windows or who's going to give you a hard time if you leave your house in your pajamas. Not so in a rural community. Your closest neighbor could be miles and miles away, so you can do anything you want without having to worry about someone seeing you.

And generally speaking, neighbors in rural areas are friendlier than those in the cities. In the city everyone is worried about themselves, but in the country, everyone is trying to help everyone else out. There is a great sense of community despite the amount of space between homes and people can be very helpful and friendly.

Think about it this way - if your car breaks down on a busy highway, how many people will drive past you? And how many will stop to help? But if you break down on a back road or lesser known highway, chances are, one of the first cars to pass will help you out. People are more helpful towards each other and less involved in thinking about themselves in rural communities.

This is reflected in the crime rates of said rural communities. Crime is low, very low, versus the high rates in the city. You won't have to walk around worrying that anyone is following you in the country (unless, of course, there's some sort of wild animal who is watching you quietly in the country - still can be creepy, but likely much less harmful than a criminal).

So make the decision to get out of the city and start enjoying the peaceful life of living in a rural community. Live the way nature intended you to - in peace and quiet with space to do as you please, instead of crammed into a tiny space with millions of other people constantly stressing you out. Get back to the basics and enjoy life in the new urban setting that is the countryside.