Town and Country

[Siloam]

One thing that country people have that city people don't - horses.

I have ridden a horse but never in town! I've only ever seen them ridden in the country, although apparently there's still racecourses in some parts of town. But they are never on the roads.

Yes, city traffic and hustle would frighten most horses, at least until they got acclimated.

As population has expanded around this small town (Oakland, Md) farms have often been surrounded by small housing areas. When I drive to town, I pass corn and wheat fields as well as dairy (and beef) cattle. The thing is, many times as one generation passes their larger productive farms are sliced up to divide the land among the family. Some of the new owners do not have the same dedication to their smaller farms.

One thing that disturbs me is that a couple of homes still raise a cow or two on very (1/4 acre) lots. To little space for proper raising of those animals.

 

[AtomicSnowflake]

One thing that country people have that city people don't - horses.

I have ridden a horse but never in town! I've only ever seen them ridden in the country, although apparently there's still racecourses in some parts of town. But they are never on the roads.

In quite a few areas in the U.S. you will see horses with buggies in town. The Amish, and I THINK a few othres still use them for transportation. It's not uncommon to see them near where I live... they shop at Walmart and other stores too.

 

[Siloam]

In quite a few areas in the U.S. you will see horses with buggies in town. The Amish, and I THINK a few othres still use them for transportation. It's not uncommon to see them near where I live... they shop at Walmart and other stores too.

Quite a few Amish around here too. They may avoid many modern conviences, but what I found interesting is that they will rely on the closely related Mennonites or Church of the Brethren to drive them around and to take produce to the local farmer's market. So, it appears that this is a cultural choice rather than a theological issue.

Often when they go to town, mennonites drive a farm-use tractor, sometimes with the whole family (Mother, Father, children) in the cab. Many in traditional clothes.

 

[bobinfaith]

Quite a few Amish around here too. They may avoid many modern conviences, but what I found interesting is that they will rely on the closely related Mennonites or Church of the Brethren to drive them around and to take produce to the local farmer's market. So, it appears that this is a cultural choice rather than a theological issue.

Often when they go to town, mennonites drive a farm-use tractor, sometimes with the whole family (Mother, Father, children) in the cab. Many in traditional clothes.

Hey Siloam;

I have never met an Amish brother or sister. I would love to have a conversation with them. Would they stop and talk with me, or just keep moving on?

 

[Siloam]

My wife & have visited a Church of the Bretheren one Sunday for Services. There are Amish that attend there - The preacher considers them family as much as others there and calls them the plain folk. I have also visited a Church of the Brethren in My former state. My nephew worships at a Mennonite church. In the spring thru fall my wife and I frequent the local farmers market and have come to recognize and be recognized by some of the Mennonite and Amish local farmers. We talk about weather and vegetables and such. Friendly surface talk. Not much deeper.

I would say that they are like many others. There are friendly and less friendly. They are very reserved when talking about things of faith to those they do not know well. Many observe traditional life-style without really being religious. Lots of people feel uneasy being a museum specimen.

It would not be well taken if a male approached an Amish woman even if well intentioned.

 

[bobinfaith]

My wife & have visited a Church of the Bretheren one Sunday for Services. There are Amish that attend there - The preacher considers them family as much as others there and calls them the plain folk. I have also visited a Church of the Brethren in My former state. My nephew worships at a Mennonite church. In the spring thru fall my wife and I frequent the local farmers market and have come to recognize and be recognized by some of the Mennonite and Amish local farmers. We talk about weather and vegetables and such. Friendly surface talk. Not much deeper.

I would say that they are like many others. There are friendly and less friendly. They are very reserved when talking about things of faith to those they do not know well. Many observe traditional life-style without really being religious. Lots of people feel uneasy being a museum specimen.

It would not be well taken if a male approached an Amish woman even if well intentioned.

