Large Cities and small towns

By A.J. Slipchenko

Changing locations (by moving from a big city to a small town or a small town to a big city) can be a very complicated decision with many challenges. Some challenges, especially the process of "starting from scratch", can take new arrivals by surprise and can even sour the experience for them. This book will give the future migrant an idea of what could await them in their new home and some strategies for how to deal with it.

 

The first section of this book looks at the process of moving from urban areas, such as a large city, to more rural areas, such as small towns or farms. It examines some situations you might face, such as potentially fewer services, less/no public transportation, and even missing your old lifestyle. It also includes some strategies on how to handle the move and questions to help you understand the magnitude of the change.

 

The second section discusses moving from rural areas, such as small towns, to a more urban environment, such as going to university/college or moving to the suburbs. It addresses new situations like making friends, choosing between a vehicle or public transportation, and coping without family. This section includes some strategies on how to handle the move and questions to help you understand the magnitude of the change.

 

The third section briefly compares these two sides because everyone will miss some aspects of their old life.

 

This book can also be a bridge by helping people who live in the area understand what the newcomer is going through and maybe make their life easier.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A.J. Slipchenko
• Release date: Mar 13, 2024
• ISBN: 9781778060946

Book preview

A GUIDE FOR HANDLING THE CHANGE

A.J. SLIPCHENKO

Cover Design:

Susan Marriner, Marriner Design

Copyright 2024 A.J. Slipchenko

All rights reserved..

CONTENTS

WHY DID I WRITE THIS BOOK?

INTRODUCTION

URBAN TO RURAL LIFESTYLE

Variations of Rural Places

Rural Challenges and Strategies

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT

RURAL TO URBAN LIFESTYLE

Variations of Urban Places

Urban Challenges and Strategies

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT

SIMILARITIES

CONCLUSIONS

OTHER BOOKS BY A.J. SLIPCHENKO

WHY DID I WRITE THIS BOOK?

One of the most difficult transitions I had faced was relocating from the city to the country. Everybody knows that living in the country differs from living in the city. Many people have a romanticized version of what living in the country is really like. Yet tv shows and books cannot prepare you for the actual reality of living far from friends and relatives.

I had experienced this firsthand back in the late 1980s before the internet and the rural lifestyle craze was popular. My parents and I moved from the city (of a half-million people) to a town of a few thousand. We had a small parcel of land, which we used as a retreat from city life. My parents built a house and we moved away from the city (I was in high school at the time). There was nothing that prepared us for that change and honestly, there still isn’t very much which talks about the differences now.

The general aspects of these differences are spread throughout this book. It was difficult to write something like this because some differences can be highly specific to certain areas and not relatable to larger rural communities. There is also a wide range of people that you meet, which opens your eyes to how other people interact and live within different-sized communities.

And yet it isn’t only the change from an urban to rural environment that requires some adjustment. Moving from a rural area to an urban one, often for college or work, requires a change of perspective. Some of these challenges are very specific to this move, others are experienced by both groups of people (rural to urban movers and urban to rural movers).

My intention in writing this book is not to discourage the reader from making a move from one area to another, but to give them some understanding of the challenges they could face before they have to deal with them. With that knowledge, they can better prepare themselves for any potential obstacles and have strategies to overcome them.

While much of the information here came from personal experience, living in a rural setting has a range of experiences. In keeping with this, I would like to acknowledge those who added some of their own experiences and insights for this book.

I’d like to give my thanks to David J. Francis, Ricco, Tracey Bradley-Andrews and a few others for their great observations, their encouragement and their feedback on the drafts.

I would also like to thank Lauren Barrows for her extensive suggestions on adapting to the rural environment.

My gratitude also goes to Janeen Wagemans, whose advice about this book took it to another level.

Thanks to everyone who gave me some insight into their experiences moving to a new area. That also inspired me to write this guide since so many people had similar experiences.

And thank you, Mom and Dad, for opening my eyes to this whole new world.

INTRODUCTION

The move from urban to rural (or rural to urban) can be just as daunting as traveling to a foreign country, but you’ll never find a guidebook on it. Both moves involve a change in localized culture and the physical environment. These two changes can also be very similar since you are talking about such a drastic change in lifestyle and how people interact.

A move from an urban environment to a rural environment can be particularly jarring, especially if you are not prepared for the change. The individual goes from all the resources and services available in the city to a place that offers fewer services and demands more self-sufficiency. The individual or family might not have the skills or experience for this and so this becomes a challenging time for them.

While the situation is different, a change from rural to the urban environment can also be a shock. Normally surrounded by family and friends who have lived nearby for most of their life, these people are not present in the day-to-day life of the new urbanite. While spending most of their lives in largely open spaces, the new urbanite is confronted with the daily challenges of crowds of people, navigating through fields of asphalt and dazzled by hundreds of apartment lights at night. This is an environment which may seem bizarre and nerve-wracking, especially with the changes in personal freedom and social etiquette.

This book will separately examine the struggles of the urban individual moving to the country and give the rural individual, moving to the city, some tips on how to thrive in this different environment. In each section, there will be details about possible issues and some suggestions on how to overcome them. There will also be fictitious examples and descriptions to give the reader a better understanding of what to expect. Each section will have a list of questions that the reader can think about to make their personal trip more meaningful.

Yet both moves have something in common, which is why I wanted to include them in a one book instead of doing two. Many of the thoughts, feelings and experiences are similar to both groups. Some of these I have included in the third section. Hopefully, this will create a bridge of understanding for both communities.

These suggestions are general and may not apply to all cities, towns, or situations. Since it is impossible to give an actual account of what they will face, the reader will just have to take these suggestions and apply them to their own situations if needed.

The importance of this information is that it is not only relevant to those who are moving, but for people who are interacting with new people in the community. This guide gives an understanding of the nuanced struggles others face when moving into a new area and helps them better adapt to their new location.

URBAN TO RURAL LIFESTYLE

The teen and his mother were driving to a school recital. This recital was taking place at a community hall, although they didn’t know the location. It was seven thirty in the evening and the sun had already set. They were slowly traveling down an old dirt road, squinting in the darkness.

The teen looked out the window. There weren’t many streetlights and very few signs. In fact, as they were traveling down this road, the signs had changed names about three times as they went through three small communities. 

They were looking for a Brickleson community center, though they could not find it. The teen had heard both the teacher and the other students talk about this place in class.

When the family first moved here, they drove about the area, looking at all the different towns