Where rural ends and urban begins.

I love where I live. Really. I. Do. 

I just see it coming and there is nothing one can do about it once the ball starts rolling down that hill. What? The urban - ness of an area. I can't explain it, but will try.
The little minor things individually mean little, added up, change everything.  You just start to feel different...

The first thing you notice is the traffic. Where you once drove down the street alone not another car in sight, slowly becomes filled with cars at every stop sign. Behind you. In front.  There are more urgent drivers. Faster. Ruder. Honk their horn at you when you're at the stop sign. Try to pass you on the road when you are going the speed limit. You see more and more younger drivers with their rash and un-thinking moves they make.

The one thing that made this area so enticing 'to me' was how you felt upon hitting the first of many wide open spaces as you drove home, the stress of your day just started to melt away... while  you were driving out of the urban and into the rural landscape.

Everyone is in a rush. And you can feel it. The vehicle behind you --pushing you to go faster. 

You start to avoid certain stop signs and cross roads, as they are becoming more and more dangerous to cross. You start hearing on the news, yet another accident at this or that intersection. So, you take alternate routes that are safer, just not quicker. And start to realize that no route is safe any longer.

Honking. Everyone is honking at you now. The first thing I noticed when I moved was the silence. I didn't use my horn for over a decade. I didn't wave my hands, because I just got cut off.

Random drive-bye's become more un-nerving. I get it that people want to see where the goat farm is, possibly see the goats, usually they stop, roll down window, wave, say hello... not anymore. It's more of a check you out, a type of snubbing situation. Will they or won't they buy from you. They park at the street and just stare. Or they expect the opposite, you're in the middle of daily chores, and they just walk on the property unannounced. To purchase. Not even asking first if you're closed, open or have product. Totally disregarding the 'no trespass' signs. They don't care what your situation is, only theirs.

You feel like you live in a fishbowl.

Going to the store becomes a chore... When you start having to schedule your time to get to the store after the rush, because there is no place to park during certain hours. Or the aisles are too crowded, waiting in long lines. You've just altered your life to avoid people. And still nothing has changed, infrastructure is still the same. This area was 80% built out when I moved here.

No one is smiling. Everyone seems so self-absorbed. 

People are just not the same. You look around, and one day notice, YOU are the only one that is in working farm clothes, where in the past you were one, among many. And you, nor they, gave it a second's notice that you were in muckers, dressed this way, or smelled funny. It didn't matter the store, restaurant or service place everyone looked a lot like you did. Or drove a vehicle like yours. I noticed just yesterday i was in a parking lot full of mercedes and town cars.

Bills continue to increase yet the product doesn't change. Shopping, food and anything retail seems to cost more. 

Neighbors start to change. While overall younger isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is when they move in and the first thing they want to discuss is why the road isn't paved. Or they move in and put up lights around the whole property. It's lit up like Shay stadium. Or every imaginable service truck is in front of their house, weekly. Why have 2 acres if you don't plan to be out side on it? ... ever.

I drive by homes now that I've never seen a person out doors. 

The sense of urgency in people's actions. Where they jump in head first, before thinking it thru. I find this an urban thing. Farm thinking and rural thinking are just slower. More methodical. Trust worthy.  More and more purchasing livestock, farm type animals, have them a few short months and then realize forget this -- it's too much work. Or they're too dirty. Or destructive.  I do blame this partly on the person selling, but in fairness what one doesn't ask, how can the other learn. And then it becomes a lack of accountability or worse, its the animals fault.

I never locked my doors, nor the vehicles, or the shed, never worrying about stolen animals, my safety, the animals, or dogs getting picked up for roaming. There is this type of urban 'do-gooder' syndrome that just can't wrap their head around - it is what it is, or live and let live. Now, it seems, I need to lock the doors - just in case. They have to fix it, better it, get involved, change it. There is something to be said about minding your own business. You will know it when a rural neighbor is in need--they ask. Their lack of observation is palpable.  Or skewed to some urban ideal, that it should be that way, or they think something is wrong, or it's abandonment. Stop changing the very thing that was so enticing when moving here.

Assessing a situation is always urgent, dangerous, or worse, they think they know better then the person, property, animal in question. People are quick to call in government services to solve an issue.

Instead of adapting, they want it changed.

Properties are purchased and the next thing you see is massive changes. Lots fully treed, homes hidden in the brush, are now cut down and home is sitting in the middle of all fake grass. Why didn't they purchase a home on land already clear cut, I'm sure there are plenty out here just like what they were looking for. Putting your stamp on the property is one thing. Changing it to look urban is another....

I lived such a beautiful quiet rural lifestyle. I changed to fit into the area, not the other way around. And this is the problem. People want to live a more simple, quiet existence, but they don't really make the necessary changes to accomplish it. They are still in a rush. They are still on the iPhones in the middle of nowhere. They still have on headphones walking on a path. They don't know how to enjoy the natural beauty of where they are. They want to change the very existence of why they thought they moved out here in the first place. They don't leave the urban thinking behind, they take it with them. And then they want to know why you aren't like them.