Thanks, Siloam;

I hope to have that opportunity to meet an Amish or Mennonite brother and brother/sister together one day. Like you shared, it would be nice to just have a friendly "hello" conversation.

 

[Lanolin]

I've met a few what people would call 'fundamentalist' christians living out in the country. There's all different kinds. I think in general they are friendly although some can be quite strict and you do feel a little out of place being a city bird in the country.

They'll be wearing their farmers duds and you might be in the same except theirs will be covered in grass stains and hay and mud and yours will be covered in the soot and perfumes of the city lol.

The pace of life is generally faster in cities. City folk tend to go minute by minute, hour by hour, while country folk mark time by the seasons.

 

[CPerkins]

I happen to love the country. I still like a big city nearby, but would never live in a big city. Currently we live in a suburb of a smaller city south of Seattle. We are within 10 minutes of the airport. A short walk from a Puget Sound beach area called three tree point. We have trees, but no woods .

In the country you can find reasonably priced homes and land which has gotten very difficult hear. We had another record year of home price increases in 2020 in spite of Covid. After the housing bubble the Seattle area was left with few homes for sale. The supply of homes that people walked away from and otherwise that were repossessed dwindled quickly and new home construction took a long time to recover.

I love going into to the city to rummage through salvage yards looking for home building and repair items. I also sneak off to thrift stores and used bookstores hunting down treasures. If you look real hard you might find me online at an auction strolling around. Physically going to an auction right now is unwise and most are closed.

cp

 

[bobinfaith]

We are only 8 miles from downtown San Francisco but rarely go to the city. I carefully spend most of my ministry time in the community and we love to stay home and do projects.

One of the projects is my library of textbooks and different Bibles. I went to Home Depot recently and purchased two of their largest containers with wheels. Then I'm going to fill them with my books and put them in our shed.

I don't know about donating them to a library because I may have to sort them and this would take too long. I also don't want to donate them at a Goodwill or Salvation Army store. Seminary is overstocked with more than enough books donated back to them. So I decided to keep them.

I have met Christians who love to live in the country and attend their local church. I enjoyed listening to their way of living, small population, good surroundings of nature and when we get to the topic of our faith, I learn the problems of living in a small country setting and how the Bible sets their foundation of living and lessons learned.

I learned that the Bible Belt is not limited to the country parts of the United States, but throughout the world for example;

The Republic of Ireland's Bible Belt
Norway's Bible Belt
Lithuania's Bible Belt
Slovakia's Bible Belt
Macedonia's Bible Belt
The Mangere–Otahuhu in Auckland, New Zealand
The "China Belt"
The Philippine's Bible Belt

When a missionary, whether short or long term, can give a hands on experience of their missions in the provinces of these countries and more is worth their time of service to others.

 

[Lanolin]

Yes there's a bible belt in Auckland though its more centred around Mt Roskill area...where most of the churches are, the church bookshops, and a few bible colleges.
Though I've got a bible college up the road from me and plenty of churches here too -- you don't have far to go to see a church of some description. They are everywhere. I know one lady drives from the other side of town to attend church and so do others, they could go to one closer but they prefer to go to one their families went to.

In the countryside where theres less population it can be that everyone just goes to the same church. But even there I think denoms and divisions crop up, maybe they all get a choice of at least 3 different ones.

 

[CPerkins]

We have plenty of churches, but nothing like what you would see in the Bible belt areas of the US. It's amazing to think that there are that many attending church in those areas.

cp

 

[Lanolin]

What does everyone think of 'back to landers'. i.e Rich city folk who tire of the city and think they can just buy up a farm and farm it, despite not having hardly any farm experience.

Folly or living the dream?

 

[CPerkins]

What does everyone think of 'back to landers'. i.e Rich city folk who tire of the city and think they can just buy up a farm and farm it, despite not having hardly any farm experience.

Folly or living the dream?

There can be quite a learning curve to begin with. It's certainly more work than some would imagine as well. Much of it though would depend on the size of the operation and what they were proposing to do with it.

cp

 

[Lanolin]

There can be quite a learning curve to begin with. It's certainly more work than some would imagine as well. Much of it though would depend on the size of the operation and what they were proposing to do with it.

cp

we have what is called 'lifestyle blocks' for those city people that still want to keep their city jobs but have more land and imagine themselves in the country. But it takes dedication to look after a bigger amount of land especially to make it enough to live on.

They would have to actually give up their full time city jobs to do that. The other thing I guess people don't realise, depending on the type of soil they have, it can be REALLY hard work at least initially to till it. You need to invest a huge amount in the land too, not just your labour and sweat, but maybe infrastructure and getting that right from the beginning. It costs a lot to get a road put in for example.

 

[AtomicSnowflake]

What does everyone think of 'back to landers'. i.e Rich city folk who tire of the city and think they can just buy up a farm and farm it, despite not having hardly any farm experience.

Folly or living the dream?

Personally, I don't like it. Many, (not all), people tend to move out into the country, and then insist on imposing their "city views" They want to try to control what everyone else does... pass all kinds of ordinances, rules, etc... and all they are concerned with is themselves and their piece of land... and show no respect for any of their neighbors in the community. It's a problem.

If they move, and embrace that country living lifestyle, and leave their city-minded brains behind... then great. I'm happy they are able to live out their dream. Just not at the expense of everyone else. It all depends on where their heart it.

If someone has the means to buy a farm and chooses to... it could be great. They could learn the skills, employ help from the community, and contribute to a wonderful thing. Or they could be selfish, greedy, and inconsiderate... it's all about what's inside the heart.. it's that way with everything.

 

[CPerkins]

we have what is called 'lifestyle blocks' for those city people that still want to keep their city jobs but have more land and imagine themselves in the country. But it takes dedication to look after a bigger amount of land especially to make it enough to live on.

They would have to actually give up their full time city jobs to do that. The other thing I guess people don't realise, depending on the type of soil they have, it can be REALLY hard work at least initially to till it. You need to invest a huge amount in the land too, not just your labour and sweat, but maybe infrastructure and getting that right from the beginning. It costs a lot to get a road put in for example.

There are good years and bad for crops, animals can be affected as well by illness, wild animals, etc. There is equipment that can be quite expensive, keeping the equipment running which can also be quite an expense. There is a lot of work as well and hiring help is another expense. If one is selling a crop or animals they can be effected by market prices as well.

So many things that can not be controlled.

 

[Lanolin]

hmm
I've heard a few stories of city folk getting up country folks noses cos they wanna change everything (or 'improve' the land) and then others where they want to live their dream and become part of the community. Although I still sense a bit of hypocrisy eg people who complain about farm noises and smells. Its the country side! Animals aren't going to observe road rules all the time or stop bleating or crowing or whatever.

My cousin loves horses and its her dream to live out somewhere she can ride one all the time but paradoxically she wants to keep her city job and be near public transport (even though she never uses it). Living out in the country is not really compatible with a city job you need to commute to everyday unless you just LOVE sitting in traffic and spending all your earnings on fuel.

I also heard of people that want to live out in the country were they cannot see their neighbours, or any other houses around. For the 'view' Well the thing is if you want that then you will stop other people around you from building dwellings that they might actually need to live in! And who's to say your own house/mansion could be someone elses' ugly eyesore.

 

[Lanolin]

I read another one of those 'good life' books where corporate city types ditch their jobs and buy a farm.
They got free labour (wwoofers) but realistically you can't be a farmstay all the time that's a business in itself.

They also needed a huge loan to get started and the little they made at the farmers market selling produce (and time and effort to do so) wasn't enough to make up for the huge debt they had to pay off.

I think if you have good arable/fertile land to start with it helps but if you've just got dirt-poor land thats been degraded you have a big job on your hands to get it back to fertile. Plus having to buy all the stock, seeds, fences etc